2016 APRIL

A selection of 91 photographs (out of 403) taken on my visit to Argentina. The pictures are all taken in and around Buenos Aries - the capital. Please note that the photographs are as originally taken and not enhanced by any means.

My thoughts: Was really impressed with Buenos Aries. Some wonderful buildings in the centre and the people were friendly too! [Please click on the thumbnail images to enlarge. Some maybe little blurred due to rushing the shot - or taking through a travelling bus window etc]

Friday 25/March/2016

I awoke well before my alarm – which was set for 05:30 and after showering and finishing packing, I checked out of the hotel and climbed into my awaiting taxi at 06:00. The roads were quiet as could be expected so early in the morning and daylight was just breaking. The morning was clear with blue skies and gave good views of the surrounding mountains. 

As we travelled along the quiet roads my taxi driver suddenly shouted excitingly “Cotopaxi, Cotopaxi” and pointed out of the side window. As I looked across the skyline I suddenly saw the volcanic mountain with its upper reaches covered in white snow. I quickly grabbed my camera – and my understanding driver slowed down to give me the opportunity to take a photograph or two!

My journey continued and the scenery surrounding the city was clear and beautiful. Clearly Mother Nature was given me a special display as a farewell greeting and there was some sadness about the fact that I was leaving Ecuador. I arrived at the airport around 06:40 and checked for my flight before enjoying a coffee whilst awaiting my flight.

Once my flight was called I boarded the plane and little over 2 hours later I was landing at Lima (Peru) airport. However as I didn’t through immigration I couldn’t class it as a country I have visited – and around 2 hours later I was boarding my flight to Buenos Aries. Whilst I had visited Argentina previously – around the Iguazu area – I had not visited Buenos Aries, although I had been planning to visit back in 1975 (if Leeds United had won the European Cup then we would have played the winners of the South American equivalent – who were likely to have been from Buenos Aries).Seeing the coach to take me to the centre of Buenos Aries

I had a quick walk round the airport and saw a number of souvenirs that made me want to visit Peru even more. My flight to Buenos Aries was called and I was on my next flight – and arriving at Buenos Aries around 4.5 hours later. Although it took a little longer than expected to clear immigration and customs, I was soon boarding the coach to take me to the centre of the city by my hotel.

Once I arrived there, I checked in and checked with the receptionist about my plans for the following morning – and although I had much of the information needed, he was very kind in helping me further. After dropping my bag in my room I was out and about. My hotel couldn’t have been in a better location – right in the centre of Buenos Aries.

The main streets around my hotel were so busy – likewise the restaurants and bars – and even well after 23:00 restaurants were still full – with new customers still ordering food. I was expecting most restaurants to be serving large steaks – but surprisingly the majority of menu were offering pizza!

I had eaten a little on the plane a few hours earlier and so just had a couple of slices of pizza as I enjoyed the vibrant atmosphere of the area – after which I returned to my hotel for some much needed sleep.

Saturday 26/March/2016

Once I had prepared myself for the day ahead, my next priority was to change some money – preferably at a cueva. These are money exchange ‘facilities’ in Argentina that offer a better rate than the official rate due to Argentina’s economic situation. Apparently they are allowed to operate but are a grey area legally. I had asked at the hotel about such facilities and were given guidance adding to what I already knew.

I was out on the streets of the Argentinian capital around 09:00 trying to find the particular cueva I was looking for when I realised that the street where I was walking was also renowned for agents offering ‘cambio?’. I asked a couple what rate they offered and both were the same. I walked along a little further and found the shopping centre I wanted – which sadly did not open until 10:00. As time was of an essence, I decided to approach a third agent in the street. Again, the rate was the same so I was taken inside a building to an office where the transaction took place. The office had an ultra-violent light checker – and all the notes I was to receive were scanned across it to show they were all genuine. Once completed, it was time to return to the hotel.

The morning was warm and sunny with lots of blue sky and made for pleasant walking. However my itinerary meant I didn’t have time for this pleasure as I needed to return to the hotel, collect my belongings, check-out a get a taxi to one of the ferry terminals – which I duly did. Once at the terminal, I proceeded to book a ticket on the next ferry (which I knew was at 12:15) from Buenos Aries to Colonia in Uruguay.

My intention was to buy my ticket in cash with Argentinian Pesos – rather than pay on my credit card and be given a poor exchange rate by the banks. However when I attempted to do this I was told only Argentinian residents could pay in Pesos – but I could pay by credit card in US Dollars should I wish – which I did. [Clearly my research didn’t pick that obstacle up!]. Oh well…. I would be able to change some of my ARS (Argentinian Pesos) for UYU (Uruguayan Pesos) once in Uruguay – and I was also returning to Buenos Aries a couple of days later.

