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After a flight that did a ´Back to the Future´ trip; I landed in South America before I had actually left New Zealand, I spent my first 24 hours in South America in Santiago airport being harassed by a guy offering me a ´good deal, I give you discount´ at his hotel. For the price he was expecting me to pay I gather it must have been part of the Hilton chain but knowing that it was probably more Skegness Hilton than Paris, I declined the offer and mooched around the airport for several hours before trying to sleep.
I never made it to sleep as the brain kicked in and I started doing what I do best; thinking about things that are highly irrelevant or indeed things I can do nothing about when I really should be trying to get sleep. After putting the world to rights, thinking about what I am going to do when I get back home and coming up with a list of at least ten good reasons why I shouldn´t return home in August to just three as to why I should, I managed to grab a whole thirty minutes of shut eye before being awoken by the tannoy system.
Arriving in South America means I am one step closer to returning to England. Hang on, grab me a bucket. The best way to describe how I feel is ´home sick´; as in, sick at the thought of returning home. The best way to help fight this feeling is in one of two ways. Firstly, Mum and Dad need to keep on playing the lottery but this time they need to have some considerable success. Secondly, if any of you reading this don´t want me to return home, or you like me a lot and would like to contribute to the travelling fund, then please make blank cheques payable to James Gilmour. You can email for details of where to send such cheques. Thanks.
So after the sleepless night in Santiago and a quick flight over the Andes, I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After skipping from the plane and out of the airport in under thirty minutes, I caught a shuttle bus into the city and from there made my way to my hostel. The hostel is ideally located in the centre of town, not far from the Obelisco. Whilst checking in, the receptionist pointed out that Boca Juniors were playing at home that day and if I would like to go and see them I could jump on a tour that left in the thirty minutes. Not one to give up an opportunity like this, I dumped my bags in the room, grabbed my jacket and made my way with an Australian couple, James and Sarah, and a few others from the hostel to the district of La Boca. When we finally arrived at the stadium the wind had picked up and it was blooming freezing. The first half was not much to talk about and we all sat frozen in the stands. The second half picked up though, I´m guessing it was because Maradona was in his box watching, and Boca went on to score three goals to Gimnesia´s one. The carnival atmosphere in the stadium was like nothing you´d find in England with dancing, chanting and banners telling of their love for team scattered all over. It was a vibrant, colourful, passionate affair.
I grabbed a bite to eat after the game and headed back to the hostel for some much needed shut eye, my first decent sleep in over thirty hours was like heaven.The following morning, and my first full day in Buenos Aires, started at the unfamiliar hour of half past five in the morning thanks to jet lag kicking in.
Breakfast is provided by the hostel and?although it is basic, it fills a hole that I would otherwise have to pay to fill. Breakfast was followed by a visit to the local internet cafe where I was fortunate enough to use an antique of a computer than ran on Windows 1789.
Buenos is the largest city in Argentina and home to over ten million people so as you can imagine, it´s a sprawling mass of people. In no way can I comment on the guys but I can say that the women in Argentina are mostly all stunners. I think the words ´Happy Days´do it justice. Sadly, it is not as hot as what I was expecting it to be, and yesterday was, according to one source, the coldest May day in BA for over 120 years. I am kind of regretting bringing so many pairs of shorts with me, three to be exact. I think the chances of me wearing one of the aforementioned pairs is about as slim as a Gucci catwalk model and thus I may be forced to splash the cash and buy some more clothes.
Lunch was successfully ordered through the use of hand signals, as the waiter in the cafe I visited spoke no English, and it arrived as how I had hoped so it was a good ffort. The afternoon was spent on a free bus tour of the city which included visits to Plaza de Mayo and La Boca. La Boca is a district you don´t particularly want to get lost in as it is infamous for its crime rate. Sticking to the main drag allows you the chance to view the multi-coloured houses that the area is famous for and also peek inside the Boca Juniors stadium.
With tiredness setting in at the end of the tour, I hit the sack for a powernap before heading out for food at a local restaurant where pasta and a coke cost the princely sum of 19 pesos, about three pound fifty. I strolled along a few of the main streets before resting back at the hostel and chatting to a few of the other guests whilst sharing a few beers.
And so to yesterday, after another early start it was time for breakfast and this was followed by a walk down to the Plaza de Mayo and the Catedral Metropolitan, the resting place of General Jose de San Martin. After looking around the Cathedral I made my through the square to the presidential palace which is pink. From the balcony of the palace, Eva Peron made many of her speeches to the masses and it is pink in order to stop it decaying. The pink is a mixture of white paint and animal´s blood, something I doubt would catch on in England. Stopping to buy some 3 peso gloves, about fifty pence, was followed by a leisurely walk down the Avenue Florida for some window shopping.
From there I stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hostel to meet Gino, a Peruvian guy in my dorm, who had kindly agreed to show me the sights of BA. From the hostel it is a short walk down to the Obelisco, a monument built in 1936 to commemorate the building of the city some 400 years before. The Obelisco is in the middle of the Neuve de Julio Avenue which is the widest avenue in the world with twelve marked lanes but this is give or take a few as cars actually move in between the lanes and so it is not the safest of places to drive. We wandered down back streets and finally came out on the Avenue Alvear where all the expensive shops and poshest hotels are based in the district of Recoleta. The district is a mass of street cafes and bars and it was in one of these where we ate. After almost 48hours in the country, I finally got my first taste of Argentinean steak and let me tell you, it was a beauty. It was followed by ice cream and half a bottle of red wine which broke the bank at 30 pesos, roughly five pounds. Recoleta is also famous for its cemetery where all of Argentina´s most important political and social figures are laid to rest, this includes one Eva Peron. Her tomb from the outside is nothing special to write home about, unlike many of the others in the cemetery which are as extravagant as you can imagine. Because of the disappearance of her body during political turmoil in Argentina, and fearing her body may disappear once more, her coffin is not visible and is actually located under two trap doors. Some of the tombs are like mini churches and the place is kind of eerie to walk around and easy to get lost in. I didn´t stay too long, instead I headed back to the hostel for a much needed power nap before venturing out for pizza and then getting ready for my first real night out on the town in Buenos Aires.
After chilling around the hostel for most of the night we finally headed out to a drum and bass club at 2am. My companions for the night were a Peruvian businessman, Gino, and a 60 year-old teacher from the UK called Peter. To be honest, it wasn´t my kind of music and the place wasn´t all the great so I only stayed for a short while before it was time to head back to the ´snoring room´ to try and get some sleep.
This morning I was up earlier than expected and so I set off to walk to the district of Palermo via a visit to the most magnificent book store I think I will ever visit. The shop is located in an old theatre and all the original decor still exists. The stage is use as a cafe, with the private boxes acting as reading rooms. The whole building is just so good and I hope the pictures do it some justice,
I spent the afternoon touring the streets of Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood before taking a gentle stroll back to the hostel. After a quick shower I have just been out to eat and indulged myself on a piece of steak the size of a house yet it only cost about five pounds for my whole meal. Awesome stuff.
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