Chao to life on the edge

8 things I’ll miss about BAires

It’s been almost three months since we left Buenos Aires for good (weep). How quickly two and half years passes, with so much more to do and explore but no more time left. You’ve been good to us BAires. Within that time my husband and I got married (twice in fact and yes to each other both times) and you gave us a beautiful little girl, who is a proud Quilmeña (born in the city that is also home to the Quilmes beer company).

Like many poteñas and expats alike, I had my fair share of bronca. Yet another powercut during the unbearable heat, dog poo littering the pavement, my bankcard not working for the zillionth or the roads turning to rivers as there were no drains. Despite this, I look back on this time with a lot of fondness and happy memories. Here are 8 things I’ll miss about BAires/Argentina:

1. The people – I would walk down the street and say hello to at least three random people, something I wouldn’t do regularly in England. I made some good friends with locals and will miss their kindness, openness and good humour.

2. Diverse natural beauty – Argentina is a vast country going from semi-tropical rainforest in the northeast, desert in the northwest to glaciers in the south. We were lucky enough to do a fair bit of travelling and each place we visited was so varied – from the mountainous desert in Salta/Jujuy to the sierras in Cordoba, the wine region of Mendoza right down to Patagonia. The latter was a particular favourite - we cycled Argentina's Lake District, trekked in El Chalten and witnessed the mightly impressive glacier Perito Moreno in El Calafate.

3. The sun – Yes there are days of torrential rain and grey skies, but not many.

4. Ice cream – The ice cream, in Buenos Aires at any rate, is brilliant. Well done to the Italians for bringing out your ice cream makers (although I wish you’d also brought your pizza and pasta makers).

5. Spanish – It is a pity that just as my Spanish was getting pretty good, it was time to leave. I must also add that the j sound for ll and y really grew on me.

6. 159 bus – I used to get the 159 bus from our house in gran Buenos Aires into Capital for all of 50p.

7. Cheap, good wine – Malbec is a name that frequently come to mind when one thinks of Argentina and wine, but the Cabernets were, on balance, probably nicer. Not to mention other great finds of grape varieties I hadn’t heard of before, such as Torrontés grown in the higher altitude vineyards in Salta.

8. Not having seen more of the country, especially Ushaia, whale watching and the Gaelic towns in Patagonia.

     

Luckily we’re not moving too far afield, to Brazil in fact, so where one adventure ends another one begins. Seja bem-vindo!