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Two Chicks & a Climber Reach New Heights
I know this is way long overdue - Argentina seemed so long ago though only a matter of weeks has gone by. After a complicated bus journey, we have finally arrived Buenos Aires.
Crossing the borders by bus made travelling around South America seemed so easy. Mm, okay maybe I spoke too soon - apart from the luxurious bus services we have had, we experienced a 'rip-off' scenario when we bought a bus ticket from Puerto Iguazu. Trying to be 'sensible' with our budget, we opted for semi-cama seats with Express Singer, instead of the most luxurious, Tigre Iguazu. We enlisted complaints as the following;
1. stinky toilet with no light
2. leaking water from above
3. rude bus escort - shooed Andre away after asking kindly for English subs
4. Aman's faulty seat - inability to rotate backwards
With our endless list of complaints - we headed for the main office at the destination to file a complaint in hope to claim our refund. Or at least, partially! Determining to get some 'justice' we got 20 Argentinian pesos back to compensate our 'inconvenience' Having our money worth of 4 pounds, we saw it as our bonus to pay our first night at Tango Backpackers - where we were escorted by a YHA promotor. A taxi ride from Retiro bus station, Buenos Aires appeared more developed than anywhere in Brazil. In fact, with the tradtional old buildings, tall and ancient, resembling a romantic picturesque of Paris - only bigger and much livier.
Upon our arrival at Tango, we were lucky to have found a room at one of the most popular backpackers accommodation. We would rate our room one of the best in South America yet to come, with a 360 panaromic view of the city.
Eager to check out the nightlife, we went out in the evening to a hip hop club, recommended by our wonderful Adriano. Maybe a little too eager, we were left to find the nightlife comes alive only after 12 midnight. With time to kill, we spent time in the Pizza Parlour opposite, introducing ourselves to fellow English travellers, plus an American. Due to 'disagreements' inside the club, the night was brought to a standstill - I'll say no more *tongue out*
The next 3 days, we indulged ourselves on a 'mini' shopping spree along Santa Fe, where all the shops and restaurants stretch on for miles. Yes, like marathon miles that we took regular taxi rides from one shop to another! Not only there's plenty of shopping opportunities, it's also cheap that we were little reluctant of causing baggage overload. Prior to our ski plans, we bought some waterproofs to prepare for our trip to Mendoza/Bariloche.
Our hostel hosted a BBQ night indoors, where the best steaks were cooked - we mingled with the rest of the hostel over dinner and wine. With our own bar, we took the golden opportunity to get few rounds of drinks before hitting trendy bars in the next district. The ladies were escorted in Adriano's car while the others made their way there, only to find the clubs guestlists full. With no other places to seek, we settled for a late-night bar, permitting all activity excluding dancing, with bouncers pointing at no-dancing signs after every attempt of a wiggle. Sam, our information guide who tagged along with us were dismayed with our persistent attitude, trying to win approval to dance the night away. Andre met his second new friend, a Antonio-Banderas lookalike after meeting his first, Rio's J.Christ lookalike Kev and it seemed that the Argentine's motto for a great night is to drink till you drop. And that's exactly what Andre did, causing great difficulties for the girls to drag him home with his drunken garbles steering taxi drivers away!
With hungover looming the next morning, Andre had to take in the embarrassment of his behaviour the night before, we were excited to watch an Argentine football game from Apenture League. We bought our tickets from the hostel for Buenos Aires' home team, River Plate, due to play against Velez - not expecting anything differentiating from typical British lager louts and football rants, we were pleasantly surprised the atmosphere at the stadium was much more than we had imagined - as you can see from the photos. The crowds were beyond wild with passion for their football sides, with the stadium consisting 75% of River Plate fans throwing out bog rolls! Rolling stripes from top to bottom, the blue side brought along the Patagonian flags, sporting blue fireworks smoking out of the stadium. Following a quick footy of Under 21's, the match was dominated by the blue side although it is apparent River Plate were one of the top rivals, along with Boca Juniors. After 2 hours of sun and wild supporters, the day ended with Velez victory, 1-0. We spent the rest of the evening, speculating the football experience.
With one more night in Buenos Aires, we saved the best till last with a traditional Tango night - we had some tango lessons above the hall, learning 4 individual quick steps. Unlike contemporary dancing, we were taught to keep heads levelled, with a composed posture and dance with an elegant pace. Intrigued with how much we had picked up within a hour and receiving certificates from our tutors, we had a dinner-show booked where our tutors prepared themselves for the big performance. Served with a 3-course meal, we had the pleasure of having tango music and dances perform live on stage. My, I was blown away from the beginning to end, the dances were spectacular and the ladies were tip-tops on their heels and looked absolutely stunning in their glittering dresses. We throughly enjoyed the night after the show came to an end around midnight. Too soon for us to head back home, we decided to make the most of our last night out in a casino by the harbour. With few bucks to gamble, Andre spent the night playing Black Jack whilst us ladies settled for just glasses of Baileys at the bar. Despite Andre's 300 pesos winnings, we decided enough was enough and left early enough to hit the sack for next day's departure to Southern ski resort, Bariloche.
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