Lima

So the online booking system for the buses in Lima wouldnt let us book a ticket in advance.  We decided that we would just pop by and get a ticket to Cusco when we got here.  We arrived off the plane and got a map from the tourist office.  Then we got a taxi to the bus station.  It turns out the bus from Lima to Cusco is very popular and they had no tickets for Monday left.  So we ended up having to get a ticket for Tueday.  We then had to find an internet cafe and book a hostel for that night.  We chose the closest one to the bus station.  All that was actually really easy to do.  The hostel was very cheap and had space last minute.  It was like 9 euro.  The internet was cheap and there was a place in the bus station.  The walk to the hostel was pretty short and the hostel is really nice.  It is really clean, the beds are really pretty and it has like to sitting rooms and a dining room and a dvd library and big breakfast and a garden and hammocks.  Anywhere else this would cost loads more. Peru has so far been ridiculously cheap.  We settled in to the hostel pretty quite and then went for a wander as an Australian guy recommended going to view an archaeological site down the end of the road.  By the time we got there is was cosed but we werent that bothered as we will be back in Lima after Cusco.  So we wandered around and came across a TGI fridays and it was cheaper then Ireland so we got food there.  Then we tried to walk home.  Turns out we walked in teh entire opposite direction and ended up completely lost.  Both of us were so sure we were going in the right direction.  Anyway a passing American who lives in Lima on the same street as us stopped to help.  She was really nice and got us back on track.  It was pretty late when we got back so we just chilled out and played on the internet and watched a film when we got back.  Tomorrow qwe have a 21 hour bus ride to Cusco.  Lima is really nice.  The people are great and its quite cheap and there looks like there is loads to do.  Peru has made a really good first impression.

Buenos Aires

Arrived back in Buenos Aires after a really comfortable 5 hour bus ride.  First a taxi driver stole 50 pesos off us. He told Brian it cost 35 peso and rian handed him a 50 and then he switched it to a 2 and said Brian only gave him a 2 and then we weren't sure what he was saying as we had been trying to get our luguage.  After we got into the hostel Brian reaised he had taken the 50.  Also ended up in the wrong hostel as one was booked up so we had to boo another one and I got confused between which one was booked and neither of us could really remember.  It wasn't so bad as we were only 200 metres from the right one.  Next day we just spent getting our clothes cleaned and tryign to avoid having a worse time here.  Hanging out in the hostel we met two really nice Irish girls, Gillian and Breda.  They are both going on the Inca trail two days after us.  We organised to meet up with them before we both left for it as we will be in Cusco the same time.  Would still so not recommend Buenos Aires to anyone.

Mar Del Plata

For our last day in Mar Del Plata we took it a nice relaxing stroll the miles to San Salvador.  On the way we say a big heard of sealions.  They were asleep on a beach in a construction site in the port.  They were giant and kept up all sorts of fighting with each other.  Big sea lions are surprisingly ugly.  Not at all like in the zoo.  They have thick furry heads of hair too.  They looked very strong and were still pretty funny walking around on dry land.  They are suppose to have 800 of them but not all of them were on the beach we saw.  San Salvador was a big statue with a littel alter.  Not really sure what it was all about as the Spanish wasn't very easy to understand.  Later we went to the beach as a good bye swim.  Its a great way to cool down. 

Weird thing about Argentina or Mar Del Plata was that whenever there was no waves at the water park or whenever there was no show on at he aquarium, there were these DJs or comedians or something to keep the crowd entertained.  It was like the crowd couldnt stand to be bored.

Mar Del Plata

So after a day of doing nothing to recover we decided to head off to the largest water park in latin america (I'm not even sure what exactly constitutes as latin amercia but I've only myself to blame :) ).  Anyway, it was a massive park and was absolutely perfect for the roasting hot weather. They had a wave pool and loads of slides.  I only went on slides with squishy air things that you sit on.  That way it was nice and soft and I didn't hurt myself any further ;)  The queues were quite long so after each of the rides I took a break to swim.  Brian went down all sorts of vicious slides while I was cooling off.  We even managed not to get sun burned once which was very impressive considering our track record.  It was a day well spent.   

