Looking for Adventure - We found it!

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Julie - We are writing from the safety of Peru - we finally managed to get out of Argentina but it was a close call - more on that later. I guess first we should say some nice things about Buenos Aires...

We were surprised by the prices for food in both Argentina and Uruguay...a drink and a meal for the two of us usually came to around $10-$15 depending on which restaurant we went to. Marco says the meat was nice. I´ll have to believe him. For me I can say that my first meal after four days of being very ill was gnocchi and it was nice. I had a bit of fish on the last day when I started to come good and that was OK too. For every meal you have in B.A restaurants, they bring a big basket of bread...they eat a lot of that and also every second shop seems to either sell sweets or chocolates and desserts...yet the people are still reasonably slim. Probably their saving grace is that the city is very flat so it´s easy to walk everywhere.

We did get to see a tango show on our last night. It cost about $12 for a one hour show, with singing and dancing. I really liked the tango music itself so got a CD. My other souvenirs include a scarf (because I just don´t have enough already!), a mate tea cup with Che Guevara on it (tacky I know) and a medical bill of about $100 for my visits to the emergency clinic and medication. I was actually pretty impressed by their medical facilities and each consultation cost about $25 which for a private clinic is very cheap.

Overall Buenos Aires is a very easy city to get around and good for shopping - the leather really is very cheap. The city itself and the close surrounding suburbs are crazy though and you constantly have to barge your way through the streets which after a week does your head in. Sydney almost seems like a country town compared with B.A.

So yesterday we were at the hostel waiting to get a taxi to the airport when it flashed up news on the TV that the director of operations of Aerolineas Argentinas had resigned and all flights had been suspended. Seriously, this trip has been cursed! We rushed to the airport to find chaos. We got there about 3.15pm and we finally got through to our boarding gate at 7.30pm. Our flight did take off on time luckily. The airport (Ezeiza) is the worst I have ever been too. Seriously Tonga airport was better. Security checks were very slack and there was nothing about not carrying liquids on board. By contrast we got to Peru and their new airport is just beautiful (we spent 6 hours there overnight last night). Argentina likes to think of itself as a first world country. Not in my books. I have to say I won´t ever return there.

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Photos

First meal in four days
But I couldn´t finish it of course

Cafe Tortoni
Oldest cafe in B.A

Argentinian Wine is good
as Marco finds out...

Tango Show
Cafe Tortoni

Chaos at B.A airport
Aerolineas suspends all flights!

Why are you still smiling?
I can´t understand you!!!

Still awake at 3am
Beautiful new Lima airport waiting for our flight to Cusco at 5.30am

At least Talullah can sleep!
(She comes on all our trips!)