Final Entry from South America...If We Can Bring Ourselves To Do It

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

March 10, 2008

(Amber)

I'm writing this blog from the air somewhere between Lima and Costa Rica en route to NYC, so I have probably officially already left South America. By the time we arrive at JFK airport in NYC tonight, we will have been traveling for 24 hours straight.

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Back to our last day in Buenos Aires....

We arrived at our hostel late Sunday night after a 13 hour-long day of travel via bus and boat from Montevideo. What stings about this is that we could have paid slightly more and gotten to Buenos Aires via a speed boat in about 50 minutes.....but that's the plight of a budget traveler.

When we arrived at the port around 11pm, we jumped in our cab and headed to our hostel. I had reserved a different place than we stayed in last time because the first was loud and filthy and in a location that required us to walk a good long way to get to the heart of San Telmo. We were happy that this one, only $6 more per night, was in the middle of the beautiful little neighborhood that had become our home in Buenos Aires.....but my heart sank as the cab pulled up to a hostel that looked very similar to a loud and smoky old bar.

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We walked in, and there were probably 20 people in the reception area (with high ceilings, thick red curtains, and the look of an old school bordello) smoking, drinking, singing. One guy was even playing cards in his underwear with his jeans down around his ankles. Strip poker I'm guessing, although I didn't hang around to see who may have ended up in his skibbies. This wasn't what I had envisioned.

We haven't written about it much, but by far the most exhausting part of the trip so far (more so than the winds of Patagonia, long bus rides on dirt roads with no break for the bano, etc....) has been staying in hostels that would be decent but for our loud neighbors, who have been present in almost everyone we've chosen. Most rooms have been constructed with very thin walls, and screaming and laughing usually goes on until 4am and cranks back up at 7am. And we usually share a bathroom with about 10 other people in these hostels. So we haven't slept well. And I had hoped than the $6 jump in price might give us a slightly nicer...and quieter place.

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When we pulled up, my hopes were dashed. But after we checked in, the host walked us across the street to another building. It turned out to be very simple but clean and QUIET, which was a great way to spend our last two nights in the city....and on the continent. Turns out, the bordello hosted the dorms, and the doubles were across the street in what seemed like a newly renovated building.

We spent our last day in Buenos Aires exploring La Boca, the colorful and vibrant neighborhood that was created in the 1800s by Italian immigrants and boasts the famous Camonita street. It's famous for art, tango, and colorful buildings. The neighborhood around this popular street is very poor and known to be one of Buenos Aires' most dangerous, so you're advised at every turn to stick to the well beaten path....a path that is beautiful, interesting, and a must-see in the city.

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After a few hours in La Boca, we went back to our neighborhood, San Telmo, and then walked to the City Center for one last stroll through down the crowded and crazy pedestrian streets of Florida and Constitution.

We had to be back in San Telmo at 5pm to pick up our laundry (always a huge treat for us...especially if we get lucky enough to have taken it to a place that actually makes it smell better!).

One we picked up our gloriously clean, though ragged, duds, we went to a little pub across the street from our hostel and played cards for a while before heading to our favorite steakhouse for one last dinner in South America. Of course, we went out in style....with red wine, tenderloin, and mashed potatoes.

As we spent our last day in Buenos Aires, we talked about our trip so far....tried to tie a little bow on the end of the first leg of this amazing journey. I planned to write a blog that summed it all up, but I just can't. As Matt and I spent our day idling about the city and reminiscing about our two and a half months on this continent, neither could contain our raw emotions.

We have loved this place and our time here more than anyone could every understand...more than even we can understand. It has been life-changing and beautiful, and I still can't believe we're really doing it. I hope that at the end of the whole journey, I can come up with a suitable recap with highs and lows and in betweens. But for now, I can't. I feel like choosing the highs would be like choosing which of my limbs or which of my nephews I loved most. It's impossible. All I can say is that I'm so thankful for our time here and so excited about what's to come.

(Matt)

I'm writing this on our second day in Tanzania. Even though we were in South American a mere week ago, it seems like it was another lifetime, which makes it more difficult to sum up. There really is no summing up a trip to Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay because we have done so many different things in each. They are all physically very beautiful countries with fascinating cultures, though some are more diverse than others. But though there are differences between them, all have a quality that is very uniquely South American. We will miss that quality as we move forward, but I think the odds are good that we will return some day.

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