2nd May 2013
So we never made it to Mendoza! After the hour long boat journey back from Uruguay we had some time to spare before our bus left so we decided to visit La Boca. La Boca is the no go dangerous part of Buenos Aires, our hostel has specifically circled on our map in red that it was dangerous. One guy that we met told us someone he had met had been near the football stadium and someone had actually pulled a gun out and taken his whole backpack. However there is one popular tourist area called Caminito which is 'safer' then the rest of La Boca. With our back packs and maps we stuck out like a sore thumb! Caminito is really colourful, bold colours everywhere. Every building is different and quirky. On the streets there are restaurants with tango dancers and countless little shops. Josh and I wondered round taking in the cobbled streets and beautiful coloured buildings. There was also some amazing graffiti art. After a stroll around and feeling relieved we hadn't been pick pocketed we headed back to the taxi rank to catch a taxi to the bus terminal.
After quite a dodgy route taken through areas that didn't seem to have many other cars we arrived at the bus terminal. We had quite a bit of time to spare we made our way to some seats in the terminal, no information of our bus had been posted yet. Around half an hour before our bus was due to leave still nothing had been posted so Josh went to enquire. Whilst he was gone a young Italian girl approached me and asked if I wanted to stop the night at the terminal with her. Confused and also distracted as my St. Christopher necklace chain had broken I just mentioned that I was with my boyfriend and that we had a bus booked that night. She half laughed and informed me that no one was leaving the bus station tonight and that from 2pm that day there had been a bus strike! Josh walked over looking confused as he had been unable to find someone to ask so I informed him what the Italian girl had told me. It dawned on us that we wouldn't be traveling to Mendoza that night. So we got our bags together and jumped in a taxi back to our original hostel in BA.
Our hostel was brilliant and booked is into a 6 bed dorm. Also informed us that they would contact the bus company direct and to leave it with them. They also informed us that the strike was indefinite so could last up to however long it took for the bus drivers to receive the 23% pay rise that they wanted. Feeling a bit deflated as we had been excited about Mendoza, Josh and I made our way to the terrace bar in our hostel to grab a bottle of wine. There was a hostel BBQ which we had arrived too late to be part of and as they were mid way through their wine we made our way to the very top of the terrace bar where Josh and I hadn't ventured before. It was amazing!!!! A flat roof on the 7th floor of the building! Overlooking the city below. No one else was up there so we literally had a bottle of red, us and the city of Buenos Aires! The slight stress of no being able to catch our bus disappeared and I just remembered how lucky I was to be in a place where most people would swap to be! After a while it started to rain so Josh and I made our way down to the sheltered terrace and Wendy who is one of the main receptionists at the hostel asked us to join the BBQ party as they were now all drinking. So Josh and I joined the table and quickly got into a deep chat about football and music with the bar tender Nacho. Josh particularly enjoyed that convo and even more so when Nacho played all Josh's favourite songs later in the night. We were then joined by Greg, from New York. We talked for ages with him and after the beers started flowing all agreed that we were going to have a night out in BA. As the table started to thin out we were left with Jess from Bath in England and a tall Australian guy called Chris, they both agreed to take part in our night out. In BA you don't go to clubs before 2am, I found that so bizarre as that's normally about the time I'm in the middle of the dance floor not really knowing what I'm saying and dancing like a maniac at home! I can't imagine what my friends and I would do if we pre drank for that long, probably 9 times out of 10 not make it to the club!
Around 2am when we were all definitely drunk enough we all jumped into a taxi to the club called Kika that had been recommended to us by our hostel. It was 50 pesos for girls and 80 pesos for boys, however that did include a free drink when you arrived. So we experienced our first taste of Fernet, a favourite amongst the Argentinians which I think is quite rank. I can only describe it as similar but not nicer then yagameister and then they mix it with coke, gross. Jess and I tried to down ours which made me feel so ill! But to be honest it would of been harder to sip as it was so gross! Jess and I were given VIP bands so went to explore leaving the boys on the dance floor below. After a good few hours of us all dancing and drinking ridiculous amounts of alcohol at 6.30am we all decided it was time to leave the club. We had already lost Chris who had been too drunk and jumped in a taxi home alone. We hopped in the first taxi we could find. About 70 pesos into our taxi ride the car just stalled and conked out followed by our taxi driver saying "Uh Oh". He had broken down in the middle of the street! Laughing at the situation and also more so because we were also still drunk we tried to push the taxi before giving up. We paid him 20 pesos and made our way in the rain back to our hostel leaving him stranded in the middle of the road.
On returning to our hostel at about 7am we all sat in the lounge area determined we were going to wait the hour until breakfast. The next thing I knew we were being woken up by Wendy and ushered to bed at 9.30am. Jess had made it to her bunk, but Josh, Greg and I had fallen asleep on the sofas and as Wendy stated were scaring the guests!
