After checking in, I met the 3 other lads who were in my room - Luke, Dan & Matt (Barn Oldswick, Near Burnley) and it was nice to meet some English speakers after coming in from the airport. English is not as widely spoken in South America so I´m told and that was certainly the case getting my transfer into town. Hopefully I´ll pick some Spanish up over the coming weeks.
I got chatting to the lads straight away and got on really well with them. They were having some pre-drinks before heading into the city for the night so I joined them for a couple in the room before we headed down to the hostel bar for more Beers and some games of pool. The hostel was called Milhouse and I´d had it recommended by numerous previous visitors to the city. After hanging out at the bar area for a while, I could see why as it had a really nice feel to the place.
After sharing a few drinks, I left the guys to it as the journey caught up with me and I had to hit the sack. Nice to make some friends immediately arfter arriving though.
Day 2: I woke up about 8am, the same time the lads were coming in from their night out! By the sounds of it, they had been taking full advantage of Buenos Aires famed nightlife. I went down and joined them all for breakfast before needing to go back to bed to try and sleep off the journey some more. I was feeling pretty wiped.
I slept through until about 3pm and woke with a bit more energy for the rest of the day. It was just as well because within a couple of hours, I was on my way to watch Boca Juniors, one of Buenos Aires main 2 football teams.
I had signed up in the hostel upon arrival the previous evening and the price included the ticket and transfer to and from the game. After putting my name down, I´d asked at reception about the price because it seemed quite high to go and watch the match. The response from the hostel staff was that I was welcome to try and go myself for cheaper but would run the risk of missing out on a ticket or being sold a fake one, which is apparently quite common for Boca games. I decided not to take the risk and so somewhat grudgingly paid the amount they wanted, safe in the knowledge that I would at least be guaranteed to get into the game. Time would tell if it was the correct decision.
On the bus to the game. I got chatting to another English lad called Colin, who I had met briefly at the bar the previous evening. We parked up with still around 3 hours until kick off and then made our way through the neighbourhood of La Boca towards the Stadium, which is known as ´La Bombonera´. We were also told to watch our pockets because this particular part of town is supposedly the one most known for its pickpockets.
We then made our way into this make-shift bar near the ground, where I got chatting to another English lad called Griff. After having a couple of beers, our hostel guide introduced myself, Griff and a couple of others to a local lady who we would need to follow into the ground. She then gave us member cards to use for entry, with photos of local Argentines printed on them. Needless to say, I looked nothing like the guy on my card and the whole thing seemed pretty dodgy but we decided to do as she said and followed her into the ground.
Thankfully, it worked and after going through 2 sets of turnstiles and being searched, we were inside La Bombonera (but not before giving the local girl back the member cards, presumably so she could give them back to the actual owners). It then dawned on me why the price had been so high because if this is the way they get you into games when buying through a legitimate source, I can´t imagine how you go about buying them yourself. I was further reasured I had made the right decision by Griff, who had spent the previous 3 days trying to sort his own tickets out before giving up and paying the inflated hostel price. Undoubtedly more money but at least we were in and I was very excited to be about to watch some live football again. It had been a while!
The match was very one-sided and Boca ran out 3-0 winners with a club legend, Juan Roman Riquelme, running the show. He set up all three of the goals, prompting the crowd to sing his name rather than the goalscorer after every one. He may be into his mid-thirtees now but in the Argentine league at least, he´s still got it. He manages to do it without seeming to break sweat as well.
As nice as it was to be watching some football again, it was just as good to be in amongst the crazy Boca fans. Argentinian football fans are known for being pretty nuts and having spent 2 hours in amongst them, I can testify to it. It was fantastic though and the fans created such a brilliant atmosphere throughout the stadium. Obviously, all the songs were in Spanish so myself and Griff had no idea what they were singing. It didn´t matter to the locals though, particularly the guy next to me who grabbed my arm and insisted that we jump up and down and wave our arms with them. We were happy to oblige and had a really good time at the game. Being a football crazy nation, this was a true Argentine experience and I loved every minute.
Day 3: Luke, Dan and Matt headed off early morning as they had booked to spend a few days with a friend over in Uruguay. They would be returning to Buenos Aires later on in the week though so I would catch up with them again then. For me, it was time to explore some of the city.
The hostel was pretty centrally located so I did some sightseeing along Av Florida, which is the main street that divides the city centre. First off, I went to check out Obelisco - a tall column that sits in the centre of town and is a major symbol of Buenos Aires. I then took a walk down to the pink Presidential Palace - Casa Rosada, which includes the famous balcony where Evita used to speak to the crowds during the 1940s. A nice building.
From there, I took a walk to the other end of town for a look at the green-domed Palacio del Congreso, which was modelled on Washington DC´s Capitol building. This is a really nice building, complete with some great pieces of architecture. In front of the Palace is the pigeon-filled Plaza del Congresos, which contains some impressive granite steps that symbolize the Andes. This whole area is a pretty nice spot and it was cool hanging around there for a while and getting some good photos.
