South America (Part 2) - More Buenos Aires, Iguassu falls and Estancia Santa Cecelia

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Back to Buenos Aires

We were going to go from Colonia north through Uruguay to get to the Iguassu falls but we decided that would be far too much effort and the easier option would be to get the ferry back to Buenos Aires and take a night bus to the falls instead (after a detour to Rosario and Cordoba).

So on Friday May 18th we took the quick 1 hour boat trip back to Buenos Aires and headed to the Milhouse hostel. On our first visit to BA we´d decided against staying at this hostel because the reviews on trip advisor said it was the party hostel and too loud at night but we´d met a few (younger) backpackers that assured us it wasn´t, so given we were only staying a couple of nights we thought we´d give it a go, although we headed for the newer building of the 2 that Milhouse has. The hostel was really bright and airy, with a bar downstairs, and our room was really nice, actually much nicer than the first hostel we´d stayed at, for the same price. And the location was much more central. Although one of the nights we did have a group congregate in the courtyard downstairs at about 5am after their return from the clubs, and a guy decided he´d serenade everyone with his guitar. So not the quietest place but I have some really good ear plugs now so I didn´t mind. Not sure Patrick agreed!

Anyway, the first afternoon we went down Avenida de Mayo to the main square which we missed on the first visit. Since the 1580 foundation of Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo has been surrounded by some of the most important buildings in BA. There is the Casa Rosada (the presidential building), the setting for ´Don´t cry for me Argentina´ from the film Evita (obviously also where Evita stood in real life too!), and the Cabildo (town hall), a beautiful building, and various other huge imposing buildings. Unfortunately the museums and buildings normally open to the public were closed due to the upcoming celebrations of 200 years since the May revolution that led to independence.

The revolution that happened between May 18, 1810 and May 25, 1810 resulted in the ousting of the Viceroy and establishment of a local government which would be the start of the long road to the formal day of independence of Argentina on July 9, 1816. Buenos Aires was preparing for this event by closing a load of buildings and covering them in scaffolding to do them up, which didn´t help our sightseeing. They were also constructing a huge amount of stages down Avenida 9 de Julio (the main road through Buenos Aires that Patrick mentioned before) which didn´t at all help with the already horrendous traffic in BA. It would have been good to see the celebrations in BA but we needed to keep moving so planned to be in Rosario or Cordoba for that long weekend.

Back to BA first though. The next day I went on a walking tour, which the hostel organises, to Recoleta. Recoleta is the rich area of BA, where the posh cemetery is, and is full of beautiful buildings, squares and parks. We haven´t done many tours in Argentina so it was good to be with a guide that could tell us the history and stories of some of the buildings. Patrick was being lazy so didn´t come with me, and there was only 3 of us on the tour, but it was a great day. And also my first trip on the buses which although are really cheap, are really really slow because of the bad traffic.

That night we went to ¨Tango Porteño¨ for a tango show. This wasn´t just the tango dance, but also music, singing and other acts. The theatre was set up as a throw back to the 40´s, with dinner tables throughout, but we just went for the show as dinner was extortionate. But the show was brilliant. Unfortunately we have no photos as they were on Patrick´s camera that was stolen.

I´m a bit all over the place here but just to provide my thoughts on BA a little bit. BA is actually now probably one of my favourite cities so far. I don´t know if it´s because we´ve now been here much longer than any other city (I write this on our 3rd time round in the city), but it´s really grown on me. Yes it´s a big city like any other, but it has loads of beautiful old buildings, with so much history. There´s loads of culture like art galleries, concerts, including free ones even at some of the best theatres. And the people are really friendly, actually throughout Argentina, even with our appalling Spanish (in fact one day I was across the road from Patrick when some guy pointed out to him that one of his shoelaces was undone, but then he looked at Patrick´s arm in the sling and said ¨oh, I see....then I do¨ and proceeded to bend down and tie his shoelace for him!). So it´s not been a bad city to be stuck in (because of Patrick´s arm).

