Never go back - Back in Buenos (1)

I have said a number of times before that I wouldn't choose to revisit any of the places that I have previously been to solely for the reason that there are too many other places that I would like to visit, I decided to make an exception for Buenos Aires.

Having visited Iguazu Falls when I travelled in Brazil a few years ago I decided to leave Abby and Sarah to experience that absolutely awesome natural wonder for the first time - whilst it may not be possible to see such a wondrous sight for the first time twice, it is entirely possible to feel excited for someone else who will be seeing it for the first time. 

Abby at Iguazu Falls

I headed back to BA because I wanted to suck up some more of the atmosphere and to see some more of the city, I just didn't feel as though I had done the city, that had so moved and excited me when I first arrived, justice.

So comfortable was I in this city that I returned from Uruguay without having anywhere to stay which wasn't a problem, I took the taxi drivers advice on a hotel and when he dropped me off at a cute little boutiquey hotel in Palermo Hollywood I took my chances, offering $50 USD for a $120 USD room, success... The room was at the top of the hotel but lugging my bag up the four flights of stairs was worth it for the $50 'penthouse' (with balcony and late checkout - god I love boutiquey things).

The view from my boutiquey balcony....

I went for a wander around Palermo Hollywood (apparently named because a number of  television companies have their offices there...) it's only a short distance from Palermo Soho (named after the boho district of Soho in New York) but has a very different feel, it felt perfectly safe but was a bit run down by comparison.

It feels so exciting to be travelling on my own, I am having to try harder with my Spanish and whilst it feels uncomfortable I have done a deal with myself not to let the first thing I say to anyone be "lo siento, hablo un poco espanol" the result is I am listening harder when someone first says something. Many of the situations that I find myself in are predictable and so not too hard if I'm honest (in a taxi: where are you from? is it your first time in Argentina? and in a Supermarket: would you like a bag? do you have 25cents?) but I do hope at some point to move from transactional dialogue to conversation - one of the things I plan to do when I get home is to start Spanish lessons.

After one night in a hotel I was able to move back to the apartment that Abby and I had stayed in, Mariano was a great host and Eva the housekeeper was very generous with her time which allowed me to practice my Spanish.

I spent the first couple of days wandering around the city with no real plan to go anywhere, it was fun to have no particular place to go and to not worry about getting lost, what's the worst that could have happened? I may have got lost but taxi's were plentiful so if I needed to I could always have flagged one down to take me back to Malabia 1577 - I didn't.....

On the Thursday I joined a free walking tour of the city, we set off from Plaza Italia. The tour was really interesting and in the main we visited parts of the city that I hadn't been to before, the tour guide also explained how the buses and trains (sube) worked which was brilliant as I used them regularly for the rest of the time I was in Buenos.

Carlos Gardel's image is everywhere (famous tango singer)

The tour finished at the Pink Palace, I'd been here before but being there on a Thursday afternoon meant that I got to witness the incredibly moving weekly ritual where mothers of the children abducted during the 'Dirty War' (1976 - 1983) walk around the Plaza de Mayo in their memory.

30 years on......

After the tour I took the Sube home and after a quick change I jumped a taxi to the Argentine Experience - I had a great conversation with the taxi driver once he'd stopped trying to practice portuguese on me - once we'd established that, whilst yes I was brown I wasn't Brazillian I was in fact English - I spent the rest of the evening telling people that I wasn't Australian! The cookery class (yes, really!) was excellent, I learnt how to make empanadas a delicious snack which is best described as a very small (and considerably tastier) Cornish pasty. Don't worry if you can't imagine it, rest assured I will be making some for you to taste when I get home! After the cookery class I had a really great meal and too much Malbec.

I can't believe you need proof!

On the Sunday I met up with the tour guide, that I'd met on the walking tour earlier in the week, and his girlfriend for brunch at Malvon, a restaurant that I really wanted to visit, the fruitilla (strawberry) butter was extraordinary.... 

Malvon for brunch

In the afternoon I got an email from Elliot to say that he'd arrived in Buenos from Rio and did I fancy going to a pool party......

