Sitting on a balcony in Buenos Aires

It has taken me a bit of time to get my blog going. I had great plans to write most days, documenting the time up to our departure, and writing about the planning stages of my partner Charlotte and I.

Whether due to laziness, lack of motivation or fear of the unknown, I don't know. Sitting here though, at 9pm on our balcony in Buenos Aires, drinking wine from a tetra pak carton, and listening to the traffic below mute Charlotte's singing from the bedroom, I feel inspired to start writing.

The view from the balcony

We have been in Argentina for a few days. Had I done more writing previous to now, I would have explained that we are planning to travel our way north through South America from Buenos Aires until either we loose the energy to keep going or our budget runs out.

It hasn't been the easiest of starts. Nothing could have prepared us for the intense 98 degree heat, and finding the energy to do just about anything has been a struggle. We are however only here for about 10 days depending on the buses to Cordoba, and so must make the most of it.

Following advice, I am getting to know my subject before i start taking pictures. The difficulty comes when my subject is a seventy eight and a half square mile city!

Taking just a small compact camera for reference, we took to the streets. Our hostel is on Bolivar in San Telmo. Buses sound frequent although we decided not to attempt them yet, and opted for the simpler, though more tiring method of walking across the city. At least that way we wouldn't miss anything. 

Armed with a small map torn out of our Lonely Planet guide, off we went. We walked for a couple of hours, winding are way back and forth through the urban decayed streets, watched a contemporary dance group take lessons under the shade of a college building, smelt the grilled meat from the 'Parillas' (steak houses), and listened to the horns of the impatient drivers desperate to get somewhere, until we found a 

Subte (underground). Here we got a 2.50 peso ticket to anywhere in the city. Heading for the seemingly quiet barrio of Palermo, the journey was different. To our surprise, and that of the rest of the trains, the man opposite decided that, rather than getting off when the doors opened, he would vomit all over the carriage floor.......... repeatedly! Whilst entertaining the children, the adults were not so impressed, and we all scrambled for safety, hoping that ours was the next stop. 

We rose from Palermo Subte, and to our amazement found ourselves in a busy street, the opposite of what we had expected. Following the unimpressive scribbled graffiti on the walls until it became more artistic, we reached the areas we now recognised from our guide books. The streets were vibrant, and there was a real artistic, boutique feel about the place. We found an amazing Mexican restaurant called Fabrica de Tacos (taco factory) and I wished I had something other than my compact camera to capture all of the amazing colours. The walls were covered in bright wrestling masks, day of the dead memorabilia and there was a real sense of family. The food was excellent, and we left full.

Continuing our increasingly bizarre week, we then appeared in a sprite zero advert for facebook! We haven't seen it yet, but I don't think I am going to be their next 'diet coke' guy anytime soon. 

Unfortunately it has not all been good. My camera was stolen on the underground. Stupidly I thought my velcro fastening pockets were impenetrable to all pick pockets. Sadly I have no photos of that day to show, but at least I still have my SLR. I know it sounds like I am making light of the situation, but in all honesty it shocked me, and its made me think differently about how I protect my belongings......better to learn sooner rather than later I guess.

We have not been here long and so much seems to have happened that I don't know how I will keep up. If this is just the start of our South American adventures, I think we are in for a pretty bumpy ride.......Here goes!