The food has been pretty good as well, but it consists of mainly meat and pasta so now we´re getting a little bored with it. There are these ¨Parillas¨ everywhere which means barbeque, and are restaurants with a big grill where they cook every bit of the cow possible (and chicken). So you name it you can have it, from ribs, t-bone, fillet, to the icky bits inside (I learnt those names in Spanish pretty quickly to avoid them), and all for about a third of the price than in England. It is fantastic food but it would be nice to have something different now, like a curry or something, which we can´t find here. We did have sushi the other day though for something different.

So anyway, back to our trip. On the 3rd day we packed up our stuff to head to Rosario. At the bus station we were waiting for the bus which was the unfortunate location for our first (and hopefully last) stolen bag incident. I was upstairs trying to figure out whether we were waiting at the right platform, when Patrick was distracted by a woman asking him if something on the floor was his, while her companion grabbed Patrick´s day pack. We didn´t actually notice for another 10 minutes, when we got up to get on the bus and by then the culprits would be long gone. So I got our tickets switched to a bus a couple of hours later and we headed to the police office to get a police report written up for insurance purposes. The police officer was actually pretty nice, although what they´re useful for in the bus station I don´t know because apparently this happens all the time. We´d lost the laptop, Patrick´s ipod, sunglasses and lots of other not expensive but essential travelling items (water bottle, flask, ear plugs etc etc). Luckily the passports were in my day pack so there was no need to stay in BA once we got our police report.

So finally we got on the bus for our 4 hour trip to Rosario.

Rosario

Rosario is a city north west of Buenos Aires which is popular for weekend visits from BA. This is where Ernesto ´Che´ Guevara was born, although there wasn´t much mention of the man himself here, and we didn´t even bother to get round to see his house where he lived until he was two. We stayed at quite a nice hostel right in the centre of town. We´d planned to stay for the long weekend but once we got here realised everyone else had the same idea so there was no accommodation available in a few days time, so we ended up staying only 2 nights. But there wasn´t much to do here to be fair, even one of the waiters in a cafe we went to expressed surprise why we´d even come to Rosario. But it was a nice town to wander around and the most amazing monument marking the place where, in 1812, General Belgrano first raised the Argentinian flag. But apart from that there weren´t many sites to see.

We met a guy in the kitchen one morning that had travelled around South America quite a lot that suggested we not bother going to Cordoba, it being yet another city, so we decided to head straight for the Iguassu falls. This would involve an overnight bus, so save us having to find accommodation for one night. The Argentinian buses are quite well known to be quite plush affairs and not bad for sleeping on, and the price certainly reflects that. The bus, that was supposed to take 17 hours, would be 50 pounds equivalent, which given we were travelling the same distance for about 10 pounds in Asia was a little difficult to swallow. But I guess given accommodation is much more expensive as well, not really that surprising.

Overnight bus to Puerto Iguassu

So we boarded our bus with ´cama´ seats (literally ´bed´ but basically a fully reclinable seat, rather than ´semi-cama´, more like airplane seats which you pay less for) at 7pm on May 22nd. Once we boarded they started the 80´s music videos which was quite fun to listen to, and then into the D-list movies which were just about watchable, although it was obviously Eddie Murphy night as he starred in both. We actually did sleep for about 6 hours, although the lights and breakfast at 7am were uncalled for, given we weren´t supposed to get to Iguassu until later that morning.

It soon transpired waking us up was the idea as given there were now only 5 of us left on that bus, they went to the bus terminal, made us wait for 2 hours, and chucked us off our nice bus, onto a semi-cama, and now really dirty bus for the last 5 hours from Posadas to Iguassu. If my Spanish were better I might have complained, but the other 3 Spanish people weren´t complaining so guess this may have been normal. Anyway, the last 5 hours were not quite as comfortable as there were a load of annoying kids on board, but we´ve travelled worse I guess.

Arriving 3 hours later than planned, we headed for the Hostel Bambu which was a really nice place that had a lovely courtyard and bar where we spent quite a lot of time! The draw here is obviously the falls itself, so we planned to stay 3 nights and do the Argentinian side one day, and the Brazilian the next before moving on again. Here we met a guy called Graham who is travelling around South America on a BMW motorbike. He actually bore a stricking resemblance to Charley Boorman, even more so when he started showing us some videos he´d produced from a camera he could stick on his helmet and bike handlebar (which were actually very very good). He was a very chatty and knowledgeable guy and we spent many hours with him at the bar during our 3 nights probing for information about destinations we would later head to.

