Would you like pizza with your cheese?

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So, one week on and I´ve finally managed to prise Luke off the PC long enough to write myself. Think he´s missing the Blackberry more than he lets on. The fact that it´s recently been launched here and there are billboards all over the city may be adding to his sense of loss. I did relent and permit him buy a new gadget yesterday, but only because our travel radio broke. He still had to be steered away from camera shops though (I can´t face any more after Tokyo)

So, we´re leaving Buenos Aires this afternoon to head south. No direct flights available to Ushaia, so off to Trewlew we go, near Peninsula Valdes and Puerto Lombo. A chance to see some wildlife, including the huge penguin colonies at Puerto Lombo, and also to visit the Welsh towns of that area. Think we might give the latter a miss though, as it´s hardly as if Welsh people are a novelty back home. No offence intended James.

Buenos Aires has been a great place to start our trip and ease us into the traveller lifestyle. It´s very European in many ways, so has given us time to relax and try to tune into speaking Spanish before we venture futher afield. Our hostel is very friendy and homely, so it´s been nice just to relax there and meet other people. After Luke´s last entry on Friday, we headed out to Desnivel with several others for the most tasty steak I´ve ever eaten. One of our group was celebrating his last Friday in the city after 3 months here, so the occasion was marked with copious quantities of wine and needless to say, Saturday was a slow start and the hostel very quiet all day.

Donning dark glasses, we ventured out to Recoleta to see the cemetry, which is an exteme example of keeping up with the Jones. One over-the-top crypt follows another, with pyramids, statues and contructions larger than some flats in central London competing with each other for prominence. Well worth the visit though, and of course we had to make a point of seeing Evita´s grave - even if it did mean that stupid ´Don´t cry for me Agentina´song was in my head for the next few hours.


After futher exploring the area, hangover hunger took hold and the prospect of a non-meat lunch was too hard to resist. After finding what looked like a good place, with plenty locals watching football, we were presented with what must qualify as the worst pizza in the word. About a kilo of mozzarella drowned the tasty toppings below, and, horror of horror, was topped with stripes of thousand island dressing. Even Luke, who´s hardly one to refuse cheese, scarcely made an indent into it. Think I´ll stick to the steaks in future.

However, the afternoon was somewhat brightened by hearing that Scotland beat England in the rugby. Bring on Ireland now!

On Sunday we met up with friends over from Berlin, and spend the day in San Telmo, exploring the markets, watching tango dancers in the streets and generally enjoying the sunshine, before walking to La Boca. If you´re reading this mum, yes, I know all the guidebooks say to take a taxi, but with 6 of us together, it was perfectly safe and a more interesting way to go. Guess the taxi recommendation is more aimed at middle aged Americans with loud voices and large cameras. The residents were too busy going about their usual Sunday afternoon lives to bother us - it´s hardly the favelas of Rio.

Spent some time around El Caminito, the pictureque area with all the brightly painted houses usually seen in guides to the city. This bit is quite touristy, but still just on the acceptable side of tacky. Several streets back from the main drag was better, the place buzzing with life, with people dancing, bands practising for carnival etc.



We could hardly go to La Boca wiithout making a trip to Boca Juniors stadium. I think it´s about the same capacity as Parkhead, but is still largely terraces, in a very steep stadium with the pitch is amazingly close to the supporters (about a metre in places - no space for long run-ups at throw ins). We hope to get tickets for a match in June to experience the real atmosphere for ourselves. At very least, a trip back to the shop for a Maradonna ´hand of God´T-shirt is on the agenda...

Since then, we´ve been taking things easy, dealing with the mundane practicallities of life on the move, such as booking onward journeys, accommodation and doing the all important laundry. I´ve even bought some flip-flops and discovered I can actually walk in them, after years of shunning them as something scottish people are genetically unsuited to (plus the flopping noise always annoyed me too much).

After Trelow, we´re heading onwards to Ushaia, via an 18 hour bus to Rio Gallegas, then another stretch of 6 hours the following day. Obviously we´re tremendously excited about the prospect of that torturous journey. If you´re feeling jealous of our trip, just think of the bus journeys and it won´t seem so exiting all of a sudden. Hopefully, we should be able to get a Coche Cama ticket (think BA World Traveller plus) if not Premier Cama (flat beds like business class). However, one prospect to numb the pain in our legs is, if we´re lucky, the old Iron Lady will do the honorable thing and cark it when we´re in Tierra del Fuego - as close as we can get to the Malvinas. Surely a very apt place to celebrate it...

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Comments

[Q]

Luke, stick to the photos....
...Laura, keep writing the entries - great stuff! Lets us know if Tierra del Fuego is a patch on Malin Head.

[Mark]

you lucky lucky ...
sounds great - cant be worse than snowy scotland. was barney's birthday on sat - so no surprise we had a few bevies. keep up the blog