Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires... what a place. We had a total of 4 days to explore the city, but we could have spent much longer!

One of the highlights of our stay was a walking tour in which the guide explained to us much of the incredibly turmultuous (is that a word) political history of the city and of Argentina and took us to many relevant sites including the presidential palace, Eva Peron´s office (now a museum) and a site of an old police station where many people were tortured to death as recently as 15 yrs ago. One of the most incredible things was the constant protests that, as was explained to us, are practically a daily occurence in Buenos Aires. Indeed, on the day we did the tour, the police were setting up the fencing around the main square (the fencing stays there to be set up & pulled down whenever there is a protest) and we passed a group of protesters with several men whereing scarves over their faces and carrying battons... still none of the locals seemed to even batt an eyelid as the protesters passed... it was just another day for them.

We also went to an obligatory Tango Show. We chose a very intimate one as opposed to the big theatre based productions that many people go to. Ours was in a small bar that had about 12 tables and the smallest area for the dancers. It was really quite impressive with all the high kicks and everything that no tables were sent flying. It was a fantastic night, with several professional couples dancing as well as traditional singing and a couple of 3 or 4 piece bands playing traditional music. Sara and I even got up and attempted a some dancing with the professionals... not a chance!! haha. What did strike me was that the tango is actually a very beautiful and sensuous dance when done well. The difference between the professionals here and those that dance in the many plazas and streets for money was very obvious.

No visit to South America would be complete without a trip to a soccer match, and no team is more famous than Marradona´s old club in Argentina, the Boca Juniors. So we joined a group and off we went to the match. We got to see a little of La Boca, the famous area near the soccer stadium where the brightly coloured houses that you see in most BA related articles are. We then had to wait as our path was blocked by riot police while all of the opposing team´s supporters entered the stadium (they also kept us inside for 40 mins after the match until all of the opposing team´s supporters had left).

Inside the stadium was quite incredible. We stood in the heat, shoulder to shoulder with thousand of other supporters. On the other side of the stadium were the real Boca supporters and it was amazing to hear them play music and chant non-stop for the ENTIRE match. Ultimately the game itself was not particularly good and Boca lost 2-0, but it was quite the experience.

Our final days in BA were spent wandering the local parks, rowing on the lakes and wondering the miles and miles and miles of markets that were tucked into the narrow streets with European style buildings lining them. The best part of the markets were the constant sting of musicians playing for a few coins... just as one was fading into the background as you walked you could start to hear the next one up ahead. We even recognised some of the musicians from the Tango show we had been to.

So, all in all we had a fantastic time in BA and we would both have been happy to spend more time exploring the city.