Buenos Aires -part 2

Saturday 23rd April 2011
Today was our last transit day of the trip. We headed for the port to get our catamaran back to BA, a trip that would take 3 hours. Emma decided against taking a sea sickness tablet this time as last time it wiped her out for the day. The trip was a little rough at the start but we'd positioned ourselves in the middle so rode on through with no issues.

Back in BA, we returned to the America del Sur. We considered moving area, but being happy with the hostel and having felt we had just discovered San Telmo before we left, we're really glad we returned. On reaching the hostel the power was out for the block so we headed straight out to walk the local area.

Great bar for ladies.

In the evening we discovered an amazing bar/restaurant, the best in Argentina and maybe the holiday. The Pedro Telmo adjoins the market, serves cheap beer and has a full menu. It's nothing special to look at, but the atmosphere, enhanced by the slightly wacky but charming waiter, is great. The half and half option on pizza was appreciated by James who could at last have some meat on his half.

Sunday 24th April 2011
This morning we were woken at 4.30 by all sorts of commotion outside. There's a bar opposite our hostel that stays open most of the night. It's common to hear drunk and rowdy people on the street below. We're normally so tired from the day that we sleep through the noise but this time we heard a man shouting 'I'm going to kill you,' whilst smacking an iron bar against anything he could find. A few police sirens later and everything was quiet again.

Being Easter Sunday, we didn't know what to expect as we headed out. We were glad to find that quite a lot was open, with the added bonus that the roads and pavements were quieter as many people had left the city for the weekend.

We walked from our hostel north to Recoleta, one of the more affluent areas of BA. On the way James managed to get a Boca Juniors shirt, so he was happy.

Like a city.

We headed to Recoleta to visit the cemetery and look around the weekend market. The cemetery is quite an experience. It holds the remains of numerous famous people from Argentine history, including presidents, writers and Evita in the Familia Duarte tomb. There is no sign of her husband though. You can literally spend hours walking around and it's slightly bizarre looking directly at the coffins through the tomb windows. There are many different styles of architecture as things have changed through the years. It's a must do if you're ever in BA.

The famous tomb.

Walking around Recoleta looking for somewhere to lunch, we felt a little underdressed but found a comfortable place. James had sorrentinos con jamon y queso - pasta dumplings, a bit like ravioli, but bigger and more filled hence only 5 of them. Considering we didn't know what they were when ordering they were very tasty.

Lots of crafts.

Next we wandered around the market, admiring the crafts on offer and laughing at the tat. On the grass surrounding the stalls, musicians and actors entertained a large audience.

The colourful Caminito.

We had one more thing we wanted to do that day, so jumped into a taxi and shot down to La Boca and Calle Caminito. This is said to be BA's most famous street. There was plenty going on with shops, market stalls and street performers all looking for money. We suspect it's also popular for pickpockets as it's full of tourists and is in one of the dodgier areas of BA. With the sun going down and everything packing up, we followed our cabbie's advice and headed out of the area.

Football: it's easy to say but everyone really does have an opinion about it here. Most taxi drivers talk about it, it's on in bars all the time and with 18 teams in BA, it's not really a surprise. One or two people have even heard of Blackburn Rovers.

Monday 25th April 2011

A lovely museum.

Original brickwork.

As we've mentioned before, Mondays can be tricky as many places are closed. Fortunately we found a fascinating museum that was open. The 'El Zanjon' is nothing to look at from the outside, but the inside is a huge surprise. When the owner bought the property in 1985, he planned to open a restaurant. What he found was access to underground tunnels that show perhaps the earliest settlement of BA. So instead of a restaurant, he set about renovating the site into a museum. 20 years later, it opened. Our guided tour took us through the house and tunnels, providing further historical information on BA. It was fascinating.

We hoped to have another walk around the ecological park and have a picnic there but it was shut. Instead, so we tucked into our empanadas in a park and wondered what to do next.

Surely this is a not right.

We decided to visit an old boat of the Argentine navy, the 'Fragata Sarmiento'. It was fun walking around all the decks and engine rooms, though slightly bizarre when we saw a stuffed dog on board. A highlight was a display which referenced coal from Cardiff, a place that is in Wales, a zone of England (according to the wording). Not sure the Welsh would agree.

