Buenos Aires Part Three

I was glad that I came back to BA early on Monday morning - admittedly I didn't do anything exciting whatsover all day, but it was nonetheless productive. I completely overhauled my backpack, threw out all my smelly old socks that I've been dying to do for months, and organised everything so that my last two full days would be free for pure enjoyment! You see, after a year on the road, I don't do any of this packing-at-the-very-last-minute nonsense, I'm a lean, mean backpacking machine!!! I did go back to La Bomba de Tiempo that evening, and it was even better than the first time, and was completely different, with different supporting artists. Shame I can't go again next week!!!

The weather here has been spot-on here this week, so off I went yesterday (after the best brekkie so far in South America) back to the cemetery, as there is a free English tour there on Tuesdays. Along came Sam, Jed & Nick (UK), three guys from the hostel that were also heading out that way, but who didn't yet know their way around BA. Not to worry, Tour Guide Indiemma Jones at your service! I quite liked being a Know-It-All and showing them the sights, after all, I'm quite well-travelled these days you know!!! Even though I'd been there before, it was really good to actually find out about the history of the cemetery and about some of the people there.

It was then time for lunch, as of course the boys were starving. Annoyingly, the TV in the hotdog bar was showing live images of the airforce flying over the Obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio, just like the Red Arrows, painting the French and Argentinian flags across the sky - we would have been able to see it from our hostel, but we were now in a completely different area of the city! Drat, drat, drat! Oh well, the day was still young so we headed into La Boca, the most dangerous area of BA, but with a really interesting tourist area by the waterfront, where all the houses are brightly painted. The boys said that they would be there to protect me, but I knew that I'd was wearing the trousers as they would have had no idea how to get there without me! Bless them, they had only needed to walk 4 blocks from the hostel to see La Bomba last night, but it turns out that they walked for ages in the wrong direction and finally arrived there an hour late! Whippersnappers!

After visiting the tourist area, declining to have our photographs taken with a fake Maradona, avoiding a boy who practically demanded Sam hand over his camera, (erm, NO, mate!) and buying a lovely painting from a sweet old guy who didn't want to fleece us out of $25, I took the lads to the best ice-cream place I had found in San Telmo... they weren't disappointed. I let myself down a little bit though, on the metro trip home, when we missed our stop because I was talking too much! It was a bloody good day, we ended up having a right laugh about it all! Last night, I stayed in for a barbecue at the hostel, well is it ever possible to eat too much steak?

Today was my last full day of my year's trip. I've pretty much seen everything I need to in Buenos Aires, but I did cram in a trip to see some graffiti near Aguero this morning and to buy tickets to a tango show tonight, before returning to the hostel at midday to check in for my flight tomorrow online. I've abandoned the idea of trying to get an upgrade tomorrow as A) it is highly unlikely, and B) I'm not buying a new outfit just so I look presentable enough to be in with that minuscule chance! Controversially, I have NOT chosen a window seat and NOT even an aisle seat! I'm between two other people, but there is a passage in front of me, so unlimited legroom and I can go to the toilet whenever I need to without waking anyone up. Well, you have to think about these things on a 15 hour flight!

I spent my last afternoon shopping, but not for leather jackets and tango shoes like most of my friends have; oh no, I bought half a kilo of ice cream, four empanadas and yet another pair of Havaianas! I also had a cheap manicure - admittedly it wasn-t as bad as the one I had in Peru, but I should learn by now that you only get a good CHEAP manicure in Asia, everywhere else, you get what you pay for!!! For dinner, I went back to my favourite all-you-can-eat buffet with Ross & Marianne (UK) and Colm (Ireland) and then we headed to the tango show. It was quite swanky and we ended up paying the same each for one glass of wine as the buffet and a coke! However, we were all pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the show was and how well put together. It seemed appropriate to have one last tango in Buenos Aires!

So, I'm back in the hostel for my last night, eating one of my tubs of ice cream - I'll have to have the other one for breakfast, or in the taxi to the airport! The backpack is packed, I just have to shower, eat, throw my daysack together and nip to the ATM. This time tomorrow, I'll be somewhere over the Atlantic, hopefully not rueing my choice of seat! I have no idea how I will put my Havaianas on over my flight socks, but I'll tell you all about it on Friday... for the final blog.

Dear reader, how will you cope without any more tales of my travelling adventures?