Mar Del Plata

That night I went to the bathroom in my bare feet. Only someone had forgotten to put up te curtain or something because the floor outside the bathroom was soaked and it was tiles. I slipped and fell straight on my back. So then the next day I didn't get up til like 3 or 4 and I wasn't in a great mood so Brian went down the beach and I just chilled out til my back felt better. That night we went to a BBQ in the hostel. It was loads of fun. There are two Swedish guys and an American girl staying with us so we all went down to the BBQ together. Julie lived here for a year and speaks fluenty Spanish. Johann and Denis were here on holidays. Like us, they spoke no really Spanish. They are step brothers. We spent the BBQ chatting away and eating 5 courses of meat, from ribs to various types of steak. Then afterwards we headed to a bar we think was recommended by the guy at the desk in the hostel. We may have forgotten the name on the way there so we ended up in one of the bars which kinda sounded familiar in the general area he directed us to. It was a great night. The heat the next day made for dreadful hangovers though. We sat in the park when we eventually felt up to walking around. Thankfully there was a good breeze so it was one of the cooler days.

Mar Del Plata

Next day we headed off on the bus to the Aquarium. The guy in the hostel said we could pay in coins on the bus and we got change off him. The first bus we got on had a lady at the front beside the bus driver who gave us tickets. The Aquarium was great fun. There were loads of birds and fish. There was a touch pond but none of the fish could be coerced into coming close enough to be rubbed. We got to see all the penguins being feed in separate groups. All the ones who swam were fed first in the water. Then the ones who were giant all walked over to one keeper who fed them all individually. And these little jumping ones climbed up a load of steps away from everyone and got fed all by themselves. We also so the sealions do a fantastic show. They were really well trained and actually looked like they were enjoy themselves and having fun. They all got to mess around and swim and jump and push people. One of the continually stopped doing what her trainer wanted and just started messing and going for a swim so the trainer had her swimming about the place to keep her happy. She was probably just really warm. They even had this giant sealion, bigger than any I'd seen come out at the very end. He only did a bit but he was fed loads. We also saw dolphins doing tricks and pushing people and doing amazing jumps in the air. They were very well coordinated. Thy didn't look like they had half as much fun as the sealions. Poor Brian got burnt on his legs while we were watching some water skiing tricks done by some people dressed up as pirates. We headed back on the bus but got on with change and didn't understand the driver who kept trying to explain stuff to us and in the end just got us to sit down. Turns out you are suppose to have a ticket to travel on buses over here but not all buses. No one who speaks English seems to know how it works so we are very confused but got a free trip home.

Mar Del Plata

Next day we moved to a different hostel because the place we were in was booked up for the weekend. So once we had moved all our stuff and changed into our swimming togs we went down to the beach. The first beach we reached was covered in people. As we got down to the water past the rented changing areas and shops, there wasn't even space for the two of us to sit together without being on top of other people. So we headed further down the coast. The next beach was the same except for the area of sand up well away from the water. We had heard after the harbour there were some beautiful beaches. We thought what the hell and decided to walk down to them. It was about 4 in the afternoon and we were absolutely cooked. We walked for about 2 hours past the harbour and the naval base and the nature reserve. We eventually found a beach which was very beautiful and really long and did have a lot of space. We spent about 2 hours there doing a bit of swimming and sun bathing and relaxing. It was really beautiful. It started to get dark and creepy mist started coming in from the land over the beach. Everyone was leaving so we followed the crowds out and waited at a bus stop. At least 10 buses passed us by going towards the city. All full to over flowing and none stopped. It was impossible to get one. Eventually we had to start walking back. Unfortunately I was very sandy and it didn't put me in a great mood for walking so we got a taxi the second half of the way to the hotel. The taxis aren't that expensive over here so it wasn't too bad. We then got some dinner and chilled out at the hostel.

