Argentine adventures

My friends, Nicoline (NL) and Pedro (PT) have decided to make their love official and get married in Buenos Aires where Nicky’s parents currently live and where she spent the first 5 years of her life. After their very romantic engagement story and the news about the upcoming wedding, you can imagine - my fantasy started playing with me: is Latin America my next adventure :-)?

It took me a while to organize the trip to cross over the approx 20,000km but I was right there, at the airport, in the early-early morning of 8th March, starting my journey: after 10.5 hours of flying I had 7 hours transiting in Johannesburg, then another 10 hours and I landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. My friend, Zoe (AU) lives there now but unfortunately she was in the countryside on that weekend, so our alumni friend, Pablo (AT/AR) welcomed me there! The recommended taxi driver was late (Judit, my HU friend told me that the time has a whole different concept over here than in Singapore ;-)), so I looked around for alternatives but all other drivers easily asked for 50% more for the same trip to Pinheiros. Finally I managed to talk to Valdecir, the driver by asking random local people to talk to him on my mobile in Portuguese! It was around 8pm already when in absolute excitement I was sitting in the taxi, looking forward to seeing my first ever Latin American city, even if just for a night! Valdecir and I managed to somehow talk with a mix of languages, he spoke Portuguese and I spoke my tiny Spanish, English even Italian (I never knew I spoke it ;-) hehehehe) ;-). During the one hour, we “talked” about the financial capital of Brazil, Sao Paulo, the samba capital, Rio de Janeiro, the people, we sang Brazilian and Hungarian songs and we were guessing what the other one wanted to say. I loved it!

Pablo was waiting for me at his place. His family name did not strike out at first but after meeting I realized he was the Pablo I knew from conferences in 2001. What a small world! Ludek (CZ) was also there, I had not seen him for like 6-7 years already! A friend of Pablo, Iris (BR) also joined, we chatted, drank yummy red wine, Pablo even attempted to teach me a bit of “forro”, the local folk dance :-)!

We talked till around 1am and somehow the time difference was all fine, I was not tired so we walked to Iris’, while roaming through some nice streets of Pinheiros on this Saturday night, just about 15 minutes. There was so much life everywhere: loud bars, hugging & kissing couples… I always missed this from NZ and SG, this way of expressing affection for the other one, even though this was a level higher than in Hungary…

The next morning Valdecir picked me up from Iris’ place and took me to the airport. There I tried the famous Brazilian cheese bread, the “pao de quiejo”… yummmm :-)!

In the afternoon I was already at the airport of Buenos Aires and attempting to figure out all those Spanish signs around me. Soon I managed to find a rented car (“remise”) and headed towards Hotel Atlas Tower on Avenida Corrientes, the place that we booked with many firends. This driver was also sweetly talkative and excitedly talked about his own city. At least I think, based on my understanding.

From books and documentumary movies I already knew 9 Julio Avenida and the Obelisc, but finally it was right in front of me. Yeah!

At the hotel, my friend, Micheline was waiting for me already and after unpacking we took off for a 45-min-walk to San Telmo, a famous district nearby. The Feria de San Telmo was full of artists, painters, dancers, musicians playing tango, colony-time buildings, silver gadgets and the place was marvellous! For a while we were just standing in front of the church there, wondering at a fabulous group of young tango lover musicians. What a fantastic opening this was to my Argentine adventures :-)!

As the time was passing by, slowly Shweta, Aditi, Pedro, Anja, Zoe, Lukas, Andreia, Goncalo also arrived and all together we walked to a famous restaurant nearby, called Chiquilin. With the girls we share two beef meals and hardly could finish them! “Bienvenidos en Argentina/ Welcome to Argentina!”.

We started our Monday with dress-hunting on Avenida Santa Fe. Shweta and Aditi soon found something amazing so the mission was almost complete... The streets truly reminded me to Europe, the people, their cloths, the buildings, the colours, the lights, the atmosphere... I loved it!
The attraction, the Teatro Colon was closed because of renovation but we soon found heaps else to see and do!

