Blogs from Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America

Die Fahrt mit dem Bus bescherte uns die wiederum eine nicht unbedingt erholsame Nacht. Allerdings waren die Sitze doch komfortabler und gemütlicher als erwartet. Mit dem Licht der ersten Sonnenstrahlen gewinnen wir einige Eindrücke der argentinischen Pampa. Endlose Weiten, vereinzelnd auftretende Viehherden und nicht endenwollende, schnurgerade Strassen. Um 07:00 Uhr erreichen wir in Bahia Blanca. Claudia (die wir während unseres Auslandssemesters in Alicante kennengelernt haben) holt uns vom Busbahnhof ab. Das erste Wiedersehen seit 6 Jahren. Bei ihr zu Hause angekommen, werden wir von Abuelita (der Oma) erstmal mit einem reichhaltigen und vor allem süssen Frühstück begrüsst. Dann geht es erstmal mit dem Auto auf Erkundungstour durch die Stadt. Prinzipiell ist Bahia Blanca bekannt als wichtigste Hafenstadt Argentiniens und als Standort der Petrochemie. Touristische Highlights... read more

Mon 5th Nov: Checked out of the hotel, but left the rucksacks there for storage. ´Had a walkabout and did some domestic shopping. Also bought a magnetic omnibus card to get out to the coach station where I purchased an overnight ticket to Neuquen (West Argentina). I noticed with a bit of shopping around that different companies compete for the same routes, so prices varied. I leave at 10:00 pm and should arrive about 5:00 on Tuesday morning. At 2:00pm Raul picked me up from the hotel and we went to his school (Collegio de San Martin). It´s an inclusive school which takes children from 6 to 16. The school day is quite different to the UK system as the older students (12-16) attend in the morning from 8:00 to 12:00, and the younger ones in ... read more

Sun 4th Nov: After a reasonable breakfast I went walkabouts to find an internet cafe - was unable to upload the photos yesterday as the PC had no spare USB port. The city was quiet and most shops closed but eventually found a place open. At 11.00 Raul, Patricia (his wife) and Austin (their nephew) arrived at the hotel and we went on a long drive towards the sierras. Austin spoke fluent English and translated the conversations. We soon left the flat landscape around Bahia for the rolling and beautiful countryside of the sierras. On the way I had my introduction to "mate¨" - the traditional S. American drink popular with people from S. Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It is made with hot water (carried in a flask) and a herb called yerbos, it tastes ... read more

This city is what inspired me to get the heck off the coast and head toward the Andes. Ah, Bahia Blanca...rolls off the tounge like a charm. Believe me, it sounds much prettier than it is. I stepped off the bus and immediately started sweating. The heat and humidity beat that of Buenos Aires and Mar Del Plata combined, which is impressive in itself. I called a hostel from the station that I´d read about in some guide and found there were rooms available. Splendid. On the local map, 2km didn´t seem too far of a walk at all, so I walked. This is the only time I have regretted walking under the weight of the sun, humidity and pack, because by the time I reached the hostel I was drenched in sweat. I probably lost ... read more