Uruguay

You think that I'd be taking it easy by this point in my trip, but oh no - why make things easy for myself, when I can do it the long-winded crazy way around!!! Well, I guess it would have been out-of-character to do Country Number 18 in anything less than typical Emma style! At immigration, I politely asked the officials to put the stamps in exact places, as I have realised that I now only have four full pages left in my passport, which is really not going to last me another 7 years! The ferry crossing was very smooth and I was checked into a hostel in Colonia del Sacramento by 10am!

I set of on a walk around the town, which is genuinely as pretty and charming as everyone had described it. Of course, my first priority was to buy an Uruguay flag patch and get one of every coin! I spotted a good sized, good quality flag in one shop, but thought it best to shop around a bit first. I then found an inferior version, but the shade of blue for the stripes was darker. Of course, I had to then go back to the hostel to check Wikipedia for the correct shade of the flag! As it turns out, the second flag was more accurate, but the first was just much better looking! So, I decided to buy it, no one would know the blue was slightly too pale and after the palavers I had had where I've had to resort to eBay, I thought it best to buy one while I could.

It was damn annoying to walk but 5 metres, and see in the shop next door, one that was good quality and the exact right shade... and for 5 pesos less! Unbelievable, I bet the lady in the first shop hadn't even closed the cash register! So, I decided to continue my explorations and headed down to the beach to relax with my book. Of course, all that is whirring around my brain is whether or not to buy another patch that it more accurate, even though only I will know it, or just to make do with the one I have. But it is only another £1.50 to get another... but I have already bought one and a second one will be a waste of money... Dear reader, you've heard this story many times before!!!

Anyway, it was a lovely day and I actually ended up falling asleep on the beach! I must have needed the sleep after all the early starts of the previous week! After a while, I decided what the hell, I will buy the second patch anyway! The lady in the shop was lovely and her young son spoke excellent English. They were so helpful and friendly, (which I would later learn is very typical of Uruguayans) that I asked them about the coins and she gave me the only one I was missing, 50 cents, which I would be unlikely to get hold of in my short time there. That evening, I watched the sun set over Rio de la Plata before heading back for an early night... because of course, rather than chill out and have a lazy morning, I'd bought a bus ticket to Montevideo for 6.45!!!

I arrived in the capital just before 9.30am, which gave me plenty of time to explore the city. Whilst at the bus terminal, I asked about routes and prices to other cities in Uruguay, to give me an idea of where to go next - I'd already decided that I wanted to be back in BA by Tuesday at the latest. It turned out that there is a service that goes from FB to BA direct overnight, whioch would take much, much longer than the ferry, but would be significantly cheaper AND save me a night's accommodation. After finding a hostel, I went out armed with my camera, to capture the sights of Montevideos' architecture, which basically involved me doing a LOT of Emma-style circuitous walking around yet another South American big city! I liked Montevideo, but after being appraoched by three teenagers in a park who needed the time, I knew it was time to walk away fast and to avoid that old chestnut of a scheme... no, I will not be robbed again! Nothing happened, but I decided then that one day here was enough.

So, in the afternoon, I headed back to the terminal to book my onwards tickets for the next day. It had been a toss-up between Punta del Este, the St. Tropez od Latin America, or Fray Bentos, home of Oxo and meat pies! I settled on FB, just because it would be so different to tour an old meat factory, than to see yet another beach. Different AND weird!!! So, what should have taken an hour at the most to organise took up the entire evening and went a little like this>

- Got guy at hostel to phone the museum in FB to check opening times as the Lonely Planet said it was closed on Sundays.
- Told that there IS a tour on Sunday at 3pm.
- Headed to terminal, bought ticket to FB, arriving around lunchtime on Sunday.
- Told that there ISN'T an overnight service to BA from FB, so made extra enquiries in the tourist information office.
- Went to ask about the ticket again, this time with Victoria (from TI) to translate.
- YES, there is an overnight bus, it fits my plans perfectly!
- NO, they have all sold out for those arriving in BA on Monday morning!
- DAMN IT, I now don't need to go to FB tomorrow, but I've already bought the ticket!
- Plan B, take the ferry from Carmelo to Tigre home after FB, as it will be much cheaper than Colonia to BA.
- Find that there are 2 buses from FB to Carmelo: 09.45 and 19.45.
- Find that there are 2 ferries from Carmelo to Tigre: 04.00 and 14.00
- Am completely exasperated that the two services do not connect in any useful kind of way and now don't want to spend a night in FB or Carmelo, as I was resigned to being on an overnight bus!
- What the hell, let's do it so I can be back in BA first thing Monday, ask about the cost of the tickets so I can extract the exact Pesos Uruguayos from the ATM for the rest of the stay.
- Buy the tickets, thank god I have memorised my passport number, but have too many pesos left over as I had misunderstood the guy at the bus desk!

