The Arrival - things done Well here I am in the middle of Buenos Aires. Landed, and stranded. Well not quite. At the airport I found a Hostel that is close enough to everything in town and have booked myself in for a few nights. From here I found out information on language courses in Spanish and will be heading there in the morning for an evaluation before jumping straight into classes at 10am. My classes are 4hrs per day for 2wks. Intensive training. That sorted, I stopped by and purchased a GSM SIM card for my mobile phone. If this does not make sense to you then simply know that I have now got a phone number based in Argentina. Trouble is that I don't know enough Spanish to add credit to it yet. If you want to try and txt me the number is +55 1154 676731 (I think) [NB: This number was eventually stolen]. The lines were so large I had to wait 1.5hrs to see a consultant. The next thing in my list of things was to look around the port area of Buenos Aires... except I came across one small hitch. There is not a port area in Buenos Aires, at least not for ships and large cargo vessels. That is what I had in mind. There is however a whole section of the city called Puerto Madero, meaning Wood Port. This is a lovely harborside area that has many shops and cafés and is full of life. Perhaps this is the place... Returning home to the street of my hostel, I find a nice place for dinner. It ends up a family-run restaurant with an old, run-down feel about the place. I had seen a few people in it earlier so considered it worth stopping at. It turns out to be a very casual affair, run by mother the waitress, father the chef, and their son who was on a break while I was there. Although the place looked and felt dirty, the love between mum and her son and their kind expressions told me that this was going to be a good place. I was right. Dinner consisted of two pieces of cooked steak, potatoes, bread rolls, and a large bottle of beer, and came to a grand total of $3 USD ($11 pesos). I was the last customer in and when I had finished my meal they started closing up shop. Now of the beer that I had intended to enjoy, only one glass was gone, so there was plenty left over in the bottle. It seemed right to offer it to the family running the place, of which they were very thankful. We chatted for a little bit, which only served to highlight how little Spanish I know. I did managed to tell them that I had arrived today and was staying for a long time and about to take Spanish lessons tomorrow. They were very excited for me and before I left, wrote down their name and phone number and gave it to me. It looks like I have found some new friends. And now I am in the internet place down the road from my hostel, writing to you guys during my sleep time. Tomorrow I start Spanish. The Place - thoughts Arriving in Buenos Aires I could easily see why people love this place. It has a feel about it of cosmopolitan Europe meets casual South America. The buildings reflect this feel too with an eclectic mix of modern skyscrapers with really old and ornate heritage buildings. All of this is just in the centre of town with much more yet to explore in surrounding areas. The first thing that I notice about this place is how safe it is. Even in the darker back streets it is much safer than Rio was, although there are many people scraping through the paper trash trying to earn a living by sorting out the recyclable paper and selling it by weight. There are dangerous areas, and I have already found some of those... seems that I know where to walk to end up in those areas... but most of it is pretty good. Mind you the police and security guards alike all wear bullet-proof vests which does make me wonder how safe it really is. The next thing I see is how South American it still is. People are at every traffic light peddling anything from icecreams to notepads for money, or even calling on the pity of drivers by carrying a baby in their arms from car to car begging for coins. It is sad to see some of this behaviour around, especially knowing that some of it is a direct result of the economical collapse. Taxis, with their yellow and black cars, fill every street. It is not unusual to find ten or more taxis in just one area... or even at a set of traffic lights. Buses too, like their taxi counterparts, are prolific and come in all colours, shapes, sizes, and ages with some needing to be given to a museum. Even the new ones look battered because of the effects of the crazy drivers and rough roads. Some of the roads around the center of the city have huge bumps and holes in them, making the noisy traffic even louder, and bringing premature age to every car passing over them. Out in the suburbs there are many houses that have rooftop decks for people to get their suntan or dry their clothes, and many are very close together or multi-level places. Streets here too are shaded by trees overhanging the roads wherever they can fit. People drive with little care for the road rules and squeeze their cars into any gap that appears so that they fit many more abreast than the road markings delineate. As it is with driving, so it is with walking, and when crossing the road, the rule is that you just keep walking at the same pace so the drivers know how to dodge you. It is a harrowing experience to have cars pouring around both sides of you at high speeds. There are crossings and crossing signs which are a must at some of the larger and busier streets, but during peak hour it is very acceptable to simply weave through the snarled traffic. The streets in the city centre where I am staying are all narrow, with a little footpath. It is a good idea to use this pathway though as getting run over on the road is a real possibility. Many of the footpaths are cobblestoned or tiled, and are showing significant signs of wear. Tiles missing, piles of rubble growing in a corner, even large holes to avoid are all scattered across the walking pathway, making it harder to keep a fast pace. Perhaps this is why so many of the people here keep to an idle walking pace. The temperature is warm in the shade and hot in the sun. It seems to be around 24 C (68 F) and is very comfortable to be out in, although air conditioning still brings a welcoming cool breeze. With light pants and a t-shirt I am very comfortable as I wander around town. I think I am going to like this place.