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So the tales really were true. On the overnight bus from iguazu falls we were served dinner (it was more like plane food), red wine (just getting wine was enough) and almost fully reclined seats. All in all definitely a notch above Brazilian buses.
When we arrived in Buenos aires we had heard on the grapevine about a night called Bomba Del Tiempo. A night of freestyle percussion in a warehouse. After relaxing at our hostel (Chill House, French owned with a great roof terrace) we headed down and were not disappointed. It is a bit random, imagine warehouse projects but instead of a world renowned DJ there were about 30 people on stage playing the drums. Wine was cheaper than beer and a whole pint glass #Winning.
In BA there is also the elephant in the room of the the blue market, which sounds so much better than the black market. This is the name the Argentines give for the underground exchange rate for dollars to pesos. Go to the local bank and the exchange rate you'll get is 14 pesos to 1 pound, the blue dollar will give you 19. It all sounds a bit sketchy... and it is but the blue rate is still published daily in the papers. On the tourist streets you can't miss the heckle of street sellers shouting 'cambio, cambio'.
This is just one part of Argentine life we learnt about in BA.The capital is a mix of wealth, culture and very European in looks but there are definitely cracks. We learnt a huge amount on the free walking tour (we picked BA Free Tour) through Palermo and Recolleta. With a great guide (who was as enthusiastic as a children's TV presenter) and a tour group that included an American kid who was brighter than us, it was an interesting 3 hours.
Best of all we learnt that whilst there is free heathcare for all, most of the middle class will choose to take private healthcare through work. Quicker service, more efficient and best of all you are often entitled to free plastic surgery every two years. Thinking you don't like the shape of your nose, you can fix it or the size of your thighs, hello lipo.
On the tour, we also saw a memorial for the 649 Argentine soldiers killed in the Falklands war. Whilst only in the 80s, in the UK we hear little at school about this period of time. In Argentina, children learn from primary school there are 24 provinces in the country, the 24th province Tierra del Fuego includes the Las Islas Malvinas/ Falkland Islands. They truly believe it is rightfully theirs. The talk made Rory broach the subject with the guide of whether Argentines actually like the English... It wasn't a quick yes.
The Argentines are clearly patriotic, we went to one restaurant Peron Peron named after the former president/husband of the national treasure Evita. Chatting and eating away, the national anthem suddenly blared out every hour. Speaking of Evita, we also saw her grave at the rather fancy Cementerio de la Recollect. I say grave but it was actually a massive mausoleum and in terms of a scale of 1-10, it was a 5 compared to the others. They were more like houses, at least as big as as the flats we've had in London. Decadent and grande, that's how you want to be remembered.
Whilst the sun mostly shined in BA, the heavens opened up for our day trip to Tigre (north of the city). The travel advice we were given was that is a beautiful place full of little detlas and rivers, which flow out into La Plata. You can take a local boat out along the river and get off at Tres Bocas, a cool area to walk around and try amazing asados (BBQ meat places). Sounds picture perfect. Our day was a 4 hour round trip, walking in the mud in flip flops, getting soaked and worst of all eating no bbq meat. The day could be summed up as the same depressive feeling of going to Blackpool in Winter.
The next day however redeemed itself. Seeing a boca juniors game was on Rory's bucket list for South America. Getting tickets was tough, due to the huge local fan base you have to be a member to buy one. This meant we had to go through an agency with tickets at £100 a pop. All worth it considering the stadium is world renowned (very steep... not for ones with vertigo) and has an amazing atmosphere with vocal fans. The teams chant were even louder because in the stadium (bar a few hundred) there is ban ensuring only home fans can be there. The ban came in a few years ago due to violence/even deaths between fans (a little bit of reassuring advice to hear on our way to the game...).
Once in the stadium we weren't disappointed, right from the off they chanted non-stop, especially when the football got a bit boring, which happened slightly too much. I don't think the Montevideo Wanderers are a football powerhouse. The game was funny as the guide (yep we needed a guide to get in) was a River Plate fan. He had to sit through 90 minutes of anti-River songs and pretend he liked them for his own protection. It was amazing experience we will not forget.
Lastly to finish with the favourite topic of food and drink. We were in empanada (every single cafe), ice-cream (Freddos) , steak (Don Julio - the lomo/filet at this restaurant was perfection) and wine (supermarkets huge selection ranged from £2 to £8) heaven. With hiking in Patagonia on the horizon we indulged and indulged a little more. Now it it is time to roll out of here with a flight south to El Calafate.
- comments
Tom Pugh Awesome blog Al! I can just imagine Rory trying to win over the tour guide to our side.
Mum Great account!! Sounds amazing- hope the flip flops recovered!!