BA, Baby

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So we're nearing the end, or we are in terms of this narrative. I'm actually writing this from back home in England, which feels like cheating. A blog is just not authentic unless it's written hurriedly in an internet cafe on a computer with no M key. Knowing that you have to finish before the timer runs out really helps to keep things flowing.

I did not LOVE Buenos Aires. This is controversial, I know. It was Kit who had his heart set on it really (I was originally planning for us to fly out of Santa Cruz in Bolivia, which at the time we left was overrun by rioters, so that would have been a bad call on my part).

Maybe it's because we made such a big deal about coming here, I was expecting too much. We paid more to fly out from here, it was far out of our way (nearly two days travel), and we'd devoted to it a whole week, more than anywhere else other than Cuzco, so I was hoping it would justify itself to me. Maybe I'm just thinking of the things I wanted to do that I had to miss out in order to get here, like Potosi, Aryequipa.

It's certainly true that it's a unique mixture of European and Latin American influences. Having said that, I didn't come here for Europe and it just doesn't feel exotic after Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more at the start of the trip as an introduction, a sort of gateway city between Europe and South America.

Let's be honest though, my main problem was the cost. It used to have this reputation as a place where you could live an amazing lifestyle to rival any city in Europe at fraction of the cost. This just isn't the case anymore (which I did point out before we left, ahem... ITOLDYOUSO), given the recovery of their currency and the nosedive of our own, which started just when we were out there. Again this was more a problem because it was the end of the trip, when I'd nearly run out of money, and followed on from incredibly cheap Bolivia.

It IS of course still cheaper than somewhere like Barcelona or Paris... but not spectacularly so, and I just didn't think it was comparable in terms of beauty, architecture, culture and you know, general wow factor. I can't put my finger on it.

I suppose it depends a lot on your budget. If you want to buy a pair of hand made, one of a kind designer shoes for 70 quid instead of 200, or stay in a boutique hotel for 30 a night instead of 100, then this may be the place for you. If your budget stretches nowhere near that kind of range, then you're in trouble. In fact we struggled to find decent budget accommodation.

A lot of people do say it's the most amazing city in the world, so maybe I just don't get it, got there too late or just didn't have the budget for it. I don't mean to be negative; I just want to be honest. I'd love to come back in a few years time when I have a bit more cash, see what I think of it then. Obviously, I still enjoyed my time there. It's an incredibly young, artsy, trendy city and parts of it have a great vibe. We went to Pascha, ate, drank, shopped and window-shopped, wandered around.

What they say about the steak, it's all true. For 7 quid, I had a steak more amazing than anything I had ever dreamed possible. Only it wasn't like normal steak, because surely such a thing could not come from the humble, mortal cow. Even thinking about it now makes me feel funny. I called that steak Melvin. If you'd been there, you would understand. We ate at this place two or three times and only once was the steak transcendentally amazing, the other times it was merely really, really awesome. But wow, that was a good steak.

Anyway.

Oh we went to see Bocca Jnrs play, which was awesome. We shunned the group tours run by hostals and went to deal with the ticket touts outside the stadium ourselves. This resulted in Kit purchasing child tickets, which of course were not valid for us, but it provided Kit with his much longed for opportunity to bribe a police officer and we got in anyway so all was well. We ended up in the notorious Bocca fans standing stalls. It was AWESOME. I couldn't see a thing, I was too busy trying to stay upright. To this day I don't even know who won, though I do know one team had two players sent off for twatting the referee. I learned a lot of Spanish swearwords that day.

After nearly two full days shopping and much deliberation, I bought a leather jacket which, irritatingly, was about three times more expensive and no nicer than the one I'd looked at in Ecuador two months ago. Kit did exactly the same. We'd assumed waiting until BA would be the best bet because you know, Argentina, cows... the streets are probably paved with leather. Not so. Or well, there were a multitude of shops but few were both cheap AND had nice designs. It's weird that I bought a jacket that I probably wouldn't have paid that much for at home, just because I'd been telling myself for the last three months that I was going to get a jacket in BA. I still wonder why I did that.

Our final night we spent in a boutique hotel, reportedly a favourite of Gael Garcia Bernal, with themed rooms designed by local artists. In the morning, before leaving for the airport, we had breakfast served on our roof terrace overlooking the city. This is more like it.

And so that was South America. I loved it. I loved it SO MUCH, just like I've loved almost everywhere I've ever been. Every place in a different way, of course. To compare it, as a destination, to my previous trips would be pointless because each time I'm a year older and doing it for different reasons, in different company. My maiden gap-year voyage, teach a language, learn a language, alone, with boyfriend, with friends, with strangers, etc. These factors are as important as the destination.

I had an amazing time.

I miss it. I want go back.

I really feel like I've failed massively with my Spanish language ambitions though. This was such a fantastic opportunity but I didn't make the most of it. Having Kit here was just too easy. To his credit he tried hard to encourage me, but I get frustrated so easily. Trying to talk to someone and getting nowhere feels like banging your head against a brick wall, and I just want him to intervene and save me. I have spent the whole trip being jealous of his ability to chat away with the locals, and I know that in this respect he must have got so much more out of the experience than I did. I'd love to say I'm going to carry on learning when I get home, have lessons, and I so genuinely want to, but knowing what I'm like it may be one of those things that gets forgotten as soon as I'm back to my normal routine. We'll see.

So that's it for this year. We got home three days late to start our International Health course, made up a story about our flight being delayed. I'd be lying if I said I've ever really felt ready to go home, but I'm looking forward to this year, and living with Kit, which doesn't scare me so much anymore. I really think traveling with someone is the best stress tests of a relationship, particularly the kind of traveling involving extended periods of time with no sleep, food, money, air-con or personal space. Though we didn't always behave impeccably we didn't actually kill each other, which is the most important thing, right? I'm so proud.

So, I'll leave this diary for now.

South America, I love you and I miss you and I will be back.

Only more 8 months until my next chance to travel.

Can't wait.

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Photos

Bocca
I only dared get my Camera out for a split second...