Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Puerto Natales je male ospale mesto, kde potkate vetsinou cizince nebo mistni jak si nesou svuj hrnecek s kovovym brckem a mate. Ten piji vsude, v parku, v MHD, za chuze... Ale jeste nez opustime mesto zajedeme na soutok rek Parana a Iguazu kde lezi trojmezi statu Argentina-Brazilie-Paraguay. Puvodne jsme chteli jet na jednu z nejvetsich vodnich elektraren sveta Itaupu do Paraguay, ale pri pomysleni, ze by jsme v tomhle vedru museli minimalne 2x prekrocit hranici, vystat fronty, formulare, atd. jsme to zavrhli. Jeste ke vsemu predesly den byla na hranicich nejaka stavka a zpozdeni bylo az 7hodin...
Zbytek pobytu stravime uz jen u bazenu - tam je to pohoda, palmy sem tam preleti nad hlavou papousek, vychlazene pivo a k tomu hraje Jack Johnson nebo reggae...
Ja lehce a Janca vice spaleni pak vyrazime smer Buenos Aires. Asi jsme jeste nezminovali autobusy, dalkove jsou paradni. Luxusni kresla ktera se daji sklopit do uplne roviny, vlastni obrazovka, dobre jidlo a piti. Jen sampanske jsme odmitli...Takze i kdyz cesta trvala skoro 20hodin utekla rychle a hlavne jsme sedeli vepredu takze bylo na co koukat. Silnice je siroka, asfalt do cervena a vzdy se tahne az na obzor. Krajina je zvlnena, lesy jsou rozlehle a je to zajimava smes listnatych stromu, borovic a sem tam mezi nimi palma.
Do Buenos Aires prijizdime rano a hned pri vstupu do metra nas policajt varuje pred kapsari v oblasti kde mame bydlet...a hele, na stanici Lima /nejstarsi metro jizni polokoule, jezdi tu drevene soupravy/ se na me v davu lepi typek s bundou pres ruku a smatra v kapse. Smula - vsechno mam ve skryte kapse zevnitr. Po primem pohledu a odsoupeni dela jako, ze nic a na pristi vystupuje.
Je dopoledne ale teploty ve stinu uz kolem 30 k tomu 90% vlhkost vzduchu. Nic moc, ale presto obchazime hlavni pamatky a historicke centrum - Plaza de Mayo s palacem Casa Rosada, Obelisco /vysoky pilir na miste kde poprve zavlala statni vlajka/, stadion Boca Juniors - ptal jsem se na rozpis zapasu ligy, ale ani Boca ani River Plate v pristich 4 dnech hrat nebudou. Skoda. Vecer jeste koukame na poulicni tango.
Dalsi den mirime smerem na hrbitov Recoleta. Hrbitov je krasny, mensi nez v Milane, ale o dost zhustenejsi. Skoda, ze nas vedro vyhani do stinu. Alespon jsme zvladli najit a vyfotit hrobku Evity. Ve bohate ctvrti Recoleta potkavame hodne vencicu nebo vencitelu? psu. Nekteri jich maji i 10. Zajdeme do botanicke, ale je to takovy horsi park. Dublinske nesaha ani po kotniky.
Predposledni den v BA se rozhodneme vyjet na deltu reky Parana. Ta je tvorena spoustou mensich rek, ricek, potoku a kanalu a mezi nimi jsou stovky ostrovu. Na ostrovech jsou krasne rezidence se stromy ktere jsou velmi stare a mohutne, upravena zahrada nesmi chybet. Jediny rozdil oproti beznym bohatym ctvrtim je, ze jsou vsechny domy postavene na kulech pro pripad vysoke vody a misto garaze ma kazdy molo a lod. Vyjizdku lodi si moc uzivame nejen kvuli vyhledu, ale i pro stin a svezi vanek ktery konecne ulevi od otravneho vedra. Pokud bydlet v BA tak jedine zde, necelou hodinu do centra, zadny ruch, hluk a smog a vsude krasna priroda.
Dnes brzo rano preletame do Patagonie, predpoved kolem 10st a destivo. Nikdy by jsme neverili, ze se muzeme tesit na irske pocasi...


Puerto Natales is a small, drowsy town where you can meet only tourists or locals with their cup, metal straw and mate. They drink it everywhere - in parks, buses or when walking...
But before we leave the town for Buenos Aires we go to the meeting point of rivers Iguazu and Parana. This is where the borderlines of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. Originally we wanted to go and see Itaupu hydropowerplant, one of the biggest in the world. But it is in Paraguay and the prospect of crossing border at least twice in this heat is not very pleasant. Yesterday there was a strike at the border - delays up to 7hrs...
The rest of our stay we spend at the pool. Taking it easy - cold beer, palms, Jack Johnson and reggae...
Next day bit sunburned we head for the BA. Have not mentioned the long distance buses yet - they are perfect. Big cosy seat that goes nearly flat, own screen, good food, wine and champagne...So the 20hrs on bus are quite relaxing with really nice views. Road is reddish and always goes all the way to the horizon, forests are large with interesting mix of leaf trees, evergreens and palms.
We reach BA early morning. At the entrance to the metro a policeman warns us about pickpockets in the area where we are staying...and here it comes, at the station Lima /oldest metro of southern hemisphere, wooden carriages/ a guy with a jacket over his hand makes the try in the crowd. Bad luck /for him/ everything is in my hidden trousers pocket /thanks Craghoppers/. After I give him a stare and back off a step he looks like nothing happened and leaves at next station.
It is still morning and the temperatures reach 30, with humidity 90% not a great weather for a sightseeing...but still we manage to see the main sites and historical centre - Plaza de Mayo with presidential Casa Rosada, Obelisco /high white column in the place where national flag was raised for the first time/, Boca Juniors stadium - we checked the schedules but no football is on in next 4 days. Pity. And in the evening we go and watch a street tango show.
Next day we head for the Recoleta Cemetery where Evita has her tomb. It is very nice similar to the one in Milan, not so big but more compact. In this rich area we meet a lot of professional dog walkers. Some of them have 10 of them. Then we go to see the botanical gardens but it is just below average park. Dublin's one remains number 1 for us.
Last day of our stay in BA we decide to go and see delta of river Parana. It consists of many rivers, streams and canals embracing hundreds of islands. The islands are inhabited and everywhere you can see huge and gorgeous residences with big and old trees and gardens that get a lot of attention. The only difference comparing to ordinary rich area is that all houses are built on columns in case of high water and instead of garages everybody has it's own pier and boat. We are enjoying the boat ride not just for great views but as well for shade and pleasant breeze that relieves us from the oppressive heat. If living in BA this is the place - not even an hour to city centre, no rush, noise or smog and beautiful nature views everywhere.
Early in the morning we fly to Patagonia. Forecast 10degrees and showers. If someone told us that one day we'll be looking forward to an Irish version of the weather we'd call him mad...