After I finished my Camino de Santiago a few weeks ago, I flew home and rested for a few days. I’m using the time at home to work on my film and then ultimately release it. Since I was already thinking about continuing my journey before setting off on the Way of St. James, the few days at home were a bit stressful. In addition to editing the video, I also kept checking flights and future destinations.
My next destination was Patagonia in the southernmost part of South America. Looking ahead, I obtained the necessary vaccinations before my longer trip to Santiago de Compostela and thus met all the requirements for onward travel. Fortunately, additional visas etc. are not necessary and I already had almost all the equipment. All I needed was a new sleeping bag and a thicker jacket, as the temperatures in Patagonia will be significantly colder than I experienced on my Way of St. James. Otherwise, I actually packed almost the same things back into my backpack that I had unpacked and washed just two weeks before. In addition to the clothes, sleeping bag and tent, my gas stove, pot, etc. also went into my backpack. Since I will be traveling a little more remote this time, I packed a 3l water bag as well as a solar panel so that I could recharge my batteries in nature on the way.
After some searching, I found a reasonably cheap flight, but it had a strange route for me. Instead of flying directly from Frankfurt, I booked a ticket from Milan, which was only half as expensive as a direct flight. So I have to go there on November 14th. Get on the plane, only to fly from there to Frankfurt, change there and then continue to Buenos Aires. Since boarding later in Frankfurt is not possible, I actually have to make a short detour to Milan.
Departure – Monday 13.11.2023
On Monday November 13th the time had finally come. At half past seven in the morning I left my apartment with my backpack. My mother was kind enough to drive me to the train station in Karlsruhe. Before she dropped me off there, we had a quick breakfast together in a bakery and then I set off again.
We took the train from Karlsruhe straight to Milan. On the first section to Basel I could repeatedly see paths that I had walked on foot a few months ago, which brought back many great memories for me.
After a one-hour stop in Basel, we continued through Switzerland and finally to Milan in Italy.
I booked a cheap hotel room there. Given the price, it wasn’t particularly comfortable, so I left the room straight away after leaving my luggage there. Since it was already evening, I had a bite to eat in a restaurant and then went back to sleep in my room.
Departure from Milan – Thuesday 14.11.2023
Since my flight didn’t leave until the evening, I still had some time to look around the city in the morning. I first walked from my hotel to the train station. I left my luggage there and then made my way back to the city center. I walked directly to the famous cathedral square. On the way I passed the large shopping arcade.
I toured the cathedral and climbed the steps to get an overview from above.
Then we went back to the train station. I took my things and asked where the bus transfer to the airport started from. Since the stop was right in front of the train station and I was able to get on a waiting bus, I arrived at the airport quite early and had way too much time left there. There wasn’t a line to check in my luggage either, so I sat around in the large airport building for a long time.
I then passed the security check at around 6 p.m. and boarded the plane to Frankfurt shortly after 7 p.m. The flight lasted just over an hour and was therefore over quickly. I didn’t have much time to lose in Frankfurt. The onward flight took about 1.5 hours. I still had to go through passport control to leave the EU. Afterwards I had a quick drink and then walked back to my gate. Luckily, since I was able to stay in the transit area, there was no need for another security check. While I waited to board, I took care of a few organizational matters. As soon as I was finished, I was able to get on the big plane and we took off from the tarmac at around 11:30.
As expected, the flight itself was very unspectacular. After a little more than an hour, dinner was served and then I slept through the night for almost 8 hours.
Arrival in Buenos Aires – Wednesday 15.11.2023
When I woke up it was time for breakfast again. As soon as I got my coffee, there was some turbulence and I and the person sitting next to me had to smile about how we sipped our coffee while constantly going up and down without spilling anything. Unfortunately, the turbulence continued for a while and we were jerking around for almost an hour. Shortly before Buenos Aires things got better again and gradually I could even see something of the big country below us.
We finally landed at half past seven local time and I had actually arrived in South America. I got off the plane and then had to go through passport control again. I found some reports on the Internet that said you could only break in if you had a return ticket. Contrary to these reports, the officials didn’t care at all and I was allowed to break into Argentina without any further explanations. Then I picked up my backpack from the baggage carousel and made my way to the city center.
Since the airport is a little outside of the city, I took the bus to get to the city center. After a 1 hour drive we also arrived at the bus station. I booked a room in a hotel for the first night to recover from the long flight. Afterwards I wanted to book a bed in a hostel so I could explore the city for a few days before traveling further south.
After a short break, I walked further into the city to at least have a look at something.
Later I had dinner and then went back to bed.
First impressions – Thursday 16.11.2023
After a hearty breakfast, I left the hotel and made my way to another hostel, which was to be my accommodation for the next few days. I left my luggage here again and then went on to see some of the city’s sights.
Not far from my accommodation was the presidential palace “Casa Rosada”, with a really big Argentina flag in front of it.
After looking at the building and the large flag in front of the house, I went straight to the city church.
Afterwards I strolled through the city a bit and then went back to the hostel. Here I first took a short swim in the pool and then chatted with some other people in the hostel. In the evening I left the hostel with a few other travelers to watch the Argentina national team’s game against Uruguay in a bar. Since the game was being played here, there were a lot of people wearing jerseys all day long and we also met a lot of people wearing jerseys in the bar. The atmosphere was heated and it was very impressive how passionate people were watching the game.
After the game, in which Argentina lost 2-0, we went to a cocktail bar that was said to be one of the best in the city. We returned to the hostel around 2 a.m. and I went to bed exhausted and went to sleep.
La Boca – Freitag 17.11.2023
Around 9 a.m. I went to have breakfast at the hostel and planned my day. Afterwards I headed to the “La Boca” district. I had read online about a tour of the artists’ quarter that was supposed to start at 11 a.m. Since it was only about 3.5 km, I decided to walk.
During the 2-hour tour we learned many interesting things about the district, which looked very interesting with its colorful houses.
I found it very impressive how an artist managed to not only visually design the district, but also change the way of life for so many people and leave a lasting impression. So many people in this area don’t allow themselves to be lured by big money, but rather build on their own values and don’t sell their houses to investors despite huge sums of money, but rather continue to live in their colorful houses in the middle of the district and live their simple life Artist life.
In addition to the very alternative way of life, it is also clear in the streets what is important to the people here. So it’s obvious how people here still adore Maradona. Right next to the Pope, Maradona is depicted as a kind of saint and appears again and again throughout the district. Since winning the 2022 World Cup, Messi has also been revered here again and again, and yet Maradona remains the undisputed favorite. In addition to the enthusiasm for football, the art of tango was also very present on the streets of the district.
At the end of the tour we passed “La Bombonera”, the Boca Juniors stadium. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the game, I was unable to take a tour of this impressive arena. At least I was still able to look at the museum, with the many different titles and the successful history of the club.
Afterwards I went to eat at a small restaurant in the area. Here too, the entire restaurant was full of paintings by Maradona.
After dinner I went back to the hostel and let the evening fade away a bit.
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