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Published: April 12th 2008
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Iguazu Falls marked our departure from Brazil, for the time being at least. And it´s not a bad final memory to be left with. The falls (all 275 of them) are split between the Brazilianian and Argentinian teritory, and merit a visit from both sides. The Brazilian side gives you spectacular views of the entire waterfall system, whereas the Argentinian side lets you get up close and personal. We took a boat trip on the Argentinian side into the Devil´s throat - the largest of the system. The water pounds you that hard that its impossible to open your eyes at times. Needless to say, we got absolutely drenched, but that´s just part of the fun!
We stayed for a few days on the Argentinian side of the falls in a town called Peurto Iguacu, in a fantastic hostel called the Hostel-Inn. With a swimming pool, football pitches, pool tables, barbeques most evenings and a bar, this became a happy home for a few days. Well at least for two of us it did - Conor suffered a fairly severe case of food poisoning and spent most of our time there in bed. Poor lad! That managed to put him,
and us, off eating burgers for a few days!
The next port of call was Buenos Aires, in order to learn some much needed Spanish. Buenos Aires feels very European - and is even dubbed "Paris of the South". It´s a very impressive city in scale and variety. Some of the more impressive daytime activities are the beautiful parks in Palermo, and a visit to the eerie Recoleta Cemetary. The cemetary is where the rich have literally housed their dead relatives for generations. It feels like walking around a miny city, with coffins in each window. Eva Peron, among other rich and famous of the past, is buried in the grounds.
The city really comes into its own after dark. Arguably the finest steak in the world washed down with a good bottle of red wine sets you back about 12 Euro. And then at about 2 a.m. it´s party time. Buenos Aires has bars and clubs to rival or better any in the world, and a very healthy electronic music scene. I heard some of the best electronic music of my life at the SAMC (South American Music Conference) which happened to be on while we were
in town. 40 DJs around the world playing to 20,000 people until the wee hours of the morning. Fantastic stuff!
Buenos Aires is also famous for being home to the Boca Juniors - Diego Maradona´s former club team, and currently that of Argentine playmaker Riquelme. The support is absolutely fanatical, probably even moreso that for Flamengo in Brazil which I didn´t think would be possible! This time we were right in the mix with the home supporters as they took on the Chilean team Colo Colo in the Copa de Libertadores (the South American equivalent of the Champions league). The match was a sell-out and the atmosphere was electric. We were in the Boca end of the stadium just below all the Colo Colo fans, who amused themselves by firing all sorts of things down on top of us during the game. Part of the fun I suppose! The game itself was a rip-roaring encounter. Boca went a goal down early on, and had a man (slightly harshly) sent off. Then things looked up as they were awarded a penalty, but this they missed. In the end they won the game 4-3 after coming twice from behind. I couldn´t
have picked a better game to go see. The atmosphere in the stands, particularly when Boca finally took the lead, was amazing. One second you´d be standing there singing and clapping, the next somone would have grabbed you five metres to the side as part of a stadium-wide dance. Between the atmosphere in the stands and the quality of the game itself, its the best game of football I´ve ever been at, and will be hard to ever beat!
I lived in an apartment for my time in Bs As, and my flatmates there took me to a party that was extremely unique. It was held in the house owned by a local Buenos Airean music group, who put on a party/gig for the evening. Walking into the house was an experience in itself. They had gotten their artist friend to decorate their house. He painted it black first, and then decorated it in various ways with mainly white paint, in the form of spirals and ancient symbols. And just for extra effect he put in all red lightbulbs and hung ropeladders and artificial cobwebs from the roof. Not your typical house in other words!
For anyone that
has heard the Grateful Dead´s music, particularly their live recordings, that is the closest thing I can think of to the music the group played. Lots of eerie beckground samples, with alot of synthesizers on top, along with drums and a bit of guitar, and fairly unconventional singing. The performance itself was just as bizzare - for the first half of every song the singer would close the band off from our vision with the sliding wooden doors that seperated us; then when the song got into full flow the doors would be opened as the band went a bit mad; and then the doors closed again at the end of each song. The band were excellent and the party that followed was a blinder. Who knows - they could turn out to be the next Argentine sensation, and I will be able to say that I was there!
Argentina is also the home of Tango, so I took in a show at Cafe Tortoni - home of the Tango Museum and one of the finist establishments for tango dancing. The show was amazing - a four piece band providing the music in the corner, along with excellent dancers
and singers. If I ever had any illusions that I might pick up tango at any stage, this shattered them. The speed and skill of the dancers and the difficulty of the dance are something far beyond the abilities of a two-left-footed lad like myself. I think I´ll leave this one to the professionals!
Eventually the Spanish classes were finished (I can now hold a reasonable conversation in Spanish), and it was time to move south. I was tipped-off on a very cheap deal down to Ushuaia - the southerly-most city in the world. It was too good to refuse. My travel companions weren´t as keen to travel that far south (afraid of a bit of cold!) so I set off on my lonesome for a wee adventure.
Usuaia is on the South of the Beagle Canal, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, and the landscape there is breathtaking. I took a boat tour along the Canal to see the views along it and to have a look at some of the local wildlife - sealions and cormorants (which look a bit like penguins) in abundance, along with the odd seal. And we got out as far
as to see the ´Lighthouse at the End of the World´. It was on this trip that I met an English couple, Neil and Kerry, with whom I would travel for the following week. With them, and an Indian guy called Udai that we met in the hostel, we trekked up to the local Glaciar Martial. Not much in comparison with the galcier I was soon to see in El Calafate, but a trek to a hefty altitude with a great view back down along the Beagle Canal. And Udai provided a bit of light entertainment on the side, upending himself three times on the journey! It was worth the sore calves I had for the next few days!
Irish bars, it seems, are absolutely everywhere in the world, so it was in ´The Dublin´ where we spent our evening and entertained ourselves in the company of the friendly locals. After seeing the end of the world, it was time to start making my way back north - destination El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier.
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