The rest of my travels went well. I checked in with my ticket and bag – as for a flight, then went through immigration where I was stamped out of Argentina, turned 180 degrees, took a couple of steps forward to another desk – and was stamped in to Uruguay! 

There was a large departure lounge – where I had time for coffee – before boarding my vessel. Here I sat at a table – where I could update my blog offline – and keep an eye on the views as we sailed.

[URUGUAY]

Tuesday 29/March/2016

I then had my breakfast – coffee – before boarding the vessel ready to sail back to Buenos Aries. The sailing was smooth and we were back at the quay side in Buenos Aries a little over 45 minutes later. After collecting my bag I caught a taxi to the same hotel as I had been in a few nights previous. Initially I was told my room wasn’t ready – but once I’d completed registration it was ready for me and it meant I could take my bag to my room and change into my shorts as the weather was much warmer and very sunny.

I was soon outside lapping up the wonderful weather and strolling along the streets round by my hotel. I then decided to walk along the main road outside my hotel – where the Obelisco de Buenos Aires monument stood and where I counted a total of 22 lanes of traffic in total across the wide boulevard.

Walking along Plaza de la República was so enjoyable with many restaurants and shops and people – both locals and tourists – enjoying the facilities. It was warm work though and a cold drink sat on a wall watching the busy world go by was so relaxing. I continued to walk the length of Av 9 de Julio in both directions and some of the adjacent streets – taking many pictures of course – before returning to my hotel and resting for a while.

I went out around 21:00 to find somewhere to eat. I fully expected almost everywhere to be a steakhouse but was somewhat surprised to see the majority of places offering Pizza. The whole city centre was very busy – not only all 22 lanes of traffic! – but he restaurants, bars and shops were full of people too. I walked around for a while enjoying the vibrant atmosphere.

Early evening, I decided to stop at one of the Pizza restaurants and enjoy having a couple of slices of pizza whilst sat outside in the pleasant evening temperature. As I was being seated it was sad to see 3 or 4 children suddenly appear and take the remaining food that the people had left – and to realise that there was a lot of poverty in Buenos Aries despite its affluent setting in the centre. Indeed, the number of people – including families that could be seen living on the streets – reinforced that and there were many similar sad sights to see. 

I enjoyed my two pieces of pizza and once finished decided to continue walking round the city centre for a couple of hours or more. Even after 23:00, every restaurant and bar was still full with almost every table taken but I managed to find a table and sample a small steak with salad before going back to my hotel to sleep – after a very long day.

Wednesday 30/March/2016

Again the weather looked perfect as I prepared for my day. With map in hand I left the hotel ready to see the sights of central Buenos Aries, Again I walked a good distance along Av 9 de Julio – where I could hear what sounded like drums and chanting in the distance. Soon afterwards I heard several loud fireworks and on approaching the area became aware that there was some sort pf protest or demonstration taking place. A few of the fireworks really were substantial and set of car alarms!

On my walk I visited the Santo Domingo convent and the Plaza de las Armas Ejercito – part of the Ministry of Defense. Here in the grounds – which were open to the public – was and old tank, military gun and statues. Before taking any pictures, I asked a couple of officers who where outside the building if I was permitted to do so -and I was given that permission, In fact one of them even offered to take my picture in the grounds! So, I ensured I didn’t miss out on the opportunity to take a number of pictures – including some selfies!

From there I moved on seeing a number of other impressive buildings around Plaza de Mayo and the Catedral Metropolitana – where there were a number of other tourists taking pictures around the areas. The buildings were beautiful and majestic and set for a very impressive scene. 

The streets were getting very busy – probably office workers taking lunch – and likewise I found somewhere to have coffee! More photographs were taken around the area and I was really enjoying the atmosphere of the city – and the sights.

I continued walking throughout the afternoon, visiting various areas – even watching a coupe in traditional dress doing a tango in the street – and seeing the bustling city and making the most of what would be my last full day in Buenos Aries – before returning to my hotel early evening. Here I started packing my bag with items that I wouldn’t be requiring again before resting for a short while. I then showered and changed and was eager to hit those vibrant streets again.

I decided I was going to eat in a steak restaurant and enjoyed adding to the already 14 miles I had walked – by taking in the nightlife! Again the restaurants were busy but after a while I saw one that I liked the look of and the menu too, so in I went. I was offered a seat not too far away from the large TV although unusually football wasn’t on!