The “Cemetario de la Recoleta” was surprisingly nice... Its buildings were respecting, in peace and beauty, the memories of the ancestors and was a special place for both relatives and visitors. It was like a labyrinth, you could easily get lost in its alleys! After quite some roaming, we even found the tomb of Evita Peron, at the Familia Duarte memorial place.

The Recoleta Church was one of the most beautiful ones we had seen in this country, the park of this district was full of young people (and so many handsome men!), picnicing on the fresh green lawn, surrounded with plenty of cafes! The four of us did not need any much more, we just let the place enchant us. Our chats and silliness reminded me to scenes of Sex in the City and Friends, filled with womenly naive and random chats. Loved it!

In the evening, we organised a visit to Senor Tango Bar. What a sensational evening it was! The place was like the bar of Moulin Rouge, bordeaux and filled with dark wood, there was a round shape teatrium, a rolling stage, energetic band, cabaret like master of ceremony, six pairs of fabulous tango dancers with amazing level of enthusiasm and passion, two singing twins and never-ending red and white wine! What a day!!!

The next morning, after having heard so much about the place, we targeted Cafe Tortoni, a 150-year-old cafe downtown. Shweta, Aditi, Micheline and I were just sipping on our “cafe con leche” and let the enchantment continue. The streets around were here and there coloured with tiny whatevers of local flee market guys. Our walk took us to the somewhat strange (kinda cold) Catedral Metropolitan and then through another park full of picnicing people, we reached Casa Rosada. This pink government building vividly lived in my memories ever since I saw the shocking movie of Imaginng Argentina about the “dirty war” 30 years ago.

The Argentine men are, without a doubt, hot-hot-hot so we could not resist but take a photo with four of them :-): we named them Pablo, Carlos, Juan and Jose… hehehhee. We had a sneak preview into Cabildo and then headed towards La Boca (which is also the home for the soccer team). On the way there, we talked to the taxi driver who was simply hilarious and even named us in Spanish: Shweta became Rosa, Micheline Beatrice, Aditi Lorena and me Sylvia. We named him Liam as that name sounded the most English. Hehehehe…

Apparently the district of La Boca is very dangerous but four of its beautiful streets are guarded with security to ensure joy of visiting. The bright colours on the walls of the buildings are just stunning, and the way artists and their masterpieces colour the walkway was just fantastic!

We got lunch in a restaurant signposted with the local cowboy, a gaucho, and then while walking around Caminito, the walking spree full of tango dancers, we struggled to realise the real reality: we are really in Argentina :-)! Yahooo!

That night around 20 of us from the wedding crowd and the soon-to-be-weds met up in the nearby Cuba bar where we talked, ate and drank heaps of moquitos.

Wednesday started with trying on the dresses and then the mission was completed, Shweta, Aditi and I headed to San Telmo for lunch. There was a very sweet atmosphere awaiting us there, despite the fact that during the weekdays there was no “feria” market, neither the weekend buzz I experienced a few days before. Instead tango dancers were entertaining the visitors of this terraced plaza and loud Argentine music filled up the air all around.

From here we went to Puero Madeiro. This is a recently renovated harbour surrounded by plenty of expensive hotels, cute cafes and restaurants. Later we headed to Palermo Soho & Hollywood, walked a bit there and then we were waiting for Nicoline, the bride at the hotel.

To our greatest surprise the bachelorette party was to be held in Palermo, too. The dark red walled Congo Bar was a very cool place for this celebration! We did some silly challenges for Nicky, drank delicious caipiroshka cocktails and just had a great fun together, around 15 of us! Later we found out that the bachelor party was nearby too, so we ended up spending a bit of time, dancing together.

On Thursday the couple’s parents hosted the international guests for an “asado”, barbeque in their beautiful house in the suburb. On this stunning, cloudless late summer day, around 50 of us were enjoying the fantastic Argentine “lomo” beef slices and other delicacies and just enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and company.

