I have finally dragged myself away from BA after my 4 day stay turned into 10 days. The city of BA is a fantastic mix of south american lifestyle mixed in with a very deep routed European feel. The city felt massively European and particularly near the centre the tourists outnumbered the locals; surprisingly this didn´t spoil or take away much of the good feelings and atmosphere though. Daily street demonstrations for different causes added to the sense of a controlled chaos.
The hostel (http://www.portaldelsurba.com.ar/welcome.htm) that I stayed in was an old mansion flat block set over five floors. Staff were very friendly and offered insights and advice to the city that you don´t always get. Location was fantastic as the hostel was very central but the icing on the cake was an outdoor rooftop bar, complete with pool table.
One of the first things I did in BA was go on the free historical walking tour organised by the hostel. This immediately brought into sharp focus the recent troubled history of Argentina and focused on the crisis of 2001. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Argentina)
It was very easy to wander the streets feeling safe and passing sights; we visited the "pink house" (Casa Rosado, the presidential palace) where Evita and Peron made key speeches to the people and other historic sites including the city cemetery (which was almost like a mini village). Thursday afternoon we observed the weekly demonstration in front of the pink house on the Plaza de Mayo with a difference, the protesters are a group of mothers. This was a long running demonstration (30 years) concerning the disappearance of tens of thousands of individuals during years of military dictatorship in Argentina in the latter part of the twentieth century. Its a fascinating and uncomfortable story but please have a look at this page for full and accurate information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Plaza_de_Mayo.
The restaurants, bars and nightlife in BA is great. You could enjoy a great steak, nice glass of wine and take in a passionate Tango show all before heading out to party to the wee hours. Got into the spirit of things and would often sit down for dinner between 11 and 12. The end result was that you were getting back into bed at the hostel after the dawn of the new day! It was OK for a few days or so but I couldn´t do it every night.
Decided once again to watch a football match but this time arranged with a company rather than with a tout! Visited the stadium of Racing Football club to watch the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana Final between Arsenal (Argentina) and America (Mexico).
The match was the equivalent of the European Champions League Final and had a bit of everything (http://www.conmebol.com/articulos_ver.jsp?id=61681&slangab=E). The atmosphere was much more intense than the Brazil match in Sao Paulo and the crowd were buzzing throughout. Fireworks were going off left right and centre and players bombarded by toilet rolls, food and other objects to hand. All were politely observed by strict looking police with big dogs, guns and batons.
The game ended with Arsenal losing 2 - 1 on the night but winning 4 - 4 due to away goals. This was just enough to set off the fans who went mad. A few fools tried to climb over the barb wire and jump the 8ft moat protecting the pitch. A few made it across only to be met by the police, one fan took a beating for the team and started fighting an officer (who had a gun) while his friends ran on and celebrated with the team. A rather large fan underestimated the jump over the moat and ended up 20ft down below swimming in the water, this spurred the police to start firing their guns to control the crowds. The crowds responded by turning on the police with rocks and fireworks. It looked like it might get ugly but the team came over to calm the fans down.
At the opposite end of the spectrum went to the Argentine Polo Finals in the Palermo district of BA. Managed to obtain a ticket from a tout and watched a passionate thrilling final. The horsemanship was amazing and the crowd were very vocal and a real mix of the population. After the 8th Chukka the match was tied at 15 all and so it went to sudden death. Following the final goal there was a mass pitch invasion (not all that sensible when horses were still moving around!) For more information on the competition look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Argentino_Abierto_de_Polo and for you spanish speakers here is the match report http://www.aapolo.com/Default.aspx?tabid=205&language=es-AR
I tried to complete a Tandem Sky Dive as well when I was in BA but due to unfavourable weather (too windy), spent a very frustrating day waiting on the ground at an airfield. Kayaking the next day from Tigres could not be affected by the weather and I enjoyed a day trip paddling round small rivers seeing the local wildlife and summer houses of the rich from BA (this whilst avoiding other river traffic of small speed boats and jet skis!). The guide was really friendly and relaxed. We stopped at a small restaurant where the BBQ was going strong and enjoyed five courses of different meats, culminating in a massive steak. The meats were fresh, juicy and cooked to perfection; I didn´t feel much like paddling around and thought I might sink the Kayak. After a few more hours paddling we stopped at an Island with a beach and a bar to enjoy a well earned cerverza followed by a siesta. The next day my arms and body were aching though.
One of the final things that observed in BA was the shutdown of the city for the inauguration of the new president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7136835.stm). Fernandez became the first elected female Argentinian president and replaced her husband Nestor. The streets were awash with people drinking and celebrating, with token gestures like free water being handed out and not charges to use the Metro system.
BA was a lively city and seemed to be a crossing point for many travellers, I made many good friend who I hope to meet again soon and enjoyed my time there. I need a rest though and so am making the 1100km journey east to the city of Mendoza to relax and enjoy the finer things in life!
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