South Eastern Argentina and Uruguay

We left Patagonia one afternoon and fourteen hours later woke up to find that we appeared to have arrived home in England. The views from the bus showed expanses of farmland, mostly cows in lush fields, and it was raining, well drizzling, just like at home! Ironically, we were actually arriving at the most popular beach destination of the porteños (the people of Buenos Aires), however we were completely out of season. Mar del Plata (which translates as Sea of Silver) is a large, bustling place and its main attraction is the long sea front whose beaches are packed in the summer (in fact the guide book recommended a visit in the summer simply to never be able to say that a beach is packed again!). We checked into a hostel and into a room with a lady and her young daughter, whom we promptly found out were running from the father with whom the mother was in a custody battle over the daughter. We do meet some interesting people on our travels! 

We tried to make the most out of the city, despite the drizzle and the cloud. As we wandered down the beach front, it was easy to see why it is so popular with holidaymakers in the summer months. There is plenty of lovely sand to lie on and there are restaurants, bars and clubs abound. There are also supposedly some good swells for surfing just along the coast. However convienent it may be, the whole city/beach set up just made me nostalgic for childhood holidays on country beaches in Cornwall. The beaches may get crowded there too, but I have to admit, the traffic and the general hustle of Mar del Plata did not inspire me. As there seemed little point in hanging around too long out of season, we spent the evening at the cinema (a proper rainy day activity!) and were up bright and early the next day, en route to Buenos Aires. 

Although it was still a little drizzly when we arrive in BA, the city had a great feel form the start. When we checked into our hostel, we found out that there was a free tango lesson that night in the bar. It was only short and covered just the basic steps, but it was good fun and ticked one of the must do activities in Argentina off our list. The next day we spent in a mall out of nessecity as we had both run out of trousers through wear and tear! 

We were therefore keen to get lots of sightseeing in the following day. Our first stop was the Retiro district, where we wandered through a Saturday market. This is also where the city's famous cemetery is and it's fascinating to walk around it to marvel at the splendour of the tombs. Many of the country's famous personalities are buried here, including Evita whose tomb was definitely the most visited. Wandering through the surrounding area, we stumbled across an interesting photo exhibition, containing in the most part photos taking by war photo-journalists in Syria. It was haunting but very interesting. We wandered back into the centre of town via one of the most uptown streets in the city, which lead us past the Teatro Colon, the city's opera house. We had been thinking about going to see a performance, as it is acoustically cconsidered to be among the five best concert houses in the world. We obtained some information on performances and have subsequently bought tickets for when we return to the city for our flight home to see the Marriage of Figaro, which we are very much looking forward to. 

Our last visit of the day was to the "Casa Roja" or "Pink House", Argentina's equivalent of the White House (although the president does not live there, only works there). After wandering around looking at the exhibition of paintings of South American heroes, we decided to take the tour of the building as it only runs at weekends. It quickly became apparent why, as we were taken through the rooms used to welcome visiting officials, to inaugurate new officials and even the President's office itself! We learnt that the iconic pink hue of the building's exterior was due to the type of paint used when it was built. They used to use a mixture of limestone and animal fat, in order to offer some protection from the weather. The animal fat often had some blood left in it, hence the pink colour. There were several further interesting rooms, such as that which was dedicated to the most influential women from Argentina, and the room which contained Evita's desk, and from which lead to the balcony she used for her speeches. We were unable to go out onto that balcony, but we did go out onto the neighbouring one, which afforded us a fanatic view of the main square below. 

The next day we ventured out into one of the cities outlying districts, where each Sunday a "gaucho" (the equivalent of a cowboy in Argentina) market. We had a wonderful time wandering through the stalls selling everything from nic-nacs, to everyday clothes, leather goods and artisanal products. There was a stage in the main square of the area where local music was being performed as well as improvised music down little streets and on one of the smaller squares. This produced a fanatic atmosphere with impromptu dancing and clapping. There was even a mechanical bull and Shetlands dressed up in full western gear for children to have their photo taken on (of course I got my pony fix with a few cuddles!). We feasted on Choripan (a chorizo sandwich), Dulce de Leche filled pancakes and candy floss. Additionally, later that evening upon our return to the centre, we went out for a genuine Argentinean steak. This is certainly not the country to be trying to diet in! 

We were back on the road the next day, or, more accurately, back on the water! We took a ferry across the river to Colonia in Uruguay, which we found to be a picturesque small town, bordered on three sides by the river. We were starving by the time we arrived at three in the afternoon having not had a chance to eat lunch yet. We settled therefore for an all you can eat "asado" or meat grill. It included sausages, black pudding, ribs, pork steak, chicken and offal. We ate (probably more than) our full and subsequently felt revived for an explore. We wandered down by the river side and eventually settled down to watch the incredible sunset from a look out over the water. 

More exploring followed the next day. We climbed the lighthouse which gave us some great views of the leafy plaza below and of the surrounding river. The town is full of old cars, most of which look totally abandoned, but try provided some fantastic photo opportunities! They ranged from little Renaults, to American muscle cars, to black beasts you could see mafia bosses in! The cobbled streets made me nostalgic for my childhood, and the narrow streets and sheltering trees complete the charm of the place. After lunch, we regretfully left on a bus bound for the capital: Montevideo. We arrived too late to do much more than cook and head to bed, however we did walk through the large main square on our way to the hostel, which peaked our interest for sightseeing the next day. 

We only planned to stay one day in the city, therefore we set off early the next morning in order to squeeze in as much of the city's sights as possible. I think we did remarkably well. Our first stop was back to the Plaza de Independencia, which had looked so impressive the night before and it did not disappoint during the day. It is dominated on one side by the Palacio Salvo, finished in 1928 and which, at 100m, was the tallest building in South America for decades. We wandered around the "Ciudad Vieja" (Old City), taking in the various churches, plazas and palaces eventually reaching the port where stands the dark and ominous port customs building. On the other side if the road lies the Mercado del Puerto, a market which is filled with one parilla (grill) restaurant after another. We were offered a glass of "medio y medio", the local drink containing have white wine, half sparkling wine. The grills were already laden with meat and vegetables and we were sorely tempted to return to eat there later in the day. We finally decided however to head to the less touristy (and therefore better value) Mercado de la Abundancia. Here we had yet another steak, washed down with some wine and finished off with a pudding for under ten dollars. It is worth noting at this point that we are still searching for a truly excellent steak, as although up until this point they have been tasty, we are yet to be completely blown away by them. We have a couple of recommendations for restaurants in BA however, and are looking forward to trying them out when we return! 

In the afternoon we took the time to visit a couple of museums: the History of Art Museum and the Automobile Museum. The former was interesting and extensive by South American standards, but lacked an abundance in original prices. It's saving grace was the original Egyptian mummy on display. It was bought originally by a wealthy Uruguayan before eventually being gifted to the museum. Owning to our aforementioned fascination with the number of old cars in the country, the latter was a perfect end to the day. It included examples of the first cars (one allegedly built in Belgium!) through to Ferraris and huge American muscle cars. 

That evening we boarded yet another night bus back across the border, our short adventure in Uruguay over. We were heading to Cordoba, known as Argentina's cultural centre. I will make sure to keep you up to speed soon with all the culture we amass there, and what comes next!

Lots of love, 

Emma