I woke up the bus on 27th February with several hours still to go, to reach Buenos Aires. A film starring Kevin Costner filled a couple of hours – it was a rather weird one about ghosts playing baseball on a farm. The final few km in through the suburbs of Buenos Aires showed me a different side to what had thus far seemed a relatively developed and wealthy country. Lines of very run-down apartment blocks predominated either side of the highway into the city.

Finally getting off the bus at the huge main bus terminal I headed for the Tourist Information, where I found, of course, the wretched Swiss queue jumpers yet again. But this time I was actually standing in front of them (in the queue!) before I realised it was them. There was no escape, so rather than ignore them I decided to play it differently, saying with a furrowed brow “Hello – didn’t I see you before somewhere…?”. The girl muttered something. I furrowed my brow and shook my head, saying “Hmm…really? Not sure I remember… Anyway – happy travels!!”.

I ended up checking into a awful hotel for $9 which was about the cheapest it was feasible to get – and still seemed expensive. Buenos Aires appeared very humid and noisy after the peace and cool winds of Patagonia, but it seems to be the most cosmopolitan city I have been to for months. It is certainly the most European City I have been to since.. well… since leaving Europe. I went to the post office but there were only 2 letters waiting for me and I had to pay a dollar for each one to receive them – a total rip off, since it’s not supposed to cost anything at all.

Still having 5 days before my flight to Auckland, I had decided to cross the River Plate to Uruguay for a night, to tick off another country. I went to investigate the BuqueBus ferry terminal, where I ran into the group of 6 blonde Austrians who I originally met in Peru and then saw briefly in Torres del Paine. I bought a ticket to cross the following day – the Austrians said they were planning the same.

I then wandered to the centre of the city and the Plaza de Mayo which is in front of the presidential palace – called the Casa Rosada (pink house). Later I rang Marcela – the elder of the 2 sisters who I had met on Lake Nahuel Huapi in the Lake District, and she said we could meet up on Friday (1st March) when I get back from Uruguay. This will be nice – the first time arriving in a city where I “know” someone!

On 28th February I overslept and at 6:40 am got up very fast and checked out. I ran for the bus which I only caught because it had to stop at a traffic light after it had already left the bus stop near the hotel. Thus I made it to the ferry terminal just in time.

Getting myself on to the ferry was a little confusing, but I figured it out in the end. Once the ferry set off I went up on deck to watch the shoreline of Buenos Aires retreating. The day was grey, and it started to rain so I went back inside the cafeteria and listened to the BBC news – the progress of the ground forces in the Gulf sounds fast and I wonder how long it will be before Saddam Hussein decides that he’s lost what he called the “Mother of all Battles”..!!

The ferry docked at the Uruguayan port of Colonia and I added a new country to my growing list. There was standing room only on the bus to Montevideo so I didn’t see much of the scenery, and the rain continued coming down.

In Montevideo, after checking in to Hotel Ideal I had a look for the American Express office – I needed to get more Dollar-denominated travellers cheques, which fortunately I can get straight from any Amex ATM using my Amex card, with a minimal fee. The Uruguayan currency seems to have as many zeros as the Argentinean Austral.

I came across the Museo del Gaucho which has a lot of interesting exhibits relating to the South American “Cowboy Culture”, with another part given over to coin and banknote collections. On the way past a main plaza I noticed on a news stand a headline suggesting that the Gulf War is over. It was still raining, so I put my little radio inside the hood of my waterproof jacket and got the latest details from London – indeed Saddam Hussein has surrendered.

I came across the 4 girls from the group of 6 blonde Austrians. They invited me to go and eat with them, and then to see “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” at the cinema, so I joined them for both. The film turned out to be a bit more violent than I’d expected! – I’d thought it was basically a children’s’ film. I duly said goodbye to the Austrians yet again – they will stay a second night in Montevideo.

I was up early on 1st March to get the bus back to the port of Colonia – the weather was a bit brighter and I was able to see a bit more of the differences between Uruguay and Argentina, which to be honest are not that great. On board I got my diary up to date as the BuqueBus chugged towards the distant coast of Buenos Aires.