Buenos Aires and a side trip to Uruguay

---

12th - 19th March

On our first full day in Buenos Aires we spend most of the day wandering around the local district we are staying in. Our hostel is called the Chill House and the staff are good at giving advice and lots of tips as to what to do whilst we are here. We walk around Palermo which is a leafy green suburb of BA. There are lots of excellent looking cafes and restaurants so we stop at one to have the best homemade lemonade we have ever had!

We also have lunch at a great restaurant called Cabernet, where we sit outside and watch the people pass by. So far so good for food and drink in BA!

As we walk around we come across a small door with a sign outside inviting us to come in for a visit so we can´t help ourselves. Inside is a huge warehouse with one man and a dog! The man makes sculptures out of junk and old bits of metal. He has some funky stuff so we spend awhile looking at it. We´re the only people there and the man is using his welding gun to make more items. I´m not sure how he actually makes any money as the place is really tucked away.

We walk down to the botanical gardens and try to sit in the shade. We´re not at all used to the heat coming from somewhere so cold, its about 28 degrees and quite humid. But sitting in the shade is not a good thing as we are attacked by mosquitoes. Who would have associated BA with mosquitoes!! We seem to have arrived at just the right time when the winds have changed direction and blown in millions of mosi´s!! I feel sorry for Kate as she always gets eaten alive whereas they don´t seem to like me. We make a quick escape but not until we´ve been bitten a few times!!

In the evening we go back to our lemonade cafe for lunch! The Argentine´s eat incredibly late - we´re at the restaurant at about 9pm but its is empty. It gradually starts to fill up at about 10pm!

The next day we head into town to buy tickets for our overnight bus journey to Igauzu Falls - we´re actually quite excited about the bus as the seats fully recline into beds and they serve champagne!!! We also book some boat tickets to visit Uruguay later in the week.

Finally we wander around the port area and historic area in the centre of town. We visit the famous Casa Rosada where famous people have stood on the balcony to address the crowds - Eva Peron and Diego Maradonna to name a few! We walk around taking in the main sights along the plaza and stick our heads in for a look inside the cathedral (quite literally!).

We also book tickets for a tango show in the evening. We book them at the actual cafe but then have to wander to another building to pay for them and pick them up. Its very random as we arrive at the building and catch a lift to the second floor where we have to go into someones flat to get them, very weird!

We hang about until the show starts later. Its in an old coffee house called Cafe Tortini. The place in over 100 years old and retains the decadent charm with its waiters in tuxedos and stain glassed windows. We are shown to our seats where we have a mad Brazilian lady behind us and a lady from Barcelona next to us. The show is good with some great dancing and good music. The Brazilian lady behind us keeps speaking to us in Portuguese so we have no idea what she is saying - she also likes to sing along to the songs! The Spanish lady next to me starts crying at one point as she is so moved by the music. Bless them!

The next day is actually quite a chore as we have to post home some large packages with all our cold weather gear and our tent. Previously we´ve had a quote of about 100 pounds from DHL to send it all but we decide this is too expensive so we use the Argentine postal service! Good job too as we actually send home double the amount we thought we were going to! They package it all up and we are rather nervous as to whether or not it will get home, it should take 2 months by boat!

We go shopping to buy some new trainers but get caught in a torrential downpour. We have to hide in the shops as we are soaking. Eventually we buy umbrellas but its slightly too late as typically it stops raining then! We also have a nightmare tying to find somewhere to copy all our digital photos to disc - in the end we give up as it takes too long, very frustrating.

In the end we head to the Recoleta district to go to the cinema instead! We see The Queen and really enjoy it but I feel sorry for everyone else as they won´t really understand the nuances in the film, in fact Kate and I are the only ones laughing sometimes!

Afterwards we go to a bar in Recoleta where we feel very scruffily dressed compared to everyone else! We have some of the worlds worst cocktails before heading home late.

The next day we decided to get our hair cut. At first we are not sure if this is a good idea as the hairdressers do not speak a word of English and I don´t speak the hairdressing lingo in Spanish! But we desperately need them cut. Mine is done first and I indicate that I would like a little bit cut off, about 2 inches. He starts cutting it and cuts it shorter and shorter and shorter until finally I think he cut at least 7 inches off the front. Kate is just staring at me and saying tell him to stop, but actually I´m paralysed with fear at this point and he has already cut one side so short that he has to carry on. Finally I leave with an appalling haircut. I feel so bad about it that I have to go back to the hostel and leave Kate there wondering what they are going to do to hers! I actually rename it the Buenos Aires mullet as it looks so bad. In the end I go back to the hairdressers and make them put colour in so it looks better. Actually I love it now that it has grown a little bit and will probably have the same style cut in at home!! Kate is really lucky and probably has the best haircut of her life and has some subtle red colour put in!

In the afternoon I convince Kate that we need to go back to the cinema again to see Rocky Balboa! It was terrible except for the fight seen and the classic Rocky theme tune. Sly Stallone´s muscles are really quite scary and make me feel a bit sick!

We head back to Palermo where we go to a restaurant called La Cabrera. We´ve been told by lots of people that it is the best restaurant in BA for steak. In fact there is a huge queue outside so we put our names on the list and are told to come back later. We go to another bar and eventually head back where we still have to wait outside for a table but we get a glass of free champagne! Eventually at 11.30pm we are shown to our table - at least we are eating like true Argentine´s now! The steak is amazing but even better they serve it with loads of sauces and vegetable concoctions - in about 20 small ramekins. Its fantastic! We are sat next to an American couple who we have a good chin wag with! Finally, very full up and very late we stumble back to the hostel.

