Hola!
I am writing this from Palermo, Buenos Aires.
How did I get to Buenos Aires? Well that´s a long story.
But I got to Palermo by taking the subway (subte) and then a bus. My new Swedish friend, Sarah, and I were helped by an Argentinian girl, Paola, as we were lost and didn´t understand where we were or why the subte had stopped and what to do.
On the bus Paola asked me if I knew what Palermo was like. I replied that I didn´t but what did she think it was like. She said to me ... it is full of people who are (she paused here trying to find the right word) ... trying to be something they are not.
Ohhhh, I replied ... hipsters!
SI Exactly.
I have been in Argentina for 5 days and each day brings new excitement and adventures. Unfortunately it doesn´t bring new clothes and I have been wearing the same shorts for 5 days in a row now. By my second day I had sunburn and I am covered in mosquito bites, I haven´t had a peaceful nights sleep since I arrived thanks to the men snoring in my dorm room at the hostel, but frankly I am having the greatest time regardless.
Last night I sat on the roof top patio at the hostel. There is a bar and the girl behind it had never even opened a bottle of wine before. She poured me and my friend 2 HUGE plastic cups full of cold malbec wine which only cost 20 pesos each ($2.50USD). And we sat under the stars looking at the huge beautiful building across the road. In such a big city there was so much silence and I filled it with funny stories to make Sarah laugh.
This is just the start of my trip. I have over 7 weeks left to travel through parts of South America and Cuba. Tomorrow night I will leave BA and travel on a bus to Iguazu Falls, they are bigger than Niagara and border both Argentina and Brazil. BA has been a blast but I am looking forward to getting out of the city.
On my second day here I took a bike tour around the city. It has been a highlight for me so far. We dodged busses and taxis and crazy BA traffic. I almost ran someone over and I am sure I came very close to being hit by cars. The tour took us through touristy parts of town but also the very quiet ones. Children lined up on the side of the road to hi5 us as we road past. And I thought to myself how I felt like I was in a movie.
I visited the cemetery to visit Evita Peron´s grave and to take photos of amazing mausoleums. I wandered around snapping photos shocked at how extravagant they were. There were stray cats living in the cemetery and I sat and chatted to an ear-less one for a while. Though I am not sure if he understood my english.
I am hoping that my Spanish improves rapidly. And by improves, I mean, I really hope I learn some spanish. I have picked up words and a few phrases but I struggle to remember them. I practice things in my head but when I go to use them my mouth forgets how to work and I end up looking as stupid as I feel.
I know I haven´t answered the question of how I got to Argentina. Itś a long story of hope and heartache. It´s a part of my life that I don´t want to think about right now. Instead I shall eat empanadas and walk in the sun. I may even tango!¿
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