We flew with Aerolineas Argentinas from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires last Thursday.

It was our first large city since Santiago & although we were excited by the thought of Buenos Aires we were sorry to be leaving behind the splendour of the Andes & the beauty of Patagonia.

We took a taxi to a hotel at which we had no reservation hoping to stay a few nights. They had a room for that night but not the next. We opted to stay that one night & then unencumbered by backpacks ( the worst part of backpacking ! ) we set out to find a room for the following nights. No problem. The next hotel was less than half the price of the first , basic but clean & comfortable & with private bathroom for 43 arg pesos a night ( 5 pesos to the pound ). And it is right in the centre of the city. A bargain ! Like most of Argentina.

We stayed a week & had a wonderful time . It is an exciting & vibrant city.

The day after we arrived we took a 3hour guided coach tour of the city with English - speaking guide. We have come to the conclusion that this is the best way to get your bearings when you arrive somewhere new & very large. It stopped en route while we had 20 mins to view the cathedral & then we had a 30min stop to look aroundLa Boca which as well as being home to the famous football club Boca Juniors , is filled with couples tango-dancing in the streetwhere local artists display their paintings.

The neighbourhood was the first port of the city & was inhabited by Italian immigrants who built houses with wood & zinc & painted them with the left-over paint from the ships. It is a fun place , very lively & picturesque.

Near the end of the tour the bus stopped at Recoleta & we opted to get off there. We wanted to visit the cemetery where Argentina's past elite rest in splendour. We saw Eva Peron's grave , surrounded now by those who were her enemies in life. They say death is a great equaliser.

On Saturday we visited the magnificent Colon theatre . Opened in 1908 it is a 7 - story building which seats 2500 people. We had a 1hour guided tour which was really interesting & showed us amongst other things all the workshops where all the props are made & where all the costumes , shoes , wigs etc are made. We were thrilled to "bump into " an Irish girl called Emma who we had travelled with from Bariloche to El Chalten , our 29 hour bus ride 3 weeks prior. Iwas standing buying a drink from a street-trader outside the theatre when I heard someone call "Fiona " . I didn't really expect anyone to be calling me but turned round anyway , as one does & there she was !

We also managed to get tickets for the evening performance by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra. We dressed up for the first time in 3 months . (I wore a skirt ! ) & sat in the plush red velvet chairs. The music was wonderful , we sat in the 2nd row , the acoustics were great & it felt very special. All for the princely sum of 40 pesos each.

On Sunday we spent the day at San Telmo looking round the antiques fair & watching more tango-dancers , mime-artists , puppet-shows etc. We ate in an upstairs restaurant which (like many others ) had a free tango show.

I have had 10 more hours of spanish lessons this week in a school only 5 minutes from our hotel .

We took the ferry yesterday from Buenos Aires & are now in Uruguay. Will probably spend a week along the coast here.