We have been back in Dublin for a week and pretty pleased about it despite the grey and Baltic weather. We’ll put up some albums in a few weeks when we get a bit more sorted which hopefully includes having even faster Internet.

Reasons it is great to be back include:

• Having more than 2 changes of clothes
• Having clean clothes
• Going into a supermarket and buying food which you can actually construct a meal with
• Having access to a working oven
• Fresh milk, strong cheese, bacon and sausages. (3 months of warm UHT gets to you in the end).
• Driving is so easy. I used to hate driving in Dublin city centre. After Argentina it's a breeze. People obey rules and there are lanes!
• Not constantly packing and unpacking
• Wholegrain food. We’re sure we couldn't take any more tasteless white bread
• Our own proper trustworthy computers with a sane keyboard layout
• Faster Internet!

A few things which stand out about Dublin which we didn't really notice before:

• There are pubs on every street
• Everyone wears such dark clothes

For now we only miss the sun, but over time we’ll probably miss:

• Empanadas
• The amazing bird life particularly Crested Caracaras which are my new favourite species. Look at the mad head movement! If you aren't disturbed by one feeding on a dead cow, this video is also good
• The quality of the steaks and the cost of great wine
• The mountains, of course
• Street dogs, (although we would not welcome their descent on Dublin or any street dog-related scandals such as we found in Punta Arenas)

Things that seem strange:

• Pete wearing jeans
• Putting toilet paper in the toilet

I suppose we should say a bit about Buenos Aires, our last stop:

Having heard only very good opinions about it we were disappointed, putting it in the same category as Paris (granted there are excellent museums). It is absolutely huge and we found getting around difficult. We tried the tube and it was dangerous so we got off fairly quickly. The bus system is incomprehensible. Cycling would have been suicidal. And so getting a taxi was the best way of getting around, not good. The guidebook had bad tales of taxi drivers, but all ours were fine until the last one who asked far too much money (probably still cheap compared to Dublin), got grumpy and flatly refused to bargain. Humph, we were glad to be leaving. There are many lanes of traffic (up to 16 in each direction) and it is extremely fast. Motorway speeds through city streets. There are dog walkers with over 10 dogs on untangled leads, apparently a Buenos Aires thing. Strangely not as many street dogs as in other places.

By this stage in the journey we had well and truly ran out of steam and were uninterested in seeing museums etc. We did see the main sights in the city centre from the outside. Some grand buildings like lots of other cities.

Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur is an amazing place and provides welcome relief from the noise of the city. Parrots, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, cardinals and many others. A highlight was seeing a flock of Nanday/Black-hooded Parakeets using their feet like hands to eat fruit/seeds in a tree. The whole tree was raining down debris. Other highlights included a pair of Green-barred Woodpeckers and a Yellow-billed Cardinal.

Buenos Aires also offers a welcome change from empanadas, steak, pizza and pasta. We went to Tandoor Indian restaurant on the first night, and a Thai restaurant in Palermo district on the second night. Actual spicy food!

All in all we had a great trip, saw a lot, did a lot, learned a lot and met some interesting folks including a closet gynaecologist.

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