The transfer from the Brazilian side of the falls to the Argentinian side was simple and once I arrived I went for a wonder and just my luck, it started pouring with rain. Didn’t hold me back from making it to the three border landmark for some great views and luckily enough, the sun came back out.
The following day my friend from Trinidad, Dylan, arrived in the afternoon and we had some lunch before grabbing a taxi to the entrance of the Falls, of course it was pouring with rain. Loaded with ponchos we bought our tickets and in we went.
We started off with the lower trail that took us to great views of the falls – it even stopped raining for us and we were spoilt with a massive rainbow over the Falls. Few more viewpoints before heading to the upper trail and more stunning backdrops.
Back at the hostel for a chilled evening of food and beers ready for our super early flight to Buenos Aires in the morning.
Once in Buenos Aires we dropped our bags and caught the subway to San Telmo to explore the Sunday Markets – these were huge and went on forever!!
We spent quite a while in the markets, walking the whole distance and munching on some empanadas and dulce de leche along the way before making our way back to Palermo.
Palermo was a great neighbourhood and super colourful with bars and restaurants everywhere and little hidden alleyways full of artwork.
We spent half a day visiting Tigre, about an hour north of Buenos Aires via train. This was a cool little town.
Jumped on a little boat tour up the river where we were shown the waterways of Tigre and all the family homes – a pretty cool way to spend the morning.
We found a restaurant on the water out the front of one, of many, rowing clubs and had our first incredible steak meal. I went for the tenderloin (filet mignon) and it was absolutely amazing. We didn’t even need to say how we wanted it cooked – it came out perfect – yum!!
From Tigre we caught the trains all the way to Recoleta to catch the last half hour of sunlight in the Recoleta cemetery. Now this was unlike any cemetery I have ever been too – it was so grand!!
Sounds odd visiting a cemetery as a tourist attraction but this was something else. It was for the “elite” and the wealth sure showed every corner you turned. Some tombs had about 20 coffins and the whole area was a huge maze.
The following day was my birthday (which I am not a fan of) and we went out for a yummy brekky and coffee before meeting up with one of Dylan’s friends from Trinidad, Screech, who joined us for the most amazing lunch at Don Jolio’s.
I had read great things about this restaurant and that it had the best steak in Buenos Aires – it did not disappoint. I, of course, ordered the tenderloin and we ordered a couple of sides with a delicious bottle of malbec. This steak sure trumped any steak I have ever eaten. It was incredible and so well cooked, the knife went through like butter – delicious!
An amazing lunch with great company topped off by panqueques con dulce de leche – yum!!
Later that evening we even were able to check out some local tango in the park which was interesting. Such a passionate dance.
A tour in the Boca area was a must and it was a great lesson on the area and history of Buenos Aires. Such a colourful area but we were advised not to wonder off the main paths as the area is known as quite “dodgy” and we learnt about the famous Boca Juniors football team. Useful as we were going to a Boca Juniors game later that evening in the La Bonbonera stadium.
Another amazing steak meal and bottle of malbec from Mendoza – I was getting used to this.
We then had an airbnb apartment in Recoleta that was just around the corner of the Recoleta cemetery – it was a great location with incredible views.
From there we went to the meeting point for our Boca Juniors football game – I could not wait. We had some burgers and craft beer before transported to the stadium and showed through and up to our incredible seats – we had one of the best views.
From our seats we could see the “La Doce” – the twelfth player who did not stop cheering and chanting the entire time we were in the stadium – it was spine tingling. They even let off flares a few times in the crowd of La Doce..
The visiting team were only allowed 500-1000 visitors and they were sectioned off from the rest of the crowd and once the teams were out on the field the noise was something else. Let alone when Boca actually scored and won the game – the most incredible atmosphere I have ever been in.
A super early morning for our ferry to Montevideo and connecting bus to Punta del Este in Uruguay. Such a smooth and easy process and we were in Punta del Este by lunch time – ideal.
As we walked from the bus station we saw the “hand” which is pretty much just a massive hand sculpture in the sand. Few quick snaps before dropping our bags and picking up a chivito (a Uruguayan sandwich) to eat whilst sitting at the “hand”.
We spent the rest of the day wondering around Punta del Este and even saying hello to a few sea lions in the harbour. Ending the day with a pretty sunset over the water..
We had noticed that the town was pretty quiet, there was hardly anyone else around and when we went to go out for dinner, most places were actually closed – it was the start of low season. Another thing we noticed was how much more expensive everything was in Uruguay, we did not expect this.
The next day we caught the early bus to Montevideo which connected onto Colonia del Sacremento. As per usual with our luck, it was pouring with rain once we arrived and we had to make a run for it to our hostel – we were drenched. Of course, once we arrived the rain had eased off so we went for a wonder through the old cobblestone little town.
It was very picturesque but there was not much to it and as with Punta del Este, it was extremely quiet. We spent the evening in a pretty cool restaurant and played numerous card games.
An early morning to walk around the rest of the old town and jump on the ferry back to Buenos Aires where we went for our usual steak and wine lunch – yummy.
That afternoon we properly spent a decent amount of time in Recoleta cemetery (weird to say that) and explored the whole cemetery.
Stocking up on amazing red wine (only $5 a bottle from the supermarket!) and ordered some fresh pasta to go, it was a night in overlooking the city lights with stormy clouds taking over the sky.
It was Dylan’s last day before heading back to Trinidad so we went out for a yummy breakfast before making our way back to San Telmo Sunday markets for a wonder.
Walking through aimlessly, I was grabbed on the arm, it was Hannah whom I had met in Rio at the start of the trip. We all wondered through the markets and caught up over lunch of empanadas – small world.
Goodbyes and I picked up some empanadas to munch on back in the apartment and catch up on my computer for a super chilled night in with the city lights twinkling away.
It worked out that one of the guys I met in Rio, Enrique, just so happened to book on the same flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago so on my final day in the city I spent the morning chilling in the apartment (even fit in a mini workout) before we shared a taxi to the airport.
Enrique had access to the Amex vip lounge so we went in early and made the most of the free food and drink – massive bonus and great way to go into my next part of the adventure – Chile!!
