This is a section of our honeymoon blog. The main post can be found here.
Day Eight – Lima to Buenos Aries
A very early start from our hotel meant that it was time to leave Lima and Peru and head to our second country – Argentina. The final time we would be seeing the Pacific ocean for some time I guess.
The flight took nearly six hours. I think us Europeans do not realise how massive other continents are. What is a neighbouring country was probably similar to flying from Portugal to Turkey. London to Egypt only took five hours.
I am not super proud that TGI Friday’s made it in to the blog, but the breakfast we had at the airport was bloody outstanding, and for £14 wasn’t too OTT.
Jorge Newbury international airport was surprisingly close to the centre of the city, taking about 20 minutes to reach our hotel. Mr Newbury, a not so fun fact, was a pioneering Argentine aviator, who died in a plane crash (so perhaps not a very good one) in 1914.
As we were driving to our hotel you could not help but notice the different vibe of the city. Well kept green spaces, maintaned roads with good traffic flow, very rarely a car beeping its horn (that did feel weird compared to Peru) and just the difference being in a more westernised area.
As we arrived at our hotel, amazed to see how close we were to one of the main sights – the Obelisk – we both felt that the high effort adventures had been completed and we can start to relax during our remaining nine days on the continent.
Also in the taxi ride, I thought about what we could do in the evening, deciding to explore a tango show, so the fact our hotel was actually attached (and literally called NH Tango Hotel) to a popular tango theatre sold us immedietly.
First though, we checked in to our hotel, it too a little more luxury, had a few hours rest and back out for dinner before the show.
We found somewhere on Google Maps within a five minute walk, experiencing the broadway-style street along the way showing several theatrical and comedy shows. The food itself we agreed was the best of the whole trip, a humungous meat platter with sides of fries, rice, bread, salad and chimichurri. It was absolutely devoured apart from the blood sausage (a way too soggy black pudding) and chicken hearts, which the texture was… just urgh. For £45 including drinks, being so central too, we were very satisfied.
The tango show cost us around £25 each but if you wanted to have food and/or drinks the price was double/treble. Not knowing quite what to expect, we were seated with some strangers (I felt bad as I was obviously in a blokes way of the stage) and enjoyed the 90 minute show, fascinated.
The show as you’d expect was all in Spanish and I really don’t think there was a storyline, but every few minutes the performers acted out a difference scene, many with a singer accompanying them. The six person orchestra in the back was also a treat, especially the fella with a cello. By far my favourite part of the show however, was a few performances that were nothing like the tango, but more three people dancing and making a tune using some sort of balls on the end of the rope! Not to disappreciate the dancers, but that took some skill… I would have clocked my colleague around the head within seconds. If you go to THIS VIDEO on YouTube and at the four minute mark you can see what I mean.
As the show didn’t start until 10pm, by the time we vacated it was pushing midnight, so went to bed, next door.
Day Nine – Buenos Aires
Ok… This morning we headed out on a city tour of the capital. I was a little surprised it was as short as it was, but there we are.
Firstly we headed to a sculpture of steel and aluminium, called Floralis Generica. I did think it was related to Argentina’s proud history of free higher education, but looking again that doesn’t appear to be the case. It closes its petals in the evening, but I’m not sure that was enough to warrant a stop. I probably wasn’t listening enough, regretting not having another two plates for breakfast…
The Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Lady of Buenos Aires church) was up next, something more likely to see on such a tour.
Again, I’m not one to educate myself too much on churches. It was good to know this was the location for the Recoleta cemetery. There wasn’t time in the tour for this to be included but we decided that we’ll visit tomorrow.
I was more interested in the many cool trees around this area, especially the one where our meeting point would be.
Being over 200 years old and with a branch diameter of over 50 metres I thought it was cool, a sculpture of Atlas holding up a branch adding to the spot.
A short but long drive next past the obelisk and our hotel to what I assume is the main square, that houses the main cathedral and Casa Rosada government office, pictured. Again there was little in the way of information from the tour guide, just 15 minutes to have a walk around and a wee!
Our next destination was kinda the one I was waiting for. We were now driving around the old town where the La Boca neighbourhood lay, where many of the shipbuilders called home.
As we approached the famous home of Boca Juniors, La Bombonera, we were reminded that they do not currently do tours due to stadium works, so we had to make do with a quick stop outside for a photo.
Considering we were told to be very cautious of pickpockets in this area, it was a surprise to then stop for a wander around just 100 metres from the stadium.
Being a big football supporter and knowing the significance of the area and the impact players such as Maradona, Riquelme and Messi (although never a Boca player) have/had I found it interesting. I did regret that I didn’t learn the Spanish for “we don’t have any cash” to answer the countless street sellers, including a bloke dressed up as a dodgy Maradona selling selfies.
Ooh, I nearly forgot that we accidentally came across Cachafaz Caminito around here too. What I think is a café, is a major tourist destination in the area due to its colourful paintwork (similar to the rest of the buildings) and obviously Messi holding the World Cup trophy aloft added to this.
