Going out with a bang

I am operating on about 1 hour of sleep right now, and I'm also ill. I'm quite astounded that I can function, however it was all worth it. :-D

I left Montevideo yesterday around 7pm on the Buquebus ferry. It was a nice city, but the other hostelites were not overly warm, so I was definitely ready to say goodbye. In line for check-in at the ferry terminal I met Marcel, originally from Germany but living in Chicago. We chatted most of the three hour ferry ride to Buenos Aires, then exchanged information in hopes of meeting up later. Unfortunately, Marcel was sicker than I am, so the rendezvous was not to be.

However, when I arrived at the hostel around 10, it was quite full of people. I made fast friends with a really great group of four Australians who were planning to got out. It being my last night, I didn't want to miss out, so we cabbed over to a place called Pacha around 130am (I will not miss the hours that Argentinians go out). The place is right on the coast and is enormous. It was packed, but the line moved fast and the alcohol was inexpensive. The biggest downside was the ladies room, where the line was always long and I had to pay for toilet paper. Wtf. We drank and danced and had a great time until about 6am and, with the sun coming up, we headed back to the hostel. Once there I think we talked until 9am or so, then I passed out until the maid came in to tell everyone it was time to check out. Ouch.

After a quick shower, I headed out to the San Telmo market to spend the rest of my pesos on some last minute shopping. I have no pictures from last night or today, but the past 14 hours were definitely some of the most memorable of this trip. Buenos Aires is a great city.

I exchanged Facebook information with most of the people I hit it off with, so I really hope to keep in touch, and perhaps visit them someday in their countries and vise versa.

My flight is at 11pm tonight, and I arrive home around noon on Monday. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and start my new job!

I don't really have any profound reflections on the trip, but overall I had an excellent time and I'm very glad I decided to take the plunge into solo travel. Next, I hope to go to Ireland for an outdoorsy hiking trip. Anyone care to join? If not, no worries... I can mostly speak the language there :)