The Iguassu falls

The next morning we planned on waking early to get to the falls before the crowds, but when the alarm woke us it was pouring with rain, so we promptly went back to sleep. Bit of a mistake that as when we finally got up and moved ourselves to get to the falls (when it had stopped raining), we managed to arrive with all the tour buses, and it was also still the long weekend holiday so the place was absolutely packed. So moving with the masses we went through the different viewing platforms to see the falls up close. The place is actually really well organized, and you get so close to the immense power of the falls that you actually end up getting quite wet. Although not quite as wet as the next bit we signed up for! We paid for the ´great adventure´ which involved a truck ride through the rainforest, and then a boat ride right up under the falls. They provided dry bags to put our cameras in, and then proceeded to go right up to the falls which meant we ended up absolutely soaked.

The falls itself actually consist of 275 falls along a 2.7km stretch, some 80m high, rivalling the great Victoria falls in South Africa. They are so powerful though that you can´t really see all of it because of the amount of spray that comes up when the water hits the pools below. Most of the falls are on the Argentinian side, which is why you could get so close. Surrounding the falls are acres and acres of national park as well, which means there is quite a lot of wildlife around. Patrick really wanted to see some toucans and we did indeed see a few. Fantastic looking birds with their big yellow beaks.

To really see the panorama of the falls though you have to head over to the Brazilian side, so the next day we headed over there. It was really quite easy to cross the border involving a local bus to the Argentinian border control where everyone got off for their formalities, and then back on the bus to the Brazilian border where for some reason the Argentinians didn´t have to get off but we did. So it dropped us off and proceeded on its way. So once we got the Brazilian entry stamps we headed up the road and got another bus to the falls itself. The visitor centre on this side wasn´t as extensive as on the Argentinian side, but provided panorama views of the falls which was well worth seeing. We didn´t have great weather though on either of these days, so no picture perfect postcard shots, but we will remember the awesome views ourselves.

On the Brazilian side, right next to the falls visitor centre, there was also a bird sanctuary, which started out as a conservation centre for the numerous birds that are found in this part of the world. The place is quite something, with a few smaller cages for some of the rarer birds, but mostly consisting of large walk in cages where the birds are all around you, surrounded by greenery. We saw loads of toucans in one cage, even one that was tame enough to pat! Really quite a cool place, well worth seeing if you´re in the vicinity.

Estancia Santa Cecilia

The next day we headed back to near Posadas to Estancia Santa Cecilia. As mentioned before, since we arrived in South America we had wanted to go to a working estancia (a ranch) rather than just a nice pretty hotel, and I found this place mentioned on Trip Advisor which sounded perfect. Estancia Santa Cecilia has been in the current family for over 50 years, and is mostly involved in cattle breeding, although now has some land dedicated to forestry. We were picked up by Silvia, the estancia owner from the bus stop and arrived at a beautiful house on the estancia where we would stay for the next 3 nights. This was a very expensive splurge for us at $300 a night, but included all the food and horse riding, making it not a bad deal. The house was built in 1908 and has that truly hispanic feeling, with high ceilings and airy white walled rooms. Our room was upstairs with views over the beautiful grounds. I can´t really explain how amazing this place was, but it was certainly the perfect place to celebrate our one year anniversary (forgot to mention our one year anniversary was actually spent on the overnight bus to Iguassu!).

The wonderful food started with a 3 course meal for lunch, and continued throughout our stay. Even our (quite late) breakfast the next day was the biggest we´d had since starting our travels!

Once we finished lunch we headed over to the stables for our first ride on the horses, and to meet our guide, Carlito, one of the guachos. We were assured the horses were very tame, and they weren´t wrong, they actually barely moved, and given our lack of horse riding skills weren´t very easy to make move any faster, which we probably should have stuck to given what transpired as detailed in the special report........

