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Published: April 18th 2006
Mint Nightclub
Don´t arrive at 1am!!!Yes Argentina, it´s getting cheaper at last. And Buenos Aires is the best city in the world!!!
Arrived absolutely shattered and immediately got a taxi to meet my Spanish teacher! We decided I would study 5 hours a day, one on one for 4 days, if I hadn´t been so tired I may have noticed the craziness of this suggestion...
Checked into the Lime House hostel in the centre of town, great set up, very similar to the red hostel in montevideo. One central room with extremely high ceilings with all the dorms leading off of it, very communal. Was asleep within minutes but managed to meet a few people in the evening. Went to an all you can eat (Tenedor Libre) restaurant in spitting distance of the hostel and never looked back! A huge meat roasting section at the back with all kinds of cuts of meat, fresh pasta could be prepared for you with sauce, stir fry, 2 huge counters of salad, meat, seafood and chinese stuff, one counter of cakes and puddings, ice cream cart and best of all the freshly cooked pancakes with bananas inside! All for the pricely sum of 10 pesos!!! I introduced every
new Lime House tenant to this restaurant and most then ate there every day.
One evening I strayed for an even better steak and ended up having a tango show thrown in for free. 2 Brits from my table were dragged up at the end to perform so we all got free champagne as well! Much better than the tango show in Cafe Tortoni, very nice room and stage but only 2 dancers and one singer.
While studying Spanish I decided to be in bed by midnight every night so no chance of nightlife as nothing starts until 1am. The hostel decides to play random dodgy music until 4am most nights so I didn't sleep much and made a routine of wake at 7.30, stagger to Spanish class and try to speak until 2pm, have lunch then sleep until 8pm. Do my homework for 3 hours, watch TV to avoid booze in the main room then back to bed! Spanish class was great and it seems I know far more Spanish than I thought. On the last morning I chatted random nonsense for 2 hours in Spanish and shocked myself.
On the Friday I left Spanish class like a child,
I was so excited for the weekend and the chance to go out. I even forgot to take a photo of the hairdressers next door. Normal place with dodgy hairstyle photos in the window except every one was of Jean Claude Van Damme, through the ages... We ate around 8 and left the hostel at around midnight hoping for a night in Pacha. We got taxi's to the right part of town and found no bars nearby, 2 fancy restaurants and one bar with a drag act, that was our only hope of a drink. Then told the 2 big clubs, Pacha and Opera Bay don´t open on Fridays!! Finally got taxi's to Mint, but it wasn't that great. Not bad prices but only one dance floor, we left around 5am.
I only managed to make it as far as McDonalds the next day, the week had taken it out of me, but new Brits arrived that night and wanted to go out so I left the lot from Friday night and went out again. This time Kilkennys bar then Opera Bay, with VIP passes and our own sofa area! Excellent club, loosely based on the Sydney Opera House in
design, 5 dance floors with varying music, looking onto the port with crazy pools dotted around. Spent much of the night between the 80s and the Hip Hop rooms and then got deserted at 4am as the new girls were tired! I had a fair few years on them and a previous drunken night behind me, the kids today just can't hack the pace...
The weekends in Bs As bring the markets, so struggled to Recoleta to see the crafts and musicians. Met some crazy young girl on the bus, who happened to know the Lara and Sarah who I'd been out with the night before. Luckily met them by accident and ran from the crazy girl... We all bought jewellery and listened to a local musician. Later went to Cafe Tortoni for the "average" tango show.
New week ahead of me, I decided I needed to see some sights, so booked a 4 hour bike tour. Great way to see the city, started in San Martin Square and onto the Malvinas Memorial. There is a plaque up with every soldier´s name in order of when they died in the Falklands war. They have 2 navy officers guarding the monument
Malvinas Memorial
Changing the guards at the Malvinas Memorial during daylight hours and a torch burning. We continued through to the harbour, onto La Boca, San Telmo and Plaza de Mayo. Slightly scarey at points but the guide was excellent, I learnt loads. Can you believe, he would actually support England in the World cup if Argentina were knocked out first... highly unlikely, I know! Seems they want the Malvinas (Falklands) but don't hate us because of it. La Boca used to be the poor part of town but the locals didn´t want to look hard done by so collected left over paint from the dockyards and used it to paint their houses, crazy colours everywhere. They also house the stadium for the most supported team in Argentina, Boca Juniors. The stadium is called the chocolate box due to it´s odd design. San Telmo houses the fancy antique shops and also is where the tango origniated. The sailors were the first to dance it and gradually introduced prostitutes as the partners. It didn´t become a dance for the masses for many years. Had an easy night off the booze and went to the cinema.
