Buenos Aires - Argentina

FRIDAY AND EASING IN:
After a short early flight from Santiago we arrived at Buenos Aires airport and quickly made our way through (despite the very grumpy immigration staff.....the same the world over!). What a pleasure this airport was, no hassling from taxi drivers, we simply walked up and booked a taxi at the main kiosk and minutes later we were whisked off. The airport was nice and clean and our favourite in South America to date. I wish we could say the same for the taxi drivers though, we split into two taxis and our kamikaze drive into the city began. Both drivers weaved crazily between cars, buses and trucks and turned two lanes into a three way jam, it seemed as if the two drivers were racing each other. We quickly arrived in the city (thanks to the disregard for speed limits), and passed the main icon of Buenos Aires, the Obelisk. This huge needle like structure sits in the middle of Plaza de la Republica on 9 de Julio Avenue, the famous wide avenue running through the heart of the city. This was the location where the Argentinean flag was raised for the first time.

The first thing that struck us about this city when driving in from the airport was its sheer size. It is the second largest city in South America and one of the largest in the world with over 13 million people. We arrived at our apartment in an area called Recoleta, which is one of the wealthiest suburbs in the city – yep the slumming continues ;-). We had to wait an hour before we could check in so stepped into an Italian restaurant called Mancini across the road for some lunch. The food was great and the first bottle of wine of the day kept up the usual high standard we have found here. Outside the restaurant we came across a professional dog walker, paid to walk other people’s dogs – I kid you not! We then checked into our stunning apartment, did some washing, grocery shopping, and relaxed for the afternoon. Lara and Georgie were not feeling too well, so V, Leise and I headed out to find the La Chacra steak restaurant which we had heard so much about. We walked for about 15 minutes through the beautiful streets of the city, crossing 9 de Julio Avenue (which is a fair task due to the number of lanes!) and got to our restaurant by about 10.30pm. This city is 24 hours and the locals don’t even start before 10pm!

The restaurant was fairly quiet with very little ambiance but the food made up for it and was outstanding – yet again. We had empanadas to start with, a local dish which is basically a mini pie (you can choose fillings from beef to chicken or even cheese and ham). The pastry is much better than your average Cornwall Pie Company treats though and ours were swiftly wolfed down before the main. We all indulged in steak and nobody was disappointed, the steaks here are consistently tender and tasty every time. This was a typical old school Argentinean restaurant and the waiters all adorned black bow ties and white full length dinner jackets. After a couple of photos with the full size stuffed horse and cow (which formed part of the strange decor amongst the trophy heads of various buck and warthog which adorned the walls) we started to make our way back home. We came across a great bar called Piora which was packed with the trendy locals and playing great music. We have all come to agree that these are by far the best looking people in South America, and in Buenos Aires the men and women, young and old are all stylishly dressed. We had a couple of drinks and finally made our way home to get a good night sleep.

CITY TOUR:
On Saturday we woke up to a glorious sunny day (though it’s hard to tell until we actually leave our apartment building as all the blocks are built so tall that we get no natural daylight in the flat) and after a quick healthy breakfast (we need as much healthy food as we can get) we set off to catch the city bus tour. We thought we would get there early this time to avoid the same debacle we had in Santiago.... but unfortunately you can only buy your tickets and board this bus at the central tourist kiosk at the first stop (something they fail to tell you on the website), so we walked for about half an hour (to the other end of the city) luckily there is plenty to admire in this gorgeous city, parks and buildings, and plenty of shops. Being a Saturday the queue was long so after much waiting we finally got on our bus and stayed on until the end in fear that we may never get back on (so much for hop on and hop off!). This city is absolutely stunning! Our bus tour took just over 2 hours and we drove past endless parks, statues, fountains, stunning architecture, street side cafes, and of course the Argentinean flag everywhere. We covered most areas of the city which has a massive European influence, with an American city feel in places, and is incredibly clean. After the long but enjoyable tour, we took a leisurely stroll back to our apartment stopping off at a local cafe for a small snack of empanada’s (once you’ve had one you just can’t stop) yum yum. These were swiftly polished off in the flat and we all retired for an afternoon nap, vital if you want to last until the late hours like the locals.

