At La Boca Stadium This week Meera meets up with an old college pal, defies death in a dubious buggy ride and returns to Buenos Aires for a mix of culture and football

Two buses transport me from the starry skies and Atlantic waves of Valizas back to Colonia where I'm treated to a warm greeting by El Viajero hostel staff - my week's stay earlier that month was long (by Colonia standards) and returning is as close to home as it gets. I feel relaxed - Maria, a university friend, arrives tomorrow from London. The excitement is building on both sides; she's thrilled to be finally visiting South America while I'm swooning at the thought of a twin room and no dorms for a week.

Having visitors
I meet her at Colonia's port and it's like a reunion. My trip was organised so impulsively, I didn't dare contemplate the idea of visitors but selling the continent on the basis of its succulent steaks and delicious beer was enough - some people are so easy to persuade. Colonia honours her presence with a truly astounding sunset - the orange-pink sun bobs on the horizon and our vantage point from El Torreon bar and restaurant is perfect. The following day, we decide to explore the town and its beaches in a motorised buggy, a decision which proves both entertaining and death-defying - the indicators don't work, the brakes are dubious, there's no reverse gear (a challenge when you accidentally go down a one-way street) and an engine that splutters and chokes when you turn it off.

After our near-death experience, we enjoy one last night in Colonia's few but excellent bars which range from the very cool Mar Dulce to Spanish ballad karaoke in Colonia Rock. After my three magical weeks, it's sad to leave Uruguay but glamorous Buenos Aires is no hardship. We stay at Hostel Suites in Palermo Soho, a gorgeous old hostel in one of the city's coolest neighbourhoods. The tree-lined streets are dotted with bars, restaurants and fabulous shops including a startling array of dog fashionwear. Palermo's dog walkers are a tourist attraction unto themselves; one walker leading a pack of 15 happy panting mutts is no oddity.

Our days in Buenos Aires are a whirl of cocktails, chats, culture, and cold beers. On my 32nd birthday, we mosey around Palermo's lively Plaza Serrano (officially Plaza Cortàzar) where the square's many bars transform themselves into market halls selling fantastic clothes and accessories. Later, we head to Salon Canning, old dance hall on the edge of Palermo, for a night of tango. We try our hand at the very romantic but highly skilled national dance and considering we're the only beginners and non-Argentinians, we're not too shabby at all. One dancer takes a particular interest in Maria's tango skills and I amuse myself by capturing it on video and threatening to You-tube it. By midnight, the dance hall transforms into a full-on milonga (tango ball) and couples of all ages dance hynotically to tantalising tango tunes.

Buenos Aires, like London and New York, has infinite attractions. We do our best in our five, precious (and incredibly hot) days. We wander San Telmo's famous Sunday market, tuck into mouthwatering Argentinian pizza and pasta and make it to a Boca Juniors football match, Maradona's old team. It's an electric atmosphere in the Bombonera (Chocolate Box) stadium; Boca fans in their blue and yellow Megatone T-shirts outnumber the red-shirted Argentinos supporters by thousands and the match ends in an exhilarating 4-0 victory. La Boca neighbourhood is also a tourist attraction; Italian (many Genovese) immigrants settled in the late 19th century and in Genovese tradition, painted their houses in bright colours. The famous coloured houses around El Caminito are incredibly picturesque, if a little Toy Town touristy, but the murals depicting immigrant life are wonderful and the neighbourhood's history gripping. I want to explore the neighbourhood but the advice is stick to the streets around El Caminito. Step away and you see why La Boca is one of Buenos Aires' poorest neighbourhoods.

Recoleta Cemetery Meeting Eva
Nothing contrasts greater with La Boca than the elegant avenues of well-to-do Recoleta. There, in its eerily moving cemetery, a virtual town of streets of elaborate mausoleums and poignant poetic tributes, we find Eva Peron's grave. We also visit the fantastic MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires) - and save the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, much like London's National Gallery, for another time. Back in Palermo, we escape the heat and enjoy the shade of the Botanical Gardens. We decide to treat ourselves to a sublime sushi meal in the Japanese Gardens restaurant - after all the steak, fresh vegetables and raw fish are a welcome detox. We also explore Puerto Madero, the revamped dock district, which is packed with restaurants - and offices - making the business lunches a bargain at around £4 for a main meal, dessert and wine. Well, compared to our home town of London, everything's a bargain.

The week's up and I have to say goodbye to Maria. Although we're sad our South American adventure is over, we're chuffed to have experienced it together - and we know it's time for her to be reunited with her gorgeous baby and husband in London. As for me, I have a zillion emails to catch up on and features to file. Just three more days in Buenos Aires before I start the experience of a lifetime. I'm about to spend two weeks trekking around the spectacular southern wilderness of Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia. What I've heard, read and seen about this region makes my jaw drop. I don't think I'll be disappointed.