More sightseeing continued, Recoleta cemetery is bizzare. Loads of huge tombs with rich and famous
dead bodies in them, the most expensive land in the city!! Saw Evita's grave and later went to the Evita museum and discovered some craziness went on with her body after she died. A few countries stole it for a while and it eventually came back beaten up! They added that as a side note at the end of the museum so I don't know any of the details yet! This night me and Becky were dragged to El Verde, we don't even know how it happened! Took a new couple Ohad and Maggie though and some crazy German Jorge, he was hilarious. The place started off quiet but suddenly we were dancing... Some Barry came on so I was pleased, it was music for the oldies as we were 10 to 20 years to young for the bar. Some random Argentinian blokes then joined our group and one dragged me to the dance floor even though I was hiding between 2 blokes, they stop at nothing! Liz, who had dragged us there, pulled some local so we managed to leave.
Wednesday is free museum day so I spent most of the day treking about trying to find them
La Boca
Painted houses - the poor locals obtained left over paint from the dockyards in order to make their houses look less drab without spending money. without carrying a map or guide book! Went to the museum of the city which was ok until I started chatting to the security guard, practicing my spanish. General chit chat then he kept saying when blah blah, I couldn't work it out at all so finally said When What! He said, "Aren't you pregnant?" I was shocked! I shoued no and left. This did not discourage me from 5 plates of food in the 10peso place though. Deciced to go out so all got ready and sat drinking, Ohad went on the web and a comotion started. It seems someone had a dodgy stomach and had left a present on the computer chair while running to the toilet. Obviously it went un-noticed until Ohad runs around in disgust with a large ice cream scoop sized dark patch on his jeans, oh how we laughed! He was shocked for the whole night! ha ha. Ended up in Opera Bay again, after work night so loads of locals. It was great fun but we got there too late so not a long enough night. Nightmare avoiding the men though, two tried kissing my cheek at the same time, I went to
the bar and left them chatting to each other. I am still struggling to get used to the men kissing each other on the cheek for hello and goodbye, constant kissing everywhere. I saw a man kiss a policeman which looked very unusual. And couples stop to snog everywhere, any moment at all. No idea how South American's keep the passion going but even old couples are snogging constantly. Between meal courses, at red lights, just because the sun is out!!
Thursday I had to sort out my flight to Ushuaia, went to the travel agent where I had inquired before (300 pesos instead of the web price of 2800!!) but all were full. So she reserved me a flight with an overnight stopover in El Calafate and said come back at 6pm, so I went for an excellent tour of the theatre Colón. It is 100 years old in 2008 so partially being refurbished for then. It had 3 architects as they kept dying so has different French and Italian styles throughout, all extra exuburent though. The theatre has also been extended under July St (largest avenue in the world, at least 10 lanes wide in parts and
needs at least 2 green man sessions to cross it!) to house the costume, wig ans scenery workshops. When I returned to the travel agent she had been on the phone all afternoon and found me a direct flight on the day I wanted!! She is the best travel agent I have ever met!!!! Celebrated by going to Club 69, special night on Thursdays, Transvestite night! Crazy performances, almost circus like!
Absolutely dead on Friday but I had promised Becky I would go to the Relgious Themepark so she woke me up at 12 for that. I stood up on the bus for some old man, who then tried to insist I sit on his lap!! When he went to let Becky off she said I had to help him up as he was holding out his hand, when I gave my hand he just wanted to kiss it! All Argentinian men are like this!!!
Santa Tierra, What a crazy place!! After a show of the navitiy we followed figures of Jesus through his life, slightly random order so he did keep changing age. A tunnel showed us him dropping the cross 3 times then we climbed a hill
where he was on the cross. Suddenly the show time struck and the mountain opened, a giant Jesus appeared to the sounds of Halleluyah as the 30ft high Jesus was resurected!! Most bizarre day for a while! I vowed to stay in that night so was dragged to some bar with Ashley and Alvin, very nice bar but so tired and glad to get home at 5am.
More sightseeing with Ashley around town then straight back to bed for our afternoon naps, we would always wait for Alvin (in a different hostel) to wake us for dinner in the 10peso place, good routine. Until this day where I woke up in agony. So much so, I couldn't eat or go to Pacha which I had been waiting for all week!!
Ended up staying in bed until Monday morning when I had to call the doctor, he said I had a stomach virus and gave me a diet. How I was supposed to follow that when water was a struggle let alone food!! Agony stomach cramps but finally could walk by Tues evening, even ate 5 spoons of rice!
Wednesday flight to Ushuaia, 5 hours delayed but finally eating a bit
Giant Flower
It opens in daylight and closes at night, solar powered!! and walking! Still have a tiny stomach so can't eat much. I also forget a lot and then roll about in pain when I realise I am far too full. It is helping lose the weight from the 10peso diet though!!
As you can probably tell from the delay, this blog is getting tough to complete now. Also I have been travelling for 2 months so have little to no brain power remaining. Therefore ignore all grammar and spelling mistakes and any random nonsense I may have written 😊
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