Tango Backpacker, Hosteling Intl.
Thames y Paraguay 2122
Buenas Aires, Argentina
Travel advisory: "do not stay in hostels in BA, they tend to be unsafe and thefts abundant"
I share a room with three scottish girls my age who use the room like one giant closet which avalanches onto the floor, all over the extra beds and locker tops. I think its safe to take faith that if a theft were to occur in our room, it would be from the girl's things. Who needs to dig through theirs to find my dusty backpack?
So far in my solo exploring of BA i have failed to find the Atlantic Ocean and have been given pity with my empanadas. The Atlantic, i now realize doesn't even touch BA because BA isnt a coastal city like world maps would have you believe, its a river city. Its on a gi-narmus hu-mongus river delta called the rio plata. I think its the largest spanning delta in the world. So, not the Atlantic. Sigh. I found instead miles of manicured parks with couples dancing tango, ponds, subway tunnels illustrated with giant black and white cartoons and the city zoo featuring north american cattle.
Pity and empanadas are my food of choice. The first night i got into BA i found an empanada shop down the block from the hostel. I went in and found an older woman and her two sons cooking up trays of delicious goodness. I was so tired and additionally insecure about ordering anything in spanish that i kind of just stood there at the door open mouthed. I know i looked ridiculous. Finally the woman came out from behind the shop desk and pulled me forward. She asked me where i was from and what i wanted to eat. I ordered a plate of BA style empanadas (every providence has their own special variety unique to their state) with potatos and corned beef. I passed the woman the smallest bill i had, 50 pesos. She looked at it and then at me. Then raised the bill to the light over her head to verify it had a water mark. Apparently it passed and she gave me back a handful of cash. I took my food up to the roof of the hostel, sat under a ledge while it rained and ate. The rain fell down with humid breezes. The view was completly obstructed by taller narrow housing buildings. And everything was covered in an orange haze. Almost an electrifying experience.
The next morning i walked past the empanada shop and the woman ran me down the street. She passed me her buisness card and told me to call her if i needed help while in the country. I wished i still had that.
