It is hard for me to actually put into words just how excited I am about this one.
After over three months of traveling solo, I am about to be reunited with one of my closest mates. Traveling from the USA to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and now entering Argentina, I am looking forward to actually having a full fledged traveling partner!
Back in the USA, my team mate, Joe is winding down an extensive career with a rather sizable software company. Not sure what to do with himself he decided to come down to South America and relax for a while to burn off some vacation days in between trips to the race track. Team Awesome Racing (often referred to as Team F@#$%*^ Awesome, or Certified Awesome) started up last year rather unexpectedly, as most good things do. We had a great run last year and are moving forward this year with the addition of another rider in my absence.
Joe was the reason that my schedule over the previous few weeks was something of a concern. I needed to get out of Peru, through Bolivia, Chile and Argentina to make it to Buenos Aires in time to catch him at the airport. I made it, but just barely. The Manuel Tienda Leon bus leaves from across the park from the main bus terminal downtown. It is 45 Pesos per person, so if you are rolling solo, this is a pretty decent deal. If you are two or more people, flat rate taxi to or from the airport should be 110 pesos. Don’t pay more than that. One soon-to-be-poor british kid got charged 330 pesos
America to America may not seem like such a big jump, but it can be taxing. So I decided to take it easy on Joe for his first day. After reaching the old Milhouse, we dumped our bags and set off on a walking tour of Recoleta for the rest of the day. Brilliant!
We discovered markets, parks, weird facts about the city, gigantic space flowers, confusing menus, and the fact that 5 years in country gets you a shot at citizenship with Argentina. Lunch was a lesson in typical customer service in Buenos Aires. Everything took inordinate amounts of time, the waitress simply seemed to forget our table and the fact that she was at work a number of times, and nothing really came out quite as we ordered it. It is just something you need to get used to in B.A.
Finally, we came to the Recoleta Cemetary. This is on every “must see” list for Buenos Aires, and I was guardedly excited to see what the buzz was all about. It is quite remarkable.
Recoleta is an eyeful. Ghosts walk the ways, accompanied by gangs of cats that feed on the rats that feed on the leftovers of the ghosts. Names of the rich and famous adorn every crypt in the cemetery. Eva Peron, better known as Evita, is buried here under her maiden name. As it happens when the last member of a rich family dies and no one can continue to pay for the crypts, the bodies are exhumed, buried elsewhere, and the crypt and space is sold to the highest bidder. Often this results in renovations to the existing marble; construction supplies and chunks of demolished marble are not uncommon. This is certainly a place to see.
I mentioned the name Milhouse earlier. Milhouse is the name of Buenos Aires’ “premier party hostel.’ There are two buildings a short ways away from one another and there are things to do every day and night. It also holds free tango lessons a few nights a week, organizes transport to Tango shows and is a short walking distance from La Ideal; an awesome Tango hall that holds classes and milongas almost every day of the week. As learning the Tango was the main reason for my trip to Argentina, this makes Milhouse the place for me. Here are some highlights.
I can’t say enough good things about the staff at the “old” Milhouse. They were endlessly engaging, entertaining, helpful, and all around awesome. They helped us with walking tours, bike tours, tango lessons, directions, reservations at restaraunts, tickets to the Ministry of Sound party at Pacha and answered our every retarded extranjero question. If you get the chance, go there!
This is not to take anything away from the staff at the “new” Milhouse. They were great, too. One of them actually ran several city blocks to return a camera part I had forgotten in their hostel, catching us just before we got on the subte (subway). I just felt that the experience at the “old” Milhouse was a little more personal. I attribute this to the fact that the older building is smaller, housing less people, and allows the staff a few extra moments to help you out.
It is almost impossible for me to sum up how weird, welcoming, and wonderful my experiences in Buenos Aires were. There was so much to see and do and touch and smell and taste that it was an endless playground/disaster area for the senses. After being so enamored with Colombia, I was a little shocked to find that I fell in love with Buenos Aires so fast. After pickpockets, thieves, cocaine addled taxi drivers, and parties that didn’t start until 2 a.m., I guess you could call the city just that: Shocking.
