bahia blanca

By the time I reached the atlantic ocean I wanted to jump in it. The bus was fu*king hot. The AC was inadequate and bearly worked. Sweated the whole way. Not a nice way to travel but as usual cheap considering the distance so i could put up with it.

Bahia Blanca is not, as such, on the tourist map. But it made sense to stop there as its location conforms to my aim of breaking down long bus journeys into smaller, bit sized ones. As soon as we alighted from the bus we were greeted by a chain smoking rozzer (packing a great big revolver) who couldn't do enough to help us. He claimed he worked for the international police force. I doubt this but I do not doubt that he was desperate to practice his English. Which was good. He arranged our outbound bus tickets (the times were not what we asked) and he pushed us into a taxi with instructions to the driver as to where we should say. He was extremely helpful and courteous but I felt I hadn't any time to think. So mid journey I changed the destination to a decent enough hotel. $5 a night, with breakfast....can't complain with those prices.

Given that Bahia Blanca is not a tourist destination, not much happened there for me. The place is pretty and tidy (much as I am finding in every Argentinian town). Got drunk, ate well and relaxed in the pleasant sunshine. Another thing that I am becoming ever more convinced of too is the essential decency and friendliness of the Argies. They impress me greatly as a people and as a society. They have figured out the nice way to life and relate with one another.

Next stop the beach.