Day 10 – Buenos Aires

We did manage to get out and about for dinner last night, muddling our way through the menu and ordering with a little help from our waitress.

Knowing that we have to stay up again tonight we slept in, not leaving the hotel until after 9. Unheard of. To get a feel for the city we opted for the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, complete with audio guide in several different languages. Apparently it also comes with a bottle of wine. You’re not allowed to drink it on the bus. That was fine, it was 10:30 in the morning.

This is a pretty big city, full of a variety of impressive buildings, including the first concrete skyscraper that has been heritage listed by UNESCO. It is very, very ugly.

If you’re into architecture then this tour will likely mean more to you than it did to me.  I don’t really know my French provincial from my neoclassical. Gothic I can probably pick at a pinch. There are also a seemingly huge number of art museums, but I didn’t hear them m etiolated one for history, which interests me more. The history museum won’t be open tomorrow so that’s on the list for the return journey.

The audio guide does give a little bit of history as you go along, but each bit of the guide is tagged to a particular location it seems, which means when there is no traffic and you move quickly it cuts off part way through the commentary. I may never know why the zoo was ground breaking in the late 20th century. 

The headsets they you give you are a bit average. Luckily Kingsley had his own ear phones in his bag so we used those and could hear what was going on. It’s a double decker bus which is open to the elements so sunscreen is a must. Take care to apply it all over, failure to do so will leave you with sunburn, right Kings? A hat that won’t blow off in the wind is also required. I think both of those points serve for anything you do here in daylight hours. It is hot out there.

There is a little stop ‘for lunch’ at a cafe that gives a mini tango show. Great to see and the charming gent gave the girls on the bus a quick lesson and photo op. A black coat and fedora made all the girls look the part and the ladies look great with intense eye contact with their instructor. One girl was more excited than most, I’m not sure what her story is. Maybe doesn’t get out much or was raised with the Armish? That’s not fair, she wasn’t quite that excited. Nearly but not quite.  I’m sorry to say I think I have forgotten everything I ever learned in tango class, and  I didn’t bring my dancing shoes on the trip so declined the opportunity. Kingsley was the invited up. Probably just as well. The lady dancer was drop dead gorgeous and I may have had to continue to Antarctica alone.

Lots of things are closed on a Sunday, not least laundry services. Not even the hotel offers laundry on a Sunday. With an 11 day boat trip ahead we we hoping to get washed and pressed here, but it may be a rush around in Ushuaia instead.

Buenos Aires isn’t quite as pedestrian focused as Santiago but we are yet to have to walk on the road which sets it apart from most places we’ve visited in Asia. There are a lot of statues, monuments, fountains, parks and museums. It makes me hungry to know more about what they represent.

We’re back at the hotel for a nap as the restaurants don’t even open until 8 so I’ll need some z’s.