My waiter attended to me – and asked where I was from. I told him England and he questioned further… “London? Manchester?”. I responded with “Leeds”. He replied “Oh… your team Leeds United?”. He’d earned a tip already   He then continued to tell me what a great player Mark Viduka was! He apparently had seen some programme about him and so knew more of him. He told me of his love for football – and River Plate was his team.

After I had ordered my steak he turned the TV channel to one of the football channels (ignoring all the other customers wishes) – and came to my table several times to talk about football. My meal arrived and along with a large steak was an equally large portion of chips. Such typical Argentine meal  

The meal was most enjoyable and at a very reasonable cost too. I eventually bid my waiter farewell and wished him and his team good wishes, before I went for a final walk round. I knew it was the last night of my trip. I had travelled far – and I had travelled hard – but standing there in the city of Buenos Aries with the city buzzing around the Obelisco Monument made me realise again how very fortunate I had been.

I took some more pictures of the centre at night – with the Obelisco Monument dominating the skyline – and just not wanting the experience or evening to end – but like all things they had to – and I returned to my hotel much later than planned after a wonderful final evening.

Thursday 31/March/2016

I awoke realising that this was the start of one of those long, long and tiring days. The day when I had to fly great distances to return home – and although it would be around 36 hours from me getting out of my hotel bed to getting into my own bed, I had done much longer hours and had now done these type of journeys so often that it wasn’t unusual for me any longer.

I showered, finished packing and checked out of the hotel around 08:30 to take a taxi to the airport. Once there, I soon checked in and proceeded through security and immigration. 

It was time for coffee and time to reflect for a short while on the trip I just undertaken- before heading towards the gate for my first flight en route back to the UK. This flight would take me from Buenos Aries to Sao Paulo in Brazil – a city I had been to before – and with 10 hours wait between flights I wasn’t going to waste it sitting in the terminal – but was going downtown!

My flight from Buenos Aries to Sao Paulo lasted around 2.5 hours. The views of the city as the plane came into land made me realise what a vast city Sao Paulo is. Not only the distance across the city but also the hundreds (if not thousands) of high rise (40-80 floors) blocks. An amazing experience and similar to flying into a few Chinese cities. The temperature on landing in Sao Paulo was a pleasant 31C compared to around 25C in Buenos Aries – and the sun was shining – albeit a little hazy.

Once I arrived at the airport, I went through immigration and the young officer questioned how long I was in Brazil for. I told her that as I had about 8 hours spare I wanted to visit downtown rather than sitting in the terminal building. She agreed with my plans and happily stamped me into Brazil.

I needed to change some money into Brazilian currency so I could buy my bus tickets and then purchase them. Although the airport is almost 30kms from the centre, the coach managed the journey in around 45 minutes which was really good considering the traffic.

Once I got off the coach at Republica, I started walking slowly around the streets. My plan had been to take it easy and try not to get too sweaty with having a long overnight flight in front of me. Sadly that did not workout – as the afternoon cloud built up and so did the humidity levels – and by late afternoon there were short showers of rain. Despite these, I walked around taking in the atmosphere of the busy precincts – and watching a few pavement artistes as I walked around.

There were shops selling all types of goods and it seemed like every other outlet was either a local type mini-market or local type cafe offering small meals/snacks and a variety of drinks. Like in Argentina, the Latin American music was very noticeable in many places as I walked around – and by early evening a number of restaurants had small bands playing and singing whilst diners enjoyed their food.

By mid evening it was time to return to the airport. Once through the formalities and into the departure lounge I found a quiet corner where I was able to give myself a bit of a wipe down with a couple of wipes that I usually have on me – and a quick visit to the duty free shop to ‘test’ an after shave made me feel much better and fresher  

A little after 23:00 hours and we started boarding my flight and at 23:50 we departed with the good news that the flight should take 10 hours and 45 minutes (instead of 11 hours and 25 minutes) which sounded a lot better. Back to reality, I knew I was in for a long tiring uncomfortable night….

2005 OCTOBER

A selection of 50 photographs (out of 136) taken on my visit to Argentina to visit Iguazu Falls on the border with Brazil and Paraguay. Please note that the photographs are as originally taken and not enhanced by any means. I did not produce a blog on this trip. My thoughts: Surely one of natures most fantastic sights. Awesome! [Please click on the thumbnail images to enlarge. Some maybe little blurred due to rushing the shot - or taking through a travelling bus window etc]