It began with a flight to Toronto, where I remembered why I don't like Toronto in the winter. Frigid winds, debilitatingly cold temperatures. What Toronto does not offer in the way of climate, however, it makes up for in warm departures. A mere 36 hours in Toronto and I was ready with some quality Jasmin time, and a belly full of Korean.
The overnight flight from Toronto to Buenos Aires totaled 15 or so hours of travel, including a quick stop over in Satiago, Chile. On my flight I met a police officer from Chile who was returning after accompanying the deportation of a Canadian from his home country. He was kind enough to tell me that my Spanish was really bad, which I decided was not fair, given this was my first conversation in Spanish in 4 years. It was comforting to make a connection, regardless.
My flights were surprisingly painless, given the length of travel. I was shocked to find that I reached my destination without even one in-flight movie! The food was interesting. Lunch consisted of green beans, asparagus, and sweet corn, boiled within an inch of their life, and strewn carelessly on plain bread. I´m not sure when this sort of thing became ok, but I ate without complaint.
My flights were surprisingly painless, given the length of travel. I was shocked to find that I reached my destination without even one in-flight movie! The food was interesting. Lunch consisted of green beans, asparagus, and sweet corn, boiled within an inch of their life, and strewn carelessly on plain bread. I´m not sure when this sort of thing became ok, but I ate without complaint.
Upon arriving in Buenos Aires, I began my search for the bus company that I was told would take me to the hostel I had booked online (at half the price of a taxi). By some miracle, I did just this and voila! I was on a bus. And then in a smaller car that was delivering me to my hostel door step. And this was me successfully traveling on my own in a city of 9 million people. And I was pleased with myself.
Since arriving to Argentina, I have been surprised by how few people speak any English. At my hostel I communicated with the owner that I had paid online (which he didn't seem to know anything about...but luckily I had printed a receipt!), was given a key to my room, and was told nothing more. I was in a room with one other girl from Brazil, who was very nice and kindly answered the million questions I had. I went on a hunt for water, told Mom I had made it, and then settled in for the night.
Buenos Aires is, simply put, alive. With less than 24 hours there, it became quite apparent to me that it was a city of extremes. Lots of wealth, plenty of poverty, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat. It's pristine, and run down, and masses of people and cars wind in graceful chaos. There are lines marking lanes on the roads, but they have no purpose - it's better to just squeeze your tiny car between two double-decker buses and plough ahead! For my lunch out I ordered lasagne and was brought a pile of layers and layers of ham, drenched in a cheesy sauce. Needless to say my last 6 months of near veganism have not prepared my stomach for such a task.
When it was time to leave, I packed on my 50 pounds of belongings and took the worst and longest route to Estacion Retiro (the main bus station in BA). I arrived red-faced and sweating profusely (like a true gringa), and boarded the bus to Zapala.
It was only a wee taste of Buenos Aires, and I will certainly return for a few days more at the end of my trip.
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