Buenos Aires, Argentina

I feel like I went to bed as a young Argentinian after a good night out and woke up as a middle aged English woman. I can feel those dancing muscles and it seems a late sleep was needed. I walked out to a lovely sunny afternoon and headed to Puerto Madero which is in the east of the city. My initial plan was to hire a bike to cycle around the ecological reserve behind the new city area. The late start put paid to that plan, so I strolled around the lakes instead looking at strange birds, even spotted a huge otter type animal snaking past the Ibis. The weekends are a big family time for people so it is very relaxing just people watching. There is a cultural centre nearby (CCK) which has a Penas & Milonga late afternoon, so I spent a couple ideas watching professional dancers, regular couples and a orchestra with 4 accordion players. They were all very good, but the Tango does confuse me both from a steps and music perspective. There does not seem to be any logic or patterns to the dances, it seems hard. They also did a couple of dances in lines that reminded me of country dancing at school. These were much more joyous affairs, with people clapping and waving handkerchiefs around. I walked back up av. Corrientes, home of Cadore ice cream – dark chocolate and banana split flavours were divine. I caught the Subte home, there has been a protest so it is sweaty and rammed with singing passionate Argentinians.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I felt better with my Spanish today, took a little test and did better than I thought, I also found I can name quite a few fruit and vegetables just from shopping and ice cream flavours! Tonight there is a traditional asado organised by the school at a residential house, technically it is not a BBQ, and the suggestion can cause offence….but it is essentially a pile of meat cooked over coals. It looks like the meat is prepared with a salt type preparation before cooking, and the rack over the coals is slanted (like a house roof). The address is in Belgrano, looks like a affluent neighbourhood and I catch the Subte out there. I do manage to trap my arm in the Subte door, which is a tad embarrassing but I recovered it well! We meet at 8.30pm and I am deliberately starving. The house is at the base of a block of flats, and I am surprised how open it is, leading onto a wide terrace that can house a table for 20 and has a asado at one end. I am not sure if he is hired or part of the family, but the guy is busy filling the rack with all sorts of meat – morcilla (blood sausage), lamb ribs, steak chunks, aubergine, chorizo sausage. Faye and the Kiwis are already here, and they have thought to bring alcohol. Two Dutch guys, Thomas and Wilfred are heading out to buy beer so I put in some cash for a couple of bottles of wine….decent Malbec is available for around £5. It is a lovely evening, I obviously drink too much wine before dinner is served at 11pm but manage to put a decent effort in eating a bit of each meat. After dinner there is a movement towards heading to a Salsa club, it is the last time I will see the 2 Kiwis so feel it would be fun to have a dance. Faye for some reason has brought a bike, so we were slightly concerned as she wobbled off in the wrong direction (she did get home safe). There are about 10 of us that head to the club by taxi, its free for women and we head up to the Columbian themed party. It is a good laugh and aside from the terrifying part when a stranger asked me to dance (he was very kind and didn’t complain when I went the wrong way) I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I was surprised that it was 3am before I knew it, some of the group were heading off and the music changed so I decided to head home. I started off walking, before deciding that taxi was probably safer and would be quicker. I realised Dad had just made a scrabble move so was awake early morning, quite funny wishing him Buenos noches as he started his day.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Spanish is still a little muddled in my head! Today we were learning ‘to be’ and when to apply ‘ser’ or ‘estar’…. After class the Kiwi’s, Harriet and Guy were going to the Eva Peron museum, which was on my list so we decided to grab lunch and then head over. Fun with the waitress practicing our Spanish, she then verified orders by practicing her English. Huge milanesa sandwich, ordered ‘simple’, this means just that. If you order ‘completo’ it comes with everything, like fries/egg/ham. It actually started raining as we walked to the museum. The museum is in a former building of the Eva Peron Foundation, quite a grand and beautiful building. Interesting presentation of the former First Lady, I had watched Evita previous but this focused more on how she supported the poor and woman through her role. Originally trained as an actress with a few roles, she met Peron at a rally for earthquake victims and married him a year later and he became president. She was really popular with the lower classes and together the Perons set up child education, holiday options for the poor, hospitals to improve the conditions for the working class. The museum obviously focuses on the positives of her life and role, she died at 33 of cancer and was given a state funeral joined by masses, the first for someone of her status. The museum was nicely presented and they featured some of her glamorous and day to day outfits which were lovely. This evening I went for a few beers with Faye, a British girl staying for a couple of weeks. We hit a couple of craft breweries near Plaza Serrano.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I genuinely have nothing to write today that is exciting. Spanish class was tough, and I am wondering if it will soon start coming together…. left class hungry and with a banging headache. Found a lovely fresh pasta shop on the way home, so bought spinach tagliatelle for dinner. Spend the afternoon doing jobs I had put off, exciting ones like cleaning my trek sandals which are not so fresh after Iguazu soaking. I will comment on the variety of local shops there are in the city. Local greengrocers, fresh pasta shops, bakeries are regularly found every few blocks which is really nice to experience.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Spanish day 2 – counting, time, occupations and more verbs. Head is really trying hard to make sense of it. Grabbed a few empanadas for lunch as I am going back down to La Boca neighbourhood for the afternoon. The school organises a few social activities each week and I quite liked the sound of this tour. It is with a local guy and promises to show you beyond the usual touristy street of Caminito. First adventure is getting there, and taking a bus. It is actually much easier than it looked, you tell the driver where you want to go and then put your Sube card on the machine, bit like an Oyster card. We meet the guide down near the port and spend about 3 hours in the neighbourhood. I learnt this was where the port was located originally, and was key for the Spanish to move extracted silver from the mines near Lima back to Spain as it was largely downhill, thus quicker. I was also impressed with how much the football club influences the area. It is known worldwide, but has membership rather than an owner. Once you have been president of the club, you are eligible to run for mayor, and then president of the country (as the current president history demonstrates). The club also runs support centres for the community, woman and children. They also fund the fire service facilities, which we saw and chatted to the bomberos. It was great to be out in the sunshine, enjoying stories about the area and meeting more students from the school. Faye lost her sube card and missed the bus back, so I hopped off to help her. Would like to think someone would have done the same for me if I got stuck. 25degrees & sunny

