The Forgotten Buenos Aires Files!

Thinking about my recent posts, it dawned on me that there was so much more to Buenos Aires than I wrote about and that surely I hadn’t been so lax. I hadn’t! I’d merely sequestered a file in a strange place. So here it is…

Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, Part 1

Buenos Aires is made up of many small neighbourhoods known as ‘barrios’, each with its own history and characteristics. I wrote about San Telmo earlier, but here’s a little about some of the other barriors.

Recoleta.
The fanciest and wealthiest barrio, Evita once declared that Recoleta should be bombed, which is ironic given it’s where she’s now burried. Home to a large cemetery that is the last home of many well known people, Recoleta is Buenos Aires’ cultural centre. Here you will find the opera house, art galleries and theatres, along with brew houses, Western style restaurants and a mega-cinema complex. It looks very European.

Evita’s final resting place.

It’s a bit of a walk from the nearest subway so compared to other barrios it’s not that easy to get to. We saw Fuerza Bruta in one of Recoleta’s theatre spaces; quite honestly the most unique and entertaining show I’ve ever been to. It’s touring, so check out their website if you like drums, acrobatics, aerial, dj’s, water and dancing.

Palermo.
Palermo is split into two barrios, Hollywood and SoHo. Unsurprisingly, it’s where many American ex-pats live and is probably the second wealthiest area. A give away is all the dog walkers! There are American themed bars, an Irish pub, some great Argentinian restuarants and funky clothes stores. Our spanish class was in Palermo, a short walk from the subway and past delicious looking bakeries.

Class was was also close to the nicest, tiniest bar/ cafe I found in Buenos Aires. I really enjoyed working on Spanish homework or my bog there while I waited for Tristan to finish his class (we took them separately as he’s at a much higher level than me). As well as a cafe, it’s a deli that serves food on wooden plates and red wine in (full) Stella Artois glasses. It could be a challenge to finish in an hour though, especially when I was busy writing.

At $7 for a glass and a large baguette with proscuito, smoked mushrooms and two kinds of cheese, I was set. I’m not sure that drinking wine immediately after class was conducive to retaining the Spanish learnt in the previous hour though… Sadly I never quite found out the name. It’s ‘Nueva’ something and on a corner of Calle Ministerio Carranza, a few blocks up from the main street the subway is on.

Florida
Buenos Aires’ main commercial strip is in Florida. It’s pedestrian road worth a short visit on your way to something else. Stop by Galleria Pacifico for artwork that’s more befitting a church than a shopping centre, and browse the stores for generic clothes and souveneirs. I walked through part of Florida on the way to work for Family #2 and we went a couple of times to exchange money.

Everywhere we went before Argentina, people were telling us to exchange US dollars at unofficial places as the rate is much higher. The problem was that in January, the government put a stop to withdrawing US dollars from ATMs as it was screwing over workers and the economy. This meant that after exchanging a couple hundred dollars when we arrived, we had nothing left to exchange and couldn’t take advantage of the much better rate of 10 pesos for $1 rather than 7.5 for $1.

It was a shame, especially as dividing by 10 is much easier than dividing by 7.5! When we exchanged the US dollars we withdrew in Uruguay we even got 11 pesos for $1. It was annoying as many places assume gringos or even slightly well-off people could magically obtain US dollars and get the good rate, so prices were high. Even my yoga place charged accordingly. How people got hold of dollars remains a mystery, and one the postal service may want to look into…

Sao Paulo, Brazil

We weren’t going to visit this sprawling metropolis a 22ish hour drive inland from Rio. However, we were a week ahead of schedule and had Chloe’s company on the trip, so off we went. We gave it two days, but I’m sure you could spend more once you got to know it better. I felt it was largely a business city; the location for company head offices.


We found a cheap, non-crappy hotel online in Centro that was a short walk from the subway (always a plus!). I’m just now truly realising the disadvantage of not writing more immediately (as if there were advantages?). I’m only a little sure that we arrived in Sao Paulo around midday on 25 March. It’s now 24 May! Oops… (and I’m not posting until June 6!).

We walked around the mall area and for dinner went to a sushi place in a small arcade. Living in Melbourne, I’ve been spoilt when it comes to authentic multicultural food, so when I eat it anywhere else it’s always a little disappointing! The sushi itself was delicious (and included the big rolls you get in the U.S.A). What was odd was the sake served in little square bento boxes filled until it spilled over into a saucer. It made drinking difficult and wasteful! If this actually happens in Japan, let me know!

