24 Oct 2009 - Week 12 - Buenos Aires & Uruguay

After soaking up the sun and enjoying the relaxation in Salta I headed to Buenos Aires - Argentina's Capital city!

My main reason for coming here was to catch some local football games.  Argentinians are fanatical about football, and their two biggest clubs have a global following - Boca Juniors and River Plate.  These clubs have produced some world class talents such as Tevez, Riquelme and probably one of the greatest footballers ever - Diego Maradona!

In my first week I was lucky enough to catch a Boca Juniors game, they won 2-1.  The atmosphere was incredible, the Boca fans sing continually, complete with drummers and trumpetiers!  They unveiled one of the largest flags I have ever seen - it nearly completely covered one end of the ground.

After a few hectic days in the capital I decided to make the short ferry hop across to Uruguay. I had heard about an Estancia (working farm), where you were able to sample living the life of a gaucho. 

So I booked in for three days.  Again I had an incredible experience there, something I will always remember.  Rodney Bruce, the 72 year old Uruguayian owner of Scottish descent was a fantastic host.  His enthusiam for his country and the way of life was infectious! 

I spent three days taking trips on his boat up the river, horseriding and walking around the farms extensive grounds. 

The scenery was similar to back home, but the lifestyle probably similar to living in the country in Wales a century ago!  I could have stayed longer but it was time to get moving onto Patagonia!