Having spent just one day under a grey cloud in Montevideo we decided on a bus and boat journey to Buenos Aires.

The bus this time was painless and fairly comfy and just 3 hours to Colonia then a one hour boat trip to the port at Buenos Aires.

At the bus station we met a young girl called Valentina from Montevideo who helped us with a few translations and then ended up sharing the journey with us. She was lovely, about 21 and was on her second date in Buenos Aires with a guy she'd met there three months before. We nattered for the whole journey and as we reached the port she nipped off to put her lippy and perfume on and I have never seen anyone so nervous, bless her, she was due to meet his parents that night!! I felt quite maternal when she asked if she called walk out of the terminal with me for moral support!happily her new boy was there to meet her and judging by the big fat kissy smacker he planted on her lips when they saw each other it was clear that she'd be alright!!

We grabbed a taxi and almost immediately became gridlocked in the rush hour traffic. Its ironic that Buenos Aires translated into English means 'Good Air'....there was lots of carbon monoxide and diesel fumes but not much good air where we were!! Anyway the clock started clicking and the price started going up.. very fast!! Ray was getting agitated, then the driver seemed to say something to us like "don't worry I won't charge you what the clock says"....we said thank you and happened to mention that we were English and our Spanish wasn't very good...the drivers attitude then immediately changed, he blew out his cheeks made a grunting noise which was clearly directed at us and when we reached our hostel he insisted that we paid the whole fare......either we had misinterpreted what he'd said or he was a Malvinas veteran....lucky we didn't mention the war!!

Our first bit of sightseeing was the famous Recoleta cemetery. I only really wanted to visit there because I knew that Eva Peron had been laid to rest there but the whole place was just fascinating, beautiful, slightly unnerving and very spooky all at the same time. The cemetery itself is almost like a little neighborhood. Avenues of mausoleums, tombs and vaults spread out wards from a pretty tree lined central point. The deceased here are made up of the Buenos Aires élite, hoy polly and general big wigs from Argentina's history. Generals, politicians, presidents, actors, nobel prize winners, authors, poets, doctors and some generally good eggs who have all shuffled off this mortal coil as far back as the beginning of the 18th century. Most of the tombs are well looked after and beautifully designed but there are a few very old ones that have fallen into disrepair. As I stood there feeling sad about how neglected they were I realized that inside, through the windows were the coffins! Coffins that were well over hundred years old, with their lids slightly askew...(really expected to see Messrs Cushing, Lugosi and Lee floating about the place, Nosferatu style!) You could actually see them and in some cases touch them (if you felt the urge!)...I found this very un nerving, whereas in the U.K we generally cremate or bury our loved ones six feet under, here they are on shelves displayed for all to see for decades and as time goes by they are joined by each member of the family as they too turn their toes up!...

Having said all of that it was a beautiful, tranquil place and every now and then we'd find a cat lounging on top of the tombs in the sunshine. One looked just like our old cat (Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney) I wondered where he went to!! (see photo section)

Some of the individual stories were so inspirational. We found the tomb of Eva Peron and again as I peered in I could see several coffins from the 'Duarte' family. It was only later the next day that I discovered that not only was her life story an amazing, inspirational and sad one, the story of her demise and subsequent journey to her final resting place was a long and fascinating one too.........cont...