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Published: August 11th 2009
We can't express enough what a relief it was to be met at Retiro bus terminal by the friendly face of Jose following our 51 hour journey. To date we have done our best to avoid the larger cities of South America or at least keep our length of stays in them to a minimum. Buenos Aires was the one city where we made an exception and allowed six full days to take it all in. For one thing we were keen to spend some time with Jose and her family. Secondly, we had heard nothing but positive feedback from other visitors passing through before us. Finally, having just stepped off a bus on which we had spent 51 hours, the last thing we wanted to see was another one for at least the best part of a week. Jose was quick to whip us out of the terminal crowds and back to her parents beautiful home located in the pleasant barrio (suburb) of Vincent Lopez where we spent the morning relaxing in the sunshine by the side of their refreshing pool. Her parents, the delightful Thomas and Leticia were home to welcome us. In the six days we spent with
El Monumental
River Plate Stadiumthem as their guests we would enjoy their perfect hospitality and become great friends. It has been a long time since either of us have felt this much a part of a family and at this end of our travels, with our own families in Australia so close now, it is hard not to feel a degree of home sickness settle in.
The city of Buenos Aires simply oozes energy. It is sexy and confident and presses all the right buttons. It is a beautiful place to spend some time and the people - Portenos - are arguably the most beautiful in the world, and they know it! Buenos Aires, or BA, is the capital of Argentina and situated on the south-east coast of the very large country. The city sits on the southern shore of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate) which Argentineans believe to be the widest river in the world at 220 Kilometres. This river forms the border between Argentina and Uruguay on the northern shore.
No rest for the wicked and not wanting to waste a single moment of our time in BA, it was arranged for us to attend a football match
Vamo River Plate!
What an incredible atmosphere... the very afternoon that we arrived - River Plate (one of the cities major teams) vs Colon at La Cancha stadium. Prior to our arrival in South America we had done some research regarding catching a football match, something Steve was willing to give an arm or a leg or perhaps even both for. January/February is typically when there is the break between seasons so we knew our chances weren't great. We felt extremely lucky to have our visit coincide with this first game of the pre-season roster. La Cancha stadium has a capacity of approximately 63,000 but for championship games it is common to be full at 80,000 people. Today's game sees the stadium approximately half full. Jose's friends are avid River Plate supporters so we join their group and get right in the thick of things. South American football games are an unforgettable experience. It is not uncommon to be on the receiving end of the fans passion and dedication to their team. Tourists are warned to take only the essentials with them to any game, wear the right colours, sit in the right section and keep an eye out for dead chickens (no typo - dead chickens)
and cups of pee being thrown (that's right cups of pee. Not many men head to the toilet as they don't want to lose their position). The atmosphere at the game we attended was without a doubt crazy, but we did leave dry and without any poultry collisions!
A visit to BA is not complete without checking out a number of sites around the city. High on the list is the barrio of La Boca. Home to the well known football team Boca Juniors of which Diego Maradona is an influential figure. The area is noticeably rough around the edges. It's dirty and a funky odour can be detected in places thanks to the polluted water of Riachuelo, but it is also extremely colourful. El Caminito is the famous tourist street for photo opportunities. Wandering around the streets here you get the impression that this is where colours were invented. Street performers, mostly demonstrating tango which is somewhat of a religion to Portenos, are plentiful and add to the overall artistic bohemian atmosphere. A few blocks up the road is La Bombonera, the home stadium for Boca Juniors and nicknamed as such because it resembles a chocolate box. Decorated
in the bright blue and yellow colours of the team, it is easy to imagine the energy created when a game is played here.