The warehouse.

The band.

 In the evening we went to Palermo to the highly recommended 'La Bomba de Tiempo' in a warehouse. This is a group of drummers and percussionists who manage to create a rave-like atmosphere though their beats and a few lights. We were thoroughly entertained and it was quite amazing what they achieved. The fact they were really enjoying themselves only added to the occasion.

Tuesday 26th April 2011
Today we rode the trains. After seeing so many lines and stations closed down it was nice to actually make use of this marvellous piece of engineering.

Houses on stilts.

We headed to the Tigre Delta on 'El Tren de la Costa'. On the way we passed through some of the leafy suburbs of BA and had stones thrown at the train. We noticed that several windows on the train were cracked so can only assume this happens all the time. One nice aspect of the journey was seeing lots of rugby pitches. We felt this must be somewhat of a heartland for it in Argentina.

On reaching the Delta station we walked to the boat station and got a boat bus to Tres Bocas, a residential area lined with canals and with pretty houses on stilts. The waterways reminded us a little of the backwaters in Kerala. The water of the Rio Plata and the associated rivers is a very consistent murky brown. It's not quite the same colour as the Galapagos waters. Yet again dogs were present. They happily goaded each other from opposite banks, although went quiet where crossing was possible. The wimps.

We had a wander around the centre, tried to go to the mate museum (shut most of the week) and as the light faded, we hopped back on the train to the city, catching rush hour and the crowds the nearer we got.

Wednesday 27th April 2011
Today was polo day.

Our polo group.

Throughout the trip we've tried to do new things. Playing polo certainly fits into this category and so it was with excitement and a hint of nervousness that we headed to the pickup point.

Fernando, who runs the whole show, picked us up along with another couple Ruth and Damian. We headed out to the country somewhere southwest to a ranch. Being novice riders, we were first given some tips on how to control our horses. This was not a problem for Ruth, who has ridden since the age of four and is a horse dentist. We've never met one of those before!

Goalscorers.

Once we felt comfortable in the saddle, we were given some instruction on how to hit the ball, followed by taking a mallet and trying it for ourselves. James was immediately able to put his golf experience to good use and was getting a few hits in. Emma was still struggling to control her horse, apparently the most obedient of the lot. Emma was not convinced.

Spot the polo player.

After a break, we 'played' a match, 2 on 2. Emma's team won 5-4, largely due to having the full time polo player on her team. Emma managed one goal whilst James scored two in a losing effort. We were absolutely shattered by the end, with hands shaking. We were proud of our efforts given we can't even ride horses. All this had happened by about 1pm

Slightly quicker than us.

Fernando was playing a practice match in the afternoon and he invited us along to watch. Having never seen any type of match, we accepted. We drove about 65km out of the city to another ranch, owned by the parents of two professional players who are currently playing in Germany. Whilst watching, we realised we were some way off participating at even a practice level, but it was reassuring that even the players missed the ball. In fairness, they were travelling at 50km an hour, so any misses should be forgiven.

Afterwards we chatted to the players and tucked into a nice piece of cake freshly baked by the owner's wife. Everyone was amazingly friendly and we were glad we went along.

Fact:
A new rule has been introduced by the Polo Association which prohibits the players talking to the referee. This is because players had started to get argumentative with and sometimes abusive towards the referee. The rule is an attempt to maintain polo's reputation as being a 'gentleman's' sport.

Thursday  28th April 2011San Isidro

We caught the local subsidised train to San Isidro, a suburb 30 mins on the train north of the Retiro station. The fare for each return was around 30p, which is an absolute steal.

San Isidro is a wealthy suburb boasting many mansions and is located on the Rio Plata. After a walk around to find a map, we had a look at the beautiful neo-Gothic cathedral. With sun shining through the stained glass windows, it was a lovely sight.

Next we went to the 'Museo Pueyrredon'. In the garden we were able to see a tree under which San Martin planned battles against the Spanish. The museum itself gave us the history of both the house and San Isidro, which 300+ years ago had been merely farm land. The house once belonged to Pueyrredon, an artist and architect. It shows some of his finest works which were impressive, although would look out of place in Allder Close.

A nice house.

