We hopped a flight to Buenos Aires and spared ourselves the 30+ hour bus ride. BA is an amazing city with limitless opportunities to have a great time while still taking in the culture.
We arrived late at night, around midnight to our hostel. We had a friend from our neighborhood in Roswell, GA that we planned on hanging out with while in the big BA. However, we were not sure where he was staying or if he knew where we were staying...Cole somehow arrived right on schedule at our hostel and greeted us with a smile and a beer; typical Cole fashion.
The following day, the three of us set out on the town for our typical lunch-consisting of empanadas. Then we decided to attend a polo finals match just outside of town, what the heck might as well. Upon arrival we were told that there would be plenty of free alcohol there; at first we were all a bit skeptic to approach one of the multiple bars. But after repeated questioning, we discerned that it was bottomless champagne, wine, and beer...and we happily obliged. We watched an amazing polo match, slightly tipsy, with the 'who's who' of BA. We attempted to fit in with our nicest clothing. However, after backpacking for 2 months, our nice clothing was simply what was the cleanest. So in the end we sort of stood out from the crowd dressed in their finest outfits. Ooooo...Welllllll!!!!!
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| Bobby enjoying the Stella garden. |
The next day, the three of us, and two new German friends, walked to the soccer stadium to buy tickets for the Quillmes v. River Plate game. We were torn between sitting in the 'singing section' or the 'sitting section', but after much warning from the locals, we opted for the sitting section. That night, we watched the singing section with pure amazement and relief that we were in the sitting section. The singing section literally sang teams songs and jumped up and down the entire game. Incidentally, they also throw beer, spit, food, and destroyed everything in their path whilst overcome with team spirit. The Germans were upset that there were not fights breaking out on the field or in the stands. But considering the away team had to evacuate for miles outside the stadium before the security let any of the local team's fans leave, we were left with enough excitement...we didn't need to see fists fly.
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| view from our seats |
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| Singing-riot section. This sign says something to the effects of "the drunkest in the staduim." |
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| We were not kidding about not being allowed to leave until the visiting fans were out of sight. |
We broke up BA into two visits, and traveled to Iguazu Falls during the week. The bus ride there was great as we had wonderful service on the 14 hour ride there. We chose to sit next to the kitchenette area...good choice because Bobby continued to raid the cookie platter until there was no more.
Since childhood, Natalie has always dreamed of seeing the falls; unfortunately though the influx of tourists has turned this natural beauty into a D-grade themepark. We were constantly shuffled around in large groups, no matter how we tried to break free. There were people everywhere and pushy cameramen asking to take photos. Nonetheless, Iguazu was breathtaking. Our favorite part of the whole park was at the end of the day we paid to take a speedboat up the river to the falls. This little trip included taking a shower as the driver literally drove right up under the falls, so we all left soaked and smiling.
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| Devil's Throat |
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| More Devil's Throat |
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| This is for you Trish!! Really expensive hotel looking at the Falls. |
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| Someone is excited to go on the boat ride. |
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| Yeah we went under those. |
OK...back to the BA. The second leg of BA included a lot of window shopping as BA has a huge supply of antique stores (old but still well above our price range). We also saw some great parks, statutes, and buildings. And in true South American style, the best ice cream shop ever!!!! Bobby and Cole managed to drag Natalie to a Hooters for a taste and look of home (yes, the nicest part of town is home to a Hooters). Much to everyone's disappointment, it was dirty and horrible. The food sucked and the service did not even come close to the worst Hooters back state side.
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| Nat and Cole strolling in the park. |
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| I wonder what he does with his free hand |
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| Siga la Vaca = Yummy |
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| What do you want? |
To end our time in BA and in South America, Bobby took Natalie to one of the famous tango/dinner shows. He spared no expense and got prime seats (that came with a free bottle of champagne). The tango show was a full 2 hours of dancing, music, and a collage of gaucho tricks. After it was finished, we both had smiles for miles.
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| Front row-true VIP style. |
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