Buenos Aires

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After a gruelling 12 hour flight with the options of 'Ever After' and 'Entrapment' as film choices (imagine my delight...) I arrive in Buenos Aires at 9.00pm at night. It was hot the minute you stepped outside which I can tell you felt AMAZING after the 26 inches of snow in Washington! Before I left my mum had been pestering me for ages to do a ´teachyourself Spanish´course but I had insisted that the 2 years I had completed in Highschool would be sufficient enough!

The hostel I chose to stay in is called Mill House and was recommended to me by an STA phone operator. Unlike most of the hostels i've stayed in China, this one has 200 bed rooms and was thriving. Initially I felt quite intimidated arriving on my own with everyone sitting and chatting in large groups. However, as I walked into the elevator a girl comes out in a cloud of smoke.... who I recognised as an old st.augustinian who must be 5 years my junior! Crazy small world this is!

I saw all the regular tourist spots: La Boca, Rigeletto, Evita´s Grave, Palermo, Av. Florida etc etc and was not really wowed by it. The city to me, though vibrant and young, reminded me too much of a Europe that I have long known and did not excite me in the way that only something completely different could. I mean it was pleasant and attractive and the food was excellent, but it was something that I was all too familiar with. Where Buenos Airies does stand out is it´s incredible nightlife!

On my second night out there I met with old friend Karol Ostaszewski who is doing a world tour. Along with a close friend of his from England, Marysia Harries, we decided to visit a ghetto tango den which was a non-tourist´s paradise and a sure thing to learn tango. Of course it didn´t open untill 11pm and only really got started by 1pm (way past my bed time!) It was magical! It was this dark dingy hall with a papier mashie human heart hanging from the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a dance floor where couples were encouraged to try Tango with the professionals hypnotically moving around in a circle. As the gin and tonics flew faster, our involvement in the entertainment increased... Tango, however, is nothing like polish dancing; a concept Karol struggled with. While I tried to style us out with feet flicks, leg wrapping and back bends a gymnyst would be proud of, Karol continued to half polka, half hydok around the floor, stamping completely out of time. He was dripping in sweat as only a hairy man can and stepping on my toes consistently but had me in fits of giggles! It was all so ridiculous that the argentinans didn´t quite know what to do with us, until a man politely came over and told us that ´jiving was not tango´. Didn´t stop Karol... it did stop me haha, he continued on his own from that point, holupses (have no idea how to spell that but basically polish dancing jumps). In conclusion: no I did not learn how to tango but was thoroughly entertained nevertheless!

The more I look back at my experience at Mill House the more I savour it as my travels turn to more and more remote areas. I met the best people at Mill House including two English girls called Emily and Sarah who I have since met up with, and two soul mate australians called Caitlyn and Laura. Among others were some great guys and girls from all over the world and with a similar intention: to party hard and sight see harder! I felt quite exhausted from being there for five days and am feeling more and more so that the intention to ´relive my youth´has long gone because I simply could not keep up with the nights out till 6am everynight and drinking non-stop! Mental! Though fun, the expense and non-stop drinking and eating thankfully meant I was itching to get to my next stop: Puerto Iguazu.

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