Back to Buenos Aires

Ushuaia was a bit of a 'what next?' point for us as Graham had initially planned to go to the Falklands while I had my mind set on the vineyards of Mendoza. We had also talked about Bolivia. A quick roaming call to the Falklands tourist office turned him off his initial idea instantly.

Graham: "What is state of wildlife in the Malvinas at this present time?"

Tour operator: "The penguins have all gone."

Graham: "What activities would you recommend in the absence of penguins?"

Tour operator: "There are two pubs. Not much else."

Unable to cope with the hard selling technique of Falkland Islands' tourism board, and not being particularly keen on Mendoza, he turned his attention to Paraguay. Meanwhile, I changed my mind as well. Landing back in Buenos Aires, the return to city comforts, cloudless Mediterranean weather and the wonderful location of Dazzler Suites (just opposite the famous Recoleta Cemetery) effectively crossed out any immediate travel plans. All I wanted to do was stay put, so that's what I did. At US$75 a night (plus 21% tax) I can recommend no better place to stay for anyone wishing to visit BA.

A big shout out to Señor Ladi Akintola, my most connected friend in the entire world, for hooking me up with infuential people in town. From their recommendations, here are MY top three pearls of wisdom on things to do in Buenos Aires, in no particular order:

1. Eat at one of the famous Parillas. La Brigada is the one Ladi's friend recommended. Outstanding.

2. Watch a Boca or River Plate game. Better still, pay twice the price and watch El Classico if you happen to be there at the right time. Until you have been to a league football match in Argentina, you will never quite understand what all the fuss is about.

Huracan vs Boca Juniors.
For safety reasons we were made to sit with the home team.

Hence the red scraf. 3-0 to Boca so we weren´t allowed to cheer either.

3. Instead of trying to blend in like a local (cos you won't), accept the fact that you're a tourist and get on an open top sight-seeing bus. Far simpler way to get shit done. Here we are at the famous Caminos in La Boca district.

4. Once youve seen all the obligatory sights, pick a nice sunny spot to drink, smoke and eat lard. My recommendation is the old school La Biela in Recoleta or any of the cafes along the stretch facing the cemetery. The waiters are grumpy, the prices are a bit of a piss take, but the location makes up for everything. Trust me on this.

If you enjoy doing nothing as much as I do, time in Buenos Aires will whizz by and you will love every minute of it. My original plan had been to fly to Lima (Peru) and do the Machu Pichu thing. Although I still intend to do this, I have grown very fond of Argentina, and so on the 11th hour of my final night in BA I decided to postpone the trip to Peru and instead booked myself on a 2-hour flight to my next big destination, Salta.