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Published: January 2nd 2011
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Jet lagged in Buenos Aires
Here we are in the centre of town at a great little hostel called Hostel Suites Obelisco, about 1 minutes walk from the impressive Obelisco.
Uneventful plane trip... I slept most of the way, as predicted! David only slept for around 1 hour but kept the entire plane awake laughing his head off watching the animated movie 'Megamind' - apparently a must see for everyone.
Weird taxi experience - you book it in the airport and prices drop by half when you walk out a small foyer... we shared it with another two backpackers and had a mad taxi driver that I believe was training for the Dakar (more on that later). It was the type of ride where you suck your breath in trying to make the car smaller as they try and jam it between a car and a wall/bus/another car... plus speed limit is 130km/hr... holy crap.
We had the mandatory steak and potatos for lunch - the most delicious mash potato that I have ever eaten!
It's really
busy in the Obelisco square - the world Dakar race begins here and there are thousands of people all crowding around watching the cars etc. Not really David's and my thing but great atmosphere.
Buenos Aires – we had a blast baby
D & K’s Highlights Buenos Aires had a weird vibe, we can’t quite put our finger on it... perhaps it was because we didn’t go out partying the night away or perhaps we got there on the wrong day (rubbish collection stops over new years) or perhaps it was because we were so JETLAGGED we couldn’t function past about 3pm, regardless we just couldn’t get into the groove of BA!! Despite the lack of groove, here is what got us happy dancing (tango of course):
Recoleta Cemetary We went for Evita’s ‘grave stone’ and found a place not of this world... a place that celebrates death like birth or marriage – with extravagance, awesomeness and grandeur... think two to three story high crypts with hugely ornate, ridiculously over-the-top marble statues or castle like structures or just enormous ’buildings’ literally filled with coffins! Up top on ground level –in plain sight – are the
most recent, then down below, are the ancestors... dozens of them. Creepy! Some were brand new, others were ancient yet beautifully maintained, others were in complete disrepair. I even saw a few with coffin lids ajar. We were morbidly fascinated. There were streets and streets of these family crypts. Oh yes, back to the reason to visit... Evita... her family’s (Duarte) crypt was simple and plain. The only thing that stood out was the volume of tourists snapping shots of it. This place was a must see for BA.
You call that a market? Now THIS is a market! San Telmo craft/antique markets every weekend on Defenso Ave in BA... Sounds OK... what we didn’t realise was that it would be literally thousands of market stalls lining the streets and branching streets for miles and miles! What a great experience to be completely immersed in local trading, music, street performers, antiques, art, ‘Mate’ cup thingos (more on that later), clothing, jewellery and everything else under the sun. We loved it!
G’day ‘Mate’ Everyone, I mean everyone – young and old, poor and rich – carries around a thermos and a little cup made of a hollowed
out gourd (some have fancy modern ones of ceramic or plastic) to delicately drink the beverage of choice for South America – ‘Mate’. It cannot be bought in a cafe or restaurant, you BYO to share with friends and family or just enjoy yourself – in parks, shopping centres, at work, in cafes, you name it, they are drinking Mate. The small vessel is filled to the brim with a tea (Mate) that smells and looks a little like hay. Then a dash of water is added to the side, only moistening a tiny amount of the Mate. It is then sipped through a metal straw, more water added then passed around. Yes we bought our little Mate cups to bring home as we found this part of the culture fascinating!
A little known place called Tigre Off the beaten track of BA is a lovely little place called Tigre. Set amongst a network of small rivers and canals that divide the town, is a tiny community with 11,000 residents living in a boat-only-access island in the heart of the town. The two main things to do in Tigre is soak up the food/craft market (best on weekends,
but nice on weekdays) and take a little wooden boat ride around the islands. We chose the 1 hour boat trip and became obsessed with island life. Beautiful little brightly painted cottages with lush green gardens abound... which you could own for $40-100K... not bad! We saw the water supermarket (boat) pull up and deliver the water for the week (no potable water on the island) and had a glimpse into life on the water – fishing, rowing, swimming, painting wharfs, sun baking. It was lovely.
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Andres Paolantonio
non-member comment
Sharing photos of Buenos Aires
Hi, I would like to share with you my blog with details of Buenos Aires buildings and monuments. I hope you like it. http://detallesdebuenosaires.blogspot.com Regards, Andrés