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Today feels a little strange, I set an alarm for this morning had breakfast planned and had to be in school for 9am. Part of me likes the fact I have committed to a routine for the next few weeks, not sure why! After the last week, clean clothes are few so I have a bag ready to drop into a laundrette (lavanderia) for washing on the way to class. Breakfast in my little studio is avocado and cream cheese on toast washed down with orange juice and coffee. Route is a fairly short walk to class, around 20mins and I arrive in time for induction. Six of us in the class, a Aussie guy, a kiwi couple and two Dutch guys on a internship all friendly. Our tutor is Julian and he seems fine, laughs a bit particularly at the Dutch pronunciation which actually might be worse than mine. We cover loads, the alphabet, greetings, introductions, where we are from/live and by the end of four hours I have a headache but it’s been a good start. Head home after class and eat pasta, seem to be starving for a change….spoke to Justin and Jules & Pete late afternoon which was nice. Take a late afternoon stroll over to the parks near recolata via a heladeria (Volta) to see the Floralis Genérica which is a sculpture of a massive flower made of steel and aluminum designed by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano. Catalano once said that the flower “is a synthesis of all the flowers and, at the same time, a hope reborn every day at opening”. The sculpture was designed to move, closing its petals in the evening and opening them in the morning. My plan was to stay until sunset to watch it close, but a couple of guys started asking me about Brexit and then the ‘1982’ war, felt a little uncomfortable so I decided to make my way back down Avenida Libertad to home.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sunday started with a lie in, still have a bit of the head cold I have had for the past few days and managed a good 10hours sleep. Wake up in my shiney and bright studio, strange not to see Justin already awake and tapping on the iPad waiting for me to wake up. It is cloudy today for a change, not cold but a little gloomy. Facebook is covered with stories of people enjoying the sun in England, so at least i know where it is! It is Mother’s Day today, so I video chat with the family. They all seem on fine form, with mum enjoying the Malbec wine I gave her with her roast. Today’s plan is to do nothing but I figure whilst I am here for a month, I should try and get out to see different parts of the city. I walk down to Plaza Italia and along the side of the zoo (another day perhaps) down to the major road Avenida del Libertador to Parque de 3 Febrero. This park it quite traditionally laid out and would have been the aristocracy’s old stomping ground. On Sundays they close the road around it to vehicles and so it is a great place to people watch. Joggers, rollerblading, cyclists and just people walking, it seems to be quite the weekend social activity. There is a rose garden at the heart of it called Rosedal, I wasn’t sure on time of year versus blooms but it was lovely. Bigger than I thought and lots of varieties planted in sections to create blocks of colour, and great scent. My landlord called me about dropping off kitchen stuff so I wandered back to meet him, I now have a chopping board, 2 knives, bowl and stirring utensils. I went back out in search of a notebook for school tomorrow and found a massive Carrefour hypermarket. Lost about an hour in there and the shopping mall just browsing differences to U.K. ranges, particularly the section of dulce de leche, bought a frying pan to to complete my kitchen. 25degrees & cloudy, sun shone from 3pm

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I always knew today would be strange. We talked about how long ago those first few days in Santiago seem, but that two months have flown by in a packed adventure. It is time to go our separate ways as Justin flys to London from Brazil and I head back down to Buenos Aires. I feel quite emotional about saying goodbye, I am sure I will be fine but it is easier when you are travelling with someone who knows you and who helps out. Feels like half the stress and more joy to share, but anyway no need to be sentimental- this is just another chapter in my adventure. After a goodbye hug I catch the shuttle to the airport, in line I chat to a couple of Canadians that have done a week- El Calafate, BA, Iguazu..crazy fast, makes me grateful for my extended time off. The guy at Aerolineas is having nothing of my charms and charges me for being over 15kg, we have got away with it on 3 flights so it is not bad going but still sucks, that whole £9. Flight is fast, I have collected my bag and am in a taxi before it was due to land. This makes me early to check into the flat but after a short wait in sunshine Marina arrives to let me in. It looks exactly as the pictures, unfortunately it overlooks a swanky pool I don’t have access to but if we ignore that, it is clean and light studio so hopefully will be a good base. There are not any kitchen utensils for cooking or hairdryer, so on querying with the landlord he was good and has promised to drop some in tomorrow. I have a good look around the neighbourhood, find a few supermarkets and pick up essentials together with veggie pasta ingredients. I have been slightly short on veggies lately and currently have a cold so pack my basket with fruit and orange juice. Feels really good to unpack, I have vowed to pack less when I leave Buenos Aires but we will see how that goes….

