Patagonia - departure and first day

We were ready - house shut down and bags packed but had another 40 minutes to wait for Jess and Ryan to give us a lift to Heathrow.

The flight left on time but the journey took over 14 hours due to trying to avoid weather systems on the way. No morning coffee for us because of turbulence we couldn't avoid, causing the hot drinks to be cancelled just as our row was about to be served. Martin and I both slept for most of the flight. Due to huge queues it took 50 minutes to get through passport control then there was another long queue for customs. However we got waved through with no checks. Really lucky as I had forgotten that we had brought fruit with us which is forbidden.

Because of the delays we missed our booked shuttle bus. We had a slightly anxious wait for the next one as there was no obvious bus stop and no one else waiting. Martin has done a great deal of work downloading photos and maps to help us get from A to B so we did have a photo of the outside of the building showing a minibus. It duly arrived and random people got on and off during the journey....friends of the driver maybe?

Our small hostel is only a few minutes walk from the main square in Buenos Aires. We are only here for 2 nights to see the main sights before we head off to Patagonia. We went to a nearby cafe and just about managed to order a coffee with milk and a muffin (not many speak English here). The girl serving asked me some questions about sugar which I didn't understand and then she asked a lady in the queue for help. The lady shrugged her shoulders and stroked my arm apologetically. I think I will be making a lot of use of Google Translate.

We came across a small arcade of crafts which were very unusual and there was a display board explaining how the craftspeople were hounded by the police and formed a union and eventually achieved the right to sell their wares. Though it feels like a tentative relationship....

This was to become a theme for the afternoon. Just round the corner we heard a band playing and came across a demonstration by public sector workers (I surmised by googling the words on the banner to quickly check it wasn't anything to do with the Falklands). Besides the band and someone shouting into a microphone a chap was letting off smoke canisters and fire crackers. It was quite exciting to watch.

We carried on walking past the Palace and along the canal. Near the palace there was a little protest camp which had lots of writing about the Malvinas so we gave that a wide berth!

We then watched the Mothers of the Disappeared march - this occurs every Thursday afternoon so I was pleased we would be able to witness it. The names of people were read out one by one. A few of the original mothers were there dressed in their iconic white headscarves.

Progress has recently been made providing some relatives with information about their lost relatives but the organisation continues and now highlights other social issues. All around the city are posters with the caption Donde esta Santiago, a back packer who disappeared in the summer during protests about the treatment of indigenous people in the South. His photo was prominent on the march.