Buenos Aires, Argentina

Today I was determined to work out the Ecobici system and ride a bike down across the parks to Puerto Madero. I managed to get the first bike out and it was knackered, also the last in the rack. I went to the next one and the bike was a little better although you could not spin pedals to I had to just go with whatever position I was in when I stopped. I had resolved to stick to bike paths, as the drivers are terrible here and I don’t have a helmet. I enjoy whipping past the big parks and through San Martin park, I manage to get myself in a dead end train track at one point but eventually make it to Puerto Madero. At this point I rented a mountain bike to loop the trails in the ecological reserve, this is the place I visited a couple of weeks ago and I thought being in the peace and quiet of the reserve would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. It is a lovely space full of pampas grass, palms and lots of other colourful plants sat on the river Plato. I spent a couple of hours cycling around the edge and then along the ponds looking for wildlife. After returning the bike I grabbed a bondiola sandwich (pork shoulder) from one of many vendors that sit on the Costanera Sur with their picnic tables stretched out in the sunshine. My plan was to see if I could pick up a cheap cirque de soliel for this afternoon or evening performances. This wasn’t possible, next availability is for Thursday and the cheapest is about £70. I have bought one! I have been reading about the show and decided to splurge, it’s always a fun production and this one is based on music by a band from BA, Soda Stereo so this is the premier. It is still glorious sunshine and 22degrees so I wander through the main central area, walking up Florida street and window shopping. I stop to hear a blind man sing, ‘time to say goodbye’ he is amazing and nearly made me cry. Ice cream of pears and blueberries is delicious in the afternoon sunshine. I grab another bike from San Martin park and cycle back home, this one has a wonky pedal but the biggest issue is I couldn’t get it to register at the station when I got home. Hopefully it will sort itself out, I meanwhile have earned a beer!