We woke up and left the flat at 10pm for dinner. We arrived at the famous La Cabrera restaurant in the vibrant area of Palermo, so famous that we had to wait 35 minutes outside for a table. Fortunately they supply plenty of champagne and chorizo treats to those of us desperate enough to hang around for that length of time. The wait was also made easier because of the great atmosphere on the streets among the patrons. The chorizo treats were divine so we ended up ordering it as a starter for our table along with 5 steaks and a couple of bottles of red wine. The food arrived at midnight and we tucked in to the largest steaks we have seen on our trip so far – massive! The steaks also arrived with a huge amount of side’s tapas style so we barely finished half of it all and had to request a doggy bag – there were a lot of leftovers but good old Georgie managed to fit them into her large handbag. We left the restaurant at 2am and it was still packed, it’s amazing even the families with toddlers are out at this time – they live for late nights in this city! We then strolled the streets of this bustling neighbourhood, past bars, restaurants, and cafes all packed to the rafters despite the late hour. We settled into a bar for a nightcap, and then caught our taxis home at around 3am. On the way home we passed multiple clubs with long queues outside, clearly the party was just beginning for many. For us it was time for bed and so we hit the sack.

SUNDAY MARKETS AND TANGO NIGHT:
On Sunday morning we woke up to another beautiful day, after a well earned lie in. We headed to the local street market in Recoleta where we enjoyed the local arts and craft, and V was able to buy a temporary replacement wedding ring for £5. Her real wings were not allowed to come travelling but the replacement isn’t too bad and just the right price ;-). While strolling the market the dreaded afternoon hunger kicked in, and with all the fresh food and aromas wafting around it wasn’t long until we succumbed and tucked into a snack. The boys had our new favourites, an empanada each while the girls tucked into chocolate brownies and strawberries and cream. The food here is so fresh and really tasty it makes it really difficult to resist. After walking the market we headed home and V cooked up the remaining steaks from our mammoth dinner feast the previous night. We were all treated to the biggest steak baguettes which were amazing, and we still had more meat left over – ridiculous portions but we love it!

After a quick nap following all the day’s exertion, we caught a taxi to Cafe Tortoni on Avenue de Mayo in the city for our Tango night. What an unbelievable experience, one of the best nights we have had on our travels so far. The cabaret room was set underground beneath a beautiful old Argentinean restaurant. It was incredibly intimate which our chairs and tables almost on top of the stage, low ceilings and stunning dim lighting. The entire performance was in Spanish so was difficult to follow the singing and acting, but the dancing and live music were brilliant and we were all incredibly impressed. This was the perfect end to a fantastic weekend in this city! If you ever travel to Buenos Aires on holiday make sure a Tango is high on your priority list, it is way beyond expectation. From there we dived into a cab and raced home to get a good night sleep before our 6am wakeup call for our ferry to Uruguay in the morning.

DAY TRIP TO COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO, URUGUAY:
Georgie hit the shower first at 6am and we all followed. Like a well drilled team we were ready and out the door at 6.45am, big kudos to the girls for their sterling effort! We all checked in and after a laborious wait involving much queue jumping by the locals, we boarded our ferry and made the short 1 hour trip across the Rio de la Plata to Colonia del Sacramento. This was originally a Portuguese colony and then conquered by the Spanish, and is a World Heritage site today. The first thing that strikes you about this quaint and beautiful town, and something not mentioned in the guide books or on any travel forums, are the swarms of mosquitoes!!!! And we mean swarms; we were ambushed on our 20 minute walk to the old quarter, and were covered in bites. We lost count of how many we had killed, and the bites were randomly scattered over legs, arms, elbows, faces, and even Lara’s more restricted areas. The only form of defence was to wear your jersey in the heat and sweat it out. After much frustration we finally found a shop selling Tabard and applied vigorously – we have all agreed to send them a letter of thanks, it pretty much saved our day!

