So arriving in Buenos Aires was something of a blank for me. I actually had no expectations and had done little to no research on the place. Ben had found us a hostel in a great part of town that we would spend 3 days together in. For him this was his last days of his travels.
We had a fantastic few days together seeing various things around the city. Ben is really good at organizing things that he would like to see. I really enjoy that actually, quite often I would just potter and see what comes my way, but sometimes it is great to be with someone with a plan.
Ben is vegetarian also and for the two of us trying to find vege food in this meat capital of the world was hard. Seriously, these people seem to lack vegetables from their diet. Its a marvel that the cholesterol hasn´t killed them. They order a steak and it comes with a lettuce leaf. Every restaurant seems to sell the same thing. The lack of diversity is incredible for such a bohemian city. Everywhere is pizza, pasta, steak or fish. Half of that is off the menu straight away for us, the other half gets a little samey after a while. I rejoiced when I found an Arabian takeaway, felafel's and hummus! It was pretty cardboardy actually, but it was something different at least.
On the second night Ben had planned for us to go to the football. He had tried to see matches 3 times before in South America and was thwarted every time. He was determined this time to go. I can take football or leave it, but I thought the atmosphere would be good. He went to buy the tickets and came back 2 hours later looking a little forlorn. He was R$10 short of two tickets as the cheaper ones had sold out. So he had bought one for himself. Of course I know that he wouldn´t have done that if he thought for one minute that I would mind. Of course I didn´t, I was just happy that he would finally be getting to go to a game in this continent. It also left a wonderful mystical question mark as to how I would spend Friday night in this marvellous city on my own. I was quite excited to see what the universe would bring my way.
I ended up spending a delectable 3 hours walking around the stalls of street markets, watching street tango, various buskers and performers, browsing shops and stopping for tea. It was a great time and I felt truly lucky to be here, in this time, as I am.
Street tango
The lounge Tango ´Ibiza chill-out´ music is so great, I´ve bought 4 CDs to listen when i get home, such hypnotic beats combined with traditional tango riffs and samples. Many areas of the city has this unique blend pumping out of bars and cafes. The graffiti, whilst not that of Sao Paulo lends itself to the cultural feels. Too much tagging and not enough art work layers a trashy shawl over the beautiful architecture of days gone by. This was once the richest city in the world. Of course the riches were owned by a few individuals, but still when you think that it was richer than anywhere else and being only a few hundred years since establishment, it seems quite cool to me.
We also went to a touristic tango show that for me had little to note except one performance... The show was chronicling the growth of tango from its roots. Spanish and Italian immigrants bought their individual flares and flavours of music, culture, art and of course dance. Two guys came on stage dressed in traditional Flamenco outfits followed by a woman holding beat on a drum. The two guys pulled out their Poi (a prop of a cord in each hand usually tailed with ribbons, balls or even fire, they are spun around and are very graceful when used properly) then started to twirl them about whilst stamping. They started to hit the floor with their poy that had hard balls on the end. The rhythm created was fast, incredibly tight and amazing to watch. I´ve never seen anything like it.
Ben and I said our goodbyes and i was so thankful that he had come to join me here. We really caught up in ways we haven't for years and I feel we have both grown from the experiences we had together. After Ben left I checked out the cemetery where Evita was buried. The local rich and famous burial ground full of sarcophagi, tombs and generally flashy graves showing that some people try hard to take their money with them. Oh and I bought some thunder that day too. I enjoyed playing with that at the cemetery. (Thunder is a musical instrument created in Brazil, it is a giant seed pod, hollowed and a hole put in the top, a drum skin is placed upon the open end and a spring attached. As you shake it, the spring´s vibrations resonate within the seedpod and the resulting sound is akin to thunder. When the spring hits things as it flys about it sounds like a Jedi light-sabre.) I thought it the coolest thing I have ever seen. I bought one immediately.
Evita´s Burial place
Next came Iguazu. Now my favorite place on Earth. Mother Nature has excelled here. After my 18 hour bus journey I went straight to the park and saw quite the most spectacular display of water I´ve ever seen. The billions of tonnes of cascading water falls over many kilometers of falls. It is not only awe inspiring but is also leaves one speechless. Walking around was something of a meditation for me. The second day I went on a walk to a pool under a waterfall, wow that was cool. Standing under a 60ft waterfall, feeling the cold pounding vertical river massage my body is something else. I got so into it, every time I came out to dry off before leaving I had to go back in. It is very grounding being in such a natural shower. I enjoyed meditating in it and doing some yoga (that was very limited due to the slipperiness of the rocks.) The walk to and from the falls took me past spiders the size of my hands. One was devouring a ginormous butterfly. Quite enthralling if not a little grizzly.
So many butterflies!!!! magical
So today I went to Brazil for the morning to their side of the Cataratas (Spanish for waterfall). Argentina have the intimate, get real close side, Brazil have the ´stand back and see the ´painting´ properly as Mother Nature intended´ side. There is no way I can describe the beauty of the view here. The spray of the falls enveloping you as you watch rainbows being born. The water nymphs playing gracefully with the sodden grass making it lush almost beyond this world. The force and magnitude of the water falling and smashing against the rocks below serves to remind and humble as to the sheer power of nature. This is truly a Heaven on Earth. Well, apart from all the bloody tourists... ;)
Soon I return to Buenos Aires to go straight to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. This 26 hours journey will give me plenty of time to rest. It amazing how you learn to sleep just about anywhere when travelling on a time budget.
