So today we had to sign out of our swanky, if slightly claustrophobic, apartment. We had the maintenance guy show up at 9:30 AM, when we were barely out of the shower, looking to pick up the keys. We sent him away until our checkout time of 12:00 noon. We availed ourselves for the first time of the concierge service offered by the management company and asked that they request a large cab for us to carry all four of us plus our extensive baggage to the bus terminal. True to form, when we burst out onto the street in a tidal wave of luggage, waiting for us was a tiny Renault cab. We had the driver request a "kombi" cab, which we were told would be a 40 minute wait. Never taking "wait" for an answer, Liz kept busy at the corner of the block, flagging over taxis that were going by in the dozens, while Remy and the boys flirted with the old ladies back at the bus stop. We tried to stuff everything into the back of what passes for a station wagon taxi, but that didn't work and we had to send the disappointed driver on his way. Finally, a kombi rounded the corner and pulled over at LIz' bidding. Sure enough, a second kombi, the one ordered by the first driver, was right behind him. We felt awful as he fruitlessly rang the door bell of our recently ex-apartment while we drove past.
Once we had dropped our bags at the terminal (and got royally fleeced for the privilege of leaving them there for the day, about US$22.50) we proceeded with Plan A. Well, Plan Only, actually, which was to spend the afternoon at the zoo until it was time to catch our bus. We had not done our research, which would have told us that the zoo is closed on Mondays. We stood at the front gate with about half a dozen other hapless tourists before leaving with our tails tucked between our legs. We tried to get some personal administration done at a couple of banks, again without success. The boys, by this time, were hot and royally bored (letting us know it, too) so we prolonged the agony by taking them to the botanical gardens where we had a pasty picnic lunch. The bathrooms were all under renovation, so we took the opportunity to pee on some rare plants.
We had not been to La Boca yet, and figuring we would have some good photo ops there, jumped into a cab to check out the neighbourhood. Bad idea! Rush hour in BA is not something you want to experience from the confines of a stuffy cab, and La Boca was a lot further away than we remembered. We ended up paying a huge taxi fare to get there, just in time for most things to be closing up before the soccer game at the Boca Juniors Stadium. There was a lot of energy in the air, and many streets were closed to traffic in order to handle the amount of pedestrians that a 56,00 seat stadium generates. We took our photos, ate some really good ice cream and headed back to the bus terminal.
The "Terminal de Omnibuses" is a really grotty place full of shifty people. Worried that we might go hungry, Liz and Remy sat at a filthy restaurant and had the "hamburguesa completa" a hamburger patty with fried egg, ham and cheese on a soggy bun. Finally, it was time to board the bus, a trip which I will allow Liz to relate in the next post as I believe she will tell it better.
-Remy
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