After Iguazu we had a final weekend in Buenos Aires before leaving on Wednesday morning on our Dragoman overland trip through Patagonia to Santiago.
Saturday night we went to the obligatory tango show of which there are hundreds to choose from in BA. Ours was one of the smaller, cheaper ones costing only 200 pesos (some cost 1000 pesos!) We had a one hour tango lesson first in which we learnt the basic steps with varying degrees of success. We both enjoyed it very much. After that a three course dinner was included with unlimited wine which we drank in quite large amounts. The show consisted of 3 couples dancing in different styles through time from the birth of tango to the present day. Unfortunately the mix of wine and overnight bus journey the previous night meant we both kept dropping off throughout the show!!! This says nothing about the show itself which was very good - but more amount the inclusive wine.
Saturday was also quite a special night in BA - a night of culture. A one off all night cultural festival with music, dance and video performances going on at 50 venues all over the city from 7pm to 7am. It was an amazing atmosphere. We watched a colourful, livey band on one of the street stages playing a eclectic mix of world music on various instruments including a sousaphone.
Sunday we had a quick look at the San Telmo street market again on our way to the Costenera del Sur Nature Reserve. This is a huge wild expanse between the city and the river. It is 8km around the outside and this is what we walked. There were lots of people out but not a lot of wildlife to see unfortunately. The river separates Argentina from Uruguay but is so wide you cannot see the other side. It is also very brown!
Monday we did a guided tour of the Teatro Colon, one of the world's greatest opera houses. It has been refurbished over the last 10 years and was closed last year to finish off the process. The opera season runs from April to December, unfortunately this season's frist night was the day we were due to leave BA. Doubly annoying as the tickets were being given away for free. The tours are done alternately in Spanish and English and last about one hour. We had a big blond (!) Argentinian guide who had spent lots of time in the States and spoke fluent English. He was also very amusing. The tour starts in the very impressive theatre foyer with a history of the theatre. It was built over 20 years from 1888 to 1908 by three different architects and styles, Italian, German and French. It is a very impressive building. The tour also includes the auditorium which seats 2500 with a further 500 spaces for standing. It is huge but the stage area is even bigger - 35 metres square and 48 metres high! We were also shown the view from the president's box which is really impressive. The theatre has the best acoustics in the world for a combination of orchestra and voices and every seat hears the same sound because of the design of the materials used at various levels in the walls. At 60 pesos it's not a cheap way to spend an hour but it is well worth it.
After the theatre we had a introductory Spanish lesson in the hostel we were staying in (the Milhouse Avenue - noisy but comfortable, free wifi and a good front desk to book activities through). The lesson was pretty basic and covered some stuff we already knew but was useful and particularly helped with Argentinian pronounciation, i.e. 'll' is pronouced 'sh' here instead of 'y'.
Monday evening was officially the start of our tour and we had a meeting to be introduced to the rest of the group and get some info. There are 20 people on the tour and two driver/guides. Most people had already been travelling on the truck for a while and there were only 4 of us joining in BA. We went to an Irish pub around the corner for the rest of the evening and got to know people.
Our last day in BA was spent shopping for outdoor clothing and equipment and having a final meal out in the city. Nick said it was the best steak he had ever had and it was huge - 400g. We went to a lovely restaurant called La Posada just off Avenida de Mayo. I had pasta as I was a bit steaked out and that was also fantastic - homemade pasta and sauce and plenty of it. We also couldn't resist dessert which was equally fantastic! A great end to our time in the city.
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