After more walking (it's lucky we both like walking) we arrived at 'Villa Ocampo'. This is a house restored in its original style that was once the summer residence of the creator of 'Sur' magazine, apparently famous in these parts. We enjoyed the tranquility of the beautiful gardens and were lucky enough to take afternoon tea overlooking the lawn. For a moment we pretended the house and grounds were ours.

Cream tea.

Back in the city, we headed out to our last steak house. We accompanied our meal with a bottle of Bianchi Malbec, from our first vineyard trip in San Rafael, and it was a very enjoyable way to spend our last evening.

Friday 29th April 2011Our last day in South America.

Having packed the night before we were able to watch a bit of the royal wedding before checking out. Seeing pictures of London made us excited about coming home.

Our flight was not until the evening, but we found out from the hostel staff that there were strikes and protests in the city so we should prepare for delays getting to the airport. As it turned out, the bus transfer company had cancelled most of its services so we were to get to the airport several hours before our flight. This news made the thought of being at home all the more enjoyable.

Protesters.

We'd been meaning to go to the cathedral since our first day in BA when we couldn't enter due to our legs being on show. How apt that we finally fitted it in on the last day. Once inside, the highlight was the tomb of San Martin. There's also a flame outside to keep his spirit alive. In general we actually preferred the much brighter and simpler cathedral in San Isidro but were glad we visited it.

We grabbed a coffee in a lovely cafe 'London City'. It's over 60 years old and still going strong.
Refreshed, we had a last walk around the city centre, crossing marches as we went. Around Puerto Madero we had our final ice cream (Dulce de Leche flavour of course) before heading to our bus.

The last ice cream.

Here the long journey home began...

Pacharan and coffee in Madrid airport.

Montevideo

Wednesday 20th April 2011
Today we travelled the 2.5 hours to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. We were sad to leave the relaxing surroundings of Colonia but felt that 2 days was probably enough to see everything. The fact that the weather was miserable also made us feel like travelling was a good option.

We had a bit of trouble booking accommodation in Montevideo. Not particularly wanting to be in a dorm meant a long search for a double. With it being Easter we should have expected it and perhaps should have booked something earlier. In the end, after a few phone calls, we found an executive suite in a hotel. The room is about 3 times bigger than we are used to but it's a nice treat.

Just opposite our hotel is an old market, now containing shops and a couple of cheap eateries so we headed over for a late lunch.

The official Easter holiday here is Thursday to Sunday although most museums seem to have started early. At this point we weren't really sure how we were going to spend our three days!

Our biggest frustration about Montevideo is the lack of tourist offices. We found them either closed down or shut so our hopes of finding out if anything was open were dashed.


The famous stadium.

Luckily (for James at least) there was more football to be seen. We headed up to the Estadio Centenario to see if we could get tickets for the evening's game. The stadium is famous for being the venue for the first World Cup final in 1930, won by Uruguay. Sadly the museum was closed but we managed to get top price tickets (£8).

An institution.

The match kicked off at 9:50pm so we headed to Pizza Subte for prematch dinner, a plate of 'blanco', mozzarella pizza, with oregano. This place is somewhat of an institution, packed with locals, with takeaways flying out the door.

Nacional's newest supporter.



Surely this is dangerous?

Abondon the game, too much smoke.

We were slightly nervous heading to the match, mainly due to it being evening, us looking pretty foreign and the taxi driver telling us to be careful. We needn't have worried as there was no trouble at all.

The game in question was Nacional of Montevideo Vs. America of Mexico in the Copa Libertadores, the SA champions league. It was a fairly exciting 0-0, but sadly the score put Nacional out of the competition.

The real highlight for us was the atmosphere. The Nacional fans sung solidly for the full 90 minutes, only stopping for half time and to change song. Also amazing were the flares and fireworks. Health and Safety in the UK would have a heart attack. We wanted to upload a video, but unfortunately the technology let us down.

Just past midnight we were back near out hotel and nipped into a cafe for a bedtime drink. Despite the time it was nice to see a father and son discussing the result. Hopefully James and Joe won't be disappointed with the result after their next match.

Thursday 21st April 2011
Today was the first day of holiday here and as such pretty much everything was shut. From our base in the centre we headed to the old town to have a look around.

Another fish being caught.

Reaching the port, we saw that the people moving containers on and off boats were still working hard, whilst the stone harbour wall was full of fishermen presumably trying the catch dinner and get some quiet time.

