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Published: February 11th 2008
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Camineta
The houses are made from scraps of ship building metal stolen by the original immigrants many years ago. Arriving in Buenos Aires we realised early on that it was going to be very, very hot. Being back in Argentina we were trying to adjust ourselves to the crazy tactics of eating at about 11 at night and then partying till at least 5 in the morning - not a problem some of you will be saying, but if theres 1 thing we have realised its that we are not as young as we used to be!
The first night we waited till about 9 before venturing out and eventually sat down to eat at 11. This was after scouring the land for an illsuive curry house that never seemed to materialise. Its at this point i'd like to point out that pauline was almost brough to tears by the mere discussion of going out for a curry - when naan breads were mentioned the eyes teared over and she was almost crying about curry! After a swift 'sort yourself out woman!' we were on the street trying to find a curry house. As nothing had materialised after an hour or so we settled on a local eat as much as you can BBQ which was superb. Unfortunately we
were still eating at 1 in the morning and couldn't really face a night out after that!
Friday was another hot day, following an equally hot night that was uncomfortable to say the least. Being typical tourists we jumped on a city tour bus that was without doubt, one of the worst city tours we have done. The bus was not a bus but a coach, and even worse it was full of ageing americans - is there a worst tourist? It took 45 mins before we even went anywhere and the guide was absolutley shocking to put it mildly. Still we saw a few good things including La Boca Juniors stadium and Camineta which was the highlight. The Camineta area was originally taken over by immigrants and has loads of colourful houes. Its a fairly unsafe area but as we were with plenty of dumb americans there were many easier targets than our good selves! That night we were almost tempted to try and have a big night, but after a fantastic meal (1 of the best we had in south america) we couldn't really be bothered so sneaked home for an early night.
Saturday we caught
up with Helen and Fergus again. Before that though we went out walking and found the Recoleta Cemetary which, without sounding perverse, is really quite cool. Its like a mini town of tombs where whole families have been buried over the generations. Evita is tucked away there somewhere but we never got round to seeing her. After that we ambled round a craft market where Pauline seemed to hone her skills of market navigation - i have never met anyone who can navigate with such ease round a maze of market stalls, ensuring she takes in everything on offer without doubling back on herself - it must be a girly thing. That evening started with a tango lesson, show and meal. The lesson was an experience and it was a good laugh. The room was a bit crowded and was on slightly tarnished by some peoples (yes, americans) lack of knowledge as to clockwise and anti-clockwise motion - eeeediots. After the lesson we sat down to a really nice meal, helped by 4 bottles of free wine, and a fantastic tango show. Dispite intial fears the show was amazing and I even got plucked by a dancer for a little
1 on 1 dance action. When the show was done we went out and hit a few bars to continue the evening. After many beers, including normal pints (oh yeah baby!) and mahussive vodkas, it was 4 in the morning and time to head back to the hostel. Arriving back there we continued the frivolities until around 7 when i had gone full circle and was sober, pauline had developed a hangover before going to bed and helen was absolutely leathered.
Sunday was, dissapointly for pauline, a day when yet again i escaped a hangover. She, on the other hand, didn't. So after much harassment from me we got up and had some breakfast and the headed over to San Telmo. This is a fantastic area of BA and well worth a visit. Loads of tiny antiques stalls selling all sorts of random... crap for want of a better word! Its the kind of place my dad would love, and my mother absolutley hate, only because my dad would by it all to clutter up the house. I realised i'm turning into my dad as i wanted to buy it all, only restrained by a resounding NO from pauline.
We hooked up with Helen and Fergus in the evening who looked like death warmed up. Heading out to eat, it was evident I was going to be the only one stomaching any real food so maximised my last night in BA with a massive steak, and huge tirimasu for desert - eeeeeeexcellent smithers! I also quaffed a few glasses of red wine, just to watch the others squirm in there seats at the site of alcohol - harsh but fair i thought!
One thing I didn't mention was that both me and pea got ravaged by mosquitos in BA. My back was butchered and peas legs looked like something out of a horror flick - just what we needed as we were heading to land of the 'beautiful people' for carnival!
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