Back To Argentina

We headed back to Argentina after our fantastic time in Bolivia.  We awoke at 330 for our 4am bus back to the border.  As we entered the border town, the sun was shining, the weather much warmer and we easily made our way across the 50m from Bolivia to Argentina.  We jumped back on another bus after our first 3hr bus ride and got ready for another 7hours to Salta.  It was actually quite nice to return to places we had been before and actually knew our way around for once instead of fumbling for our lonely planet guide book and trying to sort our the map to find our way across the city.   Our Spanish a step up from our last travel through and a sense of direction intact we headed back to our hostel and city of delux pancho's (hotdogs)   We settled in to our hostel room and fed our faces with hotdogs topped with crushed potato chips, salsa, olives and loads of sauces.  That night we returned to our room to find that our key really didn't work and we to climb through the window into our room (the window that didn't lock either) but being in the confines of the hostel we set a fan in front of the door and sank wearily into bed for a full nights sleep - the first in many days.   However best laid plans...

At 130 in the morning I awoke to a noise and realized it was the fan in front of the door.  Peering into the darkness I saw the outline of a man in a hoodie standing in our doorway.  I yelled "Get our of here!"  To which there was no response, so I continued yelling "Get out of here, get out of here, get our of here!" at which point Greg woke up to my yelling and flicked on the light.   There standing in front of us, hood up was a girl in a Western University hoodie and right away my anxiety melted away as I realized it was a fellow Canadian.  I asked her what she was doing in here - now standing at our window and she replied that she was looking for the bathroom and then walked towards the bed and turned into the wall.  We think she was sleep walking.  Even now I giggle hearing my panicked yells in my head.

We then jumped on a bus the next day for our epic 22 hour journey to Buenos Aires!  When we arrived in this fantastic city, it was gearing up for it's Independence Day celebration.  Roads were closed, bands were playing, parades were marching down the streets, Argentina flags were being waved around as 1000's of people lined the streets singing and celebrating their independence.    We arrived at our hostel to a fantastic, funky little place that just happened to offer Tango lessons that night.   We strolled the area of San Telmo, carefully dodging the dog poo on the streets, admiring the old buildings and incredible architecture.  Most things were closed for Siesta however the overcast skies held out and the rain waited to fall til during the night. 

The next day we set off to enjoy the celebrations, explore centre town and see the city!   We stumbled into the parade and watched as the brass bands strutted past belting out songs, the military marched by and the streets cheered them along.   We made our way to the huge mall in the centre of town to stare up at the incredible paintings on the dome shaped ceiling, converesed with street vendors and marvelled at the amazing churches and buildings.  The following day we headed into San Telmo for the Antique Fair, booths lined the plaza and tango dancers stutted their stuff, while one man bands played  in the background.  The atmosphere was electric and the stalls were full of colours and objects opening a window into the past cultures and conqueres of Argentina.  For dinner we had to have one last steak feed and were not disappointed with the huge portions and fantastic steak cooked to perfection and so tender.   We headed out to Palmero with another couple to see a tango show, however of all the times and days this was the only time tango wasn't on, so we went to a local club - more like  a community hall, where locals danced the night away.  The music alternated between old time rock and roll, with the men swinging the women around the floor, incredible moves and then suddenly tango music would take over and the floor would be alive with tango'ers of all capability.  It was incredible to watch and when we suddenly realized it was 4am and the night has soared by with the swish of the tango skirt, or the click of the high heels, we decided to leave the still packed club and head for home.  Our last day we spent our time meandering the streets waiting for the skies to open up and pour down - only overcast weather in BA.   We geared up for the Canada and Argentina soccer game, where Canada got creamed 5-0.   One last tango lesson to end the night and off to the airport to fly to Lima.  

The electric vibe in BA was incredible, the city beautiful and the people warm and welcoming.  A perfect end to our Argentinian adventures.