Week 1: Freshers Week

In the end I decided that I would write a blog, however I may lose my resolve after a couple of weeks, but here goes!

In my trusty lonely planet we are told that Buenos Aires Nightlife is number 3 of South America Highlights. Mary Polizzotti of the Lonely Planet team in the USA informs me that she felt “constantly invigorated by Buenos Aires palpable energy.” What I think she was actually trying to convey in this statement was that she felt absolutely dire most of the day and when she had finally recovered in the evening, she went out until 0530 and the whole process repeated itself once more. Hence the reason I have named this weeks post Freshers Week, because it is Freshers Week at home too.

Hangovers aside, it has been very fun. I have met an overwhelming number of new people, kind of like the first day at school, but every day. The place is awash with Irish and Australians in particular, not that this is a bad thing.


Highlights of my week include:

• Going to an amazing tango show and having two classes, one of which had too many females so I danced as a man, leading. 
• Seeing the Cementerio de la Recoleta, a giant cemetery with countless alleys of crypts and a disturbing number of stone angels. Yes, They creepily reminded me of the weeping angels in Doctor Who. If that isnt bad enough, you could physically feel the rise in temperature when you left the cemetery
• Going on a walking tour to La Boca, an area which was originally populated by poor immigrants who painted their houses any old colour with leftover paint from the ships in the harbour.
• Going to a gay club. Twice. (Dont tell my mum, we all know how she worries) I raved about it for pretty much three days afterwards, which is why we went again. 
• Steak. 
• Steak.
• Steak. (One for each steak I had.)

Lowlights of my week include:

• Being involved in a mugging. I say "involved in" because I wasnt mugger, and nor was I mugged, I actually was a sort of awkward fourth wheel. They probably thought they could take on the guy I was with but not me. Or they were being gentlemanly, it is hard to say. (Also don tell my mother)
• Arriving at Buenos Aires airport, having to get a McDonalds so I could get change for the bus. Couldnt get change and everybody was being very unhelpful, on the verge of tears (I was extremely tired after 20 hours of flying) when a girl in the same predicament came and spoke to me and we worked it out between us.
• The flight. Ugh. I normally like flying but on the second flight I was squished between two complete strangers who thought it was okay to loll and dribble all over me. (Sound familiar? Celine? Aerial?)

I will upload some photos next week, when I have some panoramas of Patagonia to wow everybody with! In the meantime enjoy the poor quality picture I took on my phone of one of my steaks.

This evening I am getting a 20 hours bus to Puerto Madryn where I hope to see some right whales and with any luck some penguins too.

Hope you enjoyed reading, I will try to keep updating it and mixing it up a bit!