Anyway, even on our first ride we joined the gauchos taking some cows they had worked with back into the fields which was the bit I was really looking forward to. Once they took this set of cows out we watched them rounding up another set of cows which was quite cool to see as there was one cow that clearly didn´t want to join the crowd so the 3 gauchos had to go chasing him round the field and trap him between their horses to round him up. Very cool seeing their control of the horses and the cows. Over the next 2 days we would see more of this and also them working with the cows back at the estancia which involved them herding the cows down a narrow fenced in area where they could then weigh them, stick them with needles (anti parasites), cut their horns off (and burn them so they don´t grow), and also dunk them in water to clean them. They would spend hours doing this with different sets of cows and calves while we were there. We also saw the lassoos come out to catch the calves so they could castrate them (not something pleasant to watch!!).

Unfortunately as you know it ended badly. But up until then the stay had been wonderful. I would totally recommend anyone go stay at this place if you´re in Argentina. The place is beautiful, food fantastic, and it is a truly authentic argentinian gaucho experience. You don´t need to ride the horses, you can just watch the gaucho´s work on the estancia, which maybe we should have done!

Back again to Buenos Aires!

So unfortunately we had to leave in worse circumstances than I would have liked. We headed to Posadas airport on May 29 for our flight to Buenos Aires. As mentioned in the special report, Silvia had arranged for somewhere for us to stay, and a doctor who would do the operation, so as soon as we landed we headed to the hospital to meet the doctor, and then went onto the apartment. The apartment has 3 bedrooms, one of which would be ours, the owners, Tim and Catalina Flanagan have the main bedroom, and the other is home to Shelly, a lovely young American studying in BA. Given the situation with Patrick´s arm, we haven´t been out much and the apartment has been lovely and comfortable for us to hang around in. Tim and Catalina have been amazing, helping us speak with the doctor (who although speaks some English, isn´t completely fluent), giving us tips on places to see and eat in BA, ordering our takeaway (!) and in general just being our home away from home. It definitely was the best choice to stay here instead of at a hostel (and Tim and Catalina will have this room available on a B&B basis if anyone ever comes to BA!).

So it´s now June 14, and as I say, we haven´t really done much since we arrived on May 30, apart from the hospital stay and numerous meetings with the doctor. We did walk down to Puerto Madero, which is the old port area now redeveloped into a lovely residential area and restaurants, and visited a gallery there. On Thursday night we went to a concert of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra at Teatro Colon. The theatre dates from 1908 and is considered to be one of the top five opera houses in the world. It´s just been closed for 4 years for refurbishment and was opened during the celebrations mentioned above. The place is an amazing theatre, very old school and we were sitting on one of the boxes on the side right on top of the orchestra. Fantastic.

Apart from that we´ve just pottered around Buenos Aires which has been quite nice. Patrick´s getting a little bored now though, although I think just more frustrated with his arm, so we´re going to head off on Wednesday after his stitches come out. Although the start of the world cup has kept him amused. We went to an English pub to watch the (absolutely horrendous) England vs USA game on Saturday, I might not bother again if that´s the way they´re going to play......

So the plan now still isn´t quite set, but we think we´ll fly to Santiago and stay there and over the border in Mendoza for a couple of weeks, and then fly up to La Paz. We´ll see then how Patrick´s arm is to determine whether we head more south into Bolivia (the roads are supposed to be very bumpy so probably not very comfortable for Patrick) or just head north into Peru.

Hope everyone is well, and I´ll report more again in a couple of weeks.

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Photos

The number 22 routemaster!!
Very random but I´ve seen it a couple of times now

Flor de Metal
This sculpture was donated by an Argentinian artist to the city. It opens in the morning and closes at night, cool.

Monumento a la Bandera, Rosario
The monument to the flag

Cool ducks!
At the bird sanctuary at the falls

Lassoos!
At the estancia

Our romantic dinner (at the Estancia)
In our really smart clothes!

Comments

[Heather]

Hi guys! Sorry to hear about Patrick's arm - that must have really hurt! The pictures did make me feel a little nauseous... I hadn't checked your blog in a while and just caught up on the last few. Oh, how I wish I was still travelling! (Minus the broken arm part.) Stay healthy and happy!