So the gruelling 5 day journey to Buenos Aires is over!! We managed to find a campsite in all the places we stopped so no rough camping yet!! The campsite in Comodoro Rivadavia was pretty much in someone's front garden with 1 combined shower/toilet for boys and 1 for girls (between approx 50 people)!! The next day we set off for Puerto Madryn, and arrived mid afternoon in time for a stroll into town along the beachfront. The campsite was across the bay from the town near where the first Welsh settlers arrived on the Mimosa (incidentally, the cocktail is not named after the boat). We had 1 full day here for all the relax and recharge batteries before the final push to BA. The sun was shining, the sky blue and cloudless, and with nothing planned we mosyed into town for fish & chips on the beach, walking back along the beach and around the headland. That evening we were served one of the best meals cooked by the group yet- beef goulash with herb dumplings ans followed by s'mores cooked over a fire. The next stretch of driving took us up to Azul after 15 hours on the road, so by the time the tents were up and dinner was washed up, it was midnight. The following day was a much more civilised half drive day and we finally arrived in BA early afternoon and went out straight away to the Recoleta cemetery (more like a Necropolis) with all the beautiful sculptures and ornate tomb buildings....oh and most importantly the Freddo ice cream parlour opposite :) We splashes out on a $7 ice cream sundae- mine was Dulche de Leche with brownie, mini meringues, Fruits of the forest, Chocolate with nuts and Chocolate sauce.....mmmmmmmm!! Have already made a return trip today for strawberry and passion fruit!! That evening we went to La Estancia steak place for T-bone steak. The wine was nothing special, but the steak was huge and came with both salad and french fries amd the most important accompaniment - chimichurri sauce!! Back in the hostel bar, it was decided to hit a club that night and needless to say it was an all nighter, so I spent the following day recovering before going to Cafe Tortoni - the oldest cafe in the city- for a tango show. However, there was a technical issue with the lights and we were moved to a different room and a different show, which was not what we went to see. We originally had a front row table for an intimate tango show with some singing and ended up at the back watching what was in essence a pantomime with some dancing. That said, it did get better as the show went on and there was less clowning around and more serious dancing, though we had to stand to evem get a chance to see the dancers feet, which is sort of the point of going!! Today I hopped on the tourist bus to get an overview of the city which was just about bearable in the 30 degree heat- needless to say the factor 50 was out and at one point I also covered up with a shawl to escape the dreaded sunburn!! I stayed on for most of the circuit, then hopped off at the Japanese Gardens and walked down to the Museo de Bellas Artes to escape the heat. As I lunched on probably the only proper salad in a while, the heavens opened and it thundered down. Once the sun was out I visited Freddos for my second ice cream of the visit, then hopped back on the bus to enjoy the AC for the last part of the journey. Luckily we have AC in the rooms too, otherwise it would be uncomfortable to sleep. This evening we are off to a recommended parilla restaurant in San Telmo for more red meat - its a hard life!!