Crikey, by the time I got home, it was nearly 9pm! But, I had all my transportation sorted and paid for back to BA! It just meant that I had to get up early AGAIN to to to FB, then I had a few hours to see the museum, I'd have to hang around for the bus to Carmelo, then once there I would have to sleep in the port for 5 hours before taking the 4am ferry! So that's exactly what I did! Fray Bentos is a small little town, but it is quiet pleasant and I am glad that I opted to go there, even though it was a little bit out of the way. A few years ago, it would have been much easier, as there was a bridge that connected it with Argentina and therefore would have been but a few hours to get to BA. Now it has been closed, meaning that you have to go several hours north to the nearest land crossing.

I went to the museum first to look around and it was actually quite fun to see the exhibits about the history of the Liebig Extraction of Meat Company, inventor's of Bovril and Oxo, and subsequently Anglo, purveyors of Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pies! The double-headed calf in formaldehyde was quite cool too! I enjoyed the tour around the factory, even though it was all in Spanish only and a little macabre, but it was a very different way to spend an afternoon, especially as I can now tell all my friends that I have been to Fray Bentos and enjoy the puzzled look on their faces (as I reckon hardly anyone realises that it's the name of a twon in Uruguay, not just a pie!)

After the tour, I had three hours of waiting ahead of my before taking the bus to Carmelo. It passed really quickly: the weather was lovely, I strolled to Fray Bentos Gold Club to be the First to Find a geocache there, my first since June, then to walk along the riverfront with an ice cream at sunset, just people-watching as all the locals were out with friends & family, sipping mate and just whiling away the hours of a Sunday afternoon. Even though my time in was short, I was really touched by the kindness and relaxed nature of the people there. I especially appreciated it, when I arrived in Carmelo at 10.30pm that night that the guard in the port (which was actually closed) let me in to sleep, put the lights on for me and a little gas heater!

Even though it wasn't the most comfortable night of the trip, it passed quite quickly but I was glad when we were finally allowed to start boarding at 3am. Once again, I asked for my passport to be stamped neatly and then found a seat onboard where I could curl up and get in a little bit more shuteye! We arrived in Tigre around 6.30 this morning, from where I took the complimentary shuttle service into the centre of Buenos Aires. It had been a long-winded way of doing things, but a save a little bit of money and a lot of time in the process! So now I'm in my new hostel (as I thought I'd try a new one for my last three nights) and I just have to take the metro to where I stayed before to retrieve my backpack for the last time. Guess I should get some more sleep at some point as well!!!

Ice Ice Baby!

It was great to meet up again with Anh at America del Sur hostel in El Calafate. Admittedly, I'd seen her just one week before, but I was looking forward to spending some quality one-on-one time with her, and in what better a location - PATAGONIA! The views of Lago Argentino that I had seen when flying in were stunning, and it was nowhere near as cold as I had anticipated. Once at the hostel, I was greeted by Federico and Pat, both two absolutely crazy guys, but so friendly and helpful. Fede described all the tour packages to me, and even though I knew it was going to be an expensive few days, I decided what the hell, let's do it all! So, Anh and I booked ourselves up for the following few days and headed off to the supermarket to get provisions for a packed lunch!

We were up really early on Tuesday morning, in order to have enough time fro breakfast, and to put on as many layers of warm clothing as physically possible in preparation for our mini hike on Perito Moreno Glacier. It was a stunning morning and the scenery was fantastic, similar to New Zealand in many ways, but just grander and more impressive. We both slept for most of the bus drive there, especially Anh who had drugged herself up on Mareol (as she suffers from boat sickness), and thus was extremely drowsy. Of course, I couldn't resist waking her up when the first glimpse of the glacier appeared in the valley, and yet again, a few tears tricked down my cheeks!

Once off the bus, we then took a boat across the lake to the refuge, dropped off our bags and once we had had our feet strapped securely into crampons, we were off onto the ice!!! As much as I thoroughly enjoyed my day hike on Franz Josef Glacier in NZ, I could see the PM is in a whole other league... it's massive and the ice is completely blue without dirt, from the start. It was a good job that we had both wrapped up well, as even though the sun was out, the wind was extremely strong and had the potential to chill right to the bone! In fact, there were times when we both thought we would be blown off the glacier!