Sunday my back was pretty sore when I got up. After I hurt it at horse riding it had seemed to be getting better but I hadn't slept well and it wasn't very comfortable. So rather than spending the day moaning, I spent the day in bed. Brian headed off to see the Casino which was suppose to be quite interesting and underground and not too far from the hotel. On the way he saw some on street tangoing which he said was brilliant and then he arrived at the casino. Unfortunately either because I wasn't there or because he didn't get to play on the Egyptian coin machines, he lost money for once instead of winning loads of it as he has the other two times I've been to one with him. Of course he was only playing on the little slot machines so in the end it was only a few euro he lost but it seemed more in pesos.

Mar Del Plata

I'm going to try and do a more day by day diary style blog.  I'm having problems saving posts so I's prefer to post them online rather than rewriting them if they are lost.  

As a side note on the day at the ranch. I had a water buffalo kiss my hand. Brian did really excellent riding. I was well impressed and I can't recommend going to the ranch enough.

Mar del Plata is doing a lot better than Buenos Aires. There is quite a bit to do here. The weather is fantastic and there is loads of beautiful beach. It also seems most of Argentina feels the same way. The first day we got here (not including our midnight arrival which meant we went straight to bed) we had all sorts of normal boring things to do. We had to sort out some things online and do our laundry and go to the supermarket. We got some pasta and the usual hostel food to save a bit of money. Also after the fantastic multitude of beef on the ranch it was probably a good idea to add a little variety to our diet. Later in the afternoon we took a walk on the beach. During the day the beach was completely covered in people. By the time we got on it at 8 it was a lot less packed. We paddled our feet as we were only out for a walk. The sand and water were absolutely beautiful.

Buenos Aires

The second we took a wander through the city.  We saw a few of the sites and went down to some lakes in the nature reserve on the ocean side of the city.  The lakes were completely lacking in water but they did make up for it by being covered in reeds.  They had a park and there were loads of people sitting about.  Everyone seemed to come prepared with tables and chairs and bikes.  It was an especially stone splitting hot day. There wasn't actually anything to do but walk though.  Buenos Aires is really lacking in stuff to do.  We wandered about and then got back to the hostel eventually to have some plain cheese pizza.  The cheese was weirdly salty but the pizza was nice all the same.

Next day we meet some American lads at breakfast and they told us about this massive market that was on in the city on a Sunday and they also told us about this fantastic steak they had.  So we headed off to the market.  It was on one big long street all across the city.  There were hundreds of stalls all packed in.  They were all selling pretty similiar stuff.  Clothes and sandals and these cool twisty cable ornaments that would get destroyed in our bag for 5 months.  They were also selling these Mata cup things.  For ages we were wondering what they were.  They were cups with no handles and one hollow metal straw thing which ended in a closed spoon with holes in it.  Eventually we found an English poster with an explanation of how to use it and after talking to a Canadian at our hostel we found out it was for a super strong tea.  We got about half way through the market in the end and then left it.  It was really nice but it kinda repeated the same things.  Later we went to that steak place the Americans represented.  It was ok but a bit fatty without a whole lot of meat.  Was fairly disappointing as I don't think they knew what good steak was like. 

Next day we headed up to Tigre which is somewhere north of the city.  We took a boat ride to see a house in a box.  It was fairly disappointing as the entire way there was nothing else to see except peoples houses.  The house in the box was interesting as it was like 28 degrees so I can't imagine what being in a glass box is like at that temperature.   That night we went to fancy dress party in the hostel.  It was alice in wonderland themed.  The guys at the hostel made a really good effort and gave everyone who arrived for the first few hours costumes.  We met a really nice couple who also turned up before 11 and were chatting to them for ages.  She was from Bulgaria and he was from Argentina and after they got married she moved over here because he couldn't find work.  Later on that night Brian was dressed as the 3 of hearts and spent his time attempting to find people dressed in the right cards for a straight flush :)  In the end he had to settle for a normal flush and got a picture of a selection of really nice people in hearts.  The dj was really good and the night life in Buenos Aires seems to be great. 

