From Magical Mendoza to Beautiful Buenos Aires

---

I got to Mendoza from Salta after a 17 hour bus ride, so needless to say I was a little tired, but managed to find the energy to make it as far as an Irish pub a couple of doors down from where I was staying to find something to eat. Here I met a business man from Buenos Aires who spoke English quite well and gave me someone to talk to. It turns out after a few drinks this guy decided he wanted to kiss me and I was then saved by an Argentinian/Italian and his friends. I chatted to these guys for quite a while as they had been to Australia and wanted to tell me all about their experience there. I the decided, after a slightly eventful night, that I was tired and called it a night. A friend of mine (Gon) who had lived in Australia, where I met him, had a friend in Mendoza, Emmaunel, so Gon organized for us to meet up. Emmaunel invited me to his house for dinner (limitos, which were delicious) with himself and his friends, afterwards we all went out dancing, until quite early in the morning, having a great night. After about an hour's sleep I went out to do a winery tour around some of the local which are rebound for their quality Malbec, which is absolutely delicious. The wineries were set at the base of the snow capped Andes, which made for the most beautiful back drop, and we spent the day checking out the contrast between the older, more traditional wineries and the newer, more technological driven wineries, both types offering equally tasty flavours. I spent the remainder of my time in Mendoza exploring the beautiful town, full of beautiful plazas (squares), which were apparently incorporated into the city design as a meeting place for the locals during earthquakes. After having a final catch up with Manu it was time to farewell the beautiful city of Mendoza, with every intention of returning in the not too distant future. From Mendoza i spent the night on the bus to get to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, and arrived at my very chilled out and homely hostel, in Palermo Soho a beautiful leafy (and apparently trendy) suburb of Buenos Aires. A the hostel I met the very cool Melvin,who works there and is one of the most passionate cross fitters I have ever met. And also some great people staying there from all around the world. I spent my days in Buenos Aires mostly trying not to spend a fortune in all of the boutiques. There were huge amounts of cool cafes and trendy bars, where I spent a lot of time enjoying great coffee and tasty local wine. There was also the Evita museum (think of the famous Evita Peron) which gave a great insight into one of the most influential women in Argentine history. There was the famous Recoleta Cemetery (where Evita's grave is), I never thought that I would describe a Cemetery as intriguing or interesting, but that is exactly what it was. So many mini chapels, that were the final resting places of so many of the Buenos Aires elite, it was such an interesting place. Then in complete contrast there was the "dodgy" area of La Boca where a new friend Ailsa and I were told "under no circumstances leave the one block of the tourist area" and "make sure everything is secure" but to go and see the brightly coloured houses in Caminito Street was worth the risk! There was also the San Telmo market on a Sunday which was a mixture of artisans, musicians and great local bbqs, which closes down an entire street in the historical suburb of San Telmo every Sunday, the best way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in Buenos Aires. Although hesitant to leave such a beautiful city and hostel, and great bunch of people, it was onwards to Uruguay, which to be honest, I know nothing much about, but hopefully will give some impressionable memories....

---