Thankfully, the border crossing from Colonia to Buenos Aires by boat was direct. I had taken a concoction of tablets to keep away allergies and the sea-travel sickness and as a result passed out for the entire hour long journey; why did I not discover this sleeping remedy for the 30 hour bus journeys I have had to endure?

And so, here I am. My last and final stop of the whole trip - I can't believe it. It still hasn't sunk in yet that in ten days time I will be returning home. I am excited though.

Buenos Aires - Not the best start to the finale and not the best welcome either...

After haggling for a taxi, I found one with a meter and thought that I'd be safe i.e. I couldn't get ripped off. Yeah right, how could I have been so naive? When it came to payment, I was told that the note I had given was false (I tried to talk in Spanish and say that this was impossible as it was from an ATM). The taxi man wasn't having any of it and so, innocently, I handed over another note - also false. And another - false again. That was me out and so in the end he just settled for some loose change which wasn't even the correct amount. I was baffled. What's more, he didn't even drop me at the right hotel; I did tell him it was wrong but he just wanted payment. On arrival at the hotel, I showed my money to reception and they agreed that it was false. I just couldn't get my head around it. The hotel advised me to go to the bank in the hope that they may swap it for an innnocent tourist and take the false money out of circulation. I was unsuccessful and the bank just didn't want to know and so, I was stuck with near to £50 worth of flase Argentinian pesos. Hmmm, what to do with it? This is where the invention of 'DnR' surfaced from, or, 'Drop 'n' Run'. In short, the process involves a large, busy and preferably, an international chain restaurant. You order your food, eat it, ask for the bill, DROP the (false) money on the table and RUN. This was performed on various occasions throughout the ten days and although I absolutely hated the build-up and the possibilty of being caught, once I knew I was in the clear, I did get a little buzz and at some point of the run away - which was quite often a speedy walk in an attempt to look casual - I did break out into a sprint as a result of the adrenaline.

Other than theft, the week did entail some nice and exciting elements. Buenos Aires itself is a lovely city, not as polluted as Santiago in Chile. The streets buzz everyday full of people shopping and selling but on a Sunday, they become totally deserted and it feels like a whole new place. The main precincts are Avenida Santa Fe and Avenida Florida. These streets are lined with shops and restuarants including a Harrods, which is now closed and a C&A and there's a McDonalds on every other block - this is not an exaggeration.

The ten days involved a lot of walking, as I never want to get into a taxi again, and a number of DnR's. I walked to many different suburbs of Buenos Aires one of which is called San Telmo. Here, every sunday, there is a craft and flea market. It is absolutely gridlock but the atmosphere is great - locals selling their crafts, chefs on the street selling huge empanadas and dancers dancing Tango.

The last couple of days of the visit approached rather quickly and so I had to ensure that I enjoyed them fully. One evening I went to watch Argentina play Uruguay as part of the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers. The atmosphere was outstanding and even the prospect of a huge storm didn't put any of the fans off. Argentina won, 2-1 and the match was good despite all the diving around on the pitch. Luckily, the storm held off until I was safely back on the bus - Argentina is giving me some good luck then, it's the least it could do really. The next evening I went to the famous Tortoni's cafe and enjoyed a fabulous Tango show. I have honestly never seen people move as fast as these amazing dancers did. I loved it!