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Hellllllo my friends. We are now in the capital city of Argentina, BUENOS AIRES. A breath of fresh air compared to the like of La Paz. Here we have been indulging in fine steaks, coffee houses, late (and I mean late) nights out and some Argie footy. To find out more just read on.
So we left La Paz about a week ago. And good ridance. Apart from the road of death, just outside the city, the place was a pit hole. We also had to wait at the bus terminal for an extra 3 hours because our bus was delayed. God knows why. So we got on the bus, again no toilet, for the 18 hour overnight journey to Santa Cruz, Bolivia still. Being a Carma bus meant that the seats were far more comfortable though and reclining. I managed to get a few hours kip in but there were times in the night when I really needed the bus to stop, for reasons I wont discuss. Luckily, it did. So we arrived in Santa Cruz sometime in the afternoon, feeling somewhat dazed. We went with the first hostel guy that approached us as we were told they had cable TV and we wanted to watch the Chelsea Liverpool game. The hostel rooms werent the best but we were all too tired to go round hunting for another. The TV in our room didnt work and me and Leeroy had to share a double. Luckily they had  cable downstairs so we got to watch the game. Not really much to say about Santa Cruz. Better than La Paz. Had a nice square with some good restaurants. We stayed there 2 nights and then headed for the airport. Buenos Aires was looming
We booked the flight about a month ago as it wasnt part of our round the world ticket. We had never really planned to go to Buenos Aires but other travellers have recommended the place and the Bible (lonely planet) gives it great reviews. And what a great decision it has been. Having spent the last month in Peru and Bolivia, which arent the most hygienic of places, it was great to get back to a cleaner city, where you dont have to worry what your eating. Buenos Aires is probably my favourite city so far. I think only Rio has a chance to change that. We'll see.Â
We did encounter a few problems on arrival. The hostel that we had planned to stay had availability for the night of arrival but not the second night. So we spent ages walking around trying to find another hostel. Everything was full though. Eventually we found out that there was another hostel above our one that had spaces for the second night. Typical. A little more than annoying as we had spent hours walking around. Anyway, we had sorted out a place to stay and it has good facilities, clean toilets, toilet paper and a lounge area. Luxurious comapred to what we are used to. We headed out for dinner about 11.30pm. This may sound ridiculous but this is how they do it here. The place we went, recommened steak house Le Desnivel, was heaving. We had a fantastic greeting of high fives despite the waiter being run off his feet. This place was great. Soon we were all monching on a big, thick, tender juicy steak. One of the Argies specialities. A great place. We headed back to the hostel about 1.30am and had a few beers. Then at 3.00am (again this is normal here) we headed to a massive night club full of students. Was a great night, just needed better music. At 7.30am we were in a taxi home, just as the sun was coming up. At 9.30am we had to wake up to change to the hostel upstairs. Not good. We never went back to bed. Instead we headed out for the day, going from coffee house to coffee house, trying to stay awake. Another of the Argies specialities.
Yesterday was a brilliant day. We were off to see the infamous Boca Juniors football team play Racing Club in a local derby. The Argie football fans are supposed to be some of the most passionate around. However, we had also heard some horror stories from travellers who had already been. Like.........getting mugged, broken noses and even getting urinated/spat on in the ground. The area around Boca is also one of the more dodgy areas in Buenos Aires.  We decided to go with a tour to the game, which is a lot safer even though its a lot more expensive. We had no problems. The game was a good one too. The first half was fairly even. Racing Club went ahead. Boca had a dubious penalty that the goalkeeper saved. Second half Boca went on the rampage. Within minutes they equalised and then got another dubious penalty, which they scored to go ahead. The fans went mad, climbing up the railings. However, there was a twist in the tail, when second from bottom, Racing Club, got a penalty in the last few minutes (deservedly). They scored and the game ended 2-2. Overall, the standard was no where near premiership class. A lot slower and players seemed to get loads of time and space. But its all passing. They never used the long ball tactic so some nice stuff to watch too. The Boca fans sung the whole way through. I would, however, love to see the Boca v River Plate game. This is supposed to be one of the most ferocious derby games in the world.  Maybe next time hey.
 The day was finished off in sublime fashion. We went to this all you can eat meat and salad buffet, which rivals any meal we have had so far on the trip. We all saved ourselves for the meal, so when we got there we were well up for it. And it didnt disappoint. The meat section is like nothing I have seen. Two chefs with a counter stacked with big slabs of steak, chicken, pork, even liver. You can have whatever you want how many times you want. Also included was a massive salad buffet, unlimited plates of chips, a litre of any drink and a pudding. All for less than 8 pounds. What a steal. I can safely say that glutony took over all of us. I had three big steaks, one piece of pork, two sauages, not to mention all the other stuff mentionned. Haha. By the end of it I was in actual pain. Stomach on the brink of explosion. We all went to bed straight after. A great day.
So that brings me up to today. Today we have visited Evitas grave in Recoleta. Its situated in a cemetry like no other. Every grave stone there is more like the size of a small chapel, made of marble stone. And there are hundreds if not thousands of them. Quite an amaizng site even though I didnt know who anyone was. Tonight we are going to watch some Tango dancing. Then, I dont know, probably will go out for another steak.
When in Rome...............
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