January 3 – 4th ~ Buenos Aires on our own
Boca District
Getting off of the ship went smoothly. We caught a cab at the terminal and arrived at our hotel by 10:00. We had made the decision to book Two Hotel, which is where out Intrepid Tour is scheduled to meet on the evening of January 6th. It is a basic, inexpensive hotel that has seen better days, but we thought that not having the inconvenience of changing hotels might offset that.
Might not have been a wise choice, but we lived with it.
Checking in was a bit of a joke, as they did not have a room available for us until 3:30. Customer service and poor attitudes did not make us feel very welcome. The upside is that there was excellent, free WiFi in the lobby and I used the waiting time to upload a bunch of pictures and write-up several days worth of blog posts that I was then able to schedule.
When we finally got our key and went to our room, the bathroom had not been cleaned, and in fact was a pig sty, with huge wads of toilet paper in both the shower and all over the floor.
Nope, don’t think this room has been cleaned 😦
Returning to the desk, we showed them pictures, and they said, “Oh, I guess it was not ready”. No apology, but we did get a key for the room next door.
Our room at Two Hotel. Saggy mattress and stained, dirty bedcover, but we somehow survived 😦
Their hygiene standards here are at best, but we managed somehow. One of two elevators are broken, and the working one has not been cleaned in ages. The safe in our room did not work, and we had to get it fixed, plus a hair dryer from the desk. I could elaborate further, but I’ve already complained enough about the hotel.
Oh, did I mention that it is in a very good area as a base for exploring? Another check mark in the plus column…
The first adventure was to take the Hop On Hop Off style bus, called Buenos Aires Bus. It was actually a different company here, but same concept.
Walking three blocks to purchase our tickets, the posted sign at the bus stop indicated that busses came by every 20 minutes. We managed to watch a protest complete with enormous and loud drums and flags a flying, plus a lot of shouting we did not understand while passing the time.
After waiting 90 minutes, one of the busses came by. I tried to flag it down, but the driver only waved in some direction behind us and kept on going. Returning to the ticket office, we were told that was not normal, and suggested that we walk an additional three blocks to where all the busses start their route and try to get on there.
We headed off, and found three busses waiting. The weather was a cooker and would eventually reach 95 degrees by mid afternoon, but I was still determined that I wanted to sit up on top to allow for easier picture-taking. Besides the few seats downstairs were already occupied and had little to no views. The rough part was that the seats were plastic, had been sitting in the HOT sun for hours and even with putting several layers of paper on them, our buns were burning!
On Buenos Aires Bus
Driving throughout the town, we did see several of the places that we had been introduced to earlier on our ship tour, but also quite a few new ones. Within an hour my arms were turning red.
Congress building
La Boca Caminito
The real highlight of the day for me was the La Boca Caminito stop where we got off and spent a couple of hours having a meal, people watching, checking out the wares of small vendors and taking a bucket full of pictures.
Many of the early settlers to this neighborhood were of Italian descent, and it has maintained a European charm.
It was SOOOOOO colorful and our Italian waiter charming!
I know it is a definite tourist trap, but it was so fun to sit at a table, listen to local musicians, watch some tango dancers and try to take it all in.
Perfect seat for a coffee or meal and watch the locals perform
And a few more shots:
Also at this stop is a bicycle tower display built from 1254 bikes, created by Ai Weiwei.
Bike statue by Ai Weiwei
Another view from the side
And shot from our bus:
Monumento de los españoles
GRATITUDE MOMENT: We enjoyed a good dinner next door at the Intercontinental Hotel. I thought that their salad bar was fabulous, and after a challenging (at times anyway) day, it was nice to just relax and have a lighter meal. The charm and color of La Boca has made up for some of the disfunction we have experienced in other areas. Glad to have found a silver (and red, and blue, and yellow, and green) lining after all.
A Note From Abroad 
Such a colorful (in more ways than one) city.
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Yes it is!
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That bike statue is really something! And I quite enjoyed the vivid colours and shots of life in your slideshow. Thanks for bringing us along. And good luck with that saggy mattress hotel room! (You should write a tripadvisor review so others know not to book there. That shower picture tells a lot!)
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Yep, that shower would’ve done it for me. I’d be booking into the Intercontinental next door in a flash! 🙂
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It was tempting, but having already paid through hotels.com, it just seemed like too big of a hassle to change. We ended up being fine. Thankfully we are pretty flexible and able to make things work. 👍
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The bike structure was a great example of how creative one can be when thinking outside of the box. As saggy as the mattress looked it was still rather comfortable and we slept fine. That first shower however gave me nightmares…
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Looks wonderful and works as a fuel for serious travel fever; we’ll have a Miami to Panama Canal cruise in February. Can’t wait! Cruising around South America on our list.
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Oh, you will love seeing the Panama Canal! Such an engineering marvel. Wishing you an incredible time on your cruise.
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You are welcome.
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i was there about 15 years ago. Loved it. Food was great. Get over to Puerto Maderos if you can
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We were not able to get to Puerto Maderos, but appreciate your recommendation.
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Loved the street photography and all the colorful buildings.
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Hope we gave you a smile 😃
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La Boca is a paradise for photographers.
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We had so much fun there.
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Easy to see why the two of you liked La Boca! The shower was something else… –Curt
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I think it would have given me cooties 😦
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Me too. 🙂
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Great photos. Pity about the hotel but I guess these things can happen in foreign countries and you guys sound like you can be flexible when you have to be! Looking forward to reading about the next part of your trip.
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Jill, one must be patient and flexible while traveling. Everyone and every place has their own rhythm and way of doing things. Sometimes we gel, sometimes it is a learning experience.
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Ahh… the tango- Have you tried it?
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Tried it – failed miserably!!!
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You guys are awesome for taking things in stride! La Boca area looks amazing. I’m really excited about our upcoming trip reading your posts!
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I’m so glad we could give you a sneak peak of some things you may see on your upcoming trip!
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Shame about the hotel, but La Boca reminds me a little of Old San Juan, colorful and cheerful!
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I didn’t remember Old San Juan as being that colorful, but it has been many years since we have been there.
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Yes, it was lovely…of course I was there in 2015…who knows what terrible state it might be in today. 😢
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