Hola from Buenos Aires airport.
Nice early start this morning up at 5 am ready for the airport transfer at 5.30 and now sitting in the lounge waiting for the plane to take us to Peru.
Well we have just had a week in Argentina mainly around the Buenos Aries precinct, taking in the sites and meandering around the shops. This place is very different in many ways from Santiago although there is still a great divide between the wealthy and the poor. Food is big and rich and very affordable with the average meal for 4 people under $60 Dollars including beer and wine. A nice wine from the supermarket will cost around $5 and therefore 10 in the restaurant.(we even replaced our duty free gin with a $4 one from the supermercado) The travel guides warn you about the dress codes here and they are right as the people who can afford it go all out in ensuring they are wearing the latest fashion and spend plenty of dollars on the makeup and cosmetic surgery. This might be alright while they are young but I am not so sure that they age all that well.
After settling in on the first day we decided it was time for some dinner and nothing better than a steak to fill the belly.....hmm I ordered a Baby Bife which turned out to be two large slabs of meat, along with a plate of veggies and some papa fritz (chips) for the table, - far more than I could possibly eat in 1 session but thankfully Tony was able to help out and between us we did it proud, albeit we really didn’t need to eat for another 24 hours. Breakfast at our B&B is also a sight to behold and we had to take a photo of the table before we started. On offer was a large selection of cakes, pastries, breads and biscuits just to make sure that we kept our carbs up and prepared ourselves for the day ahead. By the end of our stay we had taken to purchasing Avocados and tomatoes to spread on toast in order to try and bring the diet back into some sense of reality. (This can be very difficult given the size of their meals and the endless supply of breads at every meal) I am surprised that this is not one of the most obese nations in the world given their diet and portion sizes but they must have very different metabolisms to us.
We have been trying to walk as much as possible to burn some calories and to avoid the public transport as they have this habit of squeezing as many people on to a subway or bus in a bizarre attempt to break a world record. Our first experience of this was on day 2 when we decided to head into the city and do one of the double decker tourist busses and hence get some bearings and identify areas where we wanted to return to during the week. Once working out which side of the track to stand on we waited a couple of minutes for the train and the doors opened onto a full car but to our surprise we were ushered/pushed in and wedged between a sea of bodies with nothing to hang onto but locked in to position by those around us. I managed to keep one hand on my pocket with the phone and wallet but had absolutely no control of the backpack for the next 20 minutes. Fortunately it survived although a couple of zips had been opened but nothing of value for them to take. Robyn was targeted by I young man but she wasn’t going to play his game so he got pissed off and moved on.
Off the subway and straight into the mall where you come face to face with market stands selling all sorts of souvenirs and trinkets so we spent a bit of time looking and buying various costume jewelry and taking a few photos. The bus trip was good and we stopped for lunch at La Bocca where there was yet another market, some tango demonstrations and some great people watching.
Day 3 we decided on a walk around the parks looking at some of the amazing statues and sculptures and of course we managed to get lost along the way and were slightly off the track but still in a very public area where we encountered our first serious attempt to scam us and pick the pockets. The scenario went something like this: tony was about 20 meters behind and was greeted by a lady with a map asking for some directions, we were also accompanied by a man with a map but he didn’t ask or say anything. We stopped to laugh at Tony and wait for him to catch up when Robyn felt something akin to bird poo land on her head, shirt and backpack..... It looked like bird poo and smelt like bird poo and the very helpful man near us jumped up offering some toilet paper to clean it off, next thing we know I had some on me, Rachel on her and even Tony who was 20 meters away had some on him. So here we were trying to wipe it off each other wondering what type of bird could possibly have that much crap and managed to get us all. Our new friends were being so helpful offering water and tissues and even assisting us to remove some of it. Her job was to distract us and get me to help Robyn while he tried to unzip my pocket and remove the wallet. This proved too difficult and he moved on to helping Tony and Rachel. The penny dropped and we realised that he had his hands on Tony’s money pouch and their scam was exposed, within a few seconds and a final check of Rachel’s back pocket they quickly left to a waiting taxi along with another woman who was obviously standing guard. The net result was that we lost a bottle of water but kept everything else and we learnt a very valuable lesson. It all happened so quickly and we were just a little bit too trusting to accept the offer of help from a total stranger.
