Blogs from Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America

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 ... read more

Well, believe it or not I overnight in Beijing for the first night. I arrived yesterday at 9.30 pm and after a long long walk in their impressive and big airport I found the way out of it. The problem was that during the night there are not many taxis. There was a line longer that 2 or 3 blocks to get a 1 hour ride to downtown in Beijing. So the nice information and guest lady told me that the best way to get out there was taking a bus for 16Y and then a taxi for 20Y. It seemed it will be a super simple things. But get was, it was not. Why because the bus live you in the middle of a street, that at that time was already 11.00 pm, and you ... read more

Buenos Aires is a constant hangover. Bus from Puerto Iguazu was pretty luxurious, got dinner and breakfast as well as 4 films and a 140 degree slope on our seats! Get in, haha. but still didnt sleep that much as was finishing my book about dragons - EPIC ENDING! So arrived in BA not feeling too fresh and found our hostel. The entrance to our hostel is like a porch but it smells horrendously of gas, we told the owners and they were like its not gas, cept there are two cupboard labelled gas in it so probs is......... but other than that the hostel is very nice, got a room of 6 to ourselves (me and five girls), and yes that have all synced if you know what i mean so had to tread carefully ... read more

After a great weekend in Florianopolis we took our last ever bus to iguazu to see the falls. We spent our first day exploring the town and wierdly managed to get a local bus to another country.. Paraguay! It was a crazy place full of market stalls selling all sorts of junk.. unfortunately it rained all day long and we drowned in the process of finding our hostel on the way home..it only took us 3 buses to get back. luckily for us though the weather was on our side the next day, perfect to see the brazilian side of the falls which were amazing! we walked along the trail stopping at different platforms along the way each showing the waterfalls from a different angle. we saw a panoramic view of the falls and as the ... read more

Arrivant du Brésil à Buenos-Aires, j’ai l’impression de changer de continent ! je me rends compte que la population est presque uniquement d’origine europèenne. Des bruns, des blonds, mais pas de noirs ou de métisses ! On se croirait en France ou en Italie, d’autant que le code vestimentaire s’est encore approché de celui de l’Europe. Au Brésil, il est difficile de trouver des ancêtres incontestés à qui que ce soit, car le métissage a fait son œuvre depuis des siècles. ..A Bahia notamment, région qui a reçu le plus d’esclaves en Amérique, on voit toutes les nuances de la négritude, du plus clair au plus foncé. Cela se dilue à mesure que l’on descent vers le Sud. A Buenos Aires, on passe à l’Européen, avec un métissage souvent moindre que celui que l’on trouve dans ... read more

So.... our Whitsundays trip was pretty amazing! We began with a briefing from our host/cook/entertainer Dave (picture long blonde dreads, 25 with a ridicuously loud voice but a little girls body) who began by telling us, how ever much alcohol we had, it wasnt enough so we went off to buy more goon (cheap, rank wine) and some sea sickness tablets for Amelia, the most motionsick girl ever. We boarded the boat and met our other crew member Ash (dark hair, 33, acted about 5 and secretly married) who also owned the boat. We put our things away and began sunbathing and drinking... We spent all day sailing, we were the only two to help with the sails and steering the boat, and spent most of our time with the crew. Dave cooked a lovely dinner ... read more

Breezed through customs and immigration. My entry fee is good for the life of my passport! We're staying in San Telmo. A restorative yoga class was the perfect start to the trip!... read more

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 ... read more

As I sit and contemplate the last 24 hours I realise it is the little things that sprinkle my days with salt and pepper moments and these moments add flavour to my life. Take last night for instance. At the end of a long day I was attempting to purchase some anti-virus software for the tablet but my typing skill with the stylus on the screen was not fast enough. After seven frustrating attempts, Sir Leigh (knight in shining armour) came to my rescue by hitting the "enter" button in the middle of the process thus thwarting the "session expired" message. Hooray, success! Today my cell phone saga came to an end; Leigh would say a happy end because the phone now works with an Argentine sim card. I had a slightly different view when I ... read more