After breakfast at the hotel, we went to the UGT office; a union that Tristan hoped to make connections with as part of his role representing the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It was kind of nice being in a corporate setting again, especially as we met with their international relations director. While they chatted in Spanish, I read English promotional brochures and was impressed by one about human rights for migrants, Indigenous people, children and workers from all sectors.

From there we visited the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral. In 1913 it took 40 years to build and looks over a European styled park, right in the middle of a clustered city; it sneaks up on you! We hoped to go to the top of the Altino Arantes Building; built between 1939 and 1947 as the state bank. You need your passport to get in though and we’d left our’s at the hotel, so we settled for views of its fancy foyer.

Getting hungry, we took the subway and walked through crowded market streets to the Mercado Municipal de Sao Paulo; a mecca for deli foods. We found a table and tucked into soft cheese, salami, pickled onions and a small bottle of red wine. Yum.





In the 1970s, 109 people disappeared (suspected kidnapped) under the dictatorial government; generally for some small action or maybe none at all. We visited the Memorial of Resistance of Sao Paulo, which thanks to the many photos, was educational despite my lack of Spanish. It was weird to see photos of various Nazi Party groups along side other persecuted associations. We saw the cells where people were kept and tortured, and the graffiti they left on the walls.


It’d been a long day of walking so we rested for a bit in a park, once we’d secured a bench! There were small waterfalls and even exercise equipment (most parks have these, even some bus stops – awesome idea!).

The weather wasn’t nearly as hot as in Bahia, but the idea of sitting in a cool cinema was appealing so we went to see 12 Years A Slave. It was in English (with Spanish subtitles), and is a great film. See it if you haven’t already!

We’d hoped to catch up with Chloe that night and see a little of Sao Paulo from a semi-local’s perspective, but her family lived a bit out-of-town and it’d been a busy week. Instead, we went to a Ramona’s restaurant, recommended on Trip Advisor (my new favourite website). One waiter spoke English but all the staff were friendly and the food was good. The chips were a little soft and burnt, the salad a little soggy but the steak tartare was terrific (and only $15).

For our last day in Sao Paulo, we went to the Sao Paulo Museum of Art; a 1968 concrete and glass building suspended on red beams. It creates a large open public space underneath, which along with some homeless people, that day it was full of student protestors. They were calling for cheaper and more frequent public transport and from our experience they were right to do so; the trains were easy to navigate but always very packed. It was great to see so many young people articulating their needs in an organised way. Most were there as part of smaller associations; another sign of an active and organised political culture.

Across the road was Trianon Park; a gorgeous, tree-filled, slightly dark reprieve from the city, and big! I think we just scratched the surface. There’s a bridge over a main road allowing the garden to continue on the other side and it’s full of quiet spots, sculpture and winding paths.

Nearby, we had lunch at a buffet place where you pay by the weight of your food. There are lots of them around Brazil and Argentina and I think they’re a great idea. For those on a diet it lets you choose exactly what you want to eat, and know how much it weighs. It’s deceptive though – I thought my plate would have weighed less than it did!

That evening we boarded a bus for a 16 hour journey to Foz do Iguazu to see Iguazu Falls; one of the seven natural wonders in the world. Yet again, the bus was comfortable and the overnight really not that bad (plus we save money on accommodation!).

Eco Trancoso, Part 3: Experiencing Trancoso’s delights.

Being at Eco Trancoso wasn’t all nasty bugs and sad animals. My next post will be about the permaculture and eco construction work we did, but first I want to write about Trancoso itself. Note: I still haven’t found a cable to enable me to post the better photos from my camera, so iPhone pics it is.

Bahia’s Beautiful Beach.

After lunch on our first day Sage showed us the walk to the beach. It’s a pretty walk and ends going through a small jungle, but due to another hill it’s not the easy stroll described on the website. The farm is on the top of a hill so getting anywhere is a bit of a hike, but we got used to it and the views are wide and stunning.


The beach is what Bahia is famous for and it’s truly one of the best I’ve seen. The sand is clean and there’s no rocks, seaweed or (mostly) people. Even so, a few times we were lucky enough to be approached by guys selling melty cheese on a stick, sprinkled with oregano. They melt it right in front of you on coals in a little portable BBQ. I could have easily eaten ten each sitting.

