Buenos Aires, Argentina

Today is the last day of Spanish classes and I have mixed feelings. I am grateful to be taking a break from the challenge of learning a language but really like my classmates and tutor. There are 3 of us leaving this week, so class will be very different next week. It’s a good time to leave as if I stayed much longer I think I would struggle to leave the comfort and familiarity of Buenos Aires. We complete class with the usual vigour and maté drinking practice. We said our goodbyes, big hugs particularly to Julian, he has been a fun teacher. I even got another certificate! Rachel and I head to lunch and then to the Japanese gardens for a stroll this afternoon. I wasn’t that impressed with them, they were nicely landscaped and well maintained but I was expecting an oasis of tranquility which they weren’t. I had arranged to meet Jay and Pierre-Henri for drinks this evening, by way of a end of school celebration. We hang out in Palermo near the Plaza Serrano at the Valk tap rooms. They do a plethora of craft beers, and I particularly enjoyed a few Honey beers.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Time to see the show that broke my budget! I catch a bus down to Luna park and head into the arena. I have a standing ticket, and the performance is supposed to interact with the crowd. I am not sure what to expect but hopefully it is worth it! The show is based around the music of a Argentinian band, Soda Stereo. Basically, the concept of the show is a science fiction story where there is a planet, which is basically Soda, where things are inspired by the songs and how people who live on that planet are inspired by the lyrics. This is all woven around some world class acts and performance art. The show is fantastic and it showcases the brave and the strange acts. From the traditional acrobatics, a lady spinning on a rope by her hair, a song performed underwater in a tank all the way to skipping tricks. It grabbed and held my attention throughout. I think what elevated it for me was the music, and the fact that the crowd knew the words. They were real fans, so lots of singing and jumping about to the high energy ones. I just went along with whatever they were doing but enjoyed the music too. Hugely fantastic evening! I am now addicted to the song ‘De Música Ligera’ and a couple of others. Bit about the band: (who in Argentina sold out a stadium faster than Robbie Williams) Soda Stereo is an argentinian rock band that was formed in Buenos Aires in 1982 by Gustavo Cerati (voice and guitar), Hector “Zeta” Bosio (bass) and Charly Alberti (drums). Pioneer of the “rock in spanish” movement in the 80´s, it is considered the most influential and significant band in Latin America, with audience attendance and album selling records throughout it´s career. Soda was known for it´s innovative nature and for risk taking at all times, maintaining massive popularity along the way. They broke up in 1997 and ten years later they reunited for a successful tour with more than one million tickets sold.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The guys at school have decided that practicing having maté is the only way for us to acquire a taste for it, so they are preparing and passing it round each lesson. It is rude to decline, and you should not say thank you until you have had enough. As you are passed the cup and bombesha, you suck until there is no liquid left and then pass back to the server. I can deal with drinking it now, but not loving it yet! It is a drizzly day in BA, and as I work out my plans for my last few days it seems a good day to head to the fine arts museum. I have low expectations since visiting the one in Santiago, but it is free and gets good reviews. Rachel from school is keen to come as well, so after class we head up towards the museum. We have lunch near where I live and enjoy a tasty spinach & cheese warm tart with mint lemonade. A short stroll along Av. Libertardor and we can enter the grand (slightly pink) museum. I actually really enjoyed the visit, spending nearly 2 hours here. There are a good range of European classics, section of modern art but also some classic Latin American artists whose names I have become more familiar with. It was well worth the visit and the rain has stopped by the time we leave.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I have been meaning to go to the Konex cultural centre and see the show La bomba de tiempo for a few weeks. It is on every Monday and feels like something that is on every tourist list. La bomba de tiempo is a group who play drums and percussion, about 10 in total. There are a few from Spanish school heading down tonight and also Wilfred as it is his last night before flying home. The night starts at 8pm and the performance is very varied and high energy. The crowd enjoy dancing around the outdoor stage and everyone seems to have a good evening!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ecobici update: I’ve been suspended from using the service until Wednesday. Thomas messaged me last night and said he was heading back to Holland early, as he has a standby ticket. All flights for the next few days are full, so he was taking what he can rather than be stuck in BA when he should be working (for KLM). Good new is his friend Thomas is back from Mendoza and would like to go to the Ferias de mataderos with me. We arrange to meet at Plaza Italia at noon and catch a bus to the city suburbs when the feria is based every Sunday, in a more traditional neighbourhood. The bus was quicker than I expected, taking around 40minutes for less than 7 pesos! (35p). The fair is billed as a traditional gaucho market, where there is a market, parillas, milonga and horse races. I feel it delivered on the first three but I didn’t see any horse racing or more traditional cowboy type activities. The milonga was great, I loved watching an old gaucho dance in traditional clothes with so much passion for the dance, and lady he was with. Tango is a very expressive and flamboyant dance when it is in a bigger group, a bit like country dancing. We also heard some local bands and singing which seemed to go down well. Wilfred and I had great fun scouring the market for presents he could take back to family in holland. We liked a man making belts, and also there were some very kitch stalls. The stand out winning gift was the lidded pot, crafted from a lemon skin which is destined for his stepmom. It was another sunny day which gave us a thirst for some craft beers, honey beer was very tasty. We also enjoyed some freshly fried empanadas which were delicious. We spent the afternoon here into the evening before catching the bus back to the city. Nice to have explored a new area and had a break from the bustle of the city.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I am not sure whether it was my email or a system reset, but the bike system seems to permit me to remove another bike. Fresh from the thrill of riding in yesterday’s sunshine, I spot a round park at the more southern part of the central city called Centenary park. This is a good ride into new territory with a bike path all the way. The park itself is disappointing, I thought it might be more modern and lush as it is a fairly big park in an area with relatively few. I enjoy the Saturday feel of the city, sun is warm and kids are running around enjoying themselves. I sit for a while before deciding to grab another bike and push on, it is at this point I realise it hasn’t registered the bike again so I am stuck. Granted I could get on a bus, but it is a nice day so I opt to stroll back up towards home via Palermo and the Plaza Serrano market. I discover a few clothes outlets but as I am over the plane limit already, I put everything back on the rails….new clothes options would be nice! Palermo is buzzing with groups chatting on bar terraces or browsing the market wares. There is some great graffiti art in the surrounding streets, and I enjoyed my winding stroll. I spotted a ice cream shop and bought a small cone, could not believe how much the guy managed to balance. (See photo for reference) I felt like a child that was at risk of dropping it, it was awesome, particularly the passion fruit mousse. I will be back for some of the other flavours.