How many dead animals?

Further along we walked past the naval base to the Mercado del Puerto. This is another old market full of parrillas. Given this, it seemed rude not to stop for a spot if lunch. Emma had a lovely piece of swordfish whilst James tucked into the best steak of the trip so far. For dessert we shared a Flan con Dulce de Leche. It was a good job we shared!

Seriously sweet and tasty.

Continuing our personal waking tour, we saw many amazing buildings. Sadly a high proportion are closed and boarded up, a sign of the economic times we imagine.

Sadly going to rack and ruin.

The most stark example of a great building going to waste is the old train station. It's amazing from the outside and inside it has a roof similar to Paddington. Sadly, it now serves as shelter for the homeless, with rubbish and the smell of urine chucked in for good measure. We found this quite depressing, as would George Stephenson, whose statue outside had long since lost its toes.

With a couple of beers and another trip to Pizza Subte later, we headed back to our huge and comfy hotel room, shattered from another day walking the streets.

Graffiti: both here and in Argentina there's much more of it around, with many statues and monuments defaced. It was a nice feature of Colombia and Ecuador that this wasn't the case.

Friday 22nd April 2011
After a couple of grey days, it was nice to wake up to blue sky again today. With it being Good Friday we immediately gave up any hopes of any museums being open and headed for the beach.

Power walking.

Montevideo stretches many kilometres along the coast so from our hotel we took a walk away from the old town about 6-7km along the coast. After not seeing many people yesterday, there were loads around today. The runners and cyclists were back in force, as were people kicking footballs.

Emma and the beach.

After some lunch we settled down on the beach for a few hours of relaxation. James dipped his toe in the water. It was very cold, unsurprisingly for the Atlantic.

Eventually the grey returned and we headed back along the way we came. The theme park was  in full swing, the lights brightening up the dark sky.

As we reached the end of our walk another container ship left port bound for pastures new. They obviously are not afforded the day off with the rest of Uruguay.

Mate: This drink is even more obvious here than in Argentina. On a day off in Montevideo the thing to do is take your mate and your thermos and head to the coast, watching the sea while you share your drink with friends and family. What's amazing is the bitterness of the drink. People here put extra sugar in fruit juice so it seems strange they drink something so opposite to sweet.

Heart attack on a plate (spot the salad though).

Chivito: for dinner we had this local speciality. It was certainly the most unhealthy meal of our trip (if not our lives). The picture says it all. By the way, we didn't manage to eat all the chips.

Colonia de Sacramento

Monday 18th April 2011
With an 8:30am ferry to catch, we were up early to head to the port. After an hour ride across the River Plate, we arrived in Uruguay and more specifically a place more commonly known as Colonia. This was to be our 5th and final country of the trip and we were intrigued to spot any differences to Argentina.

 

Nice colours.

We were blessed with perfect blue sky and it really helped us feel we were in a very special place. It's a pretty town, with lots of old buildings, cobbled streets and open spaces. It's surrounded by water on three sides so you have great views of the river.

After lunch we visited a couple of museums. Casa Nacarello is a pretty colonial house preserved in the Portuguese style. It was a small house, so after 5 minutes we were done. Next door the Museo Municipal housed random artefacts from around the town, including a ghastly display of stuffed animals and preserved bugs.

Nice views.



Someone spoiling the nice views.



Alongside the Plaza Mayor is a lighthouse. We climbed to the top and took in the views over the town. As it was a clear day, we were able to see over the water to the skyscrapers in BA.

Old car.

There are loads of old cars here, and we mean old. Around the cobbled streets there are classic motors from the first half of the 20th century in various conditions. We even saw one with a tree growing in it. We also saw a burgundy Austin Maestro. It was like stepping back 20 years.

Yet another sunset, how romantic.

With so much water, we settled in with the locals (and their Mate) to watch the sunset. This was spectacular and reminiscent of those during the first half of our trip.

Currency: whilst Uruguay has its own currency, it's also common for the shops and restaurants to accept others. One place we visited accepted the Argentine peso, the Brazilian real, the US dollar and the euro along with the Uruguayan peso. Staying for five days, we decided to get some local cash to save ourselves any confusion.

