Our last day in Buenos Aires. We have booked a 9 o’clock bus
that travels overnight to the Argentinian town of Mendoza – about an 11 hour
bus ride. In the meantime, we pack our bags, grab some breakfast and head out
for our last wander through our favourite South American city thus far.
We immediately head to the bus station, about 40 minutes
away – and attempt to store our bags in the lockers. Ridiculously, the locker
system has no signage (Spanish or English) that we could find – and it was
operated by unique bus coins (not cash) that, eventually after half an hour, we
figured out we had to buy from an obscure candy vendor in the middle of the
terminal… More inane South American inefficiencies…
Anyway, having already completed two brilliant walking tours
of the city, we decided to do something different and visit the Buenos Aires
Zoo! About an hours walk through neighbourhoods and parks we hadn’t visited
before – it was a lovely morning, strolling through the glorious sunshine.
Arriving at the zoo, we’re immediately faced with the reason why the venue got
such mixed reviews online, firstly, it was expensive (about £10 each) – and it
looked old. By old, I don’t mean antiquated, I mean dilapidated.
Upon entering the zoo we’re met with rusty bars, brown
walls, and most unfortunate, small enclosures. It’s difficult to appreciate a
zoo when the aim appears to be more on exploitation than preservation. Moral
dilemmas aside, the zoo actually had a very wide range of animals, from all the
usual reptiles, birds, small mammals – to the more exotic big cats (lions,
tigers, and jaguars), elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinos, condors, etc… All in
all, it passed the time well – and it was still lovely seeing these beautiful
creatures up close.
Exiting the zoo in the early afternoon, we wander back
through the parks we’d passed earlier. Having a little play on the outdoor gyms
(that are so prevalent in South America) – we pass even more time revelling in
our final few hours.
Arriving back at the bus terminal, we proceeded to our bus
company. It’s important to note that in South America – there are hundreds of
bus operators in the terminals offering their individual (and equal) services –
rather than one central office selling tickets (which would be so much more
efficient…). We show our bus cubicle man our ‘e-ticket’, however, in Buenos
Aires (and potentially other terminals) they have print shops below all the
tour operators – forcing you to pay more money to have a physical ticket.
Having sorted the ‘real ticket’ out, we board our first overnight bus. We paid
a few extra pounds for ‘cama’ service – which is essentially a wider, more
reclining seat than the regular (semi-cama – which are also very comfortable).
We snuggle into our cushy seats, wrap up in the included blanket – and take off
into the night.
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