Back in BA - Week two to follow......

Raine x

Accelerating the ageing process in Uruguay

Uruguay sounded like it was going to be an amazing place to spend a week or so on the beach, we'd spoken to a number of people who'd told us about Punta del Este and Jose Ignacio and we were really looking forward to it especially as Sarah, a friend of Abby's, was coming out to meet us.

The reality though was a little different, it was incredibly expensive with the price of our accommodation more than doubling and the quality of the accommodation being less good than we have become used to (a bed in a dorm being the same price as private room in other countries). To be honest I think it was just bad timing, we arrived in peak season and during carnival and so sadly no sooner had we arrived than we were planning our exit.

We started our short Uruguayan adventure in Colonia which is where the ferry from Buenos Aires arrives and after dumping our bags at our hostel we were able to satisfy ourselves that the guide books are correct, it is possible to get to know Colonia thoroughly in less than three hours. It was a cute place with a lighthouse, I think that may well be all I remember of this short stop over.

Me, pre sunburn in Colonia

The following day we took a bus to Punta del Este (PdE) renowned for being one of South Americas most glamorous resorts and as you can guess one of the most expensive. As we drove along the coastal road toward PdE all we could see in addition to the actual sea was a sea of white high rise hotels, we had been able to find a really good and not phenomenally expensive hostel in a part of the town where there were only low rise buildings, which was perfect for us and was only a short walk from the beach. This was our first beach stop since Colombia which seems like such a long time ago and so knowing that we were going to be here for the next few days we found a spot that we liked and each day carried our beach chairs and brolly to the same spot and fried ourselves; I quite literally did fry myself.

Having become accustomed to the heat over the past few months it just didn't register that my tummy and my eyelids had not been exposed to such direct sunlight and that the 15spf suntan lotion just wasn't going to cut it and it didn't. I currently have the eyelids of a 150 year old tortoise and a tummy that I hope will look very young following it's non chemical peel - very foolish (it won't be repeated as Sarah arrived on Sunday with fresh supplies of SPF30 Clarins and Piz Buin, oh and Marmite - I love Sarah).

Sunset Punta del Este

On Sunday morning Abs and I took the bus to Montevideo airport to meet Sarah who I have to say looked pretty amazing after 25 hours of travelling. 

Something quite magical happens in arrival halls of airports, I could see a million awe inspiring sights but none would fill me with the overwhelming mix of emotions that I feel when I watch people waiting for loved ones to arrive or when I see the look of expectation on the faces of people as they walk in to arrivals, it is brilliantly expressed in the opening credits of the film Love Actually (which if you haven't seen you must google Love Actually Opening scene and watch it on youtube immediately, infact if you have seen it you should also google it, I promise you that whatever frame of mind you are in it will make you feel happy on the inside - which is good because it may well make you cry on the outside). 

Any way, sorry I have digressed.... We were spending the night at The London Palace hotel in Montevideo (yep) and as Abs said in her very best 'cockerney'/Dick Van Dyke accent "it's just like a real palace in London (guv'nor)".

The hotel was in a great location just a few blocks from the old town and so after we'd checked in we walked one block to a small plaza and just as soon as we sat down the heavens opened, Sarah appeared to have brought the great British weather with her. We huddled under the umbrella and caught up over a few drinks before heading back to 'the palace' for a siesta. 

Abs and I were keen to treat Sarah to a great first night meal and so once we were all dressed we started walking towards the old town where we knew there were some good restaurants. The streets were incredibly quiet it was like a ghost town, the alarm bells started to ring when we walked past a McDonalds that was closed.... it turns out that it was a national holiday, something that the Uruguayans clearly take more seriously than we do at home. We did manage to find somewhere for food but as I'm sure you can imagine a restaurant called Don Peperone was never going to provide the fine dining experience that we'd hoped to welcome Sarah with. Instead we made do with toasted sandwiches and a tuna nicoise salad!

Then, before we knew it it was Monday morning and time for us to go our separate ways; at 11am Abby and Sarah took a taxi to the airport to fly to Foz Iguazu and at 11:30 I took a taxi to the port to take a boat back to BA - I told you that I liked it......