We spent every other afternoon at the beach, happily using the wooden shelters, body surfing (the waves could be huge!) and being bug free. It was fun to spot the near translucent crabs and one day some of the others helped a big turtle get back into the sea. If we wanted to use the boogie board though, we had to find Stefan and ask him to get it as he kept it in his house…


There were some hotels 10 minutes down the beach and occasionally we walked over for a beer and to swim in the river. After the isolation of the farm and our beach spot, it felt like returning to civilisation. The beach here flows into a river, so at low tide a pool is formed and when the tide changes you can stand on the crest and be buffeted from the waves in one direction and from the fast-moving river in the other. The tides really do change the shape of the beach. In the morning, it’s lovely to lie in the channels that form about 30 metres from the water.

In the afternoon, people play volleyball and practice yoga on the hard, sandy beach facing out to sea. People watching the people watchers was interesting too. One time a woman was happily yogaing to a small group of men confidently standing around her, some taking photos. If I was more prepared to look like a pervert I would have joined them; the photos would have been great. When the river becomes deeper at high tide, kids and teenagers take running jumps into its brown waters, just metres from the blue of the ocean.

Trancoso Town.

When we hiked into town it was mainly to use free wifi in one of the cafes. Other than our first few days, the internet wasn’t working at the farm. It doesn’t sound like much, but I’d intended to use some of my free time to write this blog and research and plan the rest of our trip. It was especially annoying when organising our next adventure, as we had to walk to town and back just to spend a couple of minutes checking travel confirmations. Initially we were only allowed online from 4-6pm; we’re not sure why. When we explained that this meant having to come back early from the beach or town, or between the two, and that neither were a quick walk, Stefan agreed to change the time to straight after lunch.

Anyway, going to town was cool and allowed us to enjoy meat, dairy, cheap beer and other goodies (the farm is vegetarian, mostly vegan – I am not). A market stall sold the most mouth-watering, home-made chocolate I’ve ever had and the acai was delicious and refreshing. Acai is made from frozen native berries and while I’d seen it at music festivals in Australia it was really pricey, so I never bothered. Of course, there was also delicious street meat.

There’s almost two defined parts of town; the one where locals live, eat and shop and the tourist part. We probably spent more time in the former. The horses meander unawares.


A lot of Brazilian tourists come to Trancoso, especially rich people from São Paulo and it seemed many came for weddings in the church. This meant envying posh restaurants and resorts and browsing boutique shops an art galleries. The town’s landmark is an old, small church near the cliff and looking over the quadrant.


At night the area is lit up beautifully with lanterns and interesting, recycled light fittings. For example, one was made of coffee cups and another from the bottom of soft drink bottles. We took a moto taxi (motorbike) home a couple of times when it was dark and we couldn’t be bothered with the hill. At $3 each and lots of fun in and of itself, it was definitely worth it.

Happy Horse riding.

Four of us volunteers had expressed interest in horse riding, so Stefan introduced us to Fernando who runs treks from a ranch. It’s been owned by the same family for generations, and the 90-year-old patriarch still goes there everyday and watches his great-grandchildren learn the ropes. We arranged to meet at the ranch entrance and Stefan explained the way; the directions were really simple.

When we got to where we were meant to be, we couldn’t see Fernando. For the next 40 minutes we asked locals for help and were grateful that Chloe spoke Portuguese (her dad’s Brazilian and she’s in the process of getting her citizenship). You’d think a ranch would be easy to find, but no one seemed to know. Eventually, Fernando found us in the plaza – where he’d arrange with Stefan to meet us….

With Fernando and horses found and my grumpiness laid aside, we were soon trotting through the streets and towards the beach. First, we trailed through jungly areas and out onto a cliff to view the expanse of perfect beaches down below. When we got there, we had the option of cantering and galloping. I’d been riding about six times before but had never worked up the courage to canter, even though I heard it was more comfortable than trotting.

As soon as my horse began to canter I wished I’d done it years ago! No more painfully bouncy boobs (or balls I’ve been told!) and a lot more fun. As long as I made sure I wasn’t directly behind another horse (where I’d get a face full of sand), it felt amazing to race along the beach. At one point I even swung my hat in the air, holding the reins with one hand. Yee hah! It was great going into the waves a bit and we took the horses into the nearby river for a drink.

When we passed through the quadrant, we tied the horses to some trees and shared a beer. It’s very common to order a litre of beer and share it in small glasses, it’s cute and keeps the beer colder for longer. Afterwards, it felt easy and familiar to get back on my horse and ride to the ranch. If and when I have my dream house in the hills one day, I’d love to have a horse to ride into town (as well as for treks).

Burgers, Blocos, Bums and Santa Teresa.

