An Aussie Christmas in Buenos Aires
Day 353: Wednesday 25th December
What a delightful, unexpected Christmas!
Most Argentines were at home having the big 10pm family meal, but here we were – Beau, Karina, Jaynie and I – playing Cambio in a rooftop bar, waiting for the midnight celebrations which had been promised.
Every traveller I’ve met who knows Cambio plays their own version of the game, and the Aussies were no different. There was a scoring system involved to keep tally of the rounds, and it seemed each time I thought I’d succeeded, I’d in fact done the opposite. Beau and Karine were particularly astute and competitive, Jaynie less so, and we battled it out for last place.
As Christmas approached, we went out in search of firework displays which we could hear but quite spectacularly failed to see. Thus, the opening minutes of Christmas day – my first Christmas away from home – were spent roaming the streets of Palermo, hearing distant bangs but unable to see them. It was great fun! Plus, at exactly 12, corner shops which had been closed began to open up, and buses headed towards the city began to run. It was so strange, the streets to be so quiet on Christmas eve and then to burst into life at the stroke of midnight. We bought some beers from one of the kioskos and headed back to the hostel, entertaining the small hours with music and cards.
On the morning of Christmas day, we enjoyed a long, lounging breakfast in the hostel kitchen. It was a joyous, lazy, yawning breakfast which in some ways reminded me of those mornings on the benches of back quad after a bop, gathering one’s thoughts and building the strength to go to Najar’s for some much-needed sustenance. Later on, we watched the Grinch before Jaynie left to fly back home. For dinner the remaining three of us went to Pizzeria Guerrin and Cadore Gelato, Beau and Karina’s first time in both establishments. They were busy and full of the excitement of festivities, and there was a satisfying novelty in this being my Christmas dinner – pizza and ice cream! A little different from the huge roast at home, and why not?!
The three of them were delightful company, I really feel like I lucked out on finding them on Christmas eve – it would’ve been a shame to spend that night and the big day itself on my own. They’re funny, sharp, entertaining and easy-going, and if I’m ever down in Western Australia I’ll be sure to seek them out.