Argentina- Buenos Aires and Salta

---

Argentina- Buenos Aires and Salta

After 5 weeks traversing Brazil, we finally crossed one of its borders and made our way to Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires. Not only did we have to adapt to a new culture, Brazil is the only Portuguese speaking country in South America, so we traded our ‘Obrigado’s’ for our ‘Adios’’ and began our 22 hour , overnight bus journey.

Arriving at the Retiro terminal the following morning, we quickly hailed an overpriced taxi and made our way to our hostel, Limehouse Hostel. Meeting another Irish traveller at check-in was not the most productive way to begin exploring the city, as we quickly dropped our bags and ordered beers at the hostel bar. The rest of our first day here snowballed, meeting new travellers, but not crossing the threshold of the hostel entrance. It wasn’t until the following morning that we realised just how central our hostel was located. Sitting nicely on the 16-laned Avenida 9 de Julio( named after the Argentine independence day) and in the historic Monserrat district, we didn’t have to go far to immerse ourselves in the city’s atmosphere. A quick turn around the corner and we were strolling down Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires’ equivalent to the Champs Elysees. This street links the Plaza del Congreso and Plaza de Mayo( named after the 1810 May revolution, leading to independence) and exhibits some of the most beautifully structured and European-like buildings in the city, finishing up at Casa Rosada, the presidential palace.

We spent the afternoon locating and wandering the Cementerio de la Recoleta, one of the highlights of the city. The most extravagant graveyard I have ever seen, most of the graves were the size of small chapels and house full families of caskets. We located the Peron family’s modest grave which attracted the most attention from tourists, with Evita’s body resting inside. That night I first experienced where party hostels get their name from. The common area in our hostel was basically just a bar and by 11 o’clock was filled with travellers rearing to hit the clubs. We got to know BA’s sleeping patterns, as clubs here only open at 2am, which is closing time at home. Walking home alongside locals on their way to work is considered an ordinary night out!

My last few days in BA were spent filling the rest of my tourist criteria out, which included a trip to the Evita museum (Museo Evita) in the city’s greenest district, Palermo, where a strong Italian heritage can be seen. On Sunday we discovered the talked-about Feria de San Telmo, a weekly market, selling everything from antiques, jewellery and artwork to fruit and vegetables. This market lines either side of the streets of San Telmo for a 10 block radius and takes a full afternoon to explore. A brief stroll past the Teatro Colon, one of the worlds grandest opera houses for both size and structure, and the Obelisco, an off-white stake intersecting Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Corrientes and I was ready to repack my backpack and make for our next stop on our trip, the northern Argentine city of Salta.

Another pricy 22 hour bus later and we arrived at the very quiet city of Salta. Even arriving during the midst of carnival, the city didn’t stir. Mary and I were the only two travellers in our hostel for the first two nights. Nevertheless we set out to see what was on offer. We first stopped at the main square, Plaza 9 de Julio, which is definitely the city’s most graceful public space, with many smart restaurants overlooking and most notably the beautiful brass Cathedral Iglesia San Francisco, matching many European cathedrals for extravagance. On our second day we visited the Cerro San Bernado (a mountain overlooking the city at 1458m). On top there is a small garden with artificial walls intertwining and a quant cafe. This was the highlight of an otherwise dull city. Sampling the nightlife during carnival brought us to the Simpsons themed ‘Barney Gomez Bar’. After sampling some of the inventive cocktails and with no increase in clientele, we hit the hay early, leaving the following day for our next adventure and country, Bolivia. ..

---