See you there.

Raine x

Buenos Aires a retrospective....

Yet again I have left it too long between blogs so we're running a little behind on 'the story so far', it'll only take a little while to catch up so here goes....

In just a few days Buenos Aires has become my second favourite city in the world (I am not yet tired of life and so London retains the top spot).

I have to say that I love everything about BA, it's a really atmospheric city one that I am enjoying just 'being' in if that makes any sense. It is of course a city and so there have been no 'Fitzroy' moments here but there is something about it, particularly in and around the area in which we stayed. As with all cities the closer you get to the centre the more cars and people there are but the whole of Palermo, not just Soho has interesting cobbled side streets, beautiful old buildings and some amazing graffiti which I think, as I did with Valparaiso completely adds to its charm.

Wonderful street art is everywhere

Our apartment in Palermo Soho was the perfect base for us, we were surrounded by the coolest cafes, bars, restaurants and boutique clothes stores; it's possible to keep yourself fully occupied without even leaving the district to see some of the sights of BA, however we did.....

El Ateneo is a chain of bookstores; some of you will know that I absolutuley love killing time in a bookshop (can't recommend Daunts on Marylebone High Street highly enough) which is increasingly difficult to do in England since the clever people at Amazon made book buying so easy online, however bookshops seem to be something of a phenomenon in BA. El Ateneo Grand Splendid on Santa Fe is definitely worth a visit as it's in an old and beautiful building that used to be a theatre. The majority of the books are as you might expect in Spanish so we popped in to have a quick look around the building but only minimal book browsing was done.

Having visited Recoleta cemetery we then visited the Evita museum to find out a little more about her, the museum is small and in the main is a display of her dresses and shoes with some video footage of her speaking and of her funeral. Portenos (the term used to refer to people from BA) seem to be split on the topic of Evita as to whether was she a force for good or not.... The information available in the museum didn't really help me to form a strong view though from what I saw I would suggest that she was incredibly self indulgent. Something that I hadn't realised was that she died so young, she was only 33.

We visited San Telmo on what felt like the hottest day ever, we visited La Casa Rosada (The Pink Palace) famous for being the platform from which Evita addressed Argentina and then we sat in a lovely plaza watching a couple dancing the Argentinian Tango, the music and the dancing evokes thoughts of days gone by, made all the more so as the music was being played on an old 8-track.....

The 'Pink Palace'

A very provocative dance

We also went to Tigre; we took the Tren de la Costa which, following an attempted scam by the lady selling tickets (accused us of taking our $AR100 bill back - which of course we hadn't), took us past some beautiful properties where I imagine the super rich live, dropped us in Tigre which was incredibly busy as it's peak season in Argentina. There wasn't all that much to see in Tigre but it's the place to take a boat down the river to Tres Bocas which we did. As with almost every day we've had so far the weather was perfect and whilst all of the waterways in the delta were busy with tourists boats and locals alike, it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. We had an asado for lunch a very traditional meal of several different meats (different cuts of steak, chicken, chorizo and black pudding) served on a mini hot plate at your table.

En route to Tres Bocas

We definitely ate well in BA, my favourite meals were at Osaka a Japanese/Peruvian fusion restaurant (not as unusual a combination as you might imagine) and I Latina which is a 'closed door' restaurant, a model which is increasingly popular in BA - I misunderstood the description thinking that it was the same as a pop up restaurant but it isn't. A closed door restaurant offers a set menu anything from 5 to 10 courses and it's necessary to book in advance as they don't accept passing customers. I Latina is run by two brothers from Colombia one cooks and one is front of house, in just a year they have made it to number one on TripAdvisor and having now tasted the food I'm not at all surprised, it was delicious.

It was so nice having a base for more than just a couple of days and I can't describe the pleasure that can be derived from being able to completely unpack a rucksack and to put clothes in to a wardrobe, a small and simple pleasure.

So, as I said no 'Fitzroy' moments but a definite moment or two of wondering if I could (with ever so slightly improved Spanish!) live in this city and after nine days I have to say that yes, BA is definitely my kind of city.

