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Through Northern Argentina
I left Puerto Iguazu and took the relatively short (5 hours, mas o menos) bus journey down alongside the Paraguayan border to Posadas, a pretty small town where I checked into a hotel (recommended in the Lonely Planet, I should add), which can only be described as a hovel. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls and damp, the shower was hilarious - basically a glorified watering can which you had to fill up and then plug in (yes, a plug in the shower) to heat the water before standing under the dribble. Anyway, it was just for a night, I explored the town, had a really good steak and half a bottle of malbec (seemingly always good here) and then left the following morning for Resistencia.
Now, if I was beginning to doubt the Lonely Planet after the hotel recommendation in Posadas, I was tempted to burn the bloody thing after taking its advice and having a pitstop in Resistencia. What. A. s***hole. There`s not a lot more I can say about the place, it had literally no redeeming features. And I had booked on the overnight bus to Rosario the following night so I had to stay there that night and all the next day. To make matters worse, it was cold and rained incessantly. I ended up spending 3 hours in an internet cafè, essentially to keep warm and dry.
So I was more than glad to board my nightbus to Rosario that evening. This one was much more comfortable than the bus to Iguaçu and I managed to get some decent kip so arrived in Rosario something close to freshfaced and rested. I checked into a hostel and went for a walk around the city. Refreshingly, it was a `proper city` although the weather hadn`t improved much, it was pretty cold and wet. I was planning to stay in Rosario for at least two nights but as it happened, it they were staging the World Cup of Hockey so I couldn`t get a bed beyond the first night.
I spent the day, seeing the sights and just walking the streets (which is my M.O. in the cities). I tried to find somewhere to watch the England match in the afternoon but they don`t seem to do bars really (at least not ones that open during the day) so I headed back towards the hostel disappointed. En route I decided to stop at a local cafè for a beer and to review my photos (of Iguazu, I might add, the camera didn`t come out of its case in Resistencia) and peruse the Lonely Planet to see if it could redeem itself. I was pleased to hear an English speaker on the next table (I`d not spoken English to anyone in days) and struck up a conversation with Mike, a newly qualified lawyer from Los Angeles. After a couple of beers we agreed to regroup later and we headed out for a few drinks and some food with Geronimo, a local we bumped into. A good night was had by all but I woke up with a very sore head the following morning.
I made my way to the bus station for my bus to Buenos Aires and arrived in plenty of time, bought my ticket, stood by the correct bay and promptly stood and watched as everyone boarded my bus and it pulled away. Now, this was essentially because I`m an idiot, but I will attempt to justify it because it said on the front `Retiro` and I was looking for a bus to Buenos Aires. How was I to know the bus station in Buenos Aires is called Retiro? Ok, I`m just an idiot, but I was hungover. Anyway, I had to go back to the ticket booth, explain that I am an idiot and pay a surcharge to transfer the ticket onto the next bus.
As I was approaching Buenos Aires (a metropolis of some 12 million inhabitants), it dawned on me that I was arrived after dark, into a massive, strange city, on a Saturday night, without having booked anywhere to stay. Panic set in. This was where Lonely Planet had to redeem itself. So I circled a couple of hostels in the book which were in the same area (San Telmo) and just about managed to negotiate the Subte (metro, subway, underground, whatever) and find the first hostel on the list. Much to my relief I snagged the last bed in the place and a breathed a sigh of relief.
- comments
OMH Would you like me to arrange to have an emergency Rough Guide airlifted in?
Sam price You've finally admitted that you're an idiot!!