Puerto Iguazú, Argentina

Today was unplanned, we didn’t feel that a trip back to the park would be worthwhile so we looked for other options. A 25minute stroll up the road brought us to a animal rescue centre but the English speaking guided tour was 2 hours away so we scrapped that plan. The attendant told us we could get a bus back to town from a stop outside for 17 pesos, we waited dubiously but sure enough a bus picked us up and then wound its way through residential streets to town. It was heading to the 3 frontiers point, so we figured we could stay on to see that and then walk back from town. The point isn’t that exciting but you can see Paraguay and Brazil from this point in Argentina so it’s pretty cool to see. We walked back through town, earning a ice cream on the way before getting back to the hotel. I then figured it was just perfect time for a swim and pool lazing in the last of the sun. Final night for Justin so a large steak and bottle of wine is enjoyed to celebrate a great adventure.

Iguazú, Argentina

Having figured out the buses to Brazil, the ones to the Argentinian park followed the same road out of town so we knew where to catch the bus near the hotel. The park is only 15km from town so an easy trip to the entrance. It is very different to the Brazilian entrance, no computer ticket machines or credit cards, it is also about a third more at 500 pesos (£25). We had figured on spending 2 days in this park as there are more trails to hike around, but we were caught out a little with seeing 3 of the trails closed (we later learnt that a puma had been spotted, and in fact the previous week the whole park had been shut for 2 days). We decided to book a boat tour, Justin was keen to do an adrenaline type ride so we booked a jeep trip/boat ride adventure for mid afternoon. The next task was to stand in line for about 45minutes in the sun waiting for the little train to take you up to the waterfalls, made worse by the trail up being closed this wait was frustrating and the train really slow. We got off at the furthest stop, and walked about 1km to the Devils throat. This is essentially the top of the waterfalls at the part that curves round so you really feel within it. The upper river was all calm as you crossed each metal walkway so you are not really prepared for the pressure and volume that you see tumbling over the edge about a metre from your feet. Truly amazing position, never a layout I can see passing health and safety in Britain. Unbelievably time has flown past so after a couple of empanadas (which I eat standing up to thwart the Coatis that seem intent on stealing food) it is time for our Adventure tour. Some people are changing into swimmers which concerns me slightly, but I have quick drying stuff on so I hope I will be ok. We clamber into the back of a pick up truck and travel down a jungle trail. The guide points out a few trees and gives background to the area, but I am fascinated by the size of the spiderwebs overhanging the trail and the size of spiders…. we get off and take the steps down to the lower river, the people we pass on the return don’t look too wet. Handed a life jacket and dry bag we get onto the boat, I pick near front seats and kindly give Justin the seat nearest the edge and potential wettest spot. We cruise nicely up the river, although going up rapids in a tin boat feels a little perilous. We watch another boat getting wet before turning and moving to other parts to look at another section of the falls. I am slightly disappointed we are not getting wet and wondered if we booked the wrong tour before spotting the crew putting on waterproofs. They then drove us into the falls, I kid you not, I could not keep my eyes open to see the water volume was pounding that violently, we were right underneath before the boat was twisted to ensure the other side felt the same rush. It made you kiddy, a lot of fun and laughs as we can out into the sun and powered back. They then turned us back up river to do it all again under the first larger section we had viewed. Thank goodness I put my phone away, not a inch of me is dry but both Justin and are are beaming from ear to ear. The posh guy behind us proclaimed it as “magnificently fun’ which summed it up. We squelched our way back to the start and set off on the Upper trail walkways to walk along the top of the falls and dry out a bit. These walkways showed off some of the larger falls including ‘Salta Chico’ which is a great name. Less people around now in the late afternoon, so more relaxing strolling and viewing the sections, even the little train down was peaceful. We took our tickets to be stamped for tomorrow but if the trails don’t open there will be nothing new to see so I am not sure if there is any value. We get back on Rio Uruguay bus, still damp but a quick hot shower freshens us up ready for our night out. As we near the end of Justin’s 2 months, I am conscious that we should push the boat out a bit and he had spotted a foodie evening that was well reviewed called the Argentine Experience. We could only get tickets for tonight, and as we arrive our host is really welcoming and it turns out we are two of five guests so quite an intimate group. We have a really fun, drunken evening with cocktail mixing, learning how to make empanadas and enjoying perfectly cooked steak with gaucho vegetables. All washed down with wine and finished off with Alfajores (two cookies sandwiched with dulce de Lethe and dipped in chocolate) of which I had at least six. Walked home full and wobbly.