Don't Cry For Me

See how much thought I put into these witty titles!? I treat you guys so well.

So yes! I have left Argentina. I finished my stay there with an amazing Argentine steak last night. A guy I met in Iguazu and I went to a place called Desnivel, at Defensa 855. It was absolutely the best steak I have ever tasted. So I did the tango, and I did the steak. I did Buenos Aires.

Today was a very long day, starting at 6am getting up to go to Buenos Aires airport, and then a flight to Santiago, and then a connection up to Lima, Peru. But the second flight was delayed by three hours! We got into the plane and then a group of technical looking men with moustaches got on and we all had to get off. Technically making this the second day in a week I've been to three countries in one day. Boom. 

For European readers of this blog, you might be interested to know that the interior of the faulty plane was EasyJet. Their branding was all over the shop. I chuckled to myself amid the devastated sobs as we filed back to the departure lounge.

I flew with Sky Airline, and they were fine. We got food at least. And if you ignore the plane change. They kind of are the budget airline for South America, minus the budget. My flight cost me just over 300 pounds, and that was the cheapest I found the Buenos Aires to Lima route. This continent is not as cheap as you think! But long bus journeys are the norm, and South American citizens get cheaper rates on airfares, so they probably make a lot of their money from foreigners. 

Eventually I got to Lima! Which is kind of gross. Or at least the parts I drove through in the taxi. Get a taxi! Lonely Planet recommended Taxi Green, which is right there when you come out of the Arrivals hall. It was expensive (60 soles) but worth it for the peace of mind. 

My hostel is gorgeous. I can't fault it so far. It's in a converted mansion opposite an art museum, and is called 1900 Backpackers. The road is very loud outside, but I'm exhausted. I think I'll sleep anyway. 

As an aside, people cannot drive here. It's insane. It's not exactly filling me with confidence for getting up to Cusco in the Andes when I emerge Tarzan-like from the Amazon next week... 

Oh! We flew over the Andes. Holy Moley they are beautiful. And they just rise up out of the Chilean plains so suddenly. I'm looking forward to going to Santiago properly to take a closer look. 

Anyway. This post is kind of frantic so now, on the one-month anniversary of my leaving the UK, I'm going to sleep! Buenos noches and all that jazz. 

It Takes Two in Buenos Aires

Tonight I did something I've been looking forward to since I planned to come to Buenos Aires - a tango class!

It was at Confitería Ideal, on Suipacha, which Lonely Planet says is one of the tango meccas of BA. It happens to be about 10 minutes' walk from my hostel so I went round. You don't have to book, and it only costs AR$60 for a 90-minute lesson. Seriously can't complain! 

The building was absolutely gorgeous. And the hall we had the lesson in was incredibly grand, with red, black and gold pillars, tables and ornaments. The pillars culminated in an impressive roof with a patterned atrium. You could almost smell the tango. 

In the lesson we went through the basics and learned a basic routine. We also learned to "show intention through your chest". My chest has never had such intent, I can tell you now. 

The teacher was great. She was passionate and intense, and only spoke Spanish, so when I danced with her she stared into my eyes and occasionally uttered commands and a few gratifying 'Muy bien's. There was an official translator too, so although I understood quite a bit of what she was saying, and picked up some new dance-related vocabulary, it was helpful to have him there. 

I left feeling oddly confident, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So did Nik, a guy I met in Iguazú, as he was keen to do a class too. Now I can appreciate the tango I see around the city a bit more. And seriously, the tango is everywhere. I was worried that I might miss out so I booked tickets to see a professional performance at Café Tortoni. And then stumbled across dancing at the park, outside a restaurant, in a souvenir shop... But I'm still glad I got to do the whole red curtain and stage thing at the Café. Definitely go to La Boca and see tango at Caminito. The atmosphere's fantastic. But go during the day, and give yourself time to leave La Boca before dusk. 

So to sum up, if you're in Buenos Aires and looking for a good, and cheap, tango lesson, Confitería Ideal is... ideal. 

I've got one day left in this lovely city, and then I fly to Peru. Milena left last night to explore other parts of Argentina. But we'll meet again in Cusco for my 25th birthday, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm really enjoying Argentina. It's a really funky, cool country. I might try to hop across the Andes (casual) from Santiago and visit Mendoza if I have time at the end of my South American travels...