Returning to BA – Boca Juniors and the Bombonaria

We arrived in BA at 8.30am after a luxurious overnight bus trip in 1st class.  But it doesn't matter how luxurious that might sound – after travel of that length all you want is to crash on a lovely bed for an hour or so, shower and feel human again.  Yet, unfortunately we weren't able to access our room at the hostel until midday.  The hostel were good to us, they at least allowed us to check in much earlier than their designated time of 3pm, but it meant spending another three or so hours patiently sitting in reception, wasting time.

We showered and met our Al & Libbly, our Aussie travel buddies, for lunch in San Telmo where we were staying.  It was a lovely day – sun shining and all that.  We didn't spend long in the market, but we did stay long enough for me to buy Bernard a toy for 5 pesos (just over an Aussie dollar) that makes the sound of a chicken. Great value and Bernard has enjoyed it very much, as you would expect.  We found a great place to eat lunch – a car park that had transformed itself into a BBQ style cafe.  We ate delicious spicy sausage with herb sauce sandwiches (Choripans). As we were finishing our lunch a pretty good nouveau classical violin trio started busking in the street – the sound reverberated around the old buildings just beautifully.  Only in BA can two completely different elements be juxtaposed so effortlessly – eating tasty fast food in a car park – but be surrounded by old cobbled streets and serenaded by classical musicians. 

After grabbing a few beers with Al & Libby we both went back to our respective hostels and got ready for the big game. Watching Boca Juniors play at home. What an experience.  We arrived at the stadium a full 2 hours early – to get good seats in the stand, and probably for our own safety too.  Best be in the stand safely before the ultras arrived. We went through proper security to ensure we didn't have anything dangerous on our possession. We sat on concrete bleachers in the late evening sunshine for the remainder of the time until the game started, then we stood for the entire game, a delicate balance of locals and foreigners wedging themselves into quite a tight place.

The game was pretty good – Boca lost, which was disappointing, but there were lots of attempts at goal which made the game go fast. But I was more overwhelmed by the boca fans. The sound, the sound of these people with their drums, trumpets, feet and voices and whatever else. I can imagine how playing Boca Juniors at home would be a significant home crowd advantage.  After the game we were locked into our stand for a full half hour to allow the away fans etc to leave.  We didn't actually get our beer & pizza until 10.30pm. A long day, but well worth the effort. The sound of the bombonaria will stay in my mind for a very long time.