Long Awaited Arrival
Istanbul, check. Impromptu stop in Frankfurt, also check. Next stop - Buenos Aires.
So, how did I end up here? Why did I choose Argentina, considering it was not a place necessarily on my list? So let me backtrack to the booking process.
As I had previously mentioned, my ticket was fully booked on miles. I was on track to be able to take a long vacation at work, combining my vacation days, Christmas shutdown, as well as some overtime I had. So the criteria was as follows - bookable on miles, far away, and worth a long trip. Initially, I had Australia and New Zealand in mind, but I could not find flights. I then turned my attention to South America, a continent I had not visited before, although was looking more at Peru and Colombia, but once again, lack of flights. And then Argentina came to my mind. Flights were miraculously there, and my friends Ulises and Renata were moving back to Buenos Aires after two years in Berlin, where I met them. It seemed like the stars aligned and before I knew it, I had flights to Argentina with 5 weeks of planning to do.
Fast forward and I was finally boarding my flight to Buenos Aires. The time had finally come, and I was about to start a trip that will surely be that of a lifetime. A new hemisphere, country, and continent - how could it get any better. Where was I? Oh yes, boarding. I settled into my seat on the upper deck of the Boeing 747, a very cool experience as they are starting to become sparse. We were soon up in the air, and despite how tired I was, I caught three episodes of the new season of a TV show I was watching, as well as enjoyed dinner. Staying awake for the first few hours was important to help me fix my jet lag, as this 13 hour flight arrives at 8 am in Buenos Aires. The meal in Lufthansa Business Class was solid, with a Beef Carpaccio starter, Goose for the main (I have never had Goose before), and lastly a cheese board and a cake for dessert. After finishing my meal, I put my seat down and dosed off.
I woke up about 7 hours later, getting in some solid sleep, by which point we had completed our oceanic crossing and were tracking along the cost of South America. Seeing the airplane map was so interesting, as I have never been to this side of the world despite the countless flights I have taken. I ordered a coffee to wake me up, and watched some more episodes of my show before breaking off to catch up on some more writing that I had. Man, the problem with these daily blogs is the amount of writing I have, and letting it pile up is a bad idea, but I am not about to quit now.
We were served breakfast a bit before landing, where I opted for the Müsli, a very wise decision. Soon enough, we were on approach and things were starting to get real. The excitement was built up inside and about to blow up. I took in the views on approach and we were on the ground not much longer after that.
The arrival experience was smooth, and I had my bag and jumped in my pre-arranged taxi soon after that. My friends had arrived for me a taxi driver, Walter, to smoothen my arrival process. Despite his lack of English and my lack of Spanish (save a few words), we found each other and made our way to the car. I spent most of the ride glued to the outside, taking in all the new views and trying to get a sense for Buenos Aires, Argentina, and South America, all at once. I mean I cannot lie that I may have some stereotypes about what South America was like, and was also guilty of applying that to the entire continent, but I would very wrong about many things.
We arrived at my friend’s apartment about an hour later. I was supposed to grab breakfast until their housekeeper arrived to let me in, since they were both at work. The stars aligned and Maria, the house keeper, was arriving right as I was leaving the taxi. She immediately recognized me as the friend, probably since I was the only person arriving to a residential morning with baggage early on a Friday morning. She was so kind, letting me in and handing me the keys, although once again, no word of English on her side. Lack of English would be a reoccurring theme on my trip but forced me to use GoogleTranslate and really dig hard for any Spanish vocabulary that I had.
I rested up for a bit and took a quick shower, then went down for breakfast. Uli and Ren recommended Los Violetes, which was 1 block away, for a quick breakfast. I had the Cafe con Leche (latte) and 3 Medialunas - Buenos Aires’ take on the croissant and cornetto. This was a classic Porteño (nickname for people of Buenos Aires) breakfast. It was less flaky and more on the cakey side. Medialunas are also bite-sized, hence why I was having three.
After breakfast and some catch up phone calls, I started walking with the aim of getting a SIM card. I was starting to really take in Buenos Aires, which was a weird version of Tripoli in Lebanon, if it were a bit cleaner, more organized, with some European influence. It felt foreign and familiar all at once, and I had to share some pictures with my mom to show her, who was quick to agree about my theory. I mean, who would of known that a megapolis on the other side of the world would remind me of Tripoli in Lebanon.
I reached the mall where I grabbed a SIM card, known locally as a “chip”. I do not know how I managed it but the entire transaction was completed in Spanish, and I bought a screen protector with it as well! I did not really have a next stop in mind yet, so I just continued walking towards the centre of the city, really taking in as much as I could. My brain was overly stimulated, with the only goal being to identify what BA, Argentina, and South America meant. The process included removing all pre-conceived ideas of a whole continent as they were certainly not applicable in any shape or form. I was getting hungry and found myself near Los Galgos, a restaurant I had on my lis from an episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. I would later find out from my friends that this is a very traditional and local eatery - bonus points for me!
I am not really sure what I had to eat, as I was only able to piece half of what the very friendly waitress was describing. In the end, it was a delicious pie stuffed with spinach, eggs, and I am not sure what else, accompanied by side salad. I had a lemonade to drink, which could have been a bit sweeter, and finished my meal with a Cortado to keep me powering in through the day.
By this time, I had found a free walking tour which was due to start in 30 minutes. I slowly made my way to the Congress Square, where the tour would start, and waited around, as well as taking pictures of the surroundings. There was a big group of what I found out later were college graduates, celebrating their graduation. The tour guide would tell us later that is is a tradition for friends of a graduate to gather with them in a square and cover them with eggs, silly string, glitter, and all sorts of other things. Anyways, so I started the tour shortly thereafter, and it would go on for the next 2.5-3 hours. I found it very informative, and the guide, Martin, really did a great job of not only teaching us the history, but also about the political situation, architecture, and the economics of the country. It really helped paint a better picture for things to make sense. I will say that one of the coolest buildings I saw was the Palacio Barolo, a building which was designed and built as a tribute to Dante Alighieri, with the intent of putting his Divine Comedy as a building.
After finishing the tour, it was starting to get late and it was time to head back to the apartment and see my friends. I stopped by a money exchange shop to get some Argentina Pesos and then took the subway to the apartment. Uli was back and we had a warm greeting as well as a really good chat where he helped me understand the situation of things in Argentina. I don’t know about you, but to me, I really try to understand the political situation of a place I am in to understand why things are the way they are. We then rested up some more while waiting for Renata to meet us for dinner. She was on a 24 hour shift at the hospital, and would give us the green light to meet her. As soon as we got the message, we were on our way.
We took the subway and waited for Renata and the pre-agreed meeting point. As soon as she arrived, we had a long awaited greeting, and then we all walked together to the restaurant. It was an Argentinian restaurant where we had some great steak, something I had been long waiting for. Argentina is supposed to have some of the best steak in the world, and it was time to put that claim to a test. I will say that the steak really did live up to the reputation, and was now more than excited to keep having some more. Ren had to leave early as she was called in for an emergency, so Uli and I had dessert on our own, where we had pancakes topped with Dulce de Leche - delicious. Definitely a great meal to start my 5 week expedition in the country, and left me with a lot to look forward to.
After the dinner, we headed home where we both went to sleep as we had a big day ahead tomorrow - Argentina’s round 16 match in FIFA. Overall, I was very happy to finally arrive in Argentina and begin my long awaited journey across the country. I am really excited to see what this gigantic place has to offer, from nature and landscapes to food and sights.
Have you been to Argentina before? If so, what are your top recommendations? Did you see my destination coming or was it a surprise? Let me know in the comments below, but till then, stay positive!
