Buenos Aires: 5th - 7th March 2026
5th March – Thursday
Gosh, where do I begin? I suppose with the flight here to Buenos Aires. It wasn’t very eventful but it really hurt my gut. All I wanted to do was fart, but I really couldn’t subject the Chinese contingency that surrounded me to such horrors, so once again I found myself letting rip in the luggage collection toilets – life seems to have a habit of repeating itself.
From the moment I stepped off the plane I felt uncomfortable, I was the only black person to be seen for miles, even in the passport control hall, not another black person. Everyone was Latino white or white. And the passport guy interrogated me, he seemed to think I was Spanish and then asked me questions about where I was from and where in the UK is Merton, my place of birth. He then quizzed me on what I was doing in Argentina and where had I been before coming here. His face seemed to drop when I listed the previous 7 countries I have just visited, and yes my dear, I did them all on my own. Luckily he did not make me buy an exit ticket as I think by this point he actually believed I was a genuine traveller, especially as I told him I did not know how long I was planning to stay but I would be going to Chile next. One thing that has upset me, they do not stamp your passport here, he said they haven’t since covid – such a shame as I am loving all the stamps I am accumulating.
My Uber driver did not seem pleased to see me and shouted at me for slamming the door closed – I just looked at him and smiled, from the way he shouted he was not going to get an apology nor a tip. I think he must have reflected on the tone of his voice as he was very civil towards me when it came time to pay, but too late matey, still no tip. I sat for half an hour on the doorstep of the apartment block waiting for Esther, my contact, to turn up. Still not a black person to be seen. She sent me massage saying she was running late, FFS. I ended up buying a coffee in the bakery across the road so I could kill some time and have internet access, now she was an hour and a half late. Still not a black person to be seen. I did inform her that I was in the bakery and eventually saw a woman loitering with intent, but I had no intention of lugging my stuff across the road to find out it was not her. So I messaged the actual apartment owner, it was her – lol. You know lady two can play this game, so, after introducing myself. I left her standing for half an hour while I went to the ATM, which is 5 minutes away. Well the half an hour was not intentional, but it did feel good to see the look on her exasperated face when I returned. I was so long because I had no mobile data and not an iota of an idea what the exchange rate is. Luckily I found a very helpful young man who hooked me onto his internet so I could work out what I was doing. It is so good to be able to use my awful Spanish once again.
After telling mum and Mike about the black people situation, I did some research and they also sent me some stuff to read. It is true, over the last couple of centuries there has been a ‘whitening’ of Argentina, and at one point millions of Europeans, mainly Spanish and Italian, were brought here and the Indigenous and African populations were so diluted that they now they only represent under 3% of the entire population. And a lot of the European immigrants were also far-right Nazis. No wonder I have not felt comfortable since I have been here. I have in total seen 2 black people since I stepped off the plane, so obviously they do exist but as mum said they are probably confined to some dark outer regions of the city. It is actually very sad that white people feel that they can eradicate indigenous people and history and re-write a country for their own purposes – so so sad.
I am definitely going to Ushuaia for my birthday, I don’t actually expect to see any black people there but only because it is too cold!
Whoop whoop, I love my broken Spanish. With my gut still paining me I went as far as the supermarket and bought water and a bottle of wine. Did I check the opening method for the bottle of wine, which was all of £2.50 – no I bloody well didn’t and guess what it is / was corked –
typical of my luck. So I sat here for ages telling myself I shouldn’t drink wine with a dodgy stomach, but finally gave in, got dress and opened my apartment door to find a guy sitting outside. Buenos noches – ayuda me por favor, tu vivo aqui. Si. So I dash back in and come out with my corked bottle, The dear man went and got his cork screw then I made him get a glass and poured him a thank you tipple. I am limiting myself to one large glass as I need my stomach to be good for tomorrow – I have a lot to do and I am only here for 2 days.
6th March – Friday
I spent today shopping, I had to go out twice and endure this, but it was a successful day. My first trip entailed finding a Claro shop for a SIM, Why do some countries make this so difficult. Considering the size of BA I was surprised to find so few Claro shops with the nearest one 40 minutes walk from me. It was a nice walk and I do like the streets here, unlike some of the recent cities and towns I have been in it is not full of recently built high rise blocks, far from it. The buildings are historical and mainly architecturally beautiful. It is also relatively flat, making it a city to walk. There are also hundreds of little coffee shops / tea rooms, but I found them a little on the expensive side of life. I found the Claro shop without too much hassle, it was in a shopping centre on the second floor. However, the guy would not sell me a SIM, FFS, he would not take cash nor a debit card, credit card only – what type of shop only takes credit card? I really pissed off as I had to resort to the kiosk shop a couple of meters from the centre which was twice the price for half the data. So I was not happy when I walked into the kiosk shop for a second time, I had already been there once for a price and then directions to Claro. I am not sure how, but the guy working there managed to change my mood really quickly and easily, and before I knew it I had mobile data and he gave me a small discount for paying cash – now that is more like it. On my way back to my apartment I bought a new water bottle, I left the last one on a bus!
