Argentina - Buenos Aires

1st - 8th October ´08

The sexy and electrifying city of Buenos Aires was everything we imagined it to be... graced with diverse districts, lively locals, and a buzzing nightlife, it really deserved its reputation as the city that never sleeps. Staying in the heart of the microcentro... Avenida Corrientes (Argentina´s answer to New York´s Broadway), we were within easy reach of the atmospheric neighbourhoods that surrounded some of the widest avenues in the Americas. The evening we arrived we strolled through the lively pedestrianised Avenida Florida where street dancers and musicians entertained the masses amidst haggling vendors.

Our first barrio exploration mission was Recoleta the following day. This affluent area was home to one of the largest highlights in Buenos Aires... Recoleta Cemetery... where many pertinent players of Argentine history including politicians, explorers, leaders and writers lay in silent testimony, praised by the presence of thousands of visitors. It was unlike anything we had seen before... elaborately designed sarcophagi towered above us forming a maze of walkways throughout the tranquil cemetery, and with real ease we located the gravestone of its most famous resident, Eva Peron (Evita) - the only one with a large crowd of bystanders. As night fell, the city erupted to life... there was never a dull moment within the bustling centre, laying host to anything from fiery demonstrations to street tango. We put on our dance shoes and hit the ever present salsa scene. Club Azucar was filled with some of the smoothest operators we had witnessed in a very long time... the salsera began with an introductory class after which the latin beats attracted many seductive dancers onto the floor... and there were no strings attached as many guys politely and successfully requested a dance from a girl before moving onto the next one. Two sambucas and our urging desire to wiggle our hips was satisfied... stumbling back into our hostel at 4am.

Naturally we wrote off the following morning in bed before making our way to the fashionable district of San Telmo. Filled with cobblestoned streets, antique markets, and aging architecture, it was the ideal setting to rest our tired eyes and soak in some sun. We lazily sat at a cafe within Plaza Dorrego watching the street tango show before some customary window shopping around the neighbourhood. With our appetite for latin grooves growing we immersed ourselves into the addictive Argentinian culture once more by rocking to the downtown club of Maluco Beleza later that night. Taking to the sidelines at times it was inspiring to see how controlled and passionately the South Americans moved to the varying tempo of the music.

Another late lie-in... another late start... and we ascended from the well connected metro system to arrive at the attractive greenery surrounding Barrio Palermo. Lounging on the numerous park benches and thereafter wandering aimlessly through the treelined district streets brought us to Museo Evita... a small but insightfull museum chronicling the life of Argentina´s most famous lady. As a leading figure, she had died at the age of 33, and had struck a chord in the hearts of millions of Argentinians through her charitable campaigns and feminine rights movements. Returning back to the city centre, we completed our short history lesson about this iconic individual by visiting Casa Rosada - the famous balcony where Evita inspired the roaring crowds during the 1940´s.

Accordingly, no visit to Argentina´s capital would be complete without experiencing a football match. The popular home side of Boca Juniors was playing their 9th game of the season against Estudiantes, a tie many felt that they had to win, and one we had bought tickets for. Joined by a minibus of travellers from neighbouring hostels we took to the crowded stands amongst the more emotional fans that continuously chanted support for their team. We encountered an unrivalled passion for the players of Boca Juniors from the so-called `hooligans´that echoed drumming sounds and singing around the stadium, regardless of their team´s performance. Banners with `Jugador 12 Presente´(Player 12 present here) punctuated the blue and yellow flags of the home colours, supported further by the presence of Argentina´s most famous footballer Maradonna. The only drawback was that our stands were directly below the opposition supporters who at times sprayed beer and threw plastic bottles containing liquids of a urine colour at the home fans. Although Boca Juniors led at one point, they failed to play with any real conviction and ultimately lost the game 2-1... nevertheless it was an unforgettable 3 hours from start to end.

And we completed our final 2 days and 2 nights in this dynamic city continuing along a similar theme of exploration, good restaurants and late night partying. Next stop... Puerto Iguazu.