Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sept 30-Oct 8

Back to the land of endless steaks. My heaven. I can't even count how many steaks I had... Often two a day. Here's the tastiest one:

Drool. 

So many group dinners and lunches, on a mission to find the best steak in Buenos Aires (which was at La Cabrerra in Palermo, if you ask me!)

Buenos Aires is all about its little neighbourhoods, so I spent most of my time just roaming the streets.

So...the neighbourhoods. 

SAN TELMO

This is known to be the 'coolest' area of BA. It's where all the rich people lived, back in the day. Then there was a yellow fever outbreak and they all ran off to Recoleta & Palermo, currently the richest neighbourhoods of BA. The streets in San Telmo are all cobble-stoned and filled with bars and restaurants. San Telmo is also home to many comic strip/ cartoon characters. The most famous one is Mafalda, a little girl with a very mature an sensible view of the world. 

San Telmo is also famous for its Sunday market. There is an antique market open every day, full of weird and wonderful things.

The Sunday market was immense, it seemed to just go on forever and ever, covering all the streets in San Telmo. There was everything from clothing to antiques to crafts. It was incredible.

Just outside of San Telmo lies Plaza de Mayo, a square filled with many of Buenos Aires most important buildings, including the 'pink house' (like America's white house) 

Every Thursday afternoon, crowds gather at the square and walk solemnly around the fountain in remembrance of the children who were 'stolen' during the military dictatorship, back in 1976-1983. Their aim is to keep the issue current, in hopes of finding the children. Thanks to their efforts, 114 missing children (now adults) have been found. It was very moving to watch.

LA BOCA

La Boca is the most touristy of all the neighbourhoods, even though it is considered a favela (slum) and known to be quite dangerous at night. The most famous part of La Boca is Caminito, a bright and colourful street. There were pictures of what the area used to look like before they gave it a make over, and it really did look like a slum. However, it now looks pretty well maintained and is lined with tourist shops.

The other famous spot in La Boca is the Bombonera Stadium, home to Boca Jnrs; one of Argentina's most popular soccer teams. We had a browse through the museum and a look inside the stadium. In the museum we watched snippets of matches and it became quickly evident that the Bocas fans are mad. They've got big wire fences up around the pitch because the fans are known to be violent and the players need protection. However, in the videos you could see fans scaling the incredibly tall fences, so I'm not too sure how much difference it makes! 

RECOLETA

This was probably my favourite neighbourhood. It's one of the fancy rich ones and it's full of beautiful old French architecture. Most of the embassies were in this area, and every one of them was in a huge palace-type building.

In one of the main squares there was a huge tree, with it's branches growing so wide that they were being held up by pillars and by an odd little statue. 

We found the Floralis Generica, a huge steel and aluminium flower which has been specially designed so that it opens up when the sun comes out. Cute.

The highlight of Recoleta was the cemetery. I've never seen anything like it and it really fascinated me. None of the coffins are underground, instead they are kept in tombs. This meant that the cemetery felt like a little village. A village for dead people. Creepy, but incredible. And beautiful.

What was even more incredible were the stories of some of the deceased. Evita was buried here, after being moved around all over the world. Many people leave flowers at her family tomb.

One girl was buried at the cemetery after an unexplainable death. The very next day her tomb appeared to have been disturbed. Assuming that someone had attempted to rob the valuables from her coffin, they opened it up to find scratch marks all over the coffin.. It seems she was not really dead, she had some disease  that made her appear dead...And when she awoke in the coffin she had a panic attack which resulted in a heart attack that then killed her for real. 

Another young girl, said to be incredibly beautiful, was married with a few kids. Her husband and children all unfortunately died when the yellow fever outbreak hit Buenos Aires. Many men were in love with her because she was so beautiful and eventually she got engaged again. On the night of the engagement one of the other men who was in love with her shot her dead, saying that if she would not be with him then she could not be with anyone. 

PALERMO

The day we explored Palermo we were quite hungover and sleep deprived..so we didn't exactly explore it well. We roamed the botanical gardens and then the streets, but managed to miss the shops and cafés and the main square until we were leaving. A pretty area but we didn't really explore it quite as we should've. On the plus side, Palermo was home to the worlds most incredible steak! So it was worth the visit!

TIGRE

Tigre is a neighbour in the north, quite far from the centre of the city.. And it is where Laura lives! I was lucky enough to be guided around by Laura, seeing the markets and the dock. A pretty area.

I returned another day with some friends. We hopped on a boat to have a look at the islands and spent some time at the markets.

The evenings were also busy in Buenos Aires...resulting in some nasty hangovers and some serious sleep deprivation. Most nights out began at the hostel bar and then continued on into the wee hours at a different club each night. All kinds of different clubs with a wide assortment of music on offer. 

One night a big bunch of us went to La Bomba Del Tiempo (which translates to Time Bomb!) This was an epic drumming show in a big open warehouse space. The atmosphere and energy was incredible. It was essentially just a massive party!

 

Colonia Del Sacremento, Uruguay

Sept 29-30

A one night stay was plenty of time to explore this little gem. And 'little' is an understatement... Colonia is tiny. But beautiful! 