Tuesday 19th April 2011

James and the buggy.

There are a few things to see around Colonia, so we decided to hire our first vehicle of the trip-a golf buggy. The only roads we weren't allowed on were route 1 and 26 so we set off about town to have a look around.

After our first buggy didn't start, it wasn't too much of a surprise that our second backfired through the day. The amount of smoke it produced was something close to a Bond car creating a smoke screen! It kept going though, so good news.

Falling down bull ring.

First stop was the Mihanovich project. Back at the turn of the 20th century this Argentine entrepreneur spent $1.5m building a tourist complex. The bullring, 3000 seat fronton and hotel/casino are either gone or falling to pieces. Only the racecourse functions today. It must have been amazing, but today it is all rather sad.
   

The racecourse, still in use.

Anyone for tickets?

We headed to the Ferrando beach to have a little picnic. We were not alone and were joined throughout by a dog. He happily shared our crinkly crisps. We had a nice walk and it was hot enough to sunbathe, although probably not to go into the water.

The happy couple.

After more driving we headed back to the centre for a look at the old city walls, ruins and Uruguay's oldest church.

The oldest church.

After yesterday's spectacular show, we grabbed a beer and sat on the peer watching the sunset. We were entertained by a man sitting on his boat smoking a huge cigar. We imagine he did this a lot.

We could see a storm brewing over in BA and a few hours later the heavens opened on us. Luckily we were tucked up in our room contemplating our penultimate stop the next day, Montevideo.

Buenos Aires - Part 1

Wednesday 13th April 2011
We arrived at our hostel at 8:30, left our bags and went to the lounge area to gather our thoughts for the day. About 5 minutes later we were joined by a couple of Irish chaps who'd just got in from their night out and were intent on making out with a couple of local girls next to us. At this point we decided we needed a cafe.

It's worth pointing out that our hostel is the America del Sur in San Telmo, sister hostel of our place in El Calafate. So arriving here had an air of familiarity, especially when we saw the chap from the Calafate hostel in the office.


Change for a million?



After our coffee we headed to the cathedral, only to find that they have a dress code, i.e. no shorts. So instead we headed to the Museo Historico Dr Arturo Jauretche. This was a really interesting place, showing the history of banking and money in Argentina. The best part was seeing the 1 million peso note that was produced at the height of their financial issues. It was surprising to see just how many times they've devalued their currency.

Christmas come early.

Next we went to the Museo de la Cuidad. This had great old photos of the city, with a particularly interesting series showing the demolition of a huge church to build a diagonal road. The second half of the museum, rather bizarrely, had an enjoyable toy collection, including classics such as ludo, toy soldiers and scary looking dolls. One very interesting display was of Snow White and the Dwarfs, made in England and used to promote the original film in Argentina. The building itself was magnificent, as you would expect for a place that was a 5 star hotel and was frequented by only the richest families.

A crane.

Many boats.

After a small siesta, we wandered over to Puerto Madero, a modernised port area with loads of posh/expensive restaurants. What was once the main port in BA now services the office workers as they finish a hard day's work. It's nicely done, with cranes still in place and it was pleasant to grab a drink and watch the rollerbladers pass for the umpteenth time.

For dinner we went to a huge and packed parrilla in San Telmo. It was great watching the waiters work and a random bloke who was sweeping various tables for half finished drinks.

Thursday 14th April 2011

How big!

Today we decided to pound the streets and do a walking tour suggested in our guidebook. This took us through the shopping district, including a shopping mall with frescos on the ceiling. This area was very busy and had street sellers trying to sell us either tango shows or change every few steps. Next up we crossed the Avenida 9 de Julio. It's about 14 lanes wide and said to be, according to a local cabbie, the widest street in the world. It is not an easy or quick thing to cross. Continuing past government buildings and theatres, we eventually made it to the end and the ice cream shop, our first in BA. It's true what they say, the ice cream here is good being softer than our traditional ices. James is particularly keen on the Dulce de Leche flavour. In fact, he's so taken with this spread that a jar will be purchased on our return.

Yum!

Observation: People here walk quickly. Probably no quicker than parts of cities in the UK but much quicker than anywhere else in Argentina. Coupled with small pavements, it makes a day's walking a more tiring experience than we have been used to on the trip.

