We arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of afternoon and took a cab to our hostel which we had booked on line. When we arrived they didn't have any record of our booking so instead of being in a double room they had to put us in a four bed dormitory but thankfully they said that nobody else would be checking in to the room. It was actually a bit of a money saver as we only had to pay the price of two dormitory beds.Once we had settled in to the hostel we headed out to a pub called Gibraltars to have a couple of drinks and some dinner. After our quick dinner we headed back to the hostel as the staff had organised a 'get to know each other' night which involved them giving all the guests free empanadas and us all sitting around chatting to each other over a few beers. We went to bed a little bit merry that night and we were already enjoying Buenos Aires.

The next morning Sue woke up to find our laptop sitting in a puddle of water with no indication where the water had come from. We couldn't turn it on which lead us to think the worst but thankfully it was just a matter of it having run out of battery. We had a late breakfast and then walked around the district of the city where we were staying. In the centre of the San Telmo district is a small square where all the restaurants have patio seating. We found a seat outside one of the restaurants and ordered our lunch and were treated to a free outdoor tango show. After a little more wandering around we went back to the hostel to get ourselves ready to meet some friends in the Gibraltar pub. That night we were meeting up again with Jen and Leah who had been road blocked with us on the way to Sucre. We all headed out for dinner together to a restaurant which had a band playing a mix of local and international songs rather loudly. After dinner we went back to Jen's flat as she was renting in Buenos Aires whilst undertaking a Spanish speaking course. In her apartment we had a few drinks and I managed to spill red wine over her carpet. After disgracing myself we had a couple more drinks before wandering back to our hostel in the early hours.

The next morning we headed out to the supermarket to by some bits for lunch and as we passed a bakery on the way we popped in to grab a couple of empanadas. We spent most of the day in the hostel as we made some phone calls on Skype using the good wi-fi signal in the hostel. We managed to get hold of most people so the phone calls took quite a long time. After making our phone calls we went in to town to grab some dinner as we were due to meet Maarten and Linda again along with two of their friends from home. The purpose of meeting up was that we were planning to go to a Tango show. After dinner we met them outside the bar where the Tango show we were hoping to go to was taking place. As it was a Saturday night the tango show was sold out so we went to another show a little bit further down the road. Luckily there was space for us at this show. The show had a large band playing with instruments included the accordions, double bass, violins and keyboards who were joined occasionally by a vocalistand a couple of dancers who danced among the tables of the bar. The dancing was spectacular as was the music which accompanied them. After the show the Dutch contingent went out to dance but Sue and I decided that midnight was late enough so headed back home in a cab.

The following morning we stayed in the hostel as they were showing Tottenham V Wigan on the TV. After watching the massive victory Sue and I took the Subte (underground/metro) in to the city centre to buy our boat tickets to Uruguay as we had been told they had be purchased in advance. Without thinking we got the whole way to the office before we realised it was a Sunday and that the office was closed. Having already made the journey we went for a walk around the area stopping to buy a couple of souvenirs, a new pair of flip flops and some lunch. After our late lunch we headed back to San Telmo as we had to meet up with all of the guys as we were all planning to go to a Bocas Juniors game together. In total there must have been ten of us trying to get tickets off touts outside the game. We had been told that buying tickets off touts was pretty easy but for us it turned in to an absolute nightmare. Every time we started getting somewhere with a tout they would quite literally run off. Eventually we saw some local guys buying off a tout so we approached him as well, he sold us ten tickets and we headed off towards the stadium entrance. We passed through all the security check until we got to the turn style where we were turned away because the tout had sold us children's tickets and we quite clearly weren't children. We went looking for the tout but came across the local guys who had used the same tout on our way. They had been cheated the same was as us and had already been looking for him. Luckily for the tout he had made his escape and was sitting pretty with hundreds of Soles. Although majorly disappointed there was no need to feel sorry for ourselves so we headed back home to one of the pubs that was televising the game. We watched the game there and had a few drinks before saying goodbye to Linda and her two friends as they were heading off the next day, Maarten however had two more days in Buenos Aires before flying back to Holland. Once we had said our goodbyes we headed out for a late dinner. At gone midnight there weren't too many options but we eventually found somewhere to fill ourselves up before heading back to the hostel.

The following day we repeated the process of heading in to the city on the Subte to buy our boat tickets. This time the office was open although the process of buying tickets was very long winded. After way over an hour we emerged with our tickets in hand. For the rest of the day we walked all over the central area of the city and then over to the port area. At the port we walked all the way down, and back up, where all the boats are docked and where they have restaurant after restaurant. After walking all day we had to head over to the other side of town to meet Jen, Leah and Maarten to watch a drumming show. We started walking thinking we had plenty of time to get there. When we arrived at the address it was clear that I had made a mistake, I quickly popped in to an internet cafe to check the address and realised I had my digits mixed up so we had to get a taxi the rest of the way. When we arrived we joined the queue only to be told by the security team that I wouldn't be allowed in wearing my recently purchased fake Bocas Juniors shirt. Sue and I then had to rush off and try and find a clothing store so I could buy a replacement. We were back within plenty of time of the start and my new blue polo shirt didn't seem to cause any offence. The drumming show was absolutely spectacular, on stage about 12 different people use a variety of drums to create not just a rhythm but also a melody. All of the rhythm is communicated in hand signals so that each drummer knows when to change rhythm or stop etc. Also joining them occasionally was a woman on guitar and vocals who distracted from actual drumming and then a man on an electric ukulele who was absolutely incredible. The whole crowd were jumping around and rocking from side to side, sometimes being conducted by the band conductor. After the show we all decided to head to a restaurant called 'Siga La Vaca' which translated means 'follow the cow'. Siga La Vaca is a restaurant where they have a set price which includes a bottle of wine, a massive fresh salad bar and as much meat as you can eat, all for a very reasonable price. There was all different cuts of all different meats but I made a huge mistake in having some salad first, still I managed to leave the place bursting at the seams. After the restaurant it was pretty late so Sue, Jen and I split a cab the short distance back to San Telmo.

The following day, having still felt full from the night before, Sue and I decided to do some more walking. We headed over to the Ecological park which had a few different trails to follow and we decided to do the 5km track. At the start of the track was a van selling food which meant I soon forgot my feeling of fullness from the night before and grabbed myself a Choripan. A Choripan is a simple yet delicious snack, it is Chorizo (Sausage) in bread (Pan) along with all sorts of spicy garnishes and salad. After walking the length of the park we caught a cab to the central cemetery where some of Argentina's most significant figures are buried. The tombs are massive structures which can house multiple family members. The biggest attraction at the cemetery and where all the crows were is Evita's grave. In comparison to all the other tombs Evita's is fairly modest but it didn't stop the queues forming to have a look. In the evening we were meant to meet up with Maeve, Anthony, Jen, Leah and Maarten in Gibraltar's but unfortunately Maeve and Anthony's flight to Buenos Aires was delayed. The remaining five of us went out for what was to be our last night in Buenos Aires and Maarten's last night of his trip. After a really nice meal we said our goodbyes to our friends and headed back to the hostel. The next day we were up early to get to the port so we could catch our boat across the water from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay. Argentina had been really good fun and we both really enjoyed our time there, especially for me in Mendoza and Buenos Aires. I will update you on Colonia soon.

John