Ravens Travels

Leaving Dublin was not without its own complications. The check in operator wasn’t sure about visa requirements and was reluctant to let us through. After Arjan produced proof of our flights in Oct it was plain sailing. On a side note in Buenos Aires they didn’t care or check about return flights etc.....

Basic stat time (I know groan.........), the weather in Buenos Aires is averaging around 30 degrees; exchange rate for the euro in the airport is at 3.55, in the city 4.02!!!!! Be careful were you change.... we were among some of the lucky people... There is a bus to the city centre from the airport for 25 pesos per person, which takes about 45 mins...

The hotel we stayed in is Hotel Ancon, it is on a very expensive street (av alvear) but its actually one of the cheapest hotels that we found in its class, the staff our friendly, its in a central location and costs about 90 pesos per night...

Buenos Aires is a large cosmopolitan city with a European feel; it feels very similar to Paris in fact. Its full to the brim with the hustle and bustle of people from all different cultural backgrounds (you could spend a long time trying to figure out where everyone came from originally, taking into account the huge immigration in the country history)...there are many big brad designer names and lots of dog and poop!! Watch were you step!!! The metro is one of the oldest in the world, for 0.70 peso a ride its a steal even if its just to go and appreciate the murals.... it makes a change from graffiti but even that has an artistic charm to it...

Plaza san Martin is a scenic quiet park that is shaded by huge old trees, its just perfect for retreating from the heat and the bustle of the streets. One of the main shopping areas is Florida where Gallerias Pacifico is, (a French styled shopping mall) famous for its murals, vaulted ceilings and past...

On our way to Plaza de Mayo we passed by a demonstration outside the justice department. To be honest I have no idea what they were protesting against and didn’t want to stick around and find out.... it didn’t appear too peaceful when the guys at the front have their faces covered with scarves and have steal bars in their arms... would you have stuck around???

Plaza de Mayo is where the Madres de la Plaza marches around the square every Thursday at 3.30pm. Still to this day they are marching to demand information surrounding the disappearance of their children. The first march began in 1977 when the year before such demonstrations had been banned, they were accommodated as they marched under the band of motherhood, ...The women walked around the plaza carrying a long banner, selling leaflets and books to help fund their work, though there were a lot more tourists there then ´mothers´...

To see the grave of Evita / Eva Peron we headed to the cementario de la recoleta. The crypts hold the elite of the city. It’s very impressive to see but also appears to be very much a cat sanctuary as the workers here feed them and look after them... (Arjan has a story about one of the people / animals buried here but he’ll fill you in later / he’s checking the football scores....)

We also visited a museum for painter, inventor and poet Xul Solar. Before we checked it out I had no idea who he was. He’s a very intriguing guy though. His possessions on display show his interest in the occult, philosophy and tarot. He created a ´pan-chess´game; its much more complicated then chess with a separate board and more multi dimensional pieces. He also stripped pianos of their keys and created a new musical notation based on three layers of primary keys. He also created two languages...

Visiting another museum - museo etnografico juan b ambrosetti....
This held many artifacts from tribes long since gone / wiped out.... When checking the history of one such tribe we found out that when some Dutch dead vanished in the night the other crew members decided that the locals must be cannibals and spread rumours throughout the world to that effect. The tribe were then tortured and persecuted, while some of the members were brought around Europe as part of a freak show (the museum holds one of the posters from Paris). The museum also held some beautiful photos of people from the 1940s to present time in traditional clothes...

From Buenos Aires we traveled by ´semi cami´night bus to Sierra De La Ventana. It’s a nine-hour bus journey, 63 pesos per person, but as the seats recline and there is air conditioning, it’s not a bad way to travel... This town is a picturesque town in the pampas, with a river running through it, sitting at the edge of a mountain... There is a lot to do here if you want to - swimming, hiking, trekking, cycling, fishing etc or what we chose relax beside the river and watch time go by...we sat out for two hours with sun block, not at the hottest part of the day and managed to get very burnt, so spare a thought for us in pain ...

Cost Update:
oh and drink wise (litre of beer in supermarket 3 pesos / pub 8 pesos....wine from 4-15 pesos/ steaks from 7-15 pesos.... According to Arjan the steaks are the best he´s ever tasted !!! ))).....