I did so much!

I don´t know any other way to start this message than with that. And I did so much. After checking out of the lovely Guesthouse Livian on Wednesday morning (if ever in Buenos Aires, go to that hotel!), I stayed in their garden, reading a book, catching some sun and chatting with Asta. In the afternoon, I took a cab to my CS host for the rest of my trip, Sandra. She turns out to be a really great woman, and she makes me feel right at home. She takes me to a flat that she rents out that she has to inspect, and we go there by foot, so I see some more of the city. Along the Avenida del Libertador, pass the Floralis Generica, a huge mechanical flower that opens and closes with the light.
After the flat has been inspected, we take the bus home, and we decide we are too tired to go out, so in stead, we have a salad at home.
The next day, I am meeting up with Martina. I have been looking forward to meeting her, and also she turns out to be really great! We decide we want to go check out the famous cemetery in Recoleta. The day is really hot, it is over 30 degrees, and we decide to walk there. We visit the grave (well, grave, more like a tiny house) of Evita Perron, who is actually the only person buried there that we know. But the city of the dead is very interesting, and I get the impression that some of the dead have a better place to live than people actually living in the city. As we leave, the guy that asked us for a donation for children with Aids asks me if I would like to get together with him, para concerte. That´s just my life, meeting a guy at a cemetery! I tell him to give me his number, so I can just never call him back and get him out of my hair now.
Thursdays at 3.30 pm, the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo hold a silent protest against the military dictatorship during the Dirty War, and we think it´s a good thing to go and see that, and learn a bit more about what happened then. Back home, this was a big topic a few years back, because of our (now) princess Maxima, whose father was in the government during those years. The madres draw a small crowd and applause, and they walk around the small obelisk about 10 times, with little signs in their hands with the photos of the disappeared. It does make you think.
Then it´s off to some cafe for a drink and something to eat, it is really hot and we need some refreshments.
At around 7 pm we take the subte back, but it turns out to be still rush hour then, and the train is crowded, and unbearably hot. We get off a stop before the one we wanted. When we come up, it´s dark. I walk the rest of the way home, where I am meeting up with Sandra. We go to a parilla, a mega barbecue, on which they cook just about everything you can order in the restaurant. And when in Rome..... So I have a nice bife, that is really, really tender. They really know how to prepare meat!
On Friday, I meet up with Martina again at 8 am, to go to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. It´s just across the Rio de la Plata, and only 3 hours by boat (the slow boat). Colonia is a Portuguese colony from the 17th century, and it´s a beautiful place, great for taking pictures (which we do abundantly). The only drawback is that it is really touristy, and you can even rent some sort of golf carts for the day (not so nice in pictures). We spend the whole day just wandering around, we enjoy the sunset from the yacht harbor, and in the evening, we take the fast boat (1 hour) back to Buenos Aires. We had to book first class because tourist wasn´t available anymore, but we do get a glass of champagne and super comfy chairs for that!