David –
After returning the rental car at the airport in Salta we were given the all clear from the agent that the damage would be covered by the insurance. We grinned as we boarded our flight to Buenos Aires. Our bags were heavy with a few bottles of wine we were looking forward to sharing with family – and after Lauren googled packing techniques to prevent them breaking in our soft bags we had our fingers crossed they would survive the next few weeks.
Our expectations for BA were pretty high – with lots of friends and travelers loving the European and Latin American melting pot. It was immediately clear that this city is oozing a rich culture and a love of food and wine (cough cough steak steak and more steak).
Our hostel was in the heart of the city in the suburb of Palmero. Perhaps it was psychological as we were nearing the end of the trip we were getting pretty tired of packing and repacking on an almost daily basis – so it was a great relief to just chill here for a few days. The hostel was probably one of our favorites of trip. A fully stocked bar with delicious craft beer, wine and interesting guests to match!
After what felt like well deserved sleep in we headed out of our leafy suburb and towards the city centre. It was Sunday so the markets would be in full swing and it was also international women’s day – a large demonstration had been planned to raise awareness of the massive issue of femicide in Latin America!
As this was obviously in a pre-Coivid 19 world it was a great idea to go and check it out. Another hostel guest told us that she had been notified that the flight she took from London to Santiago a few days prior had a confirmed case, but well it didnt seem likely that she had contracted it…Nonetheless The people watching at the rally was great with a huge mix of people from all walks of life!
Just further on from the capital building was the Feria de San Telmo. The cobbled street which ran for kilometers was over-run by weekend stalls – surprisingly there wasn’t too much repetition and we lost track of time as we sauntered towards the San Telmo Markets proper.
We quickly regretted our earlier lunch choice as we entered an incredible bustling hall filled with authentic Argentinean cuisine! Empandas the size of my head – heaps of local beers – huge asada’s (argentinan bbq joints) cooking every type of meat – and of course ample supplies of Chori Pan – the incredible Argentinan take on the humble sausage and bun.
After successfully riding the metro back to Palmero we chatted to the other guests about their days adventure. As it turned out Daria, who was staying in BA and just starting her South American solo adventure, had booked a table of 4 at Don Julio – the 34’th best restaurant in the world and two of her friends couldn’t make it. Without any hesitation we obliged to join her!
Our dining experience was certainly unique.
To dine at Don Julio you have to book months in advance, alternatively you can your luck and turn up at opening and to snag an unreserved table. We rushed across the suburb for our 9.30 booking (early for this place) – the queue of people out the front certainly confirmed its popularity and luckily they were serving everyone waiting outside with full glasses of champagne. Every now and then piping hot empanadas would be brought out to satiate us and to stop us glaring through the windows with our hungry eyes.
After waiting for almost 90 minutes they ushered us inside.
We cheered.
We were taken down into their cellar for a complementary wine tasting! Ooo la la.
Through thick oak doors we entered a dark and musty cellar. The sommelier guided us through to the tasting room and took us on a brief wine tour of Argentina. We were all pretty blown away by the set up and now ever more hungry.
We hoped that we would now be seated and tuck into some juicy steaks but alas we were shown back out the door for more champagne and empanadas.
The clock was about to strike midnight when we finally headed in. Our seats were perched far up the back of the restaurant in a distinctly touristy section but we didn’t care anymore, we just wanted to eat! With our tired eyes and appetizer filled stomachs we devoured our perfectly cooked steaks so unfortunately we didn’t take any pictures.
Exploring BA on foot was stunning and helped work off the excess food and all that wine (or just make room for more?). Today we headed to the famous Recoleta Cemetery – a huge labyrinth of old and new family tomb of who’s who of Argentina’s famous and wealthy. It was captivating and very eerie seeing many of them falling apart with broken glass, rotting wood and collapsing doorways.
Further on we stumbled onto the striking Floralis Genérica – the giant silver flower which tracks the sun from dawn till dusk and an icon of the city.
Our flight to Rio was at 8am on our final day and luckily Lauren asked me to check which airport we were flying from the night before our flight. As it turned out we arrived via the ‘domestic’ airport which is right in the city – whereas the outbound flight was at the international airport over an hour away! So we had another dodgy Uber at 3am to catch.
Stepping off the plane in Rio was like entering another continent. The basic Spanish that we picked up was practically useless, we felt that our listening skills had improved a huge amount and we could understand the gist of most peoples conversations (mostly the ones we were eve’s dropping in on) and we could easily ask for the basics (ordering, directions and asking for assistance). Suddenly it was all ‘obrigado’ and ‘Como você estás’.
It felt like we didn’t really experience Rio de Janeiro. It was suddenly clear that the pandemic was serious and we had to take action. Even though we were only a week away from flying to Dubai for Amy’s wedding everything was suddenly turned on its head. Dubai had closed its borders to foreigners (later clarified to only to a few specific foreigners) while the President of Brazil denied he had Corona virus and that it was a hoax. We did venture out a few times to see the beaches of Ipanema and Copanema which was a nice change from waiting on hold with Qantas.
It seemed like no one in this town was too worried yet we couldnt find a single hand sanitizer anywhere!
We made the call to head home after three nights instead of the week we had planned and luckily we were able to re-book our flight straight through from Rio to Auckland. This did mean that we’d be taking a 14 hour flight to Dubai then another 16.5 hours to Auckland…
Arriving in Auckland was a blurr. Over tired and unsure of what was about to happen as we made it through immigration we were relieved to be picked up by Brian and Nicola for the journey to Mt Maunganui! And of course ever so grateful that we didn’t have to get on another flight for a few days at least.
As New Zealand had just introduced 14 day quarantine for all visitors we were cooped up in a cosy place right near the beach. With everything unpacked we could really relax and try to reflect on how quickly the world had changed and how lucky we were to have been able to travel for so long and in good health!
The week actually flew by! Brian was the master chef and made sure that every meal was a special and memorable one. So much for working off all those Argentinan steaks. Once again we soon had to change our plan! Qantas and Air New Zealand announced that they would start cancelling all international flights. Without knowing an exact end date we pulled our flight to Australia forward. As it turned out our timing was once again spot on and we made it Perth just before the cut off dates but now we knew that we had to complete the whole 14 days of Iso!
Luckily mum and dad were more than happy to put us up next door! It was such a strange feeling landing back in Perth. It was 6.30 in the afternoon and still 30 degrees, sun not yet set and not a cloud in the sky. It was a shame we couldn’t pit stop at the beach for a dip!
Two days into our isolation, WA introduced mandatory hotel isolation for all visitors into the state, that really made us appreciate our big garden! Regular games of scrabble and darts plus a jigsaw helped keep us sane. I also had mum pick up a PlayStation to help us pass the time (Lauren didn’t quite get into the robot dinosaur hunting game for some reason).
After a well deserved swim at the beach, we headed off to the airport for our final journey of our epic trip. After 6 months and 20 days we were on our way home. The world we were coming back to was very different to what we left, but we were thankful that we were able to experience what we have.
We now are chilling out in Canberra, getting back to work and enjoying the joys of unpacking our suitcases and relaxing in our own apartment! Our plans to move to Papua New Guinea are on hold for now, but we are determined to continue the adventure in the not too distant future.
Far Away From Home 