Argentina are obsessed with football and boy do they let you know that they’re currently the best at it…
From here we either had the choice to go wine tasting or be dropped off at the marina. Not that fussed on wine and needing another toilet break, we chose the latter.
The Marina looked a nice place although the high rises and quirky restaurants made us pass the area for lunch, instead walking back to our hotel via the Cathedral we didn’t have time to enter earlier.
Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral won’t stick out to be honest. We did have the pleasure to visit La Sagrada Familia on our mini moon, and the cathedral in Rio (a week later ish) was something more of a spectacle.
The cathedral did however, hold the Mausoleum of General San Martín. I suppose I need to do a bit of history here and San Martin was mentioned quite a lot.
He was the liberator of Peru, Argentina and Chile from the Spanish. There we go. History lesson complete.
That evening, to be honest, the travelling caught up with us somewhat. Kay was feeling under the weather more so, so for tea we had a takeaway in the hotel room. I did manage to go and sit by the obelisk for a few hours later on, and if I remember correctly this was the first time I started writing this rubbish!
Day Ten – Buenos Aires
Today we had a free day, but obviously that meant a few things on the agenda. First up we went to the cemetery we were close to yesterday. La Recoleta.
Here is regarded as one of the world’s most renowned and “beautiful” cemeteries. Although it houses many people of Argentine combative history and Nobel Prize winners, the tomb of Eva Peron is probably the most notable.
Eva Peron? If I say her nickname Evita it may help. Yeah that one from Don’t Cry for me Argentina. Might need another very brief history lesson…
Evita was a former actress and First Lady of the country from 1946 until her death in 1952. She was born in poverty but due to her activism and philanthropy gained huge popularity.
She came across as a bit of a Marilyn Monroe I guess. The tour guide mentioned the day before that she is someone many Argentine’s hate to love, but I can’t quite get my head around the criticism. I think this stems from allegations that her husband was a fascist and antisemitic. Other bits I’ve read seem to dispel this and argue the opposite, but who knows…
The cemetery as a whole was an experience. Tomb after tomb of important people who paid a fortune to be buried here, almost inviting you to take photos (I didn’t really feel comfortable taking photos in the only similar place I’ve been to in Milan). It was sad to see so many of the plots in disrepair. I guess it’s the family who’s responsible for the upkeep but if you’re the great great great great granddaughter of someone, possibly living the other side of the world, are you really likely to do so?
After leaving the cemetery, we walked to our next destination through a significantly large area of greenery and parkland, somehow incorporating 5 lanes of traffic either side.
In total the Japanese gardens were about half an hour easy stroll from the cemetery. For just 4 quid entry, it was so nice to walk around, although I thought it was a little misplaced as the aforementioned green areas were pleasant enough. Should have lobbed it next to the Boca Juniors stadium!
We followed this up with another 15 minute walk to the planetarium….
… Which only took cash. Completely bizarre having overcome Peruvian struggles of either paying in cash or Visa (we had 4 MasterCards). I hope the experience was better than it looked from the outside but we move on.
Anyway, the final stop of the morning (County were kicking off at 4pm (waste as we lost 4-1)) was to the rival team of Boca, and I didn’t know at the time, the largest in South America!
Estadio Monumental, capacity 84,000 odd, is the home to River Plate and usually the Argentina national team.
It was a bit shit to find out that after I bought last season’s perfectly wacky third kit that the next two tours were fully booked. I feel that I’ve delivered you an injustice with these photos from outside the stadium, but don’t fear, the Maracana, smaller but more famous, will feature in the Brazilian section!
Uber back to the hotel to watch the County get stuffed by Leyton Orient 4-1. The last half hour of which I missed snoozing.
That evening, similar to last night, was a bit of a non entity due to catching up on sleep. We did manage to walk for a good couple of hours, visiting the Argentine congress building as a highlight.
With Mikayla fasto, I again had a final few hours outside the obelisk to work more on the blog. If I recall I didn’t get far past day three, instead making the most of people watching and £3 packets of cigarettes! The fireworks at midnight scaring the shit out of me (why the need, it was a Tuesday FFS) only encouraged me back to the hotel…
Day Eleven – Buenos Aires to Iguazu
Well done if you’re still sticking with me. Today (I hope… as it bloody should be…) will be the shortest post…
We were afforded some time for breakfast before our lift to the airport. Only then did Mikayla tell me that whilst we were taking TWO two hour flights, the distance from here to Iguazu direct was only 2 hours.
It did not help one iota that we also had a four hour layover in the middle of nowhere.
I seriously can’t be arsed to even try and Google the name of said airport. It didn’t have any hot food, or a decent meal without cheese for that point. There seemed a small village nearby with taxis available but god knows how we would have managed to get back.