In Copacabana we had a favourite burger place. After around 10pm, a wagon magically appears in a backstreet and becomes surrounded by hungry people. It’s hear that we learnt that standing politely by, waiting for the cooks acknowledgement gets you nothing but hungry. Loudly interrupting them gets you an X Todo burger; cheese, chillis, peas, beef pattie, bacon, ham, lettuce, tomato, tiny crispy fries and a quail egg. Mmm mmm.

Being Carnival, of course it was a great time to be in Rio. There’s a real buzz in the air and everyone’s out for a good time (it is the party before lent after all). However, the blocos we so welcomed on day one first turned on us in downtown Carioca. We were there to see Confeteria Colombo and suspect we got within metres of it, but a bloco had other plans, namely trapping and pressing sweaty gyrating bodies on us. The authorities were prepared; many stores were boarded up and roads were closed. Despite a few moments of claustrophobia, I was glad for the experience and we did make it to our second goal; the nearby Metropolitan Cathedral (definitely one of a kind).

The next time we came up against a bloco was in Santa Teresa. After begging a taxi to take us there despite rumours of the bloco, we got as far as we could before proceeding on foot. It’s a lovely neighbourhood though; my favourite in Rio. We were there to pretend to be rich. I’d booked a massage at the tranquil sanctuary of Santa Teresa Hotel and my plan to weasel into their fancy schmancy pool area paid off. After getting directions from some friendly Germans (thanks mum!), we spent the afternoon in luxury. The massage was great and afterwards I had use of a private bathroom and sun speckled, air-conditioned deck where I was brought juice and fruit salad.

We spent another afternoon on the Lagoa; a lake in the south of the city with great views of Rio surronded by mountains, peaked by Sugar Loaf. I went back to my childhood when we paddled out on one of those duck shaped boats and got yet another kitschy song in my head when we went to nearby Ipanema. It’s a cool beach, gorgeous at sunset and there were loads of people in happy Carnival mode, but it didn’t live up to its reputation and we preferred the far less touristy Copacabana beach.

What did live up to its reputation were the Brazillian gstrings. Women of all ages and sizes wear them and I think it’s great. There’s no judgement and bums look better with less on them anyway. I even got a ‘bummier’ pair myself when we got to Trancoso (not the full bum floss!).

Hello computer…

I left Australia on 2 February 2014 for a 10 month budget journey around Latin America with my partner Tristan. We’re visiting his family across California for a few weeks at either end and hope to experience as much as time and money will allow in between. We quit our jobs and here we are!

I’m still learning about how to use this site, so please bare with me while I learn and make changes as I go! My internet access relies on wifi which isn’t always steady, so it may take a while to get the blog and pages up to scratch.

Right now, I’m in tropical Bahia, Brazil, volunteering at EcoTrancoso. We work on permaculture gardens, build adobe bricks and walls, care for a horse, ducks and chickens and once a week cook for the other volunteers (currently five of us), the project leader and Jilbert; an eccentric old Madagascan who sounds like he’s led an amazing life. Tristan and I got here on 7 March and will stay for three weeks. More on that later.

Since we left we’ve visited different places that I haven’t gotten around to writing about but will now in chronological order. I aim to use this blog not so much as a daily journal (clearly), but to record and share my photos and feelings about the place, people, culture and of course the food! I do love my food. I’ll also do the odd review of a hostel, bar etc. Any prices will be roughly calculated in Aussie dollars.

YOGA PAGE
If I’m somewhere for long enough and they have yoga, I’ll go to a class or more and review them. Back in Melbourne, I practiced barkan method yoga at Yoga Flame in Essendon. It was a lovely mental and physical constant for over three years so I want to keep connected. I never was disciplined enough for a home practice, so it definitely won’t happen while travelling!

RAMBLINGS PAGE
If a topic takes my interest and is too detailed or distracting (aka potentially boring) for the general blog, I’ll write about it on this page. I studied Cultural and Feminist Anthropology and Sociology and worked with Indigenous and multicultural communities in Melbourne, but I’m no expert and always stand to be corrected.

WHAT I’M READING PAGE
More for my memory, I’ll keep note of what I’m reading. I really think that what you’re reading shapes how you think and write at the time, so it might be interesting to notice if that happens. Since 2 February I’ve read four books, so it might be long! I’m not capable of passing books on when I’m done (even though I know I should) so the bag is getting heavy and the post may get costly. We’ll see how long that lasts!

PHOTOGRAPHY PAGE
I’ll post pics within posts but so as not to clog it up, I hope to start a photo gallery.

Let’s start at the very beginning…