Something you don't expect when you arrive in Argentina is the passport security guy to have a nice conversation with you in Spanish about Alberta, as he had previously worked in Edmonton (nearish Calgary for those non-Canadians reading my blog). However that is what happened. This reminded me that my Spanish isn't that great, and without Julia around we might struggle a bit! After a long taxi to the hotel we arrived and got in a rickety elevator which I was pretty sure might collapse. The hotel was really gorgeous, and it felt like we were living in our own house as we had keys to front door of block, front door of hotel and our room door as well. As it was a boutique hotel each of the 5 rooms had been painted differently and it just felt really awesome and artsy. After dumping bags we walked down the street to a typical Argentinian restaurant and of course ordered steak. Although I ordered mine extra rare it came out more medium rare but was still tasty, and we got a free glass of champagne with the receipt, lovely! Then it was straight to bed before an early start the next day.
First we headed to La Casa Rosada, the pink house where the president does her work, we relaxed in the sunshine and enjoyed the view before trying to get a bus to La Boca to see the colourful streets where tango started. Unfortunately getting a bus in Buenos Aires is easier said than done, not only are there multiple buses and no clear way of finding which buses go where and where they stop but also they only accept coins. Now you wouldn't think this is an issue, except change is famously short in Buenos Aires, shopkeepers will often charge you less so they don't have to give you change, banks don't have change to give and those who do have coins hoard them. This is partly down to the buses and also partly due to the fact that the metal in the coins is worth more than the coins themselves. However, finally we managed to get some change and get on the bus. Once in La Boca we headed for lunch (empanadas) then wandered around the street Caminito which is a street museum full of things related to the tango and brightly coloured houses. While not a patch on Valpairiso it was definitely worth seeing. Then in order to get more change I bought some postcards and demanded change so we could then get the bus back. We had another early night before the early start to get to Iguasu the next day.
At 6:45 in the morning we left the hotel to get the taxi to the airport where we were catching a plane to Iguasu. While waiting for the plane we saw the Boca Juniors football team (VERY exciting). Unfortunately our plane was delayed about half an hour but we did make it to Iguasu where we were greeted and got in a minibus to be taken to our hotel. The roads there are ridiculous, speed bumps ever few feet, and I have to say I was feeling a little unsteady on feet when finally reached hotel. It was a gorgeous hotel, right by the town centre as well so after dumping stuff we went out for lunch then lazed about and watched movies that afternoon. After dinner it was once again an early night for a very early start the next day.
7:15 we were picked up from the hotel and taken to Iguasu national park. As it was Steph's birthday we were hoping for a super awesome day and we weren't let down. We'd been warned it would rain so while there I bought a poncho. This was a wise investment as within 5 minutes of being there it started to rain. It didn't stop all day. Out of the tour of about 25 people, me and Steph were the only English speakers, however this meant that our guide would come over and explain stuff to us. First of all we went to the Devils Throat, while there we realised just how massive the river was, and just how big the waterfalls were. Then we went and did the circuit of the Upper falls, once again marvelling at just how much water there was. By this point we had also absorbed a large amount of water so were grateful for the lunch stop. I decided to be ingenious and use two plastic bags over my arms to try and stop my soggy hoody soaking through to me any more. It was semi effective, but after walking the Lower circuit we got on a boat. This boat not only went up close to the waterfalls, but actually drove through their spray so we got a full on shower by the falls. From there it was a truck through the jungle back to our coach where we all sat very soggily. The shower we had after that was probably the best shower we'd ever had. After dinner we had a phone call saying that our tour for the next day had been cancelled due to rain. Gutted though I was to not be able to go ziplining through the rainforest I was glad of the lie in and glad to just have another relaxed day...travelling really does take it out of you!
After a chilled day we got on the plane back to Buenos Aires. We were staying in another hotel and although it wasn't anywhere near as nice as the first, it was slightly closer to things so that was good. On the Thursday we headed to a free walking tour of Buenos Aires we'd heard about on Trip Advisor, it was run by an expat, Jonathan, and apart from me and Steph there was only another American guy on the tour so we really did get a very exclusive tour. There are no words to describe how highly I recommend this tour. Not only did he explain the bus system to us but also had lots of really great and interesting information about Buenos Aires. First we went to Abasto and looked at the house of Carlos Gardel who is the "father of tango" as he brought tango to be thought of as a classy dance. The streets all seem to be dedicated to him with paintings everywhere. Then we went to first shopping mall in South America before heading to the National Congress building. Next we stopped at a building which was designed solely to mimic Dante's Divine Comedy, for an English geek it was really super cool and exciting. Finally we headed back to the Casa Rosada and the Plaza de Mayo where Jonathan filled us in on all the political goings on which was fascinating, even for someone like me who isn't really into politics. After the tour me and Steph headed to El Ateneo Gran Splendid which is a bookstore built in an old theatre. I'd heard about it on the internet and was so excited to see it. It lived up to my expectations and was absolutely gorgeous! I wish we had one like it in Glasgow as I would spend all my time there for sure! Then we headed back to hotel before going out for dinner. As I'd been a bit underwhelmed by the steaks I had grilled chicken, and I have to say this is something Argentina fully excels at. Yum!
The next day we had a bit of a lie in before heading for a guided tour of the Casa Rosada. While there we made very good friends with one of the Argentinian guards who was from Iguasu. My Spanish was a little bit iffy but when we left he came over to say a cheery goodbye to us as well. New best friend. Then we headed up to the Recoleta Cemetery which was gorgeous! It looked like streets made out of little houses for graves. Morbidly I really enjoyed the time there and could have gone back again and again. After a quick stop at the mall to try and spend the last of our pesos we headed back for yet another early night before a very early start. The 3am alarm was not nice but it got us to our next destination so that was all good! And there we go, that is Argentina!
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