Wednesday Katie and I left the Twelve Tribes Community and returned to the Capital Federal, Buenos Aires. We need to be at the airport around 11:30 p.m. for our 2 a.m. flight to New Zealand, so we decided to stay a night in a hostel, enjoy the city, take our dear Argentinean friend, Sebastian, out to dinner, and prepare for the next leg of our adventure.
It was a wonderful last day. I really fell in love with Buenos Aires.
At first glance the city was not much different than other big cities I’ve visited -- Bumper to bumper traffic, overlapping horn honking, swarms of people on the sidewalks, homeless begging for money, street vendors selling magazines and junk food, and construction and flyers decorating every block. But then today I started to discover this city’s gems.
There is a tango studio one block from the Portul del Sol hostel where I’m staying that charges 15 pesos (or about $4) for three hours of lessons, down the street are gorgeous, crumbling cathedrals and parks where the roots cover an entire street corner. I walked through two areas – Palermo and Santelmo – that won my favor, with their cobble stone streets, ivy adorned buildings, sidewalk cafés, artwork and narrow alley way streets. These areas have been more heavily influenced by Europe than the newer sections of the city. Gazel-like women, wearing skinny pants, boots and black jackets walked through intersections, unfazed by the speeding taxis, groups of men held philosophical conversations, or so I imagined since I can’t eavesdrop on Spanish, over tiny cups of cappuccino. This place is intrinsically exotic with it’s layers of culture and influence. I’m happy the city decided to put her best foot forward tonight. My mind is already overly romanticising this place.
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