Back in Buenos Aires

Been back here in Buenos Aires for a week now.

I met alot of people my first time around up here, so about 10 minutes after I booked the plane ticket from Ushuaia, I already had a place to stay. I stayed with my friend Lautaro for about 4 nights, from Saturday evening to Wednesday afternoon. It just so happened that he had another couchsurfer there, a girl from Sao Paulo, so the three of us again had a great mix of people going on.

Lautaro took us to a Gaucho fair on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Sunday. Basically, lots and lots of local arts, crafts, foods, etc. Plus they had some live Gaucho music going on. We dropped into a building, the "Federacion Gaucha Portena". Here we grabbed a bite to eat and a cheap bottle of table wine, which we mixed with soda(they call carbonated water soda). I've done this wine/carbonated water thing with at least 3 or 4 other people, so it seems to be fairly common, but it is usually done with cheaper table wine. Anyways, there were just normal people inside dancing away to some great music.




Table wine & Carbonated water:


Inside the Goucha Portena Hall:


A part of the Fair:


So after this, we went to the gaucho games part the fair. The game was simple, the Gaucho's take turns on their horses going full speed down the street and trying to stick a tiny knife through what is basically a tiny silver keychain ring. I'm gonna say the success rate was close to 10%, but it was fun watching them zoom down the street on their horses.

Go Gaucho:




Small horses require small dogs:


My first time around Buenos Aires, I saw alot of stuff, but the city is so big that there is always more to see. Unlike some other cities I've been to, you can just walk, and walk, while still feeling safe, and enjoy the impressive architecture, numerous plazas, and sprawling statue filled parks. Since Lautauro of course had to work, and there was one key between me and Selia from Sao Paulo, we basically toured the city together for two days. It was actually quite fun because I probably saw some things I would have passed on by myself, but by the end of day two, I was pretty tired of trying to understand her Spanish in a heavy Portuguese accent, my brain just couldn't take it. We did do some pretty cool things over a few days, including going to some free tango lessons on a Monday night (at which I am absurdly pathetic), had lunch with someone she knew from Ireland who was working in Buenos Aires, and went to some big concert with a bunch of people playing keyboards and drums. Plus, we were lost half the time, so we got to know the Buenos Aires transportation bible, the 'Guia T', really well, whilst trying to take busses everywhere.

Had to take a picture trying to figure out which bus to take:


Statues, plazas, & parks everywhere:



I went to Recoleta Cemetery one day. Can't say I like cemeteries, but wow, talk about having alot of important and famous people buried in one place, presidents, generals, poets, writers, doctors, scientists, even Evita. On top of that, the cemetery is like a maze, with narrow streets lined by ridiculously ornate houses for the coffins, covering all different types of architecture, some new, some totally neglected and crumbling. I spent only about an hour and a half meandering the place before I got tired of being surrounded by dead people, ew.

Recoleta:






Eva Peron:


Past President:




That's it for today folks, stay tuned.