Friday 15th April 2011
Palermo
We headed for the metro to catch a train to the trendy area of Palermo, north west of the centre. It struck us as more residential than San Telmo and the green spaces would make it a nice place to live. It's full of bars, cafes and exclusive shops. We ducked into a couple and definitely felt scruffy.

Man's best friend(s).

On our walk we saw a couple of dog walkers. Although given the number of dogs (maybe a dozen) and their size, maybe the men were being walked.

After a nice lunch we headed to the Eva Peron museum, Museo Evita. Knowing relatively little about her, it was a fascinating walk through her life, with video clips, photographs and an impressive display of her clothes.

Around 10pm we headed back to Palermo to meet Stephanie and go to Salon Canning, a dance hall recommended by our friends Diana and Francis. From 11pm, locals turn up with their tango shoes to dance at a milonga. Some have partners, some don't. Some old, some young. Some smart, some scruffy. The whole affair is quite relaxed though we read that you can't strut any kind of stuff on the dance floor; you may be asked to leave. We remained firmly at our table supping beer (we were practically the only ones as everyone else drank water). It was interesting to see how with a wink and a nod across the room, partnerships were formed. It was so different to see people spending their Friday nights this way.

After a couple of hours we went to a local plaza and had a couple of beers. When we left at 3:30am you felt that for the locals, the night was just starting.

For further study: We want to read more about Eva Peron and her story, particularly the part where her body ended up buried in Milan until the 1970's.

Saturday 16th April 2011
We realised we'd not really ventured into San Telmo and so we did, having a lovely lunch in a little courtyard. We were quite taken by the area's atmosphere and architecture.

Urban vs. rural.

Walking from San Telmo, through Puerto Madero, we reached the ecological reserve, a huge space free and open to the public. It's a popular place with cyclists and runners, although the chap at the gate doing exercises half naked seemed to be slightly over the top. We spent a few hours wandering the area in the sun, enjoying the scenery and catching the odd glimpse of the city in the distance.

Late in the evening, after stepping out of a restaurant, we found it was raining. Having had so much sunshine it was, in a strange way, nice to be out in the rain. It's probably a sign of things to come for us back home.

Sunday 17th April 2011
Today was the footy day, the day James had been waiting for in BA.

Memorial to the merchant navy.

With kickoff at 4pm, we had time to walk the weekly flea market in San Telmo. There were loads of arts, crafts and tat on offer here. Possibly our funniest moment of the day was hearing an Aussie chap say "Although it's spelled 'pollo' it's not pronounced 'pollo'. It's insane!". He obviously doesn't understand the intricacies of English pronunciation.

The flea market.

San Telmo market.

We retuned to the hostel, waiting to be piced up for the match at La Bombanera, Boca Juniors vs Tigre. It's difficult to get tickets here unless you know a member. We don't, so we went for a tour option which is basically a friendly racket. It's completely overpriced but still  acceptable for a one-off event.

A sunny day.

Great fans.

We were in the ground early and  found a spot on the terraces under a roof. This was  important as the away fans were above us who have a reputation for throwing things at the home crowd. Although covered, the sun was on us throughout and it was one of the hottest games we've experienced. The stadium filled quickly and with no on pitch warmups, the match was underway. It was a bit of a thriller. Tigre went 2-0 up only for Boca to equalise on the stroke of half time. Then a pen in the 2nd half put Tigre ahead before the final goal equalised it at 3-3. It was a really interesting game and, according to James, one of the best atmospheres going although neither team cared about defending. The stand bounced during the celebrations, girls screamed and men punched the floor. The roof came in useful as through the 2nd half the fans above chucked whatever liquid they could find or produce onto the fans below.

One thing the Premier League could take from the game here is the ref's can of foam. He used it to mark the 10 yard line at free kicks and this seemed like a good idea.

After the final whistle, we were kept in for an hour to allow the away fans to leave. Everyone seemed amazingly patient with this.

Our 'package' included some beer and pizza post match. With three bus loads of people to please, the pizza never made it to the back, with vultures circling at all times. We dread to think what it would be like if people were genuinely starving. We managed to get three slices between us and some beers. (James's height was a real bonus.)

Not full from the pizza, we grabbed a Chinese for dinner and prepared ourselves for an early start the next day.