De Tangos y Rabonas Buenos Aires

... Picture her in a blonde wig with a short polka-dot dress ruffling at her knobbly knees. Hmmm… weird, huh? Now add a beard. And you have something approaching the horrors of the Antiques Market. Other stall holders were dressed in a similar fashion (some as demented scarecrows, some as cross-eyed Arabs… you get the gist…) It sounds like fun, doesn’t it? It wasn’t. The miserable ...

... dressed. Our route through this part of the city took us past magnificent buildings built over 100 years ago some of which are hidden behind towers and blocks of apartments. You sometimes have to look hard to see the beauty. If I were living in Buenos Aires I would definitely choose this suburb. We arrived at the Playa de Francais which is famed for its market, street performers, buildings, statues, bars, cafes and parks and not least of all its cemetery. I was told that we should ...

... and lows…on the Thursday after, having developed a very good relationship with Aaron I came home to be told that his father had taken his own life. Aaron left the next day. The way he took it was very strange but in a way I understood it too. He was very quiet (he was anyhow) and couldn’t start to mourn yet, not until he got home. As he said to me: "I was only just getting my head around being in Argentina...I’m only just here now...but now it’s all changed."

... I asked about spanish courses and if they do any deals for long term accommodation, they said to talk to the boss. Went back the next day and talked to the boss and he said they need someone to make breakfast in the morning in return for accommodation. It was a real in-indepth interview process that went like 'do you want the job?' 'yes' 'ok, start monday' Started the job and is quite easy, up at ...

... a short siesta, which was much needed by that point. It's not ridiculously hot here, but it's very humid, so it feels worse than it is. All of that walking around was exhausting. One thing about travel, you definitely learn to appreciate little luxuries like air conditioning.

Tango, anyone?

Finally, it wouldn't be a trip to Buenos Aires without taking in the cheesiest of tourist attractions: A tango show. These shows take place nightly all over Buenos Aires, but ...

... swipe card. The swipe card made life so much easier for locals travelling on buses in Mendoza, but yet the residents in the capital city do not have the privilege of the swipe card system. As we continue with our travels and meet travellers moving from North to South we will definitely be recommending a stop in Buenos Aires. Although I was sad to leave Buenos Aires behind, I welcomed the thought of spending time on the coastal ares of Uruguay and that is where the adventure continues.

... s tomb in the enormous cemetery here. After what seemed like an eternity of searching we latched onto a guided tour and were led down tiny passages to a very humble but busy little tomb. We followed-up our tourist culture trip by visiting the art museum and to satisfy my geeky tree fetish we hugged the enormous trees in the parks. This carefree fun was only matched by the manic rush we experienced when we arrived back at the hostel. We'd already checked out that morning so taxis ...

... particular) is their love of dogs. In Calafate, there are dogs EVERYWHERE! Hundreds of them run around town; they are in the streets, in front of doors and laying in the grass. For me, it was like heaven. Anyway, eventhough I could talk about my experiences thus far for 3 more pages, I will end it here. I am excited to continue this journey and cant wait to have more fun and experience more exciting things in the next 6 months. Love to all of you! Alexandra

... culture right off the bat.
Staying in Junin de los Andes for New Years - small towns were the very best.
Getting the best seats possible for our 24 hour bus ride from Iqueque to Santiago (Becky slept most of the way).

A few things we would change.
Refreshing our Spanish more before we left.
Take less buses.
Spend more time in Chile.

Things learned along the way?
Peruivans are some of the very nicest, genuine, happy and beautiful ...

... telephone, nous montre ses photos. Ca donne trop envie mais ca n'a pas l'air evident, les sommets atteingent facilement 5000m, les plus hauts sont a 6500m, on verra ce qu'on peut faire. On cherche un nouveau sac pour Lucie en vain avant de rentrer a l'auberge pour un enorme barbecue. Je n'avais jamais vu autant de viande et les argentins peuvent en manger sans fin.