The views of the area, and of the glacier itself were stunning, and the hike was nice and relaxed, which gave us both time to take a LOT of photos. And I mean a LOT (I thought I was bad, but Anh really is a Happy Snapper!) After our lovely homemade cheese and ham sandwiches overlooking the lake, it was time to take the boat back across to reboard the bus, and then drive to the balconied viewing area. We were once again amazed by the views and were lucky enough to see ice fall from the glacier front - OK, I was so stunned by the scene that I stood there gawping, so astounded that I forgot to take any pictures! We were patient and we were rewarded by another ice fall that I actually managed to capture on video! Back on the bus for the drive home, we both slept and slept... all the fresh air took it out of us (and Anh was stilled feeling the effects of the Mareol!)

Yesterday, we had another early start and set off again into the National Park to see yet more ice... but this time on a leisurely catamaran trip. After embarking, we sailed through some amazing scenery before seeing our first icebergs, so blue it almost seemed unreal. We sailed as close as possible into the Upsala canal, but due to the number of icebergs, it wasn't possible to visit the glacier itself - however, we weren't disappointed as the ice was truly fantastic - I just wanted there to be a polar bear sat out there drinking a bottle of Coke!

Then it was time to sail to Spegazzini Glacier. In order to get a good viewing spot, I went up on deck way before everyone else. In fact, I could have frozen to death if it wasn't for the fact that I went out right to the tip of on of the hulls and huddled down behind the iron! It paid off though, as I had a premium viewing spot (and a really cold nose!) Spegazzini is the tallest glacier in the National Park, completely dwarfed Perito Moreno! As if I hadn't said the word "beautiful" enough by that point, I must have thrown it in another twenty times for good measure. The ice was so high and another glacier came down the mountain side to meet it, just before the water's edge - B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!!

Because we couldn't sail up the Upsala channel, we then back to Perito Moreno once more, where we got much closer to the north face once again and saw yet more stunning ice falls. Even though we'd been there the day before, it was still so worth going again. Back at the hostel, after a lot more sleeping on the boat and the bus, we both attempted to work through our photos and to select the best ones to upload. A hard task, given that Anh took DOUBLE the number than from the previous day! Needless to say it was quite late when she finally switched her laptop off last night!!! Last night, we treated ourselves to a slap-up meal as it was our final night together on this trip (until I visit her again in Germany one day, of course!) We went all our and had tenderloin, sirloin steaks and a rack of lamb and in true Argentinian style, it was cooked to perfection. It makes up for all the protein I DIDN'T eat for 3 months in Australia!

Today has been a lazy, relaxing day and we've deserved it after all we crammed in here! A submarino each and huge slice of apple pie to share in a little cafe and then now I'm just waiting to take the shuttle back to the airport. It's a bit sad to be leaving Anh, but to be honest, it's not that bad as I know in my gut we'll see each other again. Another great friendship has been formed, and I know that this is not the end, just the beginning! So, once I'm back in BA, I'm not going to try and make it back to the hostel on public transport, I'll hop straight in a cab and be taken right to the door. I'll just have to get my bag out of storage, and repack my daysack for a weekend in Uruguay! Best get an early night as well, as I need to be up and ready to leave for the port at 7am! Oh well, I'll rest once I am there!!!

Buenos Aires Part Two

Thank goodness, my luck changed for the better after the theft/football disappointments! Well, almost - there was a blip (read on). On Thursday morning, I was up early and checked my emails. It turned out that Fiona, bless her, had hoped to surprise me the day before by coming over to my hostel unannounced! However, she didn't take the address with her, so she spent an hour wandering around San Telmo unable to find my hostel! Anyway, she was free that day, if I wanted to meet her, so I scoffed my cornflakes as quickly as possible, got dressed and left in whirlwind to take the subway to Palermo. I didn't want to try to catch her via eMail again, so I was determined to meet up with her, before she went out for that day.

