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  Buenos Aires, Argentina
Monday, April 28, 2008

Hello hello,
I hope all is well? I have traveled back into Argentina since my last blog, learning Spanish badly and been exploring the capital of Buenos Aires, and its bloody big!!
I left Montevideo after 2 nights and caught a bus to Colonia Del Sacramento, often referred to simply as "Colonia". It was one of the nicest little towns I had been to in Uruguay. Founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, it has large cobblestone streets, museums, busy harbour and beaches just a little walk from the city centre. I spent most of my day there just wandering around the centre and the harbour area. Because of the closeness to Buenos Aires, many people take a day trip over for a break away from the hustle and bustle of the big city . It felt very chilled out and it was a nice place to leave Uruguay. The country for me has been one of the highlights of my trip so far, many people tend to miss it out as its not on the gringo trail

Colonia

. I would certainly recommend it even for a couple of days.
From Colonia I caught the boat over to Buenos Aires which was only about an hour on the fast option. I had a arranged to meet an Argentinian friend who I had met in Brazil at the terminal when I arrived. It turned out there was 2 boat companies and he had been waiting at the other one, doh! I eventually decided to catch a cab to my hostel and hopefully meet my friend there. I was greeted by great roars of traffic as I left the station, I was preparing myself for a busy city, but when I saw huge avenues, 6 lanes on each side, I was a wee bit taken back. It reminded my of New York for the sheer weight of traffic and business and the haze of smug that hung over the city. I arrived at my hostel and I met my friend there. The hostel was recommended by the Spanish school I had booked lessons at, and it was terrible. I´m still quite surprised at the state of some of the hostels I´ve been in and that basic levels of cleanliness don't even exist! I decided to look for another one after my first Spanish class the next day. The hostel also had a couple of characters, one I met for breakfast the next morning. She was a local girl who arrived down in her Bart Simpson slippers, Bart Simpson place mat and get this, a Winnie the poo mug! I smiled and giggled a little when I first saw her and she gave me evils like I was the one who was the freak! She turned out to be a bit of laugh and told me she was intending to stay maybe a year in the hostel, what?? I began my Spanish lessons that day and it was a little hard to say the least at first

La Boca, Buenos Aires

. I had one to one initially for the first day and the next day I was joined by two others which was great. It meant I could practice and look like an idiot and not feel bad about it. We had a great laugh as the week progressed, we had two teachers, one in the morning for two hours and another for two in the afternoon. We all decided we preferred the lady in the morning as we had the best fun with and learning was easier, whereas the lady in the afternoon just looked at you like your were a prized idiot when you spoke and her looks could kill!!
In the afternoons I just walked around this amazing city, it has so much going on its hard not to be taken in by it. I visited Playa de Mayo, quite a famous landmark here, famous for a number of reasons, it was bombed on numerous occasions, filled with Evita workers during filming of the movie and of course its home of weekly demonstrations in front of the Pink government building. Madras de Mayo (mothers of mayo) is one particular group who still hold protest here round the clock since the late 1970´s. During military rule here in the 70's, thousands of people "disappeared" never to be seen again and the group was formed to put pressure on each consecutive government to find answers. They still have no answers.The plaza itself leads onto Avienda de Mayo which is beautiful with lush palm trees along each side, makes walking around a nice experience here. As the week progressed with the Spanish it was amazing how much we were picking up and every day after class I was trying my best to communicate in my Irish accent Spanish.. I changed hostel the second day and move to the district of San Telmo, really nice area, one of the oldest parts of town with cafes, restaurants, funky clothes shops, antique shops and market areas. On Sunday it comes alive with the largest open air market in Buenos Aires. I had a really nice feel to it, very safe. The hostel I stayed at was much better than my first and nicer people too

Playa de Mayo, Buenos Aires

. One of the mornings I got up and tried to open the door to my room and it wouldn't open. For ages I tried in vein to get out, pacing round the room like a caged animal and I was needing the loo badly! I eventually had to go across next doors balcony to get out. Such a relief when I did, only can happen to me I thought, eijit! I caught a train out to Tigre one of the days after class which was a great rest bite an hour away from the city. Lovely canals, green parks and a very chilled out atmosphere, it was just what I was needing. You could catch boats out to neighbouring islands for the day but unfortunately for me I arrived rather late in the afternoon. It was still nice to see the town.
When you travel SA, the one thing every traveller tells you is to try the steak in Argentina and I have!! Its amazing, huge chunks of meat in most restaurants, enough to fill two people in most cases, but it is fantastic! Washed down by the obligatory bottle of wine of course, and epanadas to start, ha ha! I caught up with a traveller who I met in Salta a while back & we just hung out around the city for most of the week. The great thing about travelling here is that everyone seems to be doing a similar route so there is always a good chance that you will catch up again.
We went to a football game yesterday, a local derby between La Boca Juniors and San Lorenza. Both are high up in the league, the amosphere was electric and the football was fantastic

San Lorenzo Stadium, Buenos Aires

. They play with such energy and class here and it is very fast paced leaving you on the edge of your seat the whole ninety minutes. The fans are fanatical, chanting their local team and the referee gets his fair share of stick too. Its the first time I have seen a referee been escorted by armed police off the pitch. La Boca are the most famous side here because of their winnings and a little known Maradonna used to play for them and still attends every game.  
Last night we had our last steak in Buenos Aires and later went to a Tango show which was great. I´m not sure if my two left feet would glide around the floor like some of the dancers I saw, but I´m sure with a few beers down me I would give it a try. I have spent 8 days in Buenos Aires and have loved every bit of it, again the Argentinian people have bowled me over with their generosity and great hospitality. I´m hoping my Spanish will improve and I will be able to at least try and converse with these awesome people!
I´m off west to Mendoza tonight on an overnight bus which will take me 11 hours. I plan to stay there for about a week before moving further south to the cold. Until next time, take care!

Mark

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Tigre, Buenos Aires

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