30 August, Arrival to Buenos Aires

Post 1

So, I got to Buenos Aires today, precisely at 8 in the morning. I cannot complain much about the flight really. I got the best seat I could get in tourist (front row, no one in front of me so full leg space), and I must have slept for a lot of hours because in a 13 hour flight I watched a film, dozed off and when I decided to check the remaining flight time there was 1 hour and a half to go! BTW I watch Labour Day in the plane and actually liked it a lot!!

I spoke a bit to the guy sitting next to be before we landed and got some practical bits of info in terms of how to get to the center (he did offer me a lift half way but I thought my mother would kill me for that one) and where to get money (best is to get it on the street, getting 13-14 pesos per dollar, which gives you around 60% more than in the bank!!). 

So getting to the city went quite smoothly via taking a bus for around 140 pesos. It was an interesting system they have there. You go and ask about where you want to go, actually giving the lady at the airport desk the address. Then you jump on the usual big bus and this takes you to a centric location, where the company has their own terminal (in Retiro). From there, you jump of this bus and as passengers with similar destinations arrive they group you and pack you in a small van which takes you, one by one, to the chosen addresses. All this with the upmost efficiency! So I ended up with a middle aged Argentinian lady who came from Spain, a French guy who lived in Buenos Aires and an odd-looking fur-clad old lady who didn’t seem to know too well where she was going (but did get there in the end). In the end it was an interesting trip, as the very nice middle aged lady informed us (me and the french guy) of where we should definitely-definately go to learn tango… (apparently a place called La Viruta would do the trick for beginners…). After this I ended up safely in front of my hotel. Of course too early to check in but good enough to leave my bag. And off I went for the first roam around Buenos Aires. 

I am staying in Palermo as per the recommendation of a couple of friends. So I headed towards the Plaza de Italia and a few green spaces around there including a zoo, a botanical garden, a Japanese garden and one called the 3^rd of July. 

This last one seems to be quite popular for locals (understandable as it was a Saturday morning) who were in their most sporty selves doing rowing, skating, cycling and best of all I saw a big bunch of them, jumping up and down following the step of a lycra-clad lady with the aid of serious music… (see video). 

(video)

It was quite nice to go for a quiet stroll (with the exception of the aerobic of course) as I was rather knackered from the crouching position within the aeroplane (best-seat or not). 

From there I headed to the Recoleta, a posh barrio, and its famous grave yard where among others I saw the grave of Evita.

So, what is my first take of Buenos Aires? I think I am feeling strangely at home. I mean once you get past the first, mnnn, what am I doing here? I have come to feel really more at home than I have felt for quite a while. Everything seems very familiar. Buildings are kind of the same as in Madrid, cars and traffic follow the same untidiness, Spanish is all around, people are loud and happy… Of course it is slightly different, may be a little bit wider and a bit more run down in places, but really the atmosphere is not that different than in my home town…

Only problem is I am already seeing the food turning into an issue as, as per my usual thing, I tend to leave it and leave it and leave it, and end up eating a crappy little thing like a little alfajor with some tea (with which to be fair I had been dreaming since I landed). 

The problem is that instead of having it for breakfast as per my initial intention I had it past lunch time when I was almost fainting and really I should have been eating something proper.

It is always a bit of a hussel eating when going around and alone. Tonight I am ashamed to say I had a sandwich in Starbucks… but don’t worry I will get to the steak and wine at some point soon….

One odd thing is that I swear I saw the guy from the plane go by an hour or so ago when I was walking around Palermo. In a city of millions, what are the chances of meeting the same guy twice???