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!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Thomas (my new gay best friend) mentioned that he was going to try and get tickets for the ballet tonight. This is not my first choice for entertainment but this production is in the Teatro Colon. This is one of the top sights to see and you can do a tour but the guides say a performance is a better way to see inside. It is ranked the third best opera house in the world by National Geographic and is acoustically considered to be amongst the five best concert venues in the world according to experts. It was built in 1908 and has a horse shoe shaped auditorium that wraps around the stalls. We arrive separately and have underestimated how many people will be outside, so after struggling to find each other we only have 10minutes to grab any ticket and get inside. We bought the cheapest seats at 160pesos only £8, and whilst we knew we would be in the gods it was pretty high. We had to get a lift up through 6 floors and then climb a staircase, on a positive note we got a great view of the ceiling mural! The ballet actually was a great choice, no Spanish to understand just a great orchestra and lovely dancers. The story was based on love and Greek mythology, featuring Eros and Diana. I really enjoyed it and so did Thomas. We took the long way out so we could take pictures of the grand theatre. Headed to El Caurtito for pizza after, itself an institution and a bustling joint with a healthy queue for their pizza. I had a white sauce based pizza with onion and cheese. Tasty but I was pleased I didn’t order a whole one. I genuinely don’t understand why the Argentinians don’t have more health issues with the red meat, cheese and sugar in their diet but it doesn’t seem to affect them.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

We only have 4 days of Spanish this week, so we have 5 hours of classes each day to get the same time. 9am to 2pm and it is a killer. The extra brain power needed just drains energy so we have taken to bringing snacks, sweets and Mate in. I have still not got used to the taste of mate, over stewed green tea and bitter…..apparently it is addictive. Had a lovely late lunch with Thomas, who is back from Salta and picked his brains on the city, sounds good!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I spent today researching and planning the next part of my trip. I have found a reasonable flight to Mendoza which will be much better than the overnight bus. From there I will head north, through a couple of national parks to Salta in northern Argentina. This misses Córdoba but I think I prefer the idea of seeing more of the Andes and the national parks rather than looping in to do another city. I had lunch with Faye, who goes back to the UK tomorrow….she seems to have enjoyed her stay despite the weather this weekend!