I arrived at her hostel before she was even out of bed! Phew, I would finally be able to see her face to face, even if I had to wait for her to wake up. 15 minutes later, she emerged in her pyjamas and didn't she get a surprise! It was warm hugs and excited yelps all round, as we had not seen each other since February up in Cairns, Australia! I shared breakfast with her, and so began a day of girlie chats and a lot of catching-up! We headed out to the leather shopping area of Palermo, and I helped her to find a new leather jacket to take home with her. She kept apologising for trying so many different ones on, in so many different shops, but I was genuinely having a great time helping her, it was so much fun. We had a lovely lunch in a local café, and once we'd found the perfect jacket, we treated ourselves to another trip to a café, this time a really quaint one in the back of a bookstore.


We cooked dinner together that night in Fiona's hostel and it was a great end to a great day! I really, really enjoyed myself and it was fantastic to see her. What a difference a year makes - 12 months ago we had never even met, and although we have spent most of this trip doing our own things, we now have a connection of shared and similar experiences. She could see how much I have changed on this trip, and I could see the same in her. I'm looking forward to catching up with her again soon in Ireland!

On Friday, the blip occurred - the laundry had lost a t-shirt (that I was going to bin anyway) and the jumper that I had bought in Melbourne in December. I know it was only £5 and I shouldn't take it back to the UK with me, but I'd grown really fond of it... drat, I had never been robbed and I had never had a problem with my clothes until now. Stupid Buenos Aires! Anyway, I told the hostel so they could sort it out and headed off to the Eva Perón museum. It was beautifully done but I didn´t feel it told me as much about her life as I would have expected. Then, I went off in search of blue and white face paint for the football. Although it was potentially all up in the air, I thought it best to be prepared! I eventually found just the right colours and also hairspray as well!

Back at Tango City, the laundry people came to tell me that they didn't have my clothes because I had never sent them in. Well, I knew for a fact that I had as A) the t-shirt stank and had sweat stains on it from the River Plate match and REALLY needed a wash, and B) I'd been wearing the jumper at breakfast and took it off and put it straight into the laundry bag. Should have known it was going to go wrong as it was really cheap! I insisted that I go with them to the laundromat to check there, not sure what I hoped to accomplish in do so, but never mind! Drat, my clothes were gone and a resolution wasn't forthcoming. I put it to the back of my mind though, as Sandy finally confirmed that night that the football was on and there would be nothing extra to pay, RESULT!!!

Match day had arrived! I was up early, off on the subway in search of some cheap footy shirts! Claire and Laura had agreed to a maximum of 30 pesos each - the first shirts I found were reduced, from 200 to 99, obviously not good enough! I changed tack, hoping to find something in the right colours of sky blue and white, but that was a dead end. I then stumbled across some fake shirts, which for one day would be fine, but they were only available in large. I had been given strict instructions to buy skinny fit ones, but when they turned out to be 30 pesos each, I took and executive decision and bought three (and luckily, the girls were chuffed with them)! I then had enough time to head back to my hostel, shower, get dressed and buy some empanadas for the day ahead before we were on our way to Rosario!

We arrived in Rosario late in the afternoon, which gave us time to stop off at a riverside bar for some free beers, and for me to spray blue and white stripes in my hair, to paint Argentinian flags on my cheeks and then to do so for everybody else on the tour who thought it was brilliant! Then it was time to head to the stadium, a few hours before kick-off, to enable us to get in and find a decent place to stand. Security was tight and we were frisked three times, each time more thoroughly, which we actually found really reassuring. As we climbed the steps up to the highest tier, the stadium was throbbing with the sounds of thousands and thousands of Argentina fans.

The view we were greeted with was unbelievable, a sea of celeste and white, with a tiny, tiny smattering of green and yellow tucked away in one corner - I knew that there would have only been a small quotient of tickets allocated to the Brazil fans, but I was shocked at just how small an area they had been given! We made our way up the terraces and found a decent spot to stand, behind the goal, but high up enough not to have an obstructed view (and not to get peed on by the fans above!!!) I'd been a little apprehensive about have a popular ticket, as opposed to the generally safer and less rowdy platea seating area, but it was surprisingly calm and no problems whatsoever.

There was a fair bit of waiting involved then as we had entered the stadium so early, but as it turned out it was for the best as apparently 3,000 fans with tickets had to be turned away from the gates later on as the ground was at full capacity (therefore a lot of people with fake tickets had managed to get in unscathed!) Crikey, I can't imagine what I would have done if I had been turned away with my valid ticket!!! It was great fun to see some of the teams' stars warming up and doing a few walks around the pitch, and of course, we all grabbed our camera, zoomed in as much as possible and snapped away like crazy as soon as Maradona emerged. (He's still a dirty, cheating little twerp who never knows when to keep his trap shut though!!!) Then there was national anthems, balloons, ticker tape and multi-coloured smoke for the opening ceremony and the vibe was amazing!