Nicky’s parents, Giselle and Peter talked heaps to Katalin (wife of one of the Portuguese guys) and me about their two-year-long assignment and all the adventures in Hungary, between 1990-1992. What a small world :-)! Here I had the chance to talk a wee bit with Pedro’s mum, too.

The long bachelorette night and then the sunny barbeque took all our energy so that night we “only” had some oomph to check out another tango show. The legendary Café Tortoni was highly recommended by Lonely Planet and some of our friends so around a dozen of us went to check out the program there. The traditional performance, maybe because I saw it after the Senor Tango show and I was exhausted, was just okay to me. But to my greatest surprise here I met up with Naaz, our Indian friend (best friend of Krishna), who lives in Chile now!!! Wohoaaa!

Then the big day arrived: it was time for Nicky’s and Pedro’s wedding (apparently they did the official ceremony already on Wednesday). In the morning, at the hotel, I got a call from Yat Wan, our New Zealander friend who just recently finished her internship in Ecuador and now roamed around the continent with her backpack and we arranged to meet up for a tea & coffee. Aditi and Nacho who just then arrived to the capital we spent some chilled time in one of the nearby cafes.

Later, rush to the hairdresser, get ready and time to go to the elegant wedding reception!

It must have taken around an hour to reach Palacio Sans Souci, a beautiful mansion in the suburbs. The place was stunning, it somehow reminded me to the palace in the cartoon Beauty and the Beast! At the big green backyard of the place the wedding crowd was slowly assembling. There was a big white altar-kind table on the grass and a rosehip path leading to the precious spot. Refreshing drinks, champaign, snacks… and suddenly the famous wedding song could be heard. From my friends’ circle, there were the four of us, girls, then Nacho (AR), Pedro, Anja, Goncalo, Andreia (PT), Ludek (CZ), and some alumni friends and childhood buddies of the couple were also present: Norberto, Ciro, Sophie, Ivo, Carlos, Betty (PT), Szymon & Asia (PL), Matthew (US), Carolina, Hannalieke, etc.

After the glooming & shining couple signed some papers in the Palacio, all of us cheered for them with champagne and let many white Nicoline & Pedro balloons up to the air! All the elegant guests dressed in rainbow-like colours then suddenly took over the green garden of the mansion and it was photo time. Wohoaaa!

We were then asked to go inside the house and an opera singer, specially invited for this event, started singing. After the appetizer Giselle and Peter shared their stories and wished the very best to the couple, and then speeches by the maid of honour and bestman followed. As the time was passing by, the song “Don’t cry for me, Argentina” was heard, Nicky and her Dad opened the dance floor. We could ask for songs in advance and a professional DJ was mixing the music, following the vibe of the crowd. Young and old danced the night away together!

Nicky’s brothers, Alex and Moritz and their partners, Karyn and Lysette were also taking their part in the welcoming and entertainment, and at around midnight ‘magicians of the dance floors”, tango dancers also appeared. Our favourite local dancers were Nacho & Alejandro who kept up with us with both energy and rhythm :-)!

Hours after starting the dances, the energy level went down a bit and then suddenly the organizers appeared with funky colourful hats to buzz up the mood. And it absolutely worked! “Half-way through” big dessert tables were welcoming people outside in the garden and the flow of delicious cocktails also continued…

The newly weds continued to shine, they looked so happy and thrilled, the wedding crowd was really just an “extra” to the special moments. We danced till around 3am and then talked a bit and just enjoyed our time together…

The next day, early in the morning, I kicked myself out of bed and started my way to Colonia in Uruguay, one of the UNESCO world heritage places. The others slept in but I kept up with my plan and with tiny little eyes, seeing only a wee bit of the world at those early hours I was ready for a new adventure, starting with a 3-hour-long ferry ride (if available, I would rather suggest the one hour speed boat though).

This country of around 3.2 million seemingly looked identical to Argentina. The streets were named after countries and cities in the region, the river was suspiciously redish-brown (which was not polluted but steered up with the red soil). There was an English tour guide taking care of only three of us, it really seemed, most visitors were from Argentina, just wanting to chill out, far away from the loudness of Buenos Aires. I had lunch in the restaurant called “Viejo Tunel” and after a one-hour briefing about the history of the place I started roaming around the enchanting streets of Portuguese and Spanish heritage, here and there decorated by very old automobiles… It was a peaceful and wonderful ambience!

