And so after a 14 hour flight via Auckland and some stunning view of the Andes, we touched base onto the city of Buenos Aires. Now Buenos Aires literally translates into ‘good airs’ and boy, I couldnt believe how true that was! This city houses the most pleasant, cool breeze you’ll ever have brush your face.
The rooftop at Hostel Estroil was where we intended to be stationed at. We entered the building that had a sign that read ‘Estroil 2nd floor ‘ and promptly headed towards the 2nd floor. Old school lifts were here to greet us – local councils and Occupational Health and Safety firms (OH&S) back home would have had a triple heart attack if they were to observe the state of these lifts.
Our knock on the door of the 2nd floor was answered by a bearded bloke with a headband who muttered under his breath “Are you Israelis?”. We shook our head and in an instant were face to face with the door. We knocked again, which lead to the bearded bloke from behind closed doors barking “6th floor!” to us. Later were we to find out that there were dedicated Israeli hostels all around South America as it was a much favoured destination post the military for the Israelis. We learned that the 6th floor was the non-Israeli section of the hostel. However, more on Israelis later as I’d like to dedicate an entire post to them – uncluttered by other frivolous talk.
On the 6th floor, we were greeted by a columbian bloke who called himself ‘A’. We unloaded our streamlined weapon like backpacks into our dorms and before you could say ‘Quilmes’, I was already downing a litre of it without it leaving a dent in my wallet. Pleasantly surprised. On the 13 inch tele at the bar was the La Boca vs River plate game, which incidentally is more fiercely contested than the Indo-Pak war. Every man and his dog at the hostel followed the game like their life depended on it. Not wanting to look like a gringo who had just stepped in, I too let out a few ‘ooohs and aaahs’ each time La Boca missed. As I live to write this, I had supported the right team at the hostel.
The rest of the night was spent chatting with fellow travelers and having to use our earplugs sooner than we had thought (joys of sleeping in a dorm).
The Facts
– Hostel Estroil offers magnificent views of Avenida del Mayo and is in the heart of the city. The cost per night was 33 pesos a head, a steal for the facilities and the comforts it offered. Highly recommended.