The match itself was great entertainment, but maybe you know that unfortunately Argentina lost! Shame really, as it would have been even better to have been there supporting the winning team. It seemed that they had more possession and were working harder than Brazil, but they lacked their northern neighbours' flair and panache - and let in all their goals from free kicks. Schoolboy errors really! The Brazil side seemed to be much dirtier players and loved to showboat - Number 9 had real difficulty keeping vertical, I swear he spent most of the match on the turf! After the game was over, without any incidents either, we had to wait for the Brazil fans to leave first. It was very well policed and the opposing supporters were kept away from each other at all time. Once back on the minibus around midnight, we all dozed off pretty quickly, before arriving back in BA at 5am. It was a long, but amazing day!

Yesterday, I was due a day of rest, especially as it was practically daylight before I got to bed! However, true to form, I was up and about reasonably early and decided to visit Recoleta Cemetery, one of Buenos Aires' most famous landmarks. When the guide books describe it as a city, just were all the inhabitants are dead, they're not kidding! There are no traditional graves as in the UK, but rows and rows of family mausoleums and vaults, and some of the stonework is amazing. This is where the elite and rich of Buenos Aires are entombed, and I've never quite seen anything like it before. Of course, a visit to Evita's tomb was a must!

Later, I met up with Claire, Laura and Darren (UK) for lunch in Plaza Dorrego, we wandered around the San Telmo Sunday markets and found a great little ice cream shop that was really cheap and had at least 40 different flavours. I settled for ¼ kilo of cognac with raisins, coconut cream and chocolate with marachino cherries... when I ordered it in Spanish, it wasn't a simple sentence, but a paragraph!!! That night, I packed my bags ready to leave my backpack in the hostel's storage and to just take a daysack to Patagonia. I just about managed to squeeze all my warm clothing into it!

So, now I am at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, the domestic airport, waiting to board my flight to El Calafate. Today should have been a breeze, as I was super organised upon leaving the hostel this morning and had loads of time to get here. After breakfast, I went to the port to purchase a ferry ticket to Uruguay for Friday, had time to enjoy some empanadas for lunch and then still had eons to make it to the terminal. Of course, despite taxis being very cheap here, I wanted to take the subway to the bus terminal (17p) and then a bus to the airport (20p). Once at the terminal though, I couldn't find the bus I needed to take and there seemed to be a protest going on somewhere (but of course!), so I didn't want to risk a bus in traffic.

So, would you believe it, I couldn't then find a taxi anywhere so I spent a good half an hour, if not more, pacing around Retiro hoping that eventually I would find a taxi and getting stuck in the middle of patches of concrete between really busy lanes of traffic. I did spot a taxi at one point and was about to get in, when a little alarm went off in my head, as some taxis are supposed to be dodgy around the bus station. I don't know why, but my gut made me walk away from the car. T one point, I pocketed a rock, just in case I did and up in a dodgy cab, because by this time, there was no chance of a bus getting me there on time!

Anyway, in the end it all worked out fine, but I'm still of on my crazy capers after all this time away, you'd think I would have learned by now! Once in a taxi, with a lovely reliable driver, I did get there with plenty of time to spare, so now I'm off to the departure lounge to chill out with my book. I'm reading Atlas Shrugged, it is huge and the writing is tine, but I am completely gripped, everyone should read it! Soon, I'll be back in the sky and this evening in a cosy hostel... with Anh!!! Yippee, this is going to be a great week!

S**tember

It was all going so well wasn't it? Well, no amount of touching wood could save Intrepid Traveller Emma from the curse of the backpacker! Intrigued? Read on...

It was another grey day on Tuesday and it was really cold! After returning to Aerolineas Argentina to pay for my flights first thing, I met Claire and Laura and we headed back to the mall (that I didn't actually end up exploring the day before!). After lunch, we decided to visit the zoo, which was fun, but I felt it was a bit neglected and needed a lot of love. Plus, it was quite warm in my hostel that morning, so I'd gone out without my coat and thus I was absolutely freezing! Luckily, the girls had enough spare clothing to help limit the damage!

