Aelfgifu Travels

Hi Aelf Crew,

I went to Argentina in October, due to this being the beginning of Spring – think pleasant temperatures and nature kicking back into life.

Top Tip from Aelfgifu: Look into the seasons when planning a trip. In Buenos Aires, January sees highs around 29°C (too hot for me), but in October it was a much more comfortable 22°C. South America has the opposite seasons to mainland Europe, so whilst going in July may seem a good idea if you are chasing the heat, in reality you are looking at the coldest month to travel with temperatures not often passing 16°C.

As I’ve mentioned on a past blog on my trip to Uruguay – link here, I stayed at Viajero Buenos Aires, part of a hostel chain across South America known for their focus on social atmospheres and regular events.

After a 16-hour flight (with a stopover in Brazil), I arrived at the hostel far too early to check in. After some waiting around, I dropped off my bags and met a German girl in the dorm. Together we went out for some lunch and walked around Buenos Aires Ecoparque which was formerly a zoo and now a park with both free roaming and enclosed animals. It was odd seeing a giraffe against the urban backdrop of the city of Buenos Aires – I think worth a visit to see for yourself, but I enclose a video to try and demonstrate what I mean:  

We also visited the Cementario de la Recoleta to see the resting place of Eva Peron.

This experience was quite unsettling. Tickets were about $18,000 Argentine Pesos (around £12), which felt strange in itself as we were paying to walk around what was essentially a cemetery which has been turned into a tourist attraction.

There were rows upon rows of vaults and mausoleums and what was most interesting was a lot of them had clearly been broken into. Looking in through the glass windows and metal bars, you could see the coffin and their belongings placed around them. A lot of these looked like valuable gold bars and jewellery – a grave robber’s dream. The sheer number of looted and damaged tombs made it feel very eerie. 

Most disturbingly was when we took a turn into a row that was clearly the area for babies, with tiny little coffins, which was particularly upsetting.

We originally went there because I had seen Evita as a child and wanted to see Eva Peron’s tomb, but in the end it wasn’t her tomb that stayed with me – it was the unsettling atmosphere of the cemetery itself.

That evening, despite running on little sleep, a sore ankle, and general travel exhaustion, I joined the salsa class hosted by the hostel. I ended up dancing with a lovely young Brazilian man when it came to pairing up. A perfect reminder that you should always say yes, even if a little tired.

One highlight for me was the day trip to a Gaucho Farm, booked via Viator. We rode horses, ate a traditional Argentine barbecue, took part in traditional folk dancing, watched a folklore show and a show from the Gauchos showing their unique horsemanship skills. We also saw the centre of the town San Antonio de Areco, which was pleasant and quaint. Whilst I do have a bad allergy to horses, this was good fun and well worth the visit. As I’m sure many of you have learnt over reading these posts – an allergy is not enough to stop me from being sensible.

The next day was a classic Aelfgifu excursion of a free walking tour of Buenos Aires. In the evening, if one walking tour wasn’t enough, I also joined one called ‘Nazis in Buenos Aires: a historical walking tour’ booked through Get Your Guide. For the history nerds out there, I highly recommend this. We even saw the pub where Adolf Eichmann and Dr Josef Mengele used to meet, which was surreal and fascinating. Check it out here: https://www.getyourguide.com/buenos-aires-l1/nazis-in-buenos-aires-a-unique-historical-walking-tour-t610472/?ranking_uuid=5a27c611-856f-4b79-8b2c-a5c323c548d1

Tips to Learn from Aelfgifu:

• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: research, research, research. Whether this is researching the seasonal weather or the best hostel in the area, a bit of organisation can make a big difference.
• Always be open to new experiences – a salsa class or a historical tour: a spontaneous trip can make the most memorable moments.
• Know your limits and put your health first. Perhaps don’t follow my lead with things such as, knowingly riding horses with a horse allergy. I like to add a little risk into my life but I will never recommend this to my followers!

Have you been to the Recoleta Cemetery? Did you get the same sense of unease as me? Let me know below!

With rhythm and a slight horse allergy,

Aelfgifu