Buenos Aires

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PHOTOS TO FOLLOW....

So we arrived in BA feeling less then perfect... it took us about an hour to get off the bus, get cash and find a taxi. We were both pretty unwell! We arrived at Pax hostel where the Pablo, the receptionist offered us some tea which went down well. We got straight into bed after that (this was at about 12pm) and slept till 8pm. That day was a write off so will move on to day 2!

On day 2 we were feeling a bit better, we were still eating small amounts so decided to stay local. We went for a walk to the Plaza de Mayo, the main square near our district San Telmo. We had some lunch (a word of warning- things take aaaaages when you´re eating out). Then we took a look around the Castillo museum, which was the government buildings and the site of the revolution against the spanish. That night we ate in a great grill restaurant where they cook the meat in front of you. Dave had a steak but i just had an omlette, Gavin and Stacey style.

We had arranged to go to a football match the following day to see Boca Juniors, Maradonnas old team, play aginst Velez in their home ground. We got picked up by a bus where they took us to a shed/garage place where all the tourists go. Its recommended that tourists go with an organised group because it can be a bit dodgy at the matches. We got talking to a guy called George from Bristol who was staying in our hostel, he´s only 18 and is travelling the world by himself. He had already been to India (where he went looking for snow leopards), most of Asia, Oz and NZ. Had a few beers in the shed, they had cans in a barrel, and then headed to the stadium with our group leader. The stadium was mental, where we were there were no seats, just steps to stand on, and you´re pretty high up... We looked across the stadium and could see people sitting on the railings with their feet hanging over the side: on the top level! The Argintinians love their football and before the match even started they were chanting and singing. The atmosphere was great but unfortunatley the football couldn´t match it. It was a tense game (both teams in the running to win the league) that finished 0-0 with the highlight being the Boca number 4 being sent off in the first half for a two footed lunge. Juan Roman Riquelme was playing and had one half decent long range effort but Boca were on the back foot for most of the game. At one stage during the match, the people on the balcony above us started jumping up and down and the plaster started to fall on our heads...not cool. When the match was over we had to wait for everyone to leave the stadium so we could make a safe exit!

The next day was Monday so we decided we were going to head to the zoo. There was a tour bus advertised that stops at all the good spots including the zoo so we headed to the nearest stop and waited half an hour for a bus. The bus showed up and was full. So we waited another half hour for another bus...which wouldn´t let us pay on board (even though the sign says you can!) So at that point we thought it would be better just to go to the zoo, so we walked to Plaza de Mayo and got the metro to Plaza Italia where the zoo is. The zoo was closed. So we thought the botanical gardens would be nice. They were closed too. As was the planetarium. You get the idea. Glad we didn´t pay a fortune for a bus that would take us to closed places!

Word of advice, if you ever go to BA, ALL tourist attractions are closed on a Monday.

So we walked around the Plaza Italia, and then headed back to the hostel.

That night we went on an organised pub crawl with some other hostels. We met loads of other travellers who were giving us tips on different places. The nightlife was pretty quiet as it was a monday night, but it was great craic anyhow! We ended up in a nightclub which had a rave going on downstairs. Met a couple from Somerset, a couple from Canada, George came along, there were also 2 French Canadian lads, a german lad and a dutch guy. Nathan, one of the Canadian lads thought we were only 19. We were great buddies with him after that! We all played a game called flip cup where there are 2 teams who stand opposite each other at a table. Paper cups are filled with beer and its like a relay. So the first person drinks theirs and the second person can´t start until the first person has finished their drink and flipped their cup over. It was great craic!

Needless to say, the next day was a write-off as we were pretty hung over. We thought we would do a simple task today- take a load of stuff to the post office and post it home. Not so easy! We were 2 hours in the post office trying to explain to the guy behind the counter (who KEPT putting his hand in our faces when we tried to talk to him) about where we wanted the stuff to go etc. Finally got it sorted about 6pm and went to pay him. But they don´t take cards. THe post office doesnt take cards! So Dave said he would go get cash. The man behind the counter tells us its closed at 6, hands us back our parcels and tells us to come back tomorrow. Mañana is their favourite word.

Our last full day there, the wednesday we were determined to get to the zoo, the botanical gardens and the planetarium (they are all in the same area). After dropping off our post (FINALLY!) off we went to get the metro to the other side of town...what could possibly go wrong?

The metro drivers were on strike and the buses were packed... if we really tried we probably could have gotten across to the zoo but it got to the point where we thought "why bother?". So we went to a cafe in the square and made use of the crap service and spent a couple of hours there. Then we sat in the Plaza de Mayo for an hour while the sun was out.

I think BA could be a great place if things could run smoothly... I know its a bit rich coming from a couple of Dubs but its way worse here! The people aren´t as friendly as in Iguazu or Rio and come across a bit stand-offish and snooty, as well as not being very helpful. Also lots of dog poo in the streets, you literally have to keep looking at the ground or you´ll stand in some. But having said that, I think we were just unlucky. I was personally glad to get out of it, Dave liked it a bit more than me. I was looking forward to getting to Bolivia where we could get back into the Jungle again!



What could possibly go wrong?

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Photos

Dave in Plaza de Mayo
you can see the government buildings behind

Orlagh and Dave
at the Boca match

Health and Safety Breach!
People were sitting with their legs hanging over the side!

George and Dave
at the Boca Juniors match

Flip Cup!
pub crawl

Plaza de Mayo
Buenos Aires

Some kind of bird of prey
He was in the trees in the Plaza, and there were parrots in the tree. He kept swooping down trying to catch them. But they were pretty quick.