Tango in la Boca

I've been in Buenos Aires for almost two months yet last weekend was my first time to visit la Boca. It is a very popular tourist spot in Buenos Aires yet it has a very bad reputation.

La Boca

I took the 29 bus there and got off in the touristy area. I could see how if you ventured outside the tourist area that it could get dangerous pretty quick but once you stick to the main tourist streets its fine.

Probably one of the most photographed streets in BsAs

Maradona Street Art

We stopped for a drink in one of the many cafes with live tango. Mic had the best view so he recorded some of the tango.

More Mendoza - vineyards and mountains

On Monday I did a wine tasting tour, visiting two vineyards. The first was a traditional vineyard that only used traditional methods for their production. The second was a new modern vineyard that used modern techniques and processes for production. Both vineyards export almost all of their production to Europe and Brazil.

wine, wine, wine

more wine

Malbec

Mendoza offers a range of outdoor activities such as mountain biking, rock climbing, quad biking, rafting, sky diving and paragliding. They needed a group of people before they would do the downhill mountain biking or the quad biking so I didn't get to do either. Its not high season yet so think I'll return again when its busier. Instead I did a tour of the mountains. Mic (Italian guy), Joe (English guy) and I decided to do the tour as it was the best way to see the Andes, Puente del Inca and Parque Provincial Aconcagua in one day.

can't remember where, one of the many photo stops

Puente del Inca

Parque Provincial Aconcagua

This was my first "tourist bus tour" and probably will be my last. I didn't like the idea of being herded around for the day, 2 hours on the bus stop, take photos get back on drive for another few hours, stop take photos, eat in the restaurant they choose (although we didn't), more bus more photos. The rest of the tourists on the bus were considerable older than us and they spent their time taking photos or videos, even when they were on the bus. When we stopped at a shop there was a queue of them wanting to buy batteries for their cameras!

life through a lens

Paragliding in Mendoza

I decided to take a holiday from life in Buenos Aires and visit Mendoza. Seamus had other plans for the weekend so decided I'd go alone. Maybe use it as an opportunity to practice my Spanish. Mendoza is in central Argentina, right in the middle of the region that produces 70% of the countries wine. As well as the wine the other attraction of Mendoza is its proximity to the Andes.
I took a 15 hour overnight bus to Mendoza, arriving Saturday afternoon. I soon met two other Irish guys  who were traveling alone around Argentina. The 3 of us decided to go paragliding on the Sunday.

Ciaran and Ronan paragliding

I have never been paragliding before so it was a new experience for me. It was tandem paragliding so there wasn't much for me to do but enjoy the view once we were airborne. Getting airborne was a bit weird, the guy tells you to run and you run off the side of the cliff. Eventually you are in the air and still running but there is nothing under your feet!

Nice view

Don't look down!

A clown that is not a clown

A clown in south America is more like a comedian than a children's entertainer. I've been to two clown shows since arriving in Buenos Aires. The first was a one man show by one of the guests at the opening party in Baradero.

The second was a bigger show by the students of a clown school in Buenos Aires. The show was held in a theatre and lasted about 2 hours. The entire performance was in Spanish. I could only understand some words but the combination of the music, sounds, lights and gestures meant I could understand the show.

The opening scene.