We have been in Argentina for a bit over a week now and we are really enjoying life here. It has been nice do things at our own pace. We have spent some time exploring different parts of the city, visited a Gaucho ranch, had a Tango lesson and seen a Tango show.

Our hostel is right in the middle of the downtown area of the city so its really easy to explore. We went on the Tube (or whatever its called here) to Palermo which is a part of the city with quite a lot of nice shops and nice "upmarket" buildings. The architecture is really different here. Every building seems totally different to the one next to it. Its really nice and pretty. There is also a big botanical gardens and a zoo at Palermo, however we didnt spend too much time exploring because it was really really hot.

Last Sunday we went to a Gaucho Ranch called Cina Cina near a village called San Antonio. It took about an hour and a half to get there and it was great to see some of the area surrounding Buenos Aires. San Antonio looked like a perfect village. Lots of nice houses, flowers, little roads, little shops and cafes and a park. It was unfortunate that we didnt get time to stop there and have a look around. The ranch itself was also very idyllic, with lots of green open space and lakes, and there were lots of horses and llamas, and a few dogs and ducks. We were given a drink and a traditional meat pie on arrival. Dave was very amused at Shil enjoying the pie (as she doesnt usually eat pies)! It was like a little cornish pasty basically. There was also a small gift shop and a swimming pool for the hotel guests to use (as you can stay there too). Unfortunately we could not go into the pool as part of our tour - it was a very hot and sunny day so it looked very inviting :o( We then had an hour or so before lunch to do as we pleased - you could either just walk around the ranch, ride a horse or ride in a horse and carriage. We walked towards the stables and were promptly offered a horse by a Gaucho talking to us in Spanish, so we were not too sure what we were getting into! However the Gaucho just got us straight onto the horses and they walked off (with us on top) knowing exactly where to go! It was all very easy, and there were no safety talks and hats/boots etc (like an experience we had in Devon, UK) - the horses were very well behaved too and responded to single word commands given by the Gaucho that was riding with us. We then had a very nice lunch with lots of bbq meat, while there was traditional singing, music and folk dancing on the stage - all very impressive. We then headed outside again to watch some "Gaucho Games" - which involved the Gauchos riding very fast on their horses while trying to either stake a dummy or an ostrich (when riding past them), or trying to take a small ring (hanging from a wire above them) with a small wooden stick. They did manage to do these things a lot of the time, which was incredible considering the speed they were going at! Also at one point one of the native Gauchos rode two horses (one foot on the back of each) and got the ring with the stick! They then gave us a traditional sweet pie, and a mate drink (an Argentine traditon) before we left for our hostel.

A couple of nights ago we went to the San Telmo district in Buenos Aires for dinner. Our dorm mate Erica recommended the area so we thought we would explore. The restaurant we found was in the Plaza which seemed very popular. There was music playing and lots of places to eat. We found a very nice restaurant and decided it was time to finally have an Argentinian steak. The steaks were huge and very very tasty. We will probably have a few more before we leave Argentina. The eating times are very strange in Argentina. We ate at about 9pm and the restaurant was practically empty. It was only at about 10.30 that people started to come in. Later on in the evening there was a Salsa music show in the restaurant. The band were quite a motley crew, but the music was great.

Last night we had a Tango evening. It started at 7.30 with an hour Tango lesson. There was a very mixed bunch of people there, but every one seemed to enjoy themselves (even the 3 old holidaymakers from Birmingham who turned up half way through the lesson seeming very confused!) We learnt some basic steps - the square, the figure 8, and the all important Tango pose you see on all the pictures. It was a good laugh. After the lesson we got our certificate to show that we passed and were ushered into the restaurant for dinner and the Tango show. The show was fantastic - exactly what we wanted. The dancers seemed every bit as good as Vincent and Flavia from Strictly. The speed was incredible. The dancing was all part of a story that I think was about some guys who like some girls, then an old Tony Bennett style crooner comes along and woos one of the girls. The guys get angry and shout at Tony. In the end all seemed fine though. The speaking and singing was all in Spanish and since "no hablo Espanol" I might not have got the story quite right.

We are just going to have a few more days in Buenos Aires, since we have booked to go to Iguazu Falls on Monday. We will be travelling by bus overnight and get there midday on Tuesday. We are going to spend a few days there and then come back to Buenos Aires for 2 days before heading south to Patagonia. Thats the plan anyway.

D & S

P.S. In case my friends who are keen on grammer and punctuantion are wondering, the reason there are no apostrophes is because I cant work out how to do them on this keyboard. I see the button but when I press it { appears. Weird.