From here, I just wondered around the city some more, checking out the array of nice buildings, statues and monuments that are scattered around. I also liked the fact that they have the Argentinian flag on display all over the place as it definately adds to the scenery.
Early impressions of Buenos Aires were good. Very pleasing on the eye and I hadn´t even made it out to the other neighbourhoods yet.
After I returned from a day of sightseeing, I met my new dorm mates - Nikki & Elsa (Manchester), who had just flown in from Chile. I spent the evening chatting with them.
Day 4: I booked onto a walking tour through the hostel, which would take us into the neighbourhood of La Boca for the day. Obviously, I´d seen it briefly when attending the Boca Juniors game but was keen to see it during the day as there´s supposedly lots to explore.
We met our guide, Florencia, before boarding the bus bound for La Boca. The first stop was at the stadium again but this time, for a proper tour. We made our way inside and instantly came across a statue of Diego Maradona - both Boca´s and Argentina´s most famous player and pretty much a legend across the country. Being english, my opinion of him is slighlty different to the locals but it´s hard to deny how good he was and why he´s such a big deal throughout Argentina.
As the stadium tour continued, we walked through an impressive corridor that contained photos of every player ever to play for Boca and also 2 more statues of other club legends - Martin Palermo and Juan Roman Riquelme, who I had seen running the show a couple of nights previously. These 2 players and Maradona are undoubtedly the most worshipped by the club´s supporters.
We then moved on to a wall containing decades worth of Boca shirts before heading out into the stands for a look at the stadium itself. Thankfully, we were in a different stand to that I´d been in for the match and it was good to get to view it from a different position. It´s not the biggest of stadiums but the design definately helps with generating a strong, intimidating atmosphere. The game showed me how good that could be.
The tour finished in the Trophy room, which was packed with huge Trophies and images of other previous Boca players, including Carlos Tevez and Gabriel Batistuta. Being a football fanatic myself, it´s safe to say I enjoyed this tour.
We then had lunch in La Boca before moving on to the main attraction of this working class neighbourhood - Caminito Street. This is a short walk lined with different coloured corrugated-metal buildings and it´s pretty cool to look at. Also on display were numerous works of art and lots of Tango performances were taking place outside of the bars and restaurants as well. A nice place to spend the afternoon and a good end to the walking tour. La Boca may be one of the poorer parts of Buenos Aires but it´s a nice place to visit nonetheless.
That evening, myself, Nikki & Elsa were joined in our room by another English guy called Dave. We got chatting to him straight away and he instantly got involved with some cards and drinking games we had going on. We all ended up getting quite boozy but never made it out into the city. We had a good laugh just hanging out though.
Day 5: Another walking tour booked through the hostel and this time, Elsa and Nikki decided to come too. The destination for this one was Recoleta, one of Buenos Aires plushest neighbourhoods.
Florencia was our guide again as we took the local bus into Recoleta. The first stop was a huge Metallic flower, which sits in the middle of a public park. It´s pretty nice and we got some good photos. Florencia told us that it apparently used to open up when the sun rises and then close again when it sets but after the machinery broke a few years back. they haven´t got around to fixing it yet. Florencia seemed to think they never will so it´s probably just as well that it broke when it was open rather than closed. I don´t think it would look quite as good otherwise.
We then walked around Recoleta some more, checking out more of the Statues and Monuments that are scattered around - there seems to be loads across Buenos Aires. We then stopped for lunch prior to the main attraction of the tour.
This attraction is Recoleta´s Cemetery - Cementario de la Recoleta, which is famous for housing generations of Argentina´s elite, including Evita herself. It´s amazing and I´ve never seen anything like it. Hundreds and hundreds of huge Statues, marble patterns and Tombstones that form a maze, which it´s easy to get lost in. Some of the graves are unbelievably extravagant so we were expecting Evita´s to top them all, only to find that hers is one of the more subtle ones. We needed Florencia to direct us to it or I don´t think we would have found it. The Cemetery was well worth a visit and is a definate must-see for any visitors to the city.
Day 6: A pretty relaxed day. Dave and I headed into the small neighbourhood of San Telmo for the day as it was just a short walk from the hostel. It's a pretty nice little area that was cool to walk around for a few hours. Cobbled streets in every direction and some nice buildings to see.
Following that, we went to explore some more of the central sights, which he had yet to visit but I'd seen a few days earlier. Nothing much else to report other than this really.
Day 7: Luke, Matt and Dan returned from their few days in Uruguay and it was just in time for us to sample some more Argentine footy action. This time, it was the national side and a chance to see the greatest player in the world (and possibly of all time) - Lionel Messi. The match: Argentina vs Ecuador in a World Cup Qualifier.
After my experience with the Boca game, we decided to play things safe again and book our tickets and transport through the hostel. Undoubtedly, this made it more expensive than if we had tried to sort them out ourselves but we didn't want to take the risk of missing out.