On the way back the ferry was late again, this time with 2.5 hours so I reached Buenos Aires only at midnight. Taxi drivers thought I did not speak Spanish and started talking about how inconsiderate that was from the tourists but then I slowly convinced them to take me “home”, I understood them pretty well. Aditi, Yat and Mitch were a bit worried about my delay but finally I was back, after a fabulous Uruguay day :-)! Even if absolutely exhaustedly.

Sunday morning we headed to the airport to get on with our travels and go to Puerto Iguazu, around a 1,000 km away, with Aerolineas Argentina, the local airline that is apparently always on strike. Edgardo, the host in Las Tinajas backpackers explained us the whereabouts of this small town, and after a short rest, we went to roam around in this little town of around 32,000. We visited the golden triangle of Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil, ate phenomenal meat and slept big time at night.

On Monday morning we took the local bus for around 15 minutes to reach the world famous Parque de Cataratas Iguazu. We first took the lower trail which path led us to the bottom of the waterfalls where one can get inside the falls with a boat, just like having a shower. It was breath-taking to wonder at this natural beauty from the water’s surface and admire what a massive energy is present all around! Between two parts of the waterfalls there was the Isla San Martin island where we stopped to dry up after the “waterfall shower” and trek a bit in the forest. The upper trail then led us to the “devil’s viewpoint” where we saw tucuman birds, snakes, alligator, and was enjoying the amazing wonder of the world for around 7 hours!

Filled with fantastic explorations, we then headed back to the town of Puerto Iguazu where we found the chef of the best ever Argentine empanadas in the Lo De Rolo restaurant. Needless to say, later we died out of exhaustion :-).

Next morning we were again on the road, taking a bus to the small village of 10,000, San Ignacio. We stopped at its tiny church which was also the centre of the village and then found Hotel San Ignacio, a place that Lonely Planet highly recommended, too (note: the rooms always cost around 1.5x times of what the guidebooks suggested). As it was a tiny place, for the same price we got a beautiful two-bedroom bungalow - so cool!

Four streets away there was the San Ignacio Jesuit Ruins Park, one of the UNESCO world heritages. As we finally had some clouds on the sky, the 35C heat was more bearable, especially because the place that reminded me so much to Cambodia’s ruins really enchanted us. At the exit, local artists were selling their mate pots and other pieces of wooden creatures. We walked around a fair bit (it is such a cute little place!) and then rested in our bungalow.

The next day we were yet again on the road (wonder why ;-)?) to head towards Posadas. We booked a room in El Guembe hostel in advance but did not manage to find it so ended up staying at Hotel Cote d’Azul. This town of 230,000 was more crowded but had not much to explore, we felt. We had a look at its small cathedral, the Mercado des Artesanians, the Paraguay Park and an amphitheatre. Apparently due to “Santa Semana”, the Easter week the people were not in the streets but this way it just looked like a ghost city.

The next day we walked to Costanera, a coast-side path in Posadas. The place was still dead and the heat was terrible, so we had enough of the place, I think. At lunch time we headed to the local airport and after a “deep frozen” flight we got back to Buenos Aires ;-)!

In the capital we looked for the backpackers’ place of Hostel Plaza. As Atlas Tower Hotel was on Avenida Corrientes, it seemed like a good idea (just that instead of number 1778 it was at 3973 ;-)). In the 8 double-story bedroom there were only two of us. The fan on the ceiling was clicking smoothly and the rest of the guests were filling up the air with loud chats. It was definitely a different stay than in the countryside. That is for sure!

