Buenos Dias Buenos Aires

Getting up at 4am is not always the best way to start your day but I guess when you are flying halfway across the world its not actually that bad, especially when its your birthday. And as it was Chunky's birthday why not have a beer at 9 in the morning at OR Tambo business class lounge. After a long 10 hour flight in which two bottles of Moet & Chandon were elegantly consumed, we set foot on land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. We were greeted by an absolute angel at the tourism office as well as the blazing heat of a Buenos Aires afternoon.

After a bus ride into town we found that the hostel we intended on staying in was booked up so needed to walk next door with our backpacks and see what was on offer. The place is called Sudamerika Hostel & Suites, and we managed to get a room there. It was nothing to write home about, although I seem to be doing this right now, but it had beds that didnt seem to be infested with bedbugs and general crust, so all was fine. It was 7pm now and we had been awake for 16 hours so we were rather exhausted. Needing to go and see what the city was about we got hold of Steve van der Heijden and Christie Smith who came and met us at the hostel.  Around the corner was one of BA's trademark sidewalk cafes where the city's people come to wine and dine till late in the evening. They had gotten there a few days earlier so they were divulging tips of the trade when it came to sightseeing and how to get there. We had a great dinner and the beers, delicious litre bottles of Quilmes (Keel-mes) Cristal were flowing and an end eventually came to possibly the world's longest birthday ever. (30 hours with the added time difference). A well deserved rest on a marshmallow like bed was a real treat after a long day of travelling.

The next morning which happened to be my birthday, started off with a lavish buffet breakfast that consisted of stale bagette and grape jam. Delicious....naat! Anyway we started early on our day of sightseeing using the Subte (Underground) which is so convenient and also so ridiculously cheap (R2 per trip). We started off at Plaza de Mayo which has a whole host of amazing buildings, went through town for the whole morning and then saw the upmarket suburb of Recoleta, with its monuments and museums. A detailed account of these sights is to follow this post......

Birthday Beers at the BC Lounge

Plaza de Mayo, the dude who invented the Argentinian flag

Taking a breather from the scorching heat

We walked and we walked and we walked! And all of this was done in sweltering heat which led us to sweat as much as King Shaka after the Battle of Isandlwana! To make it even better I did not choose the wisest underwear for the day so thus was walking around like a gaucho (cowboy) after a four day horse ride! We headed back to our side of town and relaxed under the oak trees on the side of Avenida de Mayo at a local hangout sipping a few beers. A great end to a birthday spent seeing the sights of beautiful Buenos Aires.....