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Published: January 27th 2014
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So time is flying past here in B.A. It seems like only yesterday that we arrived, and here we are with only 5 weeks left before we travel back to Dublin. Needless to say, we have been trying to make the most of our time here in and take in as many sights and experiences as possible that we haven't yet already done. It's quite easy to be relaxed and laid back about travelling round when you have 4 months to see a city, but time really does fly past when your on holidays and so I want to make sure I know this place inside out before I leave.
Taking to my guidebook for advice, I find that I have seen almost all of what there is to see in Buenos Aires and am already very familiar with the place and it's noteworthy things to do. It really is a huge city but I feel that I do know it quite well at this stage and have seen a diverse range of it's character - from the well-to-do areas of Recoleta and Palermo to the less well-off areas surrounding the city.
The weather has been a bit crazy
the last couple of weeks. There was a pretty heavy heat wave for a week or so there, with temperatures high in the 30's and 'sensacion termica' as they call it of 48 degrees at times. The humidity was something else too - up to 90% at one point. It's such heavy weather and the kind where you are literally sweating non-stop. Thankfully there was a mother of all storms a few nights ago and the weather broke which brought some much needed relief. Temperatures dropped over 15 degrees over night - it's funny because at home when it's 17/18 degrees I am dying of the heat but here I feel positively cold (though I am not complaining) I guess it's the sudden drop in temperature that does that.
It seems to be hotting up again now, today it's only 27 degrees but the sun has come out again so there's a definite heat in the air. I am so grateful that we have air con, I don't know how I would cope in the really heavy weather otherwise. And touch wood so far we haven't been affected by any of the electricity cuts (as mentioned in a previous
blog) as many others have. There are some people going on 5 weeks with no water or electricity. It's an absolute disgrace.... but I have decided to steer clear of politics in this entry so the less said about that the better! I have been reading news online on British and European websites about the currency here and inflation so the information is out there in black and white for people who are interested in knowing more about the economic state of affairs here, state being quite an apt word...
Taking advantage of the cooler weather one of the days last week, we took a trip to Plaza Serrano, an area located in the heart of the city centre. It is quite trendy, with lots of bars and cafes, and some clubs which double up as clothes shops during the day, selling different ranges of clothes from local designers. I have to say I really liked it here. It was one of the more touristy areas I have been too, and I heard a few foreigners as I was wandering about. In general there are not many tourists here, well I am comparing it to Dublin, were at times
I wonder if I am one of the few Irish left, it's so full of such a mix of cultures and people from all over the world. Walking down Grafton St at times, I am thrown aback at the vast amount of foreigners from al over the world that we are host to. Here there are much less foreigners, apart from the Bolivians and some people who come from Columbia and Venezuela to study - another sore point for some Argentinians as university education here is free for them whereas it doesn't work the other way round.
We also visited the Zoo here in B.A which was nice to see. It's a huge zoo, I think the only other zoo I have been to that was bigger was the one in Berlin. There are many animals here in South America which we don't have in Europe too so it was nice to see something different - some of the parrots and birds are amazing! I felt that the lions were very thin though, and I can only hope that despite the full mane of hair they were young animals... the elephant also made me sad as he was on
his own in an enclosure with nothing but dirt. But one has to think there life must be better here than in the wild in Africa being subject to game hunters... It was really nice to spend the day here though and I really enjoyed it. It was a really hot day though and we came across a fish floating at the top of the water in one of the river features - then when we came home we saw on the news that lots of fish everywhere were dying as they were quite literally boiling in the water! Mad... I have never heard the like before.
This weekend we went to see a tango show with Leandro's dad. It was amazing and apart from the day at the ranch, one of my favourite experiences here in Argentina. We were entertained with music and dancing as our bellies were filled with delicious food - empanadas, bife de chorizo, helado con dulce de leche. The vino tinto was flowing and we even had a bottle of champagne. The level of music and dancing was really high and for something that is so synonymous with Argentina it was so nice to
see the tango being danced to such a high level. I felt like I was getting such a strong and authentic taste of Argentinian culture and it also demonstrated the stereotypical passion that many people here demonstrate on a daily basis. Definitely something I would recommend for anyone visiting B.A.
I think that's all I have to note down for now. The next few weeks will be busy enough. Leandro has a cousin visiting from France and our trip to Iguazu is also drawing closer. I am so excited to go and see the waterfalls and hopefully a bit of Brazil too!
I will post again soon, hope everyone is well at home. CRAVING a bag of Tayto today, someone out there have a bag for me!
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