A Guinness a day makes the rain go away

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I had spent most of yesterday just killing time in Mendoza booking transport and making sure I had a bed for the night everywhere I was going. With Christmas and New Year just around the corner I felt it prudent to get in early before everywhere was full. I also made sure that I had enough food to keep me going on the sixteen hour coach trip to Buenos Aires, my third longest journey of the trip.

Arriving in Buenos Aires at about 9.30am this morning after the most restless nights sleep on my semi-cama coach seat, I now had to get to my hostel. Palermo House hadn't given me any solid directions to get to them from the bus terminal and my dodgy Spanish still had me lacking confidence to take the bus as suggested by tourist information. Hoping into the first taxi I could find, I showed the driver the address and we set off through the morning rush hour traffic. AR$40 (£9.30) later I had arrived at 1754 Thames, my base for the next three days. I was buzzed in trough one door and found myself in an anti chamber waiting to be buzzed in through another door... at least it was secure! I went upstairs and checked in with one of the guys working on reception, Juan. As my bed wasn't ready yet, I grabbed a map, dumped my bags and with a little help from Juan orientated myself within the city.

I walked back down the street towards the main drag and found myself on Avenue Santa Fé, which led to downtown Buenos Aires. I veered off and headed down Avenue Las Heras which gave me a more direct route to the Recoleta district of the city. Apart from having to watch my step, given the dog shit littering the street, it was a pleasant walk taking in many of Palmero's lush green parks. I soon arrived at the museum of decorative art and being as it was only 2pm decided to go in and have a look. Other than the bonus of free entry, I was given a wonderful insight to a collection of art from all over the globe that was in the grand former house of members of Argentinian high-society. With the tall marbled rooms were sculptures by Rodin and painting by Manet, not to mention excellent examples of Ming dynasty china.

Having had my fill of fine art for the day, I continued down Avenue Del Libertador towards the world famous Recoleta Cemetary. I came across Plaza de Peron which, not surprisingly, had a monument to Eva Peron at the foot of the hill topped by the national library. No sooner had I taken my camera out to get some photos, the heavens opened. I grabbed a couple of snaps before running under the trees in the nearby park, which offered some shelter whilst the showers passed over.

I emerged a little damp into the slightly clearer skies only to be greeted by yet more showers. It occurred to me that I didn't have a clue where the small travel umbrella, that Mum had made me pack, had gotten to. I had a vague recollection of using it in Australia and guessed that that was where it had been left. With the trees now offering little cover from the rain I spotted a sheltered area across the street from the park. As I took refuge in the porch of a residential building just off of Plaza de Peron I couldn't help but think about getting stuck in the torrential down pour when I arrived in Bangkok all those months ago. It made me chuckle as the rivers of water filled the cobbled roads pondering what to do with my day if the rain didn't relent.

Thankfully it did, but not for long. Luckily I made my way into a nearby shopping mall with every conceivable shop that you may ever need to decorate the inside if your home. Walking through the sheltered mall I felt like I was passing dozens of smaller versions of Ikea. The mall lead to an upper level filled with restaurants and bars, as well as the tourist information office. I did get waylaid on my way there however by the cities obligatory Irish Pub, and the thought of a cold Guinness to wait out the rain was too tempting! I sat and continues to catch up on blogs for the next hour or so, listening to U2 being played on loop.

Eventually the weather cleared and I could see beautiful blue sky through the window. I finished my beer and thanked the barman for his hospitality before making my way towards famous Recoleta Cemetery. No sooner had I left was I distracted again, this time by the sound of bagpipes! I crossed the road to the small park and found a guy playing quite merrily to himself. He stopped to adjust the reeds and as he did I handed him AR$5 (£0.75) and thanked him. I explained that I was born in Edinburgh and that hearing him play reminded me a little of home. He said that he was having difficulty tuning them but still managed to give me a couple of verses of 'Scotland the Brave'. Filled with cheer I left him to it, to continue what I had set out to do.

I started by visiting the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Pilar (Our Lady of the Pilar) church, one of Buenos Aires oldest churches. It was wonderfully peaceful inside and the cloisters that adjoined the church gave a fantastic view over the cemetery. I found myself with that feeling of calm again, much like I had experienced in Santiago. Once I had done my nod to God I ventured into the Recoleta Cemetery. It was phenomenal to walk up and down the huge necropolis seeing the varying shapes and sizes of tombs that it contained. Some were hugely ornate, towering over their neighbours in splendour as well as height. Others were simple and contained many urns with the generations of families ashes. The biggest crowd drawer was the tomb of Evita placed discreetly down one of the many side alleys within the cemetery. It was the only tomb I saw that was adorned with fresh flowers and had a queue of people waiting to take photos of it. Although not the biggest or most ornate that I saw it was a fitting tribute to the first lady of Argentina.

From here I ventured into the Recoleta Mall, filled with heaps if designer shops catering to all needs. The only thing that interested me was the cinema that we cinema on the ground floor of the place. I missed certain parts of normality whilst traveling and although I knew that going out partying till 5am was the done thing when you visited Buenos Aires, I just needed to know that I had the option of watching a movie in English. With box office information in hand I wandered back to the hostel to make myself some dinner. It seemed funny to me that since arriving in South America, each hostel that I had stayed at had kitchen facilities for you to use. Everywhere I had visited in Southeast Asia simply offered a bed and a TV in the common room if you were lucky. Having been to one of the supermarkets to buy some eggs and fruit however, I understood why. For the same price as the Bifé de Chorizo I had in Mendoza, I managed to get enough groceries to supplement the free breakfast and make dinner for the next three days - quite a difference to eating from the street stalls in Thailand for as little as £3 a day!

With my belly full of Argentinian steak and another litre of Quilmes in my hand I sat down to catch up on the blogs yet again, determined that I'd be up to date before Christmas!

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