¿Hablas Español? (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

My first stop in South America was Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, and a vibrant, busy city of almost 10 million people (if you include the outlying suburbs). I spent nine days in total in Buenos Aires, quite a long time to spend in one place on a trip like this, but I'd signed up to do a five day Spanish language course whilst in the city so took advantage of the opportunity to base myself in one place and really get to know the city. After over two months in Africa, it took a few days to adapt to being in a large city with a more western feel (many people compare it to Paris), a change of language, and to get used to using an underground train system again!

My hostel was in the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires, one of the oldest districts in the city and home to a number of narrow cobbled streets and many antique shops. Once my language course started, I had a daily commute to get used to of a 30 minute subway ride (a shock to the system after three months without commuting!). The Buenos Aires subte system is rather creaky with trains often covered in graffitti, but it generally ran very smoothly and every journey was punctuated by a mixture of busking musicians and people hawking goods to commuters, making for an interesting journey every morning. 

San Telmo district

I'd spent two years of my time at university learning Spanish alongside my main degree, but eight years later found that much of my knowledge had evaporated - the lesson surely being that I should go on more holidays in Spain! Undettered, I'd completed a 10 week evening class back in London during the summer to try and refresh my skills, and then followed this up with four hours of lessons every morning for five days in Buenos Aires. The quality of the teaching was very good and I was soon growing in confidence with my language skills. Of course, it really helps being in a Spanish city where you are constantly surrounded by the Spanish language in shops and restaurants, on street signs, and in the free newspapers on the tube, and I now feel much more confident about using the local language over the next few months. 

My first full day in Buenos Aires was spent wandering around the centre of the city, taking in some of the main sights including the Casa Rosada (home of the president), the Congreso Nacional, the Catedral Metropolitana, and Plaza de Mayo, the main central square. Once my Spanish lessons had begun, I was busy during the mornings but able to use the afternoons to visit some of the other districts of the city, including the trendy Palermo district with its array of boutique clothes shops, and the docklands area of Puerto Madero, where much like parts of London's former docks, old wharves and wharehouses had been converted in to upmarket restaurants and bars.

The 67m Obelisco which sits at a major junction in Buenos Aires

Falkands war veterans protesting in the main square

Avenida de 9 de Julio - a 16 lane avenue claimed to be the widest in the world

Eva Peron captured on the side of a block of flats

While in Buenos Aires, I also took the opportunity to hop across the Rio de la Plata for a day trip to Uruguay and the pretty coastal town of Colonia de Sacramento. The old town of Colonia is a UNESCO world heritage site, originally established by the Portugese in the seventeenth century as a smuggling port to rival the Spanish base of Buenos Aires, and contains a charming array of cobbled streets, small museums and cafes and restaurants spilling out on to the road. After a walk around the old town and a climb up the lighthouse, I found a small restaurant in which to while away the rest of the afternoon before my boat back to Buenos Aires.

Colonia del Sacramento

Colonia del Sacramento

Other highlights from my time in Buenos Aires included a visit to the Boca Juniors football stadium (La Bombonera), a wander around the Recoleta cemetery (final resting place of Eva Peron) and a fantastic dinner of a huge piece of Argentinian steak washed down with a few glasses of Argentinian Malbec - yum! My trip to see a pulsating game of Argentinian football is covered in a separate blog.

I also took in some of the cultural highlights of the city, thanks to two nights out arranged by my language school. The first was to Bomba de Tiempo, an evening of drumming, dancing and local beer enjoyed by a huge crowd of both locals and tourists. This video gives a better idea of what it involves. Another cultural highlight was a visit to an open-air theatre in the park for a musical performance about Argentina's battle for independence from Spain and the process of forming the independent nation once that independence had been secured (it was better than that sounds!). Although it was entirelty in Spanish, the language lessons were beginning to kick in and I managed to follow the majority of the play and learn something about Argentinian history along the way.

at La Bombonera

Recoleta Cemetery

Yummy steak