3rd May 2013
We woke up around mid day feeling horrific! I had missed breakfast so made my way to the lounge to conk out on the sofas we'd been asleep on only a few hours before. Wendy informed us all that the strikes were still on and it wasn't looking like we would be leaving anytime soon. Not that I would of been able to face an over night bus journey anyway! During the day we were joined by a few people. Christian who was a perfectly speaking Norwegian and had also been out the night before so joined us all in our hungover state. Then later on in the day Andy and Liz an Australian couple. Literally all day we watched football! The thing with South America that I'm finding is that they show every league of every country so it's just constant football due to the time difference. Josh was just loving it, the constant talk of football with all the boys, also learning about the different leagues. Jess and I just fell in and out of sleep all day! We managed two take always! One for lunch/breakfast, Josh walked to this buffet Chinese place and brought me back everything you want when you've got a hangover! Then later in the evening we got a bolognaise pizza which was lush! Also countless bottles of full fat coke and water! We still stayed up till just before 1am when Jess, Christian, Josh and I retired to the dorm we were sharing. Around 2am in the morning when we'd all fallen asleep a German girl who we hadn't met yet but was in the bunk bed above Jess's entered the room, turned on the light then rummaged around her bag waking us all up and totally obvious to it too! Oh well I guess that's life in dorms!
4th May 2013
We woke up feeling way more refreshed and made our way to breakfast. Feeling guilty about our day of hangover Josh and I decided that we were going to make the most of our day. However that didn't stop football interfering slightly! Andy ushered Josh over to watch the Spurs vs Southampton game. So anyway, 90 minutes later we left the hostel making our way towards San Telmo district where we'd heard there would be a market. After a 2 mile walk through the city we arrived. We had been told you would recognise it instantly as it's the oldest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. We definitely could, the cobbled streets gave it away. We found the indoor market which was in a tall old building with iron work everywhere. There were so many fruit and vegetable stores which were so colourful and had every fruit and veg you could think of, even some I'd never seen before. We looked around the market stores, particularly looking for a chain for my St.Christopher, I managed to haggle the price down slightly. Very impressed with myself! After we'd finished looking around the market we made our way to the outdoor markets. Eventually coming to a massive square full of tables of chairs. We sat down in the sun and ordered a pitcher of beer between us. Such a good life! Afternoon beer in the beautiful sun shine! Made me slap myself that I could ever complain about being stuck in this beautiful city. We made our way back to the hostel late afternoon as we had planned to go for diner with Jess and Greg. Initially we all wanted to go to the Chinese buffet but after walking there found out it was closed. So instead we made our way to a cheap restaurant Josh and I had previously enjoyed a meal at. Josh, Jess and Greg had steak whilst I chose this breaded beef thing covered in ham and cheese which is really popular in Argentina. Josh and I swapped mid way through the meal, so I got the best of both meals! Greg had mentioned that it was his last weekend of his travel and he'd quite like to go out. It wasn't until we got back after the meal that the decision was made! We bought a huge bottle of cheap vodka, only costing us 20 pesos, equivalent to just under £3! We all acknowledged before we drank it that it was a dirty vodka and most likely we were going to have sore heads the following morning! Whilst we were pre drinking Andy approached us and asked if we wanted to go to a house party of the sister of an Argentinian guy he had met in Brazil then go to a club with them all. Knowing that a night out with the locals was always the best way to experience the nightlife we all said yes, downed our drinks and went to meet Andy and Liz. They introduced us to Leonardo the Argentinian who was so friendly. He'd come to pick all 7 of us up in his 5 seater car. Somehow, mainly because we were all on each other laps we managed to squeeze in, it was quite the struggle!
We eventually got to Leonardos sisters apartment where he told us that his sister was mental and wasn't expecting so many people. Right on queue we heard a loud screech in Spanish which came from inside the apartment. Jess and I were petrified! Turns out she was actually quite nice and I think half joking! More and more people started to arrive and before we knew it drinks were flowing quickly, with the Argentinians determined to get us all drunk! Josh in particular as they'd took a liking to him. At one point they chanted at him till he downed vodka, then later on in the evening making him down the horrible fernet drink! I could definitely see in Josh's eye that he was more drunk then me! After a while we all left to make our way to the club. Jess, Josh and I stuck together getting in a taxi with Niko one of Leonardos friends. We left Greg as a solo Gringo in a car of Argentinians!
We got to the club which was amazing! You could tell it was more local then the other club we had been to. It was a massive warehouse with graffiti all around. They only sold two drinks, a litre of beer or a litre of fernet! Jess and I went to the bar and grabbed Us and Josh a litre of beer each. We then lost Josh to the Argentinians and made our way to the dance floor. It was so cool, there were guys with trumpets who came into the crowd.
