We traveled through a day and a night, back to the morning where we started, 12295 kilometers away. I always imagined we would fly right over the pacific, just North of New Zealand, straight over Santiago to Buenos Aires. No matter how well you know and believe something, it isn't meaningful until its applied. I have looked at map after map of the world, yet never anticipated the rout we would take, as I never pictured the earth being round, even though it's something I inherently know. So we flew by the coast of Antarctica, then over Tierra del Fuego and over the Southern most parts of South America to Buenos Aires.
We walked through Buenos Aires in a daze, attempting to orientate ourselves before realising that was impossible due to the city being so large, 13 million residents, more than half the population of Australia in a single city. We eventually conceded defeat at around 3pm and after a very decent feed at a cafe opposite our hostel we fell into bed, hoping to sleep until morning. I woke around 7pm, convinced it was morning already, but soon fell back to sleep. Again I woke at 10:30pm, with the realisation that the hostel must be located adjacent to a Comedy Club of some sort, according to the roaring laughter of an obviously large crowd.
At around midnight I thought I was about to die. I woke with a start to what I automatically thought was the building exploding around me, I'm sure James has bruises from where I grabbed him, though he was just as terrified. It is amazing how easy it is to assume the worst when your surrounded by the unknown, listening for screams and sirens we realised that it was only thunder. Perhaps the loudest thunder that I have ever heard, but thunder all the same. The night proceeded with a spectacular storm, which we managed to sleep through, and it rained for the whole morning.
It has been everything and nothing like we have imagined it to be. Inside the hostel is a piece of paradise, clean, friendly, comfortable. And I must admit that so far we have stayed in more than we have been out. Heading out the ornate locked door of the hostel, look to the left and you see a narrow car lined laneway, to the right a small family sleeping on a large mattress, with the above scaffolding providing shelter from the rain...
The architecture is beautiful, just stunning. Today we saw the Congressional Plaza, a beautiful monument about 3 stories tall, flanked by amazing statues, yet we couldn't get too close as it was surrounded by a cold, high, fence. I wondered why this was cut off so nothing except stray cats and mangy pigeons could enjoy its close up beauty.
We walked further on, to the Plaza Miserere, where there was another beautiful statue, this time not caged. This was covered in graffiti, nothing inspiration or beautiful as some graffiti can be, but disrespectful, words we couldn't understand but I have no doubt they had little meaning anyway.
Soon we will head out on a free guided tour of the more wealthy neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires... Photos to come!
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