There were some extremely funny moments in the zoo though! I can't elaborate too much, as this is a family-friendly blog, but I had told Claire a tale about a male baboon I had seen on a documentary and how he was fascinated and subsequently disappointed with a certain part of his anatomy! She seemed to look at me with incredulity but was amused by my tale nonetheless. Imagine my absolute satisfaction when within minutes of approaching the baboon enclosure, a large male replicated the exact same behaviour I'd seen on TV just metres away from us! We were in stitches, and I was glad that Claire could see I wasn't a strange weirdo that made up bizarre tales about wild animals! In fact, the baboons were so fascinating that we probably spent more time watching them that might be considered healthy!

I was due to meet Anh for her last night in Buenos Aires that night, so I needed to head over to her hostel. We all boarded the subway, but because it was rush hour, it was absolutely rammed. It was quite amusing as we has to pile in and I couldn't see Claire as she was wedged in behind other people, so I spent most of the journey giggling and chatting away to Laura about it all! I said my goodbyes a few stops later, as I had to change lines to get to Anh's, and stepped out onto the platform.

Then I looked down...

The zips of my handbag were open and my heart stopped beating. Then it started again, but way too fast and up in my throat. S**t, s**t, s**t... On September 1st, I had been pick-pocketed. I checked through the bag and my little cash purse had gone, but NOT my phone, camera or main purse with my cards in, which had a large amount of cash in for the rest of the week. Thank goodness not much had gone, but I was gutted that after all this time, I became one of those backpacking statistics. So, I looked back at the closing doors of the train, knowing that it was impossible to get back on and tell the girls. I saw the woman who had been stood next to me, so I decided to chase after her and demand my money back. I had no proof it was her, but from where she was stood, it probably was. Of course, she denied it. I stood there like an idiot not knowing what to do, so I chased after her again and asked to see her pockets (all in English, even though she only knew Spanish). Well, I couldn't strip search her could I, so I just had to let her go, not knowing if it was her or not...

I guessed it served me right, because I was with friends, I wasn't paying enough attention, especially on such a crowded train. I served me right as I had been going on for days how I hadn't had any bad experiences and I was determined to get home unscathed. It served me right as I went out with my handbag for the first time in weeks instead of stuffing my money into my bra as usual. It served me right as I felt a bit of movement near my bag on the train, but I didn't actually look down to check it... blah blah blah.

So, instead of changing trains and heading to Anh's, I really just wanted to go home, so I boarded the next one back to the hostel. I met up with Claire and Laura again and told them all about it, I was reeling. Then, if things couldn't get any worse, I asked Sandy, the guy at their hostel, about the football tickets: "So, you´ll be getting our tickets tomorrow, won´t you?" I quipped. "Erm, about that..." As if my heart couldn't sink any lower. To cut a LONG story short, the agency that had sold the package to us hadn't sold enough and therefore wouldn't cover their costs by buying the pack of tickets that they had access to. The manager was going to try to buy the exact number needed but there was no guarantee he could do this and so it was possible there would be no ticket, or it would end up being significantly more expensive.

Of course, I tried to formulate a back-up plan, but on one day before the on-sale date, my options were limited. My hostel had told me that morning that they were definitely getting tickets but they wouldn't be selling them until they knew exactly how many they had and how much they would cost. I knew it was too good to be true when I paid my money last Saturday and for such a good price. Anyway, I found out that I couldn't get a refund unless there was no ticket (meaning that I would potentially had to pay a lot more extra). Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well that night!

Today was yet another grey, rainy day. I had wanted to meet Fiona for lunch, but with the whole football situation in the balance, I didn't want to leave San Telmo until I had a definite answer about the tickets. I spent the day going over to the girls' hostel to pester them. Of course, they couldn't give me any definite answers as everyone was in the same boat. I managed to put my laundry in to my hostel and then I had a haircut, but that was as constructive as it got all day! At 10pm, Sandy told me that it was looking 95% sure that we'd get our tickets, but he still couldn't confirm it for definite. To be honest, by this point, I had reached a weird calm place of acceptance - I was resigned to the outcome, whatever happened as at least I had made an effort to get a ticket. Realistically, I would be very lucky if I did as thousands of other people would be trying to do the same thing. Also, I'm still peeved about my purse, but there wasn't much money in it and it could have been much worse if my other things had been taken as well. So, the last 24 hours has been pretty crap, but I'm over it now - yes, I was horribly stressed last night, but in the past, that level of anxiety would last for days, if not weeks. As the end draws near, I really am noticing just how much I've changed. Let's just hope the rest of September improves!!!