It didn’t help that our SKY airline flight for the last leg was probably the worst flight I’ve been on in terms of legroom. Worse than Ryanair. Yes I said it out loud. WORSE THAN RYANAIR.
The one saving grace was just before landing, I clocked a location that is pretty cool. That bridge in the photo… Paraguay is to your left, Brazil the other side of the bridge and Argentina is to the bottom left separated by the Iguazu river.
It was a good 45 minute drive from the airport to our very fancy hotel (by far the best around here) in the small area of central Puerto Iguazu. I just missed the 8pm cut-off for a swim but a visit to the rooftop pool was worthwhile… (Brazil to the right of river to give the previous photo more context).
Puerto Iguazu was indeed a small but very vibrant area. Many restaurants serving the many day trippers to the waterfalls. We selected what we thought was the most “westernised” place for a burger, with too much hope in staff speaking good English, and ended up with steaks that were very nice but cost twice as much (about 20 quid each). Ah well we were on holiday.
Day Twelve – Iguazu Falls (Argentina side)
Right then. How to play this? I’ll start off by stating that the falls were the highlight of the trip. Machu Picchu was amazing, but looked exactly as your random Microsoft windows wallpaper portrays, but Iguazu Falls you could not fully capture with a picture.
I’ve gone with a snapshot of the park map to start off…
I did have concerns that today was gonna be another slog uphill and walking wise in the middle of the jungle, but that wasn’t the case.
I’ve said to a few people that it reminded me of a theme park without the rides (swapped for waterfalls) as the facilities were brilliant.
After some more bullshit buying our tickets without a Visa CREDIT card?? (Used to be a debt advisor why would I have a credit card??) we caught the internal train to what I assumed would be the main event. ORANGE on the map.
Devil’s throat is the most ferocious of the waterfalls at Iguazu. To be there watching it was a spectacle but not so great for a photo sorry.
It’s been like FOREVER since a fun fact so: in terms of height, Victoria falls wins, Niagara in Canada takes home the volume (can’t imagine that mind) but Iguazu is the widest collection of waterfalls in the world. I don’t know what list of world wonders you refer to, but give your head a wobble if this isn’t at the very top. It felt like I was in an Uncharted (Tomb Raider for the oldies?) video game.
To get here by the way, was probably a half kilometre walk along a purpose built walkway. I took loads of photos along the way but swiftly deleted them all once we arrived at the main event.
So we got a lazy train here, then another to arrive somewhere more central and headed out to the YELLOW route on the map above.
This walkway, taking about 45 minutes, was incredibly delightful, showing the you scale of the area.
The pic above might be the best one I’ve ever taken by the way. Look at the state of it…
A bit of a side note… I really liked how all the walkways were raised and away enough from the water and the trees. Those little things I reckon make a big difference to the local nature in the area.
… Apart from these lot. From the racoon family, the coatis weren’t anywhere as shy as the monkeys. They are not far away from Capybaras, the largest rodent in the world, albeit nocturnal.
There’s only one reason for a lunch picture below. We decided on an all you can eat rodizio buffet, then was told we had 25 minutes until our boat ride. This was undoubtedly the most prolific calorie per second achievement I hold…
As some of our small group went on the lower walking trail (blue I think) we paid a decent wad of cash to instead take the bottom RED route on the map via vehicle and steps to the riverside and the speedboat to see the falls up close.
All very nice. What my photos do not and cannot show is that the ride actually took us UNDER a few waterfalls. That two quid poncho from Amazon never stood a chance.
A bit soggy and sunburnt, we had a few hours back at the hotel. I mentioned the bridge when we flew here, it was only a 30 minute walk so that was our goal tonight before some tea.
Perhaps I’m over egging it enough, but I can’t remember a time where I’ve been so close to THREE countries borders.
This point is called Hito Tres Frontera’s just for information. In Portuguese anyway.
I obviously asked around a bit regarding a visit to Paraguay, but apparently it was a long affair to pass the Brazil-Paraguay border and the nearest place was pretty much a duty free frenzy. Couldn’t really call that country #46 now could I?…
FUN FACT out of the blue. There’s a point in Africa with FOUR borders in one location. Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. Open up your maps app once you’re done with this…
We had a wonderful evening meal in a restaurant looking at the bridge before the walk home. If you’re a bit of a flag shagger like myself you will see the bridge supports represent the relevant country flag. Afterwards we decided to go a different way, significantly downhill.
And then the uphill struggle. It wasn’t Rainbow Mountain, it was worse as we had no carrot to dangle in front of us. Little did we know a small ice cream shop would be open within walking distance to the hotel.
That’s kinda it for Argentina. What a bloody lovely time we had here from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires to Iguazu in the forest. We kinda spent day 13 here too, but as the day was spent visiting the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls we’ll end it here.
You can continue following our honeymoon, on to Brazil (when finished) or our epic trip to Peru before here, by returning to the main post. Thanks for reading.
How Not 2 Life 