We treated ourselves to a budget blowing hostel called ‘Reine Madre’ between the barrios of Palermo and Recoleta, both middle class suburbs with tree lined avenues, cafes and bars. After a now relatively short 17 hour bus ride from Mendoza we ventured into the downtown area to Plaza de Mayo. The plaza is flanked by the Casa Rosada, home to the Argentine government. It’s also where Evita famously addressed the nation amongst other things. A short but hideously hot circuit of Avenida de Mayo (a bit like Paris), Avenida 9 de Julio (a bit like the M25) and the pedestrian street Florida (a bit like a posh Benidorm) was followed by an early bath with a cold beer.
Casa Rosada, Plaza de Mayo
Florida - The main pedestrian shopping area
On our first full day we decided to head across the Rio de la Plata for a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. The place was once a Portuguese smuggling port designed to disrupt the Spanish port of Buenos Aires. Immigration, check in queues, a slow ferry and a different time zone meant we had less than 5 hours to explore. We spent half our time eating a fantastic parilla of steak, chorizo, black pudding, chicken and intestines. The historic quarter of Colonia itself is no bigger than say St. Ives in Cornwall. A quick dash around the picturesque town satisfied us we had seen enough of the town but we wished we had visited more of Uruguay.
On Thursday we took a bus west to La Boca, home to the Boca Juniors football team. We both really wanted to watch a match but the season ended 3 weeks ago and doesn’t restart until late January. There are two football seasons per year in Argentina so the break is only 5 weeks or so. Very bad timing on our part! Tut. We took a tour of La Bombonera stadium and visited the museum before heading to The Caminito. This is a small area of brightly coloured buildings along the river created in the 1950’s by a local artist.
La Bombonera, Boca Juniors football stadium - Empty. Tut!!
The Caminito area, La Boca (a short walk from the stadium)
That evening we went to a top notch tango show at the Piazolla Theatre in central Buenos Aires. We have roughed it quite a bit over the last couple of months (erm, apart from Mendoza) so it was a nice treat to put on some socks, change our undies and sit at a fancy candle-lit table. The show was spectacular with up to 10 dancers giving their all for 90 minutes. We had fantastic seats in the middle of the newly refurbished traditional theatre. An experience we will never forget.
Rach in the Piazolla Theatre before the show
The Piazolla Theatre full wing. Not our photo. Not allowed during the show apparently!
New Years Eve was bizarre. The day started with a trip to Recoleta Cemetary, home to many of Argentina's famous dead people, including Eva Peron herself. A very odd place, it was more like a small town with many graves looking more like smallhouses.
In the evening we met up with a couple called Shaun and Kirsty (who we met in Mendoza) in the centre of downtown Buenos Aires. The place was deserted at 10.30pm! There was literally nobody on the pavements and no cars on the roads. Somewhat perplexed we got a cab to Palermo where we had heard it should be lively. We got out of the cab into what seemed like a nightmare of a post apocalyptic nuclear fall out. The place was empty. After a little of exploring we found a couple of semi busy bars to have a drink. 12pm came and went with little enthusiasm, 15 minutes past then...
Recoleta Cemetary. Uplifting it wasn't..
A lone woman dressed in carnival clothing walked down the middle of the road shortly followed by a drummer, then another, then another. The bars, and us, emptied onto the street as fireworks exploded in the road ricocheting off buildings. We were willingly engulfed in a samba style street party of origin unknown. The crowd seemed to come from nowhere. Shutters were flying up, bars and restaurants opened as the streets came alive to the sound of the drums. Realising we were in the middle of the road with fireworks being thrown perilously close to our heads and feet we to took retreat in that infinitely dependable Irish Pub!
Photos of new year on their way - We hope!
We loved Buenos Aires and we are sorry we only had 4 nights in Argentina’s capital city. We have decided to come back one day to avoid fireworks and see a Boca’s game…
Finally, we want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! We were thinking of you all at 9pm Argentina time which was midnight for most of you. Friends and family in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and France, we thought of you too but periodically throughout the day as we can never work out the time zones!!
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