The next day we are up early to catch a boat to Uruguay - as an added bonus we get an extra country stamp! We head to a colonial town called Colonia del Sacrimento. It is a beautiful town. We spend all afternoon walking its cobbled streets and looking at the different coloured buildings. There are a couple of plaza´s to visit and a walk along the sea front. We have lunch at a cafe on the sea front and this sweet dog comes and sits under my chair. But then I realise it only has 3 legs, yuk!! Call me discriminatory but I don´t like the sound of its 3 feet as it patters across the cobblestones! Eventually one of the waiters gets rid of it but later in the day we visit a bar before dinner and lo and behold the 3 legged dog appears again. We rename it Stumpy and it proceeds to follow us around for the evening! Its actually quite sweet and I feel quite fond of it by the end! We booked a restaurant earlier in the day but when we arrive it´s closed!! We even went in to the restaurant and asked if a reservation was needed for that evening and they said yes!! Oh well we go to another very nice restaurant instead and then onto a bar.

The next morning we are up early so we can walk around town for one final time. It really is a beautiful town and its amazing to think that BA is only 50 minutes away. Colonia is a sleepy place with not many tourists. We climb the lighthouse for good views over the city and then head off to catch our boat back to BA.

Back in BA we head to Recoleta to visit the markets. We have a nose around and buy some Christmas decorations! Then we head to the cemetery. Its a huge place that takes up 4 blocks of the city centre. Only the rich and famous get buried here and it is like wandering around a city within a city. Of course we head to Eva Peron´s grave first, which is crowded with tourists. The rest of the place is fairly quiet, some of it is run down and you can actually look into the tombs and see lots of coffins. Quite freaky!

We head back to our hostel to drop our bags off. Then we catch the metro to San Telmo. This area is famous for its tango shows. We have dinner and then walk around the streets trying to find a cafe that we like the look of to take in some tango. Eventually we stop at one which looks more authentic than the others and not just for tourists. The place is tiny but we are given front row seats. There is a small stage and a little dance floor. There are a couple of professional dancers showing us the moves and then they make some of the audience get up and dance. Kate has a go but I´m lucky enough not to be picked! Its a fun evening watching the dancers and singers. We give them all names as it seems like Joe Pescali and Liza Minnelli and Tom Jones are amongst the top names (well poor impressions of anyway!!). At the table next to us is the King and Queen of the establishment. They are treated like they own the joint - 2 woman come in who make lots of noise and they are removed to another table at the request of the King and Queen. They are obviously great lovers of tango as they get up and dance to all the songs, you can imagine them 30 years ago at the height of tango in the old dance halls. Finally Kate is falling asleep at her table so I know it is time to go.

In the morning the next day we go back to San Telmo. There is an antiques market that we wander around looking at old stuff! There are also impromptu tango dancers here so we watch them for awhile. We also walk around the street of San Telmo looking at the crumbling mansions. Finally we have to go to a hostel where are picked up to go to Boca Juniors stadium. We are worried when we first arrive at the hostel as there are no signs outside indicating that the place is a hostel, but eventually they open the doors and let us in. We get picked up and driven to the stadium. En route we stop at a place I can only describe as a warehouse where we get served sausages - they are disgusting!! Then we walk to the stadium. Kate and I are very excited. We are up in the terraces. We arrive very earlier and watch various people giving out banners for Boca Juniors. There are some mad people that climb over the high fences covered in barbed wire to put banners up! We have arrived very early and another match plays - no idea who it is but I guess it is the junior team. Gradually the stadium fills up. There are banners everywhere you look. The away supporters are in the terrace above us so you can´t go too low on our terrace or you risk being spat at! Eventually the players come out - they run down these huge air filled tunnels onto the pitch. The atmosphere is electric and the whole stadium is packed. We are surrounded by shouting fans supporting Boca Juniors. the game gets underway and Boca score within the first 5 minutes, actually they score 4 goals in the fist 20 minutes. The away team are deflated but the atmosphere in the stadium is mad, the fans go wild celebrating and singing to support their team. The game is very different to the one played in England, its much slower with more time on the ball and less physical. Kate and I love it as the atmosphere is so good. Boca win the game 5-1. The other team are Gymnasia and they leave the pitch thoroughly dejected! Finally we are driven back to our hostel.

Later in the evening we go for dinner at La Cabrera again, except this time we have been smart enough to make reservations! The steak is as great as before!

On our last day in BA we go back to Boca. The area is famous for its brightly coloured houses, its also renowned for being dangerous so we are very alert to other people. Sometimes I think we are over cautious as it doesn´t seem at all bad when we get there, but I guess it is better to be safe than sorry. We walk around the streets looking at the colourfully painted houses and walk down the Caminito (the main street) full of the houses. We bump into the Diego Maradonna look alike and can´t resist having our photo taken with him and the hand of god!! We stop in a cafe for lunch and catch Diego having a rest with Jimmy Five Belly´s scoffing his lunch!

We also stop in town on the way back to the hostel to buy a cheap CD player to replace my left behind ipod. Finally back at the hostel we collect our luggage and head to the bus station where we catch an overnight bus to Iguassu Falls.

---

Photos

Another tango singer
Can you spot the wig wearer?