Juli, George and Nacho, our Argentine friends kept talking about a place called the Million Bar on Parana Street so we decided to check it out that night. On our way we stopped for a meal in a Peruvian restaurant and as we both were short on money we just had a drink each in this beautiful bar ;-): green leaves decorated the terraced court, the interior furniture gave a 19th century feel to the place, the piano, the fireplace, the paintings. What a lovely place for a date :-)!
We walked for around 1.5 hours on Corrientes Avenue and by the time we reached home, we really were filled with a great experience of embracing the sparkling harmony of Buenos Aires!

The next morning we aimed to find the Barrio Forte, the French district that Juli had often mentioned to me before. We found La Biela Café. What a great choice it was to stay on! Under the light blue sky, couples, families were resting at the tables inside and outside and the place seemed to have brought us back in time with decades!

As it was Easter time, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes was closed but we managed to find Malba, the Museo de Arte Latinamericano de Buenos Aires after walking through beautiful flowery parks. I am not into museums at all but this exhibition was kinda nice. After this, we passed by the zoo, then the Botanic Garden and then we went a place called something like El Guedo which had the best ever “bife lomo” beef meal, one that you can really cut with a spoon, it is so smooth. Something the Argentines just keep talking about and finally I could experience :-).
From here, Mitch went to the airport to catch her flight and I continued the rooming around on my own. Palermo had great refreshing parks, the Parque de Rosas, de Uruguay, de Chile… they were all full of families and friends chilling out together on this Easter weekend. I loved it!

In the Recoleta Park, a young guy was entertaining the crowd with funny puppet show. I was walking around on Avenida Libertador for around two hours (what a looooong street that is!), when I finally reached Torro de Los Ingleses from Palermo. Nearby, Avenida Florida really minded me to Vaci utca in Budapest. Here I found the shopping mall called Galerias Pacifico which is famous for its unique interior design, a cathedral-like ceiling with paintings, it could be in a museum!

Suddenly the weather changed to stormy and windy and it started sprinkling with rain... first time in two weeks! I therefore finished my 3-4-hour-long walk by taking the “subte” metro to Medrano station. I used the internet a bit nearby and then I dropped “half-dead” into my bed to go into alpha-beta.

On my last day in Buenos Aires I wanted to see San Telmo, a place that really enchanted me two weeks before. I took the Subte to Avenida Independecia and then walked a wee bit to reach the place. It was a sleepy plaza on that Saturday morning, the market was about to get into shape… it was really cute. I then walked back to the metro and remembered to accomplish the mission given by some of my friends: to buy the Argentine Alfajore chocolates ;-))) and then was ready to go to the airport!

With my last pesos, I bought my first ever Spanish magazine, guess which one: of course the National Geography Viaje (Traveller). This will motivate me to continue learning Spanish (amongst many other things) because I know I would return :-)!

First I flew to Sao Paulo then to Johannesburg. The flight was pretty sleepy yet I struggled to deal with the 5-hour-time difference a bit. Despite the warnings, all went well at the Johannesburg airport, with my bags and the immigration and at the exit, Cornelius, a guide from the Palm Guesthouse was awaiting me. To my greatest surprise I was the only guest in the place, even the staff was on leave therefore the whole of the 8-bedroom villa was only mine! Wohoooaaa! I am not used to stay in such a nice place, yet as a single woman traveler it was apparently the minimum…

Despite the short stay there I arranged to visit the legendary Apartheid Museum. Johannesburg seemed a ghost city, there were hardly any people on the streets, I guess because of Easter. The visit at the museum started pretty lethargically. Initially I tried to figure out the context with all the pieces of information but after around 15-20 minutes, thanks to the videos and the demos, I managed to put a better big picture together about what really happened here in the recent history. I even saw Nelson Mandela’s first TV interview from 1961! Similarly to the Vietnam War, I was really shocked how unhuman humans can be with each other :-(. Mandela’s release in 1990, the Nobel peace awards and all those hopeful and positive plans for the future were great finale for the museum visit. It was interesting and informative, that is for sure!
The evening passed by pretty fast and the next day I was ready to go back to the Singapore reality... Having explored a small piece of the South American world I am sure there will be a next chapter… somewhere, somehow, but for sure :-)!

For more photos, click here!