The next time I saw Josh I realised it was definitely time to go home. We was absolutely wasted!it was about 5am, I couldn't find anyone else at this point so we just jumped in a taxi back to the hostel. On arrival we met Jess at the front door who had also got lost, then bumped into a very drunk Andy with Liz. Andy had got sick up the walls of the club then fell asleep until Liz had brought him home. We all made our way to bed feeling very drunk, however it wasn't long before I got into my bottom bunk that I heard a bang and a splash. Josh had fell out of the top bunk whilst getting sick! I quickly got up to guide him to the toilet , however he proceeded to get sick all over the floor and up the hostel walls. Having eventually got him to the toilet to get sick I went on a mission to make it look like it had never happened. I found a mop and an unused towel and somehow manage to clean it all up. Poor Josh, I guess that's what fernet mixed with dirty vodka does to you! I got him into bed this time in the bottom bunk with me and eventually we all passed out. Such a drunken but amazing night! However next time I think we'll give fernet a miss!
5th May 2013
Somehow we made it to breakfast in time! We all felt horrendous, however Fanny the cooks eggs made us feel much better combined with a strong coffee! Another write off hangover day, Jess, Josh, Greg and I couldn't move but somehow Andy and Liz managed to go to the football and a market. We watched movies and football all day joined by a poorly Christian. Josh and I managed a small walk to the Chinese however on finding out it was closed walked back and ordered a bolognaise pizza between us with a big bottle of full fat coke! Jess and Christian also had pizza, Jess's finished off by a very hungover Josh.
It felt like we had all been together for ages, Andy even described it as flat mates in the big brother house. I suppose it was because we were all stuck in BA due to the strikes so all understood each others situation. It's hard to complain about it to people at home who would just think that you were being ridiculous! I think I've definitely made some good mates especially with Jess who I had bonded with instantly, we had already arranged to meet up in London when she moved there later this year. Greg was possibly going to meet us in Boston too as he needed to check out university's there. Even though we were stuck and it was kind of frustrating it had given us a chance to fall in love with the city more and the atmosphere that came with it, also make some firm friendships.
6th May 2013
The bus strikes were still on so another day in the city! Although the others had decided to books flights to their next destination Josh and I decided to wait another day in hope. Flights cost more then double the price! We decide to walk through Recoleta to Palermo. It was around 3 and half mile walk but we broke it up by stopping in parks to take in the rays of sun. We also visited the graffiti bridge and this large metallic flower structure. The flower structure is in the middle of a large park and opens up in the morning then closes at night. We eventually got to the Palermo district where the Japanese gardens are. They're massive and beautiful with an authentic theme. We eventually started the long walk home passing through different neighbourhoods. Buenos Aires is just so beautiful and reminds me of a European city. We got back to hostel to find out Jess had booked her flight for that evening to Rio and Andy and Liz were leaving to Mendoza early the following morning. There had been no news on the strikes unfortunately and they had decided to bite the bullet and book. Josh and I decided after a few nights of take aways we needed to fill ourselves and with lots of vegetables. We went to the cheap Chinese supermarket across the road and picked up lots of vegetables, pasta, tomato purée sauce and mozzarella. It was good, we made enough sauce with vegetables for the following day. We then sat with a bottled of red wine and joined Christian and the others in the lounge. Said our goodbye to Jess securing our promise to meet up when we were home. Eventually say further goodbyes to Andy and Liz when they went to bed. Greg had his flight back the next day so we stayed up late with Christian and Greg watching TV before making our way to bed hoping there would be good news the next day!
7th May 2013
We were greeted in the morning by Fanny shouting "You're going to Mendoza!" The bus strikes were over! Yipeeee! Josh and I quickly ate breakfast then sat down with Wendy to hopefully book an overnight bus to Mendoza. She had good news! We were getting a full refund and she could book us a bus for 6pm that evening! I was excited! Although I loved BA I was so ready to visit somewhere new and explore. We both jumped in the shower ready to stroll round BA for the final time. Josh came out guiltily from the shower, god knows how but he'd managed to snap off the shower head! We made the joint decision to not tell the hostel hoping no one discovered it before 6pm! Josh and I walked around Avenue de Mayo running a few errands including finally getting our laundry done! We then stopped for a coffee in Starbucks before buying some Doritos to eat with our vegetable sauce and mozzarella. Then finally it was time for us to leave Buenos Aires! Josh had received an email from our hostel informing us wine will be waiting for us upon our arrival in the morning, sounded perfect! So we boarded our 14 hour bus journey ready to see more of Argentina!