Mama Africa, Cusco

Last night my host sister Sarah and I wanted to go out for a dance. A bit of a boogie. We'd seen Mama Africa during the day, as it's on the main square of Cusco - Plaza de Armas.

And it was absolutely perfect. There are free salsa classes every night from opening at 9pm til 11pm, and then the party continues. We went and practised our salsa moves for a bit and then went to the bar below it. They were both free entry. 

Once we were suitably cocktailed up we headed back to Mama Africa, and with each delightfully cheesy flash of the strobe lights came another classic. The music was commercial, so if that's not your thing you might want to look farther afield. For me it was the perfect blend of Latin music, in both English and Spanish, a bit of raggaeton and cumbia, and Western pop. 

Everything, from the slight haze of cigarette smoke clinging to the laserlight-ridden ceiling above the people dancing on the bar, to the guy walking round pouring spirits into people's mouths, made for a great party. 

Cusco is a big party town. If you have time to make the most of it, I heartily recommend Mama Africa for a good shimmy. 

Mama Africa. Portal de Panes 109 3th Floor, Portal de Panes 109, Cusco 08002, Peru

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...