The last day we spent in Buenos Aires, we went back to the nature reserve and took a walk further along.  We got up to late to go on a tour of La Boca and from the reviews online it sounds like a lot of people get mugged when they go wandering without a guide in that area.  Overall I wouldn't recommend Beunos Aires for more that a few days.  It isn't very tourist friendly and there isn't much to do and there is no beach. 

Next day we got picked up by car and driven out to a ranch.  This was for Brian's Christmas present to me.  It was fantastic.  We  got some pastries and then headed off horse riding for the morning.  We spent almost 2 hours riding through the fields around the ranch and through corn fields and along dusty roads.  At lunch we had the most amazing meal.  The first course was these delicious ribs and sausage.  The second course was tenderloin steam that melted in your mouth.  It was so soft and juicy.  For the last course we got sirloin steak.  It was a little tougher but it tasted beautiful.  The meat was really gorgeous.  Then we got some desert and sat around chatting.  We had gone riding in the morning with two girls and a guy from Sweden, one of which was a horse trainer and a couple from Greece.  Everyone was really nice and friendly and we got along great.  Even the beginners got to canter as the owners of the ranch were able to make the horses canter just but tutting at them.  It was really amazing.  In the evening we all went out again.  About half way through I hurt my back a bit so I trotted along at the back of the group.  It was an amazing day.  For dinner we got beef and gnocchi stew and we sat around with an american couple who had joined us halfway through the day.  Everyone else had left after the second bout of horse riding but we were staying the night in a small lodge on the ranch.  I was worried Brian wouldn't like the horse riding as he hadn't really ever done it before but he seemed to get along really great and enjoyed it.  Except for being very stiff and sore after.  It was an amazing present. We also say a bird eatting a snake.  It was really weird and the bird spit it out halfway through andd then started eatting it again after.

Next day we got a car back to Buenos Aires and as we had previously decided we were sick of Buenos Aires we went to the bus station and booked a bus to Mer del Plata.  We had to wait around for 3 hours as all the buses were booked up.  Eventually we got on a really comfortable bus.  With really big seats that lay back flat.  There was air condition and water on the bus so we were in need of anything.  It was way more comfortable then travelling by plane.  So that was the end of our time in Buenos Aires. Ｗe will be stopping back to get our flight to Lima but for now we are in Mer del Plata.  We got here at midnight but I do know that unlike Buenos Aires it has beaches and one of our roommates has said some realy fantastic beaches at that. :)

First Real Day on Holidays

Im not counting the 7 hours in Madrid airport.  While we did get off the plane, it was 7 at night and the airport was deserted.  People must not want to wander around airports on new years.  Who knew?  I did get to spend my first new years with Brian which was fantastic.  Oddly enough the airport was a lot less deserted at 12 then at 7 when we arrived. 

We got to the wonderfully warm Buenos Aires at about 10 in the morning after trying to sleep as much of the flight as we could.  Turns out not a whole lot runs on the 1st of January :) and all our plans of public transport to get us to the hostel seemed to be foiled.  We finally got here ok and its a really nice place. 

To our surprise some Dakar rally thing was on the day we arrive.  We figured not an actually rally event because the guys on motorbikes seemed more interested in messing about and getting cheers then actually driving fast.  Must be an opening ceremony or something.  The streets were full and everywhere people were cheering at the various guys going by.  Our hostel is lovely and centrally located so we were trapped inside the Dakar motorbike loop and have to resort to using a subway station to escape and see the rest of the city.  Got slightly sunburn in the trip from getting from the airport to check in at the hostel.  Its only a little bit though.  Its pretty exhausting travelling around in the heat here though for sure.  I'm sure it will get easier.

If this seems a little rambly it's because I've never blogged before and I'm not sure how to type to no one in particular.  I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.