In the evening we decided to take in a Tango show and were picked up at 9.30 and carried across town in another white knuckle taxi (they are seriously crazy behind the wheel of the car turning a three lane road into at least 5 and ducking and weaving using only the horn and no indicators) The show was spectacular with Spanish singing and some great dancing. Personally I am not sure what all of the fuss is about as I often dance like that after a few lagers. Seriously great footwork and some very elegant clothing including the dresses albeit a bit short for my liking given I was in the front row.....
Day 4 we decided to head north to the Delta at Tigre. This was a bus trip on a local bus followed by the Tren-de-Costa out to the coast. After arriving we wandered around and looked at the various boat options for exploring the river ways and islands that make up the delta. We settled on a private water taxi and spent the next hour on the river and a fascinating experience and insight into life on the islands. Housing is very cheap ($40,000 US) and much of our conversation was around which particular property we might purchase as a holiday home. On return to the jetty we headed off in search of a restaurant for lunch. Having learnt from previous experiences we settled on a smaller local restaurant and only ordered 1 plate of meat meant for 2 persons to be shared amongst us..... Gross, the meal consisted of some Chorizo sausage, Blood sausage, kidneys, intestines and a couple of steaks. Between us we tried it all except for the blood sausage as this was a real stomach turner and would have only ended in vomit and tears. There was quite a bit of food left at the end and the meal stayed with us for several hours after.
We needed a new battery for Robyn’s camera as the one she had would not hold its charge for the whole day so once back in the city we spotted a camera shop and asked in our best Spanish for a replacement, they sent us down the road across a few blocks and mission accomplished. Next an external hard drive to back up ALL of the photos that Robyn and Rachel had managed to download onto the computer. Again back a few blocks and into a major shopping mall. Robyn and I went to see what we could find and left Rach and Tony in a leather shop, on our return they were both wearing new jackets and Rachel a new handbag, Robyn joined in and also acquired a new Jacket.
Day 5 More shopping. We tackled the bus as we were feeling very brave and headed in to find the post office and see how we might get a metal sculpture (lunig) home that Tony and Rach had brought us in Valparaiso for a wedding present. On the bus Tony started talking to an older lady and was asking directions, I commented on her English being very good to which she replied “that is because I am English my dear” Doh! A massage for Tony and some lunch for us followed by a rather long walk home via the shops on Santé Fa road. Managed to find a few more things to add to the luggage.
Day 6 and we decided a bit of culture was in order however first we needed to find an “apple’ store to see if we could get Tony’s phone repaired. Finally, we found someone who could understand us despite not being able to speak any English and using the map they located some directions and away we went. Mission accomplished so now a walk to the national Museum. Not much of a museum really although there were some great old photos and paintings with all the descriptions in Spanish. Lunch then a subway back to the B&B to pick up the laundry and get ready for this morning. Meal times by now are starting to align with the locals who normally eat after 2 and again after 9pm so this has taken some getting used to but we are getting into it and enjoying the cheap food and inevitable wine and beer that must accompany these meals. A bit of fun picking up the laundry as our washing had been combined (no problem there) but it was also spread across two other peoples so required a little exercise in sorting. Someone had obviously beaten us there as a pair of Tony’s socks had gone missing and a single sock of the same brand left behind. The lady in the shop eventually found its mate behind the machine and unwashed so Tony settled for this one as there was little else we could do and the lady in question spoke no English and our little Spanish was not enough to keep up with her.
And so here we are on the plane and heading for the next part of the adventure in Lima Peru. I will try to write again soon.
Love to all Stu and Robyn