I spent my time in Colonia roaming the quaint and colourful tree-lined streets. 

The city used to be closed in by a wall, with the draw bridge and gate still standing today, thanks to much restoration. 

I went into a "tile museum" claiming to show off tiles from the history of Colonia, but it was just two tiny rooms with a couple of tiles here and there. Luckily, I managed to get in there for free! 

There was a lighthouse which promised a stunning view, but sadly they were closed for restoration.

The dock and coastline were pretty.

In keeping with the 'Old Town' theme, many of the cars were near ancient. Some were still functioning, but there were also many used as decoration. 

I visited the outdoor markets and used the last of my Uruguayan pesos to buy myself a new pair of earrings!

A lovely little town to roam around. 

Montevideo, Uruguay

Sept 28-29

My quick summary of Montevideo: dull and expensive. 

Montevideo was a disappointing start to Uruguay. Arriving early in the morning, I thought I should take full advantage of the day. So off I went to find the free walking tour... Unfortunately, I was the only person who showed up wanting a tour in English (a hint at how jam-packed full of tourists Montevideo is...) Instead, the guide gave me some tips for how to entertain myself the day. Meanwhile, circus acts were prancing around all over the place, for no apparent reason.

First I went to City Hall, up to the 22nd floor to get a panoramic view of the city. Shame it's not a very pretty city... On the plus side, it was free!

I then hired a bike and cycled down the promenade, about 9km along the coast. There were two beaches and some nice little photo spots, combining beach and city skyline. 

At the end of the path there was a big 'Montevideo' sign begging to be photographed. 

Back at the hostel I was informed about a jazz band playing at the local Irish pub, and found a few people to go with. After ordering drinks at the bar it became apparent that we would need to pay for the privilege of sitting at a table. Apparently common in Uruguay. So, the cheap travellers that we are, we stood at the bar in defiance. Eventually we got frustrated with hovering by the bar and went off in search of another bar. But of course there were no other bars open. Disappointed, we called it a night.

I dragged Eduardo (a Brazilian friend from my hostel) along with me to attempt the walking tour again the following day. A whopping 9 people rocked up this time, so we were in luck! We learnt that the most recent former president legalised gay marriage, abortion and marijuana all in one year. We also learnt that no one in Uruguay is "truly Uruguayan" because when the Spanish took over they killed every single native person. We started in the main square, home to 1927's tallest building in South America. It's really not very tall at all, so it got quickly overtaken.

We roamed around the 'Old Town' admiring various plazas churches and other buildings. Apparently Uruguay in (I think) 2002 had 40% of it's residents under the poverty line, making it one of the poorest countries in South America. However that has now gone down to less than 10% - the lowest in all of South America! Pretty impressive recovery.

The tour ended at the market, a beautiful building..but not exactly what you might expect for a market. Apparently the silly English architect got confused; he thought he was meant to be designing a train station! So it's unique. The market is full of Uruguayan BBQs where we treated ourselves to a huge meaty meal. I'm fairly certain we are every single part of the cow...ear included. Eek!

Let's hope Colonia offers more excitement than Montevideo! 

Porto Alegre, Brazil

Sept 26-27

A 28 hour bus journey along the coast, where the weather gradually got more rainy and cold, landed me in Porto Alegre (which was essentially just a stop over on the way to Uruguay, as anything more than 28 hours on a bus seemed torturous) 

My expectations for Porto Alegre were low; I wasn't even really intending to stop there until it became apparent that I kind of had to. But, somehow, it wasn't as bad as I thought. There were a lot of shady people. I felt like every single person was staring me down, I saw countless people talking to themselves and even one lady talking to a statue. Despite the people on the street talking non-stop, no one in my hostel seemed to talk at all. Strange. But between the odd people and the dirty streets, I did also find some cool places.

My first afternoon I explored the Central part of the city. I started at the Mercado Publico; a market stoked full of fruit, veg, meat, spices, flowers, books and crafts as well as cafés and restaurants. 

Alfandega Square was a nice little spot, usually full of market stalls..however I think the rain scared them away. Many of the buildings around the square were well kept and colourful!

I found some pretty buildings including City Hall and Nossa Sehora das Dores Church. 

The prettiest of them all was Mario Quinyana Cultural House, which used to be a hotel inhibited by one of Brazil's most famous poets, whom it is now named after. 

I saw the "famous" Usina do Gasometro.

The Metropolitan Cathedral was quite beautiful also. 

My last stop for the day was Otavio Rocha Overpass, offering nice views of the city in each direction. 

After all this I still somehow managed to find a few things to entertain myself on day two! I started off with a run around Redemption Park, named as a reminder of the year 1884, when Porto Alegre was the first city in Brazil to abolish slavery. After brekkie and a shower I returned to the park for the handicraft fair and flea market. An interesting assortment of junk and crafts! 

I found a little street that some Portugese tree activist pronounced "The most beautiful street in the world"... It was nice, but I think perhaps he was a little high when he declared this. Maybe it's nicer when the trees are greener or when the sun is out. Who knows.

I spent most of my afternoon relaxing in another park, reading my book. The sun almost came out from behind the clouds. And then when the grey skies took over I retreated to my hostel, resting up for yet another overnight bus.