The 17 hour bus to Buenos Aires was long but pretty uneventful. The
border crossing at Posadas was straight forward, compared to the pile of
paperwork the Paraguayans had to fill in our British passports were
like golden tickets.
We arrived in BA after lunch and after finally finding the underground station we found the hostel we'd booked in to, an old colonial house in the centre of town. Tired from the journey (Rhys is absolutely rubbish at sleeping on buses) we spent the day exploring the area around the hostel and chilling.
The next day we ventured into the city. About 20 minutes out we reached the cathedral, ready to take a photo I looked down and saw my bag was unzipped and my wallet missing, luckily they only got about £30 and my cash card so not the end of the world. An hour later, cash card cancelled, padlock bought for my bag and a new purse, we headed out again. We wondered around San Telmo most of the afternoon, an area with antique markets, boutique shops and cafes and restaurants spilling out on to the street with tango dancers to entertain you while you ate. At 5pm we headed over to the Evita museum to meet some friends from Seattle. A guided tour later and a bit more knowledgeable about Evita (Rhys's favourite part were the shoes and handbags) we went for a beer then back to the hostel.
Our last day in Buenos Aires we went for a long walk around the docks and the nature reserve then decided to trek over to Caminito in Boca. Boca is not a great area, lots of council blocks and really run down, home to the Boca Juniors it's a bit like walking through Tottenham, not high on many tourists agenda. Caminito on the other hand is like Camden, a pedestrianised street with brightly coloured buildings, tango dancers on every corner and craft stalls and bars and restaurants filling the streets. We stayed for a drink before busing back to the hostel to rest our weary legs.
Sunday we were up and out of the hostel early to catch a ferry to Uruguay. Montevideo, the capital is a relatively small town with not a whole lot to see. We wondered down to the port market where there are smart asado restaurants (BBQ's) everywhere, deciding at £7-£8 each it was too expensive we cut back to the main street and ended up in Macdonalds (Rhys's choice obviously) paying the same price. After lunch we headed to the Artigas memorial in the main square, a big sculpture for the guy who fought for Uruguay's independence where you can go underneath and see his tomb, guarded at all times by two guards in full uniform, very weird. A tiny art gallery and a museum with a stuffed dog later and we were done with Montevideo and the next day headed to Punta del Diablo 4.5 hours east along the coast.
Supposedly a hippy beach resort (or so the Rough Guide tells me) the town was far more built up than we expected. We checked into a really nice hostel, Hostel De La Viuda with a pool table, swimming pool and watch tower and wondered down to the beach. By 9pm we were in bed watching a movie.
We arrived in BA after lunch and after finally finding the underground station we found the hostel we'd booked in to, an old colonial house in the centre of town. Tired from the journey (Rhys is absolutely rubbish at sleeping on buses) we spent the day exploring the area around the hostel and chilling.
The next day we ventured into the city. About 20 minutes out we reached the cathedral, ready to take a photo I looked down and saw my bag was unzipped and my wallet missing, luckily they only got about £30 and my cash card so not the end of the world. An hour later, cash card cancelled, padlock bought for my bag and a new purse, we headed out again. We wondered around San Telmo most of the afternoon, an area with antique markets, boutique shops and cafes and restaurants spilling out on to the street with tango dancers to entertain you while you ate. At 5pm we headed over to the Evita museum to meet some friends from Seattle. A guided tour later and a bit more knowledgeable about Evita (Rhys's favourite part were the shoes and handbags) we went for a beer then back to the hostel.
Our last day in Buenos Aires we went for a long walk around the docks and the nature reserve then decided to trek over to Caminito in Boca. Boca is not a great area, lots of council blocks and really run down, home to the Boca Juniors it's a bit like walking through Tottenham, not high on many tourists agenda. Caminito on the other hand is like Camden, a pedestrianised street with brightly coloured buildings, tango dancers on every corner and craft stalls and bars and restaurants filling the streets. We stayed for a drink before busing back to the hostel to rest our weary legs.
Sunday we were up and out of the hostel early to catch a ferry to Uruguay. Montevideo, the capital is a relatively small town with not a whole lot to see. We wondered down to the port market where there are smart asado restaurants (BBQ's) everywhere, deciding at £7-£8 each it was too expensive we cut back to the main street and ended up in Macdonalds (Rhys's choice obviously) paying the same price. After lunch we headed to the Artigas memorial in the main square, a big sculpture for the guy who fought for Uruguay's independence where you can go underneath and see his tomb, guarded at all times by two guards in full uniform, very weird. A tiny art gallery and a museum with a stuffed dog later and we were done with Montevideo and the next day headed to Punta del Diablo 4.5 hours east along the coast.
Supposedly a hippy beach resort (or so the Rough Guide tells me) the town was far more built up than we expected. We checked into a really nice hostel, Hostel De La Viuda with a pool table, swimming pool and watch tower and wondered down to the beach. By 9pm we were in bed watching a movie.
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| Obelisco, Buenos Aires |
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| The watchtower, Hostel de la Viuda, Punta del Diablo |
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| Caminito, Buenos Aires |
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