You know you’re in Argentina when …

It costs more to die than to live.

A fascinating ‘city of the dead’, the Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires is possibly the world’s most elaborate graveyard. You have to be extremely wealthy to get a plot in Recoleta: even the city’s most famous resident, Eva Peron (Evita) wasn’t considered classy enough to be buried here and her body had to be snuck in 30-odd years later by her adoring fans under the cover of night.

Recoleta: city of the dead

All you can find to eat is faux Italian food.

Argentina has a sizeable Italian population but even this doesn’t explain the almost complete homogony of its restaurant scene. Want to eat anything other than Italian? Good luck.

Italy-crazy

You never have enough small change.

If you think you can pay for a 6 peso item with a 20 peso note, forget it – you’ll be asked for a 10 and made to feel pretty bad if you don’t have it. Many a cold stare came our way in the supermarket when the poor cashier had to leave her desk to hunt down change for our 100 peso note. Coins are even more rare: in fact, they are often melted down by the bus companies (which only accept coins) for their higher value in metal and not re-circulated.

You want to live on the buses.

Really, Argentina’s buses put National Express to shame. Your own personal TV, full meal service with alcohol, and a fully reclining seat are all standard features on the luxurious ‘cama suite’ long-distance buses. Better than many hostels and a great way to travel overnight.

Cama-suite bus with all mod cons

Last year’s Lonely Planet is woefully outdated.

If Lonely Planet tells you that something costs x in Argentina, assume it’s at least 3x. We were not the only shocked travellers to be caught out by the rampant inflation of this country; nor were we the first to hurry on up to much-cheaper Bolivia … new blog piece coming soon!

Crossing the date line

When we last updated our blog we were sunning ourselves on an Australian beach. Since then, dear readers, we’ve travelled backwards in time …

After concluding our hugely enjoyable Australian road trip we boarded a plane for Melbourne where I (Emily) have several relatives. A relaxing five days with family was just the ticket after nearly two months of staying in hostels of varying quality and restfulness. Having been told by everyone in Queensland that the weather in Melbourne “sucked completely” we were pleasantly surprised to experience five days of almost uninterrupted sunshine.

Hills of Australia (and Ady!)

My cousins Margaret and Peter, who kindly invited us to stay with them, organised two memorable day trips: the first to the Great Ocean Road, and the second to the Yarra Valley wine region where we enjoyed several FREE tastings (free is very important when you’re backpacking!) followed by an absolutely delicious lunch at the adjoining restaurant. For the rest of the time we enjoyed catching up with our extended family, and strolling around Melbourne’s wide streets, lined with art galleries and coffee shops.

Wine ... mmmm ....

Getting arty with Margaret and Peter

Much as we loved our temporary home in Melbourne (complete with fresh fruit every morning – a definite travellers’ luxury!) we couldn’t stay forever, and Phase 3 of our trip was beckoning. It was time to go to South America!

Our flight to Buenos Aires departed from Sydney, so we took a cheap but exhausting overnight train from Melbourne to explore Australia’s de facto capital before heading to our new continent*. I’ve actually been to Sydney before, on my first world trip, and have for eight years held the title of being the only person to have a really bad time in a city everybody else loves. A combination of rain, a terrible hostel, bad food and no money had completely ruined Sydney for me last time but Adrian was keen to see it, so we booked a night in a hotel near the train station to take in the highlights. I’m pleased to say that, this time, I was greeted by glorious sunshine, a comfy bed and enough cash to see the city properly. After a tasty lunch in Chinatown, we headed for the Powerhouse Museum – Australia’s answer to the Science Museum – which Adrian of course loved and I even found moderately interesting! The rest of our time was spent at the harbour, where we ate fish and chips at sunset, wandered around the Opera House, took hundreds of photos and rounded off the night with a cruise. I must admit, I am a Sydney convert!

The mandatory Sydney shot

The following day, the time had come to fly to South America. Our 13 hour flight left at 11am on 28th November and arrived one hour ‘earlier’ than we set off – at 10am on 28th November! There really are no words to describe how confusing and disorientating it is to cross the date line, especially when you’re served a “dinner” on board and the lights are turned off for “night-time” when you’re body is still digesting breakfast. Our first few days in Argentina were pretty much a write-off, and involved several days of napping at 4pm, going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 5am. We got used to it eventually, however, and we soon started planning our route for our final 6 weeks in South America.

*A prize will be awarded to the first person to name the actual capital – without Googling it.