Buenos Aires

Aerolineas Argentinas confirmed their reputation for poor service and old planes. At least it didn't crash. No personal entertainment systems but!

I sat next to a very pleasant and chatty Brazilian with an interesting story. As an exchange student he went out with an Aussie girl in California in the 70s. Unable to get an Australian visa, they split up. 32 years later, both divorced, they reunited and married, and now live in Adelaide. Almost a happy ending.

So today I walked around Buenos Aires for 10 hours. Feet a bit sore. I pretty much covered most of the areas of interest. One of the guidebooks said than the locals don't wear shorts, so I didn't bring any. Well it was hot and humid and most men were wearing shorts, some in singlets and thongs and they wouldn't have been out of place in Cairns. Though sitting in the gutter with a litre bottle of beer more fits the Darwin stereotype. Anyway, probably won't need shorts down south.

There is no iconic place in Buenos Aires, except maybe for the Presidential Palace, and that only because of 'Evita'. And her grave. But it is a pleasant city. Safe and busy and happening. At the ecological reserve, a sign requested that you don't eat the animals. I only saw cicadas - maybe they are unpalatable.

Most shopkeepers are obsessed with small change. They would rather forfeit a sale than accept a 100 pesos note (A$20). There obviously isn't enough small stuff floating around. The government won't let you convert pesos back to US dollars, so one can't afford to change too much, lest it be used for wallpaper.