The bus set off mid-afternoon (some 5 hours before kick off) and we headed towards the stadium that is home to Buenos Aires other team, River Plate. As we set off, with Florencia as our guide once more, we were then basically forced by the locals to get face-painted up in support of the Argies. All being English, we showed some initial resistance before crumbling and getting involved with everyone else. I maintained that my face-paint was just in support of Messi rather than the team though - we literally could not wait to see him in action.
On the way, we made a short stop at a local park where we were able to get a few beers in and people could buy fake replica shirts if they wanted (a step too far for me). We then arrived near the stadium, made the short walk there before getting searched TWICE and having our tickets checked TWICE before they would let us in the stadium. No need for other fans' member cards to get in this time though thankfully and to be fair, having experienced how crazy the Argentine fans were at the Boca game, I could understand why the stewards were being so thorough. Matt even got breathalised before they would let him through the turnstiles!
Once we had finally made it through, we found a good place to stand (still terracing in our part of the stadium - good news) and took in the quality and size of the stadium. It's massive and definately comparable with the top stadiums in England. River were relegated a couple of seasons back and I can only imagine how out of place this stadium looks in the Argentine second division. Despite the increased size though, it would have to go some to top the atmosphere I experienced at the Boca game. Here's hoping.
The match itself was brilliant and Argentina were on top form as they easily dispatched Ecuador 4-0. Luckily for us, Messi was in inspired form too and completely ran the show from the first minute. Having only seen him on TV before, we wondered how good he actually is in the flesh but within a few minutes of kick-off, we could see how much better he is than everyone else on the pitch. Some of his skills and dribbles were different class and Ecuador couldn't handle him from start to finish. He was pretty much just toying with them at times, prompting numerous ''OLE''s from the crowd. A great atmosphere inside but definately not as loud as the Boca game.
Even more fortunately for us, he also got on the score-sheet as he combined with Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain to make it 3-0 with a fantastic goal. The same trio linked up for other 3 goals as well, which were scored by Aguero, Higuain and Angel Di Maria (all quality players in their own right too). Argentina and Messi were irresistible throughout and we all felt pretty lucky to be there to see them put on a show. Without hesitation, we also joined in with the locals in chanting the main man's name too because he is that damn good - ''MESSI, MESSI, MESSI''. The other attackers, Gago and particularly Mascherano were also quality throughout and Ecuador had no answer. Their best player was probably Antonio Valencia but even he was pretty quiet as they didn't really get a kick.
To be honest, I've seen some amazing sights and places throughout the trip but being able to see possibly the greatest player of all time, scoring and playing so well, in his home country, puts this experience up there with them for me. He's always been someone I've wanted to see play since he burst on the scene some years back so to be able to appreciate his talents alongside his countrymen made this another unforgettable experience. Definately something else to tick off the list and we all felt quite privileged to have been there to see it. Lionel Messi - I salute you!
Following the game, we were kept inside the stadium for quite a while, while the Ecuador fans made their way out of the stadium first. This seems to be pretty standard practice in Argentina because the same thing happened at the Boca game.
Once we were out, we caught our bus back into town before having a few beers back at the hostel. Another great day in Buenos Aires.
Day 8: Dave departed early that morning as he had to get to Rio to catch a flight home. A really nice guy and we had had good fun hanging out with him in BA. Hopefully, I'll meet up with him for a beer when I'm back home also.
That left 6 of us, who headed into San Telmo for the day to check out it's huge local market. Whilst most of us were content with just browsing and having a look, Elsa couldn't resist and bought herself loads of crap to add to her collection (I'm not being horrible. By her own admission, she buys loads of crap). In fact, she's bought so much of it that she's now carting around a huge backpack and an even bigger suitcase full of stuff. Not exactly ''travelling light'' like the rest of us. Haha.
After walking the market for a couple of hours, we got some food in San Telmo before making our way back towards the hostel.
That evening, the 6 of us headed to one of Buenos Aires other famous neighbourhoods - Palermo. The hostel staff had recommended a nice Steak Restaurant for us to try and, being in Argentina, we couldn't really leave without sampling one. Along with Football and Wine, Steaks are obviously one of the things the country is most famous for.
The Steak was so nice - one of the best I've had. The deal the restaurant had meant that we needed to finish three huge chunks each within an hour, in order to get 40% off the bill. With the exception of Nikki, we all just managed it (it was a challenge) and got our discount. Eating lots of nice meat to save money doesn't sound like a bad deal to me - I'm a backpacker after all!
Following the meal, we spent the rest of the evening in Palermo having some drinks in some of the nice local bars. This was our last night together in Buenos Aires and was definately a nice way to round it off.
Day 9: Nothing much done except pottering around the city and waiting for our bus that evening. I really enjoyed my time in Buenos Aires (despite it being quite cold) and it was nice to spend enough time there to really feel as though I saw it properly. Throughout the 8 days, I managed to visit all the main city neighbourhoods, sample some of it's famous nightlife, try some quality Argentinian Steak and go to two football games. Not bad for just over a week's worth of travelling.
That evening, myself, Luke, Matt and Dan said goodbye to Nikki and Elsa as we headed off to visit one of the main natural attractions in South America - Iguazu Falls. I'd heard good things so was looking forward to it.
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