I wanted to go back to Argentina on this trip because I loved the country the first time I visited and one thing that very much surprised me back then was how much I liked Buenos Aires. It’s a very large city but for me it feels very comfortable. After taking the bus from the airport to the city center and stepping off, both Manu (Albane’s friend that I flew down with) and I commented about how relaxed we were and what a good vibe the city gives.
Being in Argentina meant I could again continue my progression to fluency in the Spanish language. And by fluent I mean piecing together five words, butchering the grammar, pronouncing the vowels and accents like a gringo, and having no clue to what is said to me upon response. In other words, I was ready for another week of Spanish lessons. For the most part I spent the first week each day taking a few hours of lessons, eating empanadas for lunch, and some sort of red meat for dinner. I believe the count at the end of the first week was 19 empanadas, 2 steaks, 2 steak sandwiches, and 1 mixed grill.
At the hostel I met an Austrian guy (Florian) and another from Brazil and besides doing the usual, we watched in a bar with the locals one of the biggest rivalry games in Argentina, Boca Jrs versus River Plate. For those not aware, in my early travel days I hung out with three Argentinian guys in South Africa and at the end of our travels together one of them gave me his Boca jersey, so I have been a Boca fan ever since. In the hostel I also met a very nice family from Rosario that were visiting BA and had a very enjoyable Sunday morning talking with them (hola Mili).
My second week in BA was with my friend Job from Denver. He flew down because he heard how good the steak is in Argentina. So, we went to Uruguay. But just for a couple days to checkout Montevideo, and all I can really say about the city is they have good Irish music.
Job speaks Spanish so my newly improved Spanish skills (actually improved just slightly) took a back seat but while in BA we also hung out a couple nights with Jorge, my friend from the Brazil hostel that lives in BA. While we still tried some of the language transfer we did in Brazil, Job was able to have conversations with Jorge and also act as a translator for us. One night Jorge took us to an iconic pizza place in the theater district and another night to a bodegon (a large, loud, single room restaurant serving traditional, homestyle, Argentinian food) near his house. By day Job and I explored the city stopping at many empanada stands and at night, steaks and bars.
When Job flew home, I went to the northwest edge of Patagonia to explore Bariloche and work my way up to Bolivia.
Fins Up!!