After leaving Montevideo we took our first of four night buses of seven to ten hours in length. Although the buses were expensive, they were relatively comfortable with wide reclining seats and we were able to save money by not having to pay for a hostel for these four nights. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, we were blown away by the sheer grandeur of this city: at 13 million people it is the second largest city in South America (behind Sao Paulo, Brazil) and the economic and social center of the four countries making up the southern cone of South America (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile). At first, one is struck by the immensity of the avenues (and the traffic they contain) present in the city. Buenos Aires is 
home to the “world’s widest avenue”: At 21 lanes Ave. 9 de Julio takes a good quarter of hour to merely walk back and forth across. This avenue, however, is not singular in its grandeur. Throughout the city there are countless other twelve and fourteen lane two-way avenues, as well as nine and ten lane one-way avenues.In addition to its wide avenues, Buenos Aires is equally famous for its Casa Rosada (the Pink House) where Argentina’s president (Cristina Kirchner) lives. This house is most famous for being the place where Evita addressed her citizens in the Plaza de Mayo. After Evita’s death,
the Plaza de Mayo became even more famous in the 1980’s as Las madres de la Plaza de Mayo began their weekly protests, which continue to this day, in which they demand information about what happened to their “disappeared” children. Thousands of young people (with views not in agreement with the government) were abducted and killed with no record of their whereabouts and the government still refuses to disclose what actually happened.
On a lighter note, Buenos Aires has some of the best steak and ice cream in the world. Though one does not necessarily associate these two foods together, Argentina is generally accepted as the world’s greatest producer of beef, and we definitely ate our fair share. We even saw one steak that was three inches thick and two feet long and was cut with a spoon. After being back in Ecuador for a week now, I am reluctant to eat beef because I know it will not compare to that which we ate in Argentina. In addition, the ice cream, as I mentioned in the Uruguay entry, is influenced by Italian gelatos and was definitely worth buying every single day.
You’d figure that with lots of red meat and ice cream (and then add in the fact that people regularly stay out until seven or eight in the morning) people would be dieing all the time in Buenos Aires. Now I don’t know how true this is, but for those who can afford to die in luxury, there is one final resting place very popular with the tourists: The Cemetery of Recoleta. You can kind of think of this as the place to check out the “Deathstyles of the Rich and Famous” as it is one of the largest collections of elaborate and distinguished mausoleums in the world.
Another highlight of our time in Buenos Aires was heading north of the Parana River Delta, where we witnessed an unprecedented flood. We were not entirely surprised that a delta region would be flooded, but after talking with the locals we soon discovered that the roads are generally not covered in water. Nonetheless, we passed a very relaxing day exploring the river channels and enjoying a picnic lunch on the water.
My favorite neighborhood of Buenos Aires is La Boca, home to South American soccer power and defending Copa Santander champions (South American champions league) Boca Juniors. As great as this team is, and as fanatical the people of La Boca are for their soccer, the Boca Juniors are only the second most famous aspect of this neighborhood. La Boca is most famous for its brightly colored houses. One can walk for blocks and blocks in all directions and continued to be amazed by the brilliant colors that relentlessly dazzle the eyes.
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