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Published: March 2nd 2006
Unfortunately the best times come to an end and I had to leave Easter Island but hey who cares if your next destination is Buenos Aires.
Many who have been there hyped BA and I have to say there were completely correct. This place rocks! If you ever look for a place in South America that is not too different from back home but is still interesting then this is the place to be.
Lets start from the beginning. I managed to get a shuttle bus to my hostel after arriving at 2am in the night!
The day after I arrived I started my Spanish lessons. After realizing how limited my Spanish is I was really looking forward to the lessons. My teacher Martin is a real wiz kid and studies literature, speaks English, can read German, Latin and Greek (the latter he learned to be able to read Socrates & Co in their original version). We meet every day in a café and he tried to cram as much information as he can into my head and after that he kept me busy with homework. Think I haven't worked this hard in years and oh did I mention I had to get up every day at 9am. Shocking. Anyway it was worth it I know now a little more Spanish than before and it also makes more sense.
The nice thing about working hard is that you are allowed to party on the weekend (and week days for that matter). I was fortunate enough to bump into an English and Canadian with which I went out and for the next two nights we made it a habit not to return too early. We hit the road on Friday night and went to iconic Café Tortoni an absolutely amazing place. Entering this place is like stepping back in time to 1920. It has wooden panels and mirrors on the walls, proper chandeliers and snobby waiters in tight suits. Another reason to come to this place is the tango show. Luckily they start late and so we had time to drink a bottle of red before the show and dinner at 11.30.
Did I mention that everything starts late in this city. If you got to a restaurant before 8.30 you will be alone in the whole place and everyone just looks at you. It is not uncommon that bars or discos open at 2am. You must admire people who live here.
The show itself was absolutely great. I just expected a couple dancing some tango and that's it instead it was a whole show. The highlight was nevertheless the tango itself. I am convinced that I do not have enough time in my life to learn to dance like they did, as legs were everywhere….
Afterwards we went to a bar and had a couple of cocktails. One thing to remember is that they don't skimp on the alcohol here. If you order a Bacardi and coke you get at least half a glass of Bacardi with a little bit of coke. At least you get a bit of alcohol for your USD4 you pay 😉
We were the only foreigners in the bar and very merry but the people really didn't mind and instead gave us a piece of birthday cake! Don't think that would happen at home to tourists.
On Saturday it was more of the same just with a little bit less alcohol. The really noteworthy thing was the Parilla (Steak/BBQ) restaurant we went to. You might have heard the claim that Argentinean beef is the best in the world and I'm now a believer. Apart from the size of the steak, which was about half a cow, it was also the most tender beef I've ever tasted. The great thing is also that feasting on this doesn't cost you an arm and leg. We paid USD30 for three meals, entrees, wine and beer!!
Sunday was a dedicated to sightseeing and sports. We went to the famous Recoleta cemetery to see Evitas (don't mention Madonna) grave. After that we spend a lazy Sunday afternoon in a park.
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The highlight of the day was by far the La Boca junior's football match I went to in the evening. As most of you know I am not the biggest football fan in the world but I thought when in Rome… It was a great experience, as I have never seen more passionate fans. Actually I could get used to football if the games at home were like this. There was lots of signing, flag waving, drumming and swearing going on. The fans on the opposite side of us must have been the real “hardcore” fans, as they never stopped signing and drumming. The opponent's fans were unfortunately not as happy and peaceful. They were all seated on a balcony above us and used this as an opportunity to spit and when they realized that their side is loosing to throw stuff down. To be fair the Argentineans were also quite disgusted about this behavior. A big thanks to the Argentinean police as they, once they realized that stuff was coming down, just took off. Anyway I'm still alive and it was a great experience.
In the next couple of days I did more sightseeing but nothing too exciting and on the weekend (surprise, surprise) I went out again. An Australian girl with which I went out also found out that the Argentinean men are very very very friendly
That's it next stop is Colonia in Uruguay.
To be continued...
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Macca
Paul McNamara
How good....
Glad to hear the great stories from Buenos Aires!!! Awesome you made it to a football match...I knew you would not be disappointed!!! With all that food even you may put on a few kg's!! Bien viajares e buena suerte, Paul