Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires is a city that I expected to love and wanted to like, but now that I'm here, I don't love it and I don't like it - not one bit.

I already told you that Buenos Aires is big, but what makes it worse, is that it's incredibly difficult to get around town. Trains don't go where I need them to go, nor does the Subte (Buenos Aires' subway system). You practically need a degree in Cryptology to understand the city's intricate bus system. Taxis are expensive. No matter where you're going or what time of day it is, it always seems like rush hour. Porteños (Buenos Aires' inhabitants) are dangerous, if not downright crazy, drivers, so it's best not to bike or walk anywhere. You are constantly surrounded by car horns and exhaust fumes. The city is dirty - there is dog poop everywhere and trash never seems to be picked up, instead decaying in the city's heat and humidity after the cartoneros (Buenos Aires' 'garbage recycles', which is a euphemism for the homeless) have scoured through it. Porteños are not the nicest of people at first glance - they're often rude and appear to think very highly of themselves (and very lowly of you).

The city has two distinct faces: beautiful and ugly; rich and poor; happy and depressing. In one neighborhood I would feel uncomfortable and underdressed amongst the well-dressed and fashionable Porteños, while in another neighborhood I was afraid to wear my engagement ring for fear of being mugged in broad daylight. One moment you are walking in the cutest little side street, and the next you find yourself on a busy and ugly avenue.

This city tires me, wears me down, drains me, turns my mood sour and makes me sad. After the beauty and tranquility of empty Patagonia it is just too much.

It took us almost three days to find our bearings. When we did, we decided that we simply didn't have the energy to go sightseeing very much. Usually, we enjoy taking a free walking tour, but the idea of voluntarily going downtown was too much for me to bear (we had been there already on our second day in Buenos Aires to buy our boat tickets to Uruguay and I had no desire to return to that madness). Instead we tried to embrace the city's duality by visiting two very different neighborhoods.

First, we went to La Boca, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, which was built by working-class Italian immigrants from Genoa. We came to see its famous Caminito, a small street lined with colorful buildings. This was the only place in town I've seen that was not covered in trash and dog poop, but it did have a lot of touristy bars, restaurants and shops. Our guidebook warns not to wander outside of this little touristy area, so after we had walked through the Caminito, we went straight back.





Our next stop was Recoleta, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city, which is strewn with grand apartment buildings, expensive designer shops and hip restaurants. We came here to see the famous Cementerio de la Recoleta. This cemetery is like a city in itself, a city of death. The country's elite rest here in elaborate stone and marble structures fancier than some of the city's houses. Here we also saw Evita's grave.





The contrast between the two neighborhoods could not have been bigger and there is beauty in this duality.

Most of the time, however, we stayed in Palermo, which is the neighborhood where our hostel is. Palermo is small, has tree-lined streets, quiet parks and an abundance of nice cafés, tea houses and restaurants. This is where we spent most of our time - drinking coffee and visiting as many Asian restaurants as we could find.







My favorite thing about Buenos Aires, however, were the many paseoperros (professional dog walkers) in Palermo.



Needless to say, I won't be sad to leave this town tomorrow. I can't wait to go to Uruguay!

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!