I had to have a power-nap when I got back. I am still not fully over my sickness and walking around drained me, Replenished, I hit the road again. This time in search of sports shops. I walked for bloody hours, up and down and round and round. I first tried the two local shops that the lady in the bakery across the recommended but neither had windproof and waterproof jackets, and they certainly didn’t sell any waterproof foot ware. In fact all the second one sold were bikinis! Anyway to cut a very long shopping expedition short I came back with a jacket, it is supposed to be a men’s XL, but as I said to the shop assistant, the men in BA must be very small. I also bought 2 pairs of socks from a cheap shop and a pair of waterproof trainers from the first shop that had them, not that I bought them on the first visit! I thought £82 was expensive, that was until I went to shop, 40 minutes away, where they were £200!
So, bar gloves and possibly another pair of leggings, I still have the woolly hat that I bought in Mexico, that is me kitted out for Ushuaia. I checked the weather in March and then compared it to the UK. Ushuaia autumn is very similar in temperature wise to the UK winter, the main difference being the day light hours are far longer. So I don’t think I will have too much issues with it and can buy some gloves when I am there. This evening I booked my flights and accommodation – I am so excited and want to do a small expedition on my birthday which I may book tomorrow evening.
7th March – Saturday
I am still not keen on BA, it is a beautiful city with lots of historical buildings and some extremely beautiful architecture but the atmosphere is very subdue, everyone is so quite and reserved and it feels like I am in the middle of Europe, not South America – but I think that is what they want it to feel like.
I have had a lovely day, sightseeing. I started off early so I could cram in as much as possible and came back late and collapsed on the bed – lol. My first port of call was breakfast, I went to a coffee shop around the corner, placed my order and then watched people come in, order and get their food while I was still waiting for mine. I tried to catch the waiters attention but he appeared to not see me so I got up and walk out feeling rather hungry and went to the Cemetery of Recoleta on an empty belly. WoW, what an amazing place it is, it covers 5 hectares and houses some of the most majestic pantheons and mausoleums belonging to many of the most important characters in Argentina’s history. It was like a little city of tombs. They were all amazing, but obviously some more than others, and not being knowledgable on Argentina history I cannot begin to elaborate on any that I saw, but three of the most visited are that of Eva Peron (Evita), Luis Federico Leloir and Adolfo Bioy Casares.
After the cemetery and brunch I got an Uber to and area call La Boca. This was for J. Davari, he had asked me to go to the Boca Juniors football stadium and take some photos for him. It was an excellent choice as after walking around it I found myself in Caminito which is a street museum with vividly painted houses that were, according to one source, inspired by a famous tango song. However, I also read that this is where the first Italians landed and built their houses from corrugated steel and used old boat paint to decorate them. Anyway all of the houses in the area are brightly painted and some of them have mannequins of women, football players and other famous people hanging out of the windows. It is very entertaining to walk around, so much so that I had a stop and have a beer.
From La Boca I got another uber to Casa Rosada, which is a stunningly beautiful pink palace, I think this is where Evita made her speeches from. It is very impressive and surrounded by some other magnificent buildings including the National Bank of Argentina which had 4 humongous pillars at the front of it, and a door the size of a small block of flats. I spent quite a while admiring these building before heading down to the Plaza de Mayo and admiring even more buildings and the statues in the middle of the Plaza. I must admit, although I am not keen of BA, it is actually very beautiful and I have enjoyed seeing just a few of it’s sights.
My final stroll took me to the Obelisk, which was unveiled in 1938 and is made from Cordoba white stone. It is supposed to be the icon of BA and I think stands more or less in the middle of the city. It is very impressive and where sports event victories etc are celebrated. From there I continued walking as I wasn’t actually that far from the cemetery. I must admit, it was a relief to get back to my room. And all thoughts of staying up late and going to a tango show have gone out of the window – it’s a well earned early night and I am up early for my flight tomorrow – Good night!
