Getting out of Bolivia proved harder than I expected, either because of misunderstandings or unhelpful bus company representatives, depending on how good you think my Spanish is. I spent a cold day in the Bolivian border town of Villazon before I realised that the bus I needed to catch actually left from the Argentinian town of La Quiaca across the border. The bus to Buenos Aires leaves from Villazon, but I wasn´t going there, so maybe that´s why the girl assured me that I just needed to wait in the wrong country all day. Anyway, the next day I crossed the border on foot, found the right bus terminal and then promptly missed another bus while having breakfast because my guide book assured me there was no time difference between Bolivia and Argentina in July, when in fact there is. After all of these minor cock-ups, and another couple of hours trying to find a sunny spot to sit in out of the wind, I was hugely relieved to finally get on a bus bound for Salta. I didn´t even mind that the bus wasn´t heated, that the window rattled and they didn´t serve any food. Well, I didn´t mind much. I did think it was a bit odd that they showed a film about terrorists plotting to blow up 50 buses, but I´ve seen some very strange films travelling in South America.
Salta itself was civilisation! Streets filled with shops, and cafes – mostly shut on the Sunday I arrived, but it was still a nice town, and the main plaza was a good place to hang out. Best of all the restaurants served fantastic steak and wine! I fancied going on a couple of tours, but most of them sounded like things I´d already done in Chile and Bolivia. Having just reached a sensible altitude I wasn´t keen on going back up to 4000m and visiting a salt lake! I did take a tour down to Cafayate though, seeing some amazing red, rocky landscape on the way, and then tasting the local wines. I even had some cabernet ice cream, which tasted bizarre to start with, but had grown on me by the end. Back in Salta I also ran into Jeff who was on his way up through Argentina to Bolivia to meet back up with Steve in La Paz. I was tempted to join them, but Argentina was all new to me and I had to press on to Córdoba.
Córdoba was like a larger version of Salta, but without the cute plaza. I visited the childhood home of Ché Guevara, and it was nice to read about his backpacking adventures that led to him meeting Fidel Castro and finally being shot in Bolivia. I met some pretty cool people in Córdoba too, but none that inspired me towards revolution. It´s probably different if you´re travelling around on a motorbike.
After Córdoba I travelled by super-cama coach down to Buenos Aires and finally experienced the wonderful Argentinian buses that everyone had been talking about – The seats went completely flat and they served wine with the meal! I also unexpectedly bumped into the mexican brother and sister that were on the same trip to Machu Picchu as myself and Amy! There´s been a lot of bumping into people in South America… Anyway, we shared a cab to a hostel and that evening ended in some drunken karaoke before they flew off to Iguazu.
Buenos Aires is a big place, so I´ve spent the last two weeks checking out a couple of different areas. To start with I was staying in the centre of town, which has nice pedestrian shopping streets, fancy malls and plenty of coffee shops. Then I moved out to San Telmo which is a much artier part of town, with plenty of grafitti and art galleries. I stayed in the Art Factory which is a very funky hotel/hostel decorated by lots of different artists, and a good place to hang out, unless you happen to be in the lobby when kids rush in and rob everyone! Luckily I wasn´t; I was upstairs drinking and so missed the excitement, but everyone was a bit nervy after that. San Telmo certainly felt a bit dangerous at night, but during the day it was a great place to wander around, especially on a Sunday when the main street turns into a huge market and people are tango-ing in the main square. I also had some insane steaks in De Nivelli on Defensa – Ordering for four people you would get a 2 foot long slug of lomo steak, an entire tenderloin! Mmmm…
Fancying a slightly less ´exciting´ part of town to live in I headed to Palermo, which is far more refined than San Telmo. Palermo Soho in particular was great fun to walk around, again with loads of cool shops, but there are also dozens of parks in the area, and I enjoyed wandering around the Japanese gardens before wolfing down some sashimi – you can´t have steak all the time! Near Palermo is Recolleta, which has the famous cemetary where Eva Peron is buried. It seems a little strange to visit a cemetary, and even to enjoy it, but it was an amazing place to walk around. The mausoleums are immense, like miniature houses, or in some cases catherdrals, and you are essentially walking along streets lined with dead peoples´ homes. After spending nearly an hour in the quiet it was strange to walk outside and be faced with a McDonalds and a street full of bars.
Yesterday I moved hostel again, just to try out another place, and I´m back in the centre of town again. I spent today walking around the renovated dock area of Peurto Madero, where the old red brick wharf buildings have been tastefully turned into chains of Hooters and TGI Fridays. Tomorrow I might try and visit the La Boca neighbourhood in the morning, but in the evening I´m booked on another full cama bus to the Iguazu falls – my last stop in Argentina, and my crossing point into Brazil! Argentina has been great, but I´ve heard tell of Rum festivals and life drawing in Brazil, so I guess it´s time to move on!