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Apparently Argentina won some sort of football match recently
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I arrived in Buenos Aires in that traditional quiet period that comes just
before Christmas and just after winning a World Cup. Everything shut early
on Christmas Eve, and it was looking like bananas for Christmas lunch until a
small bakery flung its doors open and furnished me with empanadas galore.
Sadly, my attempt to book a hostel filled with fellow travellers over Christmas failed
miserably - I seemed to have the entire place to myself and I spent half the
morning trying to persuade a cat to pose for selfies.
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| Must you? |
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| Help me |
Like Santiago, Buenos Aires is huge, with wide avenues (some have more than 20
lanes!) and European architecture everywhere. I thought I was being quite canny
going for a bus tour of the city on Boxing Day, reasoning that the roads would
be much quieter. Well, they were, which meant that the audio explanations kept
getting cut short every time we reached our new destination in record time. Mind
you, it didn't make much difference since the audio quality was terrible anyway. Still,
it was the best way to see all the main sites of the city, such as this obelisk
commemorating something or other.
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Some crazy horses climbed to the top of this to celebrate their World Cup win.
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| Boca Junior's ground (sadly, tours weren't on during December)
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No trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without a visit to the Ham
Museum
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It is also home to a large ecological reserve where I saw (and failed to
take a picture) of a lizard that was the size of a bloody crocodile. Here's
a short video of one the reserve's laguna instead.
Buenos Aires lies on the Rio Plata, and on the other side of the river, Uruguay.
However, the Rio Plata happens to the widest river in the world (though I'm not sure where a river ends and the ocean begins), so the
crossing still took over an hour.
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A river so wide you can't see the other side
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Instead of going to the capital Montevideo, I opted to vsit the town of Colonia
del Sacramento. Which was very pleasant to walk around, but not exactly jam
packed with things to do.
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| They have a flag |
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.. and lots of nice buildings. And quite a few old cars ...
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... which they let the fish drive
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Back in Buenos Aires, a major attraction is the
Cemeterio de la Ricoleta, which is jam packed full of graves of famous Argentinian military leaders, Noble
prize winners, and presidents (and their wives, although I tried and failed
to find Eva Peron's grave).
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Some of the graves are so grandiose that they peer over the
massive wall
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As someone who has yomped round more graveyards than I care to remember, it
was a bit surprising to be charged entry to this one. A much greater
surprise, however, was their refusal to take cash (unlike everywhere else in
Argentina). So I had to troop home unfulfilled, but I came back another day
armed with my last precious bank card, and I can say that the cemetery is
well worth a visit (if you're in Buenos Aires).
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It's even nicer than the Bolivian one, which used to be my favourite
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Another famous attraction in the city is the Teatro Colon, a large theatre
built over 100 years ago. I'd have liked to actually watch a production here
(The Nutcracker is the current show) but tickets are ridiculously cheap (prices start at £3) and sell out months in advance, so I had to make do
with a guided tour instead.
Buenos Aires marks the end of the South American leg of my trip (if you don't
include a stopover in Colombia). It's been nearly four months, and I've
enjoyed almost every day (the food poisoning day wasn't much fun). My Spanish
has improved slightly, I had some memorable experiences, and I've made
a lot of new friends. Now onto Part 2 ....
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