As for the town itself, once we could finally relax and enjoy it we realised how pretty it really was. Historical buildings stretching back hundreds of years are scattered throughout the old town, and its setting on the water just adds to its beauty. After an enjoyable walk we stopped off at the Salon Parrillada bar along one of the main streets for a drink and to cool off. A jug of vinegar posing as white wine was served to the ladies, much to their disgust, while Leise and I sampled a local beer called Patricia – great name and a great beer. The food didn’t look particularly good and the pumping techno convinced us to head off and look for somewhere a little more authentic to have lunch. We found a nice restaurant on the water’s edge and made our way to the small balcony on the 3rd floor to enjoy the panoramic view. After an enjoyable lunch and a few beers in the sunshine we took a slow walk back to the ferry. We came across a small piazza on our walk and Leise and Lara could not resist a Tango dance show for the rest of the team. Not quite up to Cafe Tortoni standards but a pretty good effort all the same. V and I then managed to get duped by the passport officials to the tune of £40, the equivalent of our fare back to Argentina – but that’s a long story! Finally we got back to Buenos Aires on a very smooth ferry trip and braved the taxi ride through rush hour traffic, an eventful experience as ever. After the early start it was a fight for the showers and bed time.

LA RECOLETA CEMETERY AND SHOPPING:
After a well earned lie in, Georgie prepared us a hearty breakfast to start the day and off we set for the Recoleta Cemetery a short walk from our apartment. This famous cemetery includes the graves of many of the most influential and important Argentineans, and among the previous presidents and scientists lies the tomb of Eva Peron. The cemetery itself is hugely impressive, with large tombs and statues (as big as some peoples flats in the UK) spread through its beautiful grounds. After this we made our way to the central shopping district in Florida Avenue where we treated ourselves to some tasty empanadas and baguettes. We finished off our purchases and made our way home to get ready for our final meal in this wonderful city, the only question would be steak or ribs?!

After a couple of glasses of wine in the apartment we walked the streets of Recoleta on a warm evening looking for a great steak restaurant to finish our stay in Argentina on a high. We passed a few good looking steakhouses before fin ally coming across a restaurant called Montana Ranch near the Recoleta Cemetery. Maybe it was the full size cow outside, but it looked promising so we took the gamble and walked in. Naturally we all ordered steak as these are sure to be our last for a while, accompanied by a couple of bottles of red wine. We also ordered some ribs as a starter for the whole table, as neither Shaun nor I were willing to risk ordering these as a main again. Although they were not bad, it is clear that ribs in Argentina are nowhere near as good as those in South Africa, and with relief we finished the shared starter and awaited our last steaks of our South American trip. We were not disappointed, and Lara and I certainly got the best of the bunch with our fillet steaks. Absolutely superb, top 3 so far for both of us – the rest were not quite as delighted but were at least very happy with theirs.

Finally after finishing off our meal and paying with our last peso’s we took a nice stroll through the streets and back to our apartment to pack. It was an early start the next day, and we decided to make it an early finish to ensure we were all packed and at least had a solid night sleep before our flights to Lima and then Cusco in Peru.

So thank you very much Argentina for an unbelievable trip, the best so far for us. Here are our highlights and lowlights:
- Buenos Aires, the city with everything – our favourite city of all and quite simply fantastic!
- Steak and red wine, the Argentinean meal of choice and top class almost every time
- The locals are friendly and helpful here, even with their limited English. No hassling or rudeness, amazing for such a huge city
- Professional dog walkers, that’s when you know you’ve really made it ;-)
- Terrible driving, especially the taxis, but hey we’ve seen worse!
- Be warned, Uruguay is expensive compared to most other South American countries!

Hope you like photo’s, there are a ton below!