Raine x

I think I may up sticks and move here......

On the 26th, after a stop over in Puerto Natales, we did our final border crossing from Chile to El Calafate in Argentina to take a flight to Buenos Aires (thanks to Marc & John - without your very generous birthday present we would have been doing a 36 hour bus journey, with it we were able to fly to BA in just three - thank you x).

I had read a lot about Buenos Aires (BA), I am after all a city chick and from what I'd read I suspected that I might like it, but I was wrong - I LOVE it!

We have rented an apartment in the coolest part of the city, Palermo Soho. For anyone who's been to New York it feels a lot like the Meat Packing district, full of fabulous restaurants, cafes, bars and chic boutiques.

Our first couple of days in the city were spent finding our feet and having some down time, just pottering (I love that term). 

Yesterday we visited Recoletta, famous for being the home of the cemetery where Eva Peron (Evita) is buried. Whilst it's a complete contrast to the natural beauty we have experienced in both Chile and Argentina over the past three weeks I have to say that I thought the cemetery was strangely beautiful.

Throughout Latin America they celebrate All Souls Day (aka The day of the dead) taking gifts and flowers to the graves of their loved ones, the indigenous communities take a feast to the grave side and family members take time to honour their dead. We were in Ecuador for All Souls Day and I remember seeing the gifts and flowers on the graves in all of the cemeteries that we passed.

I don't get the impression that All Souls Day was much of an event at Recoletta cemetery. 

A high wall protects the city of the dead that is Recoletta cemetery but despite it's height you can see an assortment of aged stone cherubs, angels and weeping widows peering over the top.

What were, I imagine, once fabulously ornate mausoleums marking what must have been a golden age in Argentinas history are now in varying states of decay, many of them with broken windows, exposed coffins and cobweb covered doors, it's like a silent theatre. 

The state of the tombs adds to the 'romance' of the place but left me feeling sad that they lie apparently forgotten by all but those tourists keen to see the final resting place of Evita who lies embalmed beneath tonnes of reinforced concrete to protect her from body snatchers and desecraters.

One of many plaques on Evita's tomb

Raine x

Silly silly people

Torres del Paine has very strict rules about the use of camping stoves and fires in the park and here's why......

In the past seven years two individual tourists have been responsible for destroying 285km2 of the beautiful forestland that makes up the Torres del Paine National Park.

It was incredibly sad to walk through the parts of of the park that had been so badly damaged by the stupidity of man!

Raine x

Grey Glaciar

The walk to the Grey Glaciar was an additional walk that we decided to do once we'd completed the W Trek. It was an extra 11km and it was my favourite walk of the five days, very few people walk all the way to the Glaciar, opting to view it from the mirador (view point) which is quite some distance away and which means that they only need to walk for four days.

It was quite a tough walk, we had to go up and down two 'ladders' made of scaffolding and cross one very wobbly bridge but it was so worth it. We only saw a handful of people the whole day and the views of the Glaciar were incredible.

It's a long way up or down which ever way you look at it.

Icebergs ahead....

The colours were ever changing

We walked along side the Glaciar through the glaciated valley which was stunning. The light kept changing through the day which made the Glaciar appear white initially and then all different shades of blue until looking back on it on our return journey it appeared to be electric blue.

Awe inspiring!

Raine x 

I am sooo glad we're not camping....

I woke up at about 3am to the sound of a gale force wind and looked out of the window at the campsite to see several people trying to secure their tents.....

After breakfast we set off for Refugio Grey, the final stop of our trek. The weather was amazing, we had the strongest winds that I've ever experienced (if you want to see what I mean by strong let me know and I'll send you the video).

Abs successfully staying on her feet!

The sun doesn't always shine on us.....

The wind made the walk harder than it should be but it also made it the funniest day, Abs and I laughed like children the whole way to Refugio Grey - recording weather forecasts, pretending we were skydiving and generally just trying to stay standing up.


They were right about the four seasons, all we're waiting on now is snow!

Raine x