A walk around the city centre is the best way to see a number of the sites including Puerto Madero (the old waterfront which has experienced a recent injection of investments to create converted warehouses with fancy restaurants), the Casa Rosada (presidential offices contained in a building identified by its pink facade and where the likes of Eva Peron preached from the balconies as well as being used in the movie 'Evita' starring Madonna), Plaza de Mayo (the site of some of BA's most controversial protests and every Thursday afternoon a march takes place in the campaign for the Governments accountability for the disappeared), the Piramide de Mayo (obelisk marking the first anniversary of BA's independence from Spain), the Catedral Metropolitana (cathedral containing the tomb of General Jose de San Martin and with a flame burning constantly outside to keep his spirit alive), Galerias Pacifico (on the pedestrian street of Av Florida and considered to be the city's most beautiful mall with vaulted ceilings and painted murals) and the Oblisco at the intersection of Av
9 de Julio (widest and longest avenue in the world according to Argentineans) and Corrientes (67 metres tall and built in just one month back in 1937, this is the destination where Portenos choose to celebrate significant sporting victories). Lottie was hoping to check out Teatro Colon but unfortunately it was undergoing some major renovations at the time of our visit. The building was the southern hemisphere's largest theatre until construction of the Sydney Opera House was completed in 1973. We thought that visiting the Cementario de la Recoleta was worthwhile. The 'streets' within the cemetery are lined with ornate tombs, some of which are easily larger than rooms we have rented in the past. Probably the most famous name that we recognised is that of Eva Peron and on a separate day we took the time to look around Museo Evita, located in the barrio of Palermo, which detailed her life story.
An unexpected highlight for us in BA was 'La Bomba de Tiempo'. This outdoor/garage style percussion group performance took place at the Konex cultural centre in the vicinity of the Almagro barrio. The group consisted of almost a dozen members consistently playing for the full two
hours of the show. The best part about it is that the music is mostly improvised and the group members rotate around the instruments. It is clearly very popular, the vibe is insane. We'd recommend anyone heading to BA check it out.
Jose took a day off work to show us a few of her favourite parts around the city. We made a stop at Peru Beach in the barrio of San Isidro followed by the central square of the same barrio. Jose explained to us that this is a traditionally wealthy area of BA. We can see evidence of this walking around the picturesque tree lined streets with their elegant houses. The very beautiful and recently renovated church Parroquia de la Catedral de San Isidro is an obvious focal point. Next stop was out to Tigre which is approximately 35km north of the city. This is a trendy area popular for day trips from BA. The Mercado de Frutos is a great market to wander around although we didn't get the full effect as it was a weekday and apparently it comes in to its element at the weekend. Down by the channel waters we found the Museo
de Arte Tigre. Jose's Mum has done some wood restoration work here which we were looking forward to seeing but the building was closed for a month so we enjoyed the stunning architecture from the outside perimeter as well as the surrounding gardens and grounds.
Now, in a previous blog - 'A little bit Swiss, a little bit hippy' - we have mentioned briefly meeting a beautiful family from Buenos Aires when we were hitchhiking in Bariloche. Aida Pawlak, her husband Tony and her two stunning teenage daughters Camilla and Constance shared just 15 minutes with us a couple of weeks before we arrived in BA. They had mentioned that we should look them up while we were there. We kept in contact with them using email but didn't expect too much. We were so pleased to hear from them once we had made it to the city. They called to offer us an afternoon out on their boat 'Water Witch' exploring the channels of the delta. Tony was going to finish up work early so that we could make the most of a striking evening sunset. We spent three hours relaxing and seeing a side of BA that
Diego Maradona
We have the same foot size! I think most tourists don't get the opportunity to see, especially in the company of true locals from the area. Aida spoilt us with drinks and snacks while Tony navigated at the helm. The luxury cruise began in Tigre and our journey took us to the mouth of the delta where we enjoyed the view across the water with the city skyline on the horizon. Steve took his turn as captain of the boat which he executed in a mostly successful manner, apart from breaking the radio cradle - sorry Tony! It must also be mentioned that all in the name of taking a good photo Steve lost his hat, sacrificed once again to the river gods. This hat, number two while we have been in South America (number one went to the river gods not three weeks ago in Torres del Paine), was purchased not three hours before at Puerto de Frutos. It looks like we are on the search for hat #3 now. We end the evening by joining Aida and her family at 'Balitos'(?), a popular steak restaurant that they like to visit, after which we said goodbye to our friends though only for now. We are
La Bombonera
Boca Juniors home ground sure that we will meet up again some day...maybe they'll even make it out to our wedding?!
Six days in BA has turned Steve into a walking piece of steak, having eaten bife de cerizo (succulent, tender beef steaks) at least twice every day since we arrived in Argentina (that's a lot!). Using this same theory Lottie has turned to ice cream or 'helado' after eating twice her body weight in dairy goodness. Flavours from shops with names including 'Freddo', 'Una Altra Volta' and 'Persicco' were sampled, all in the name of research of course - results remain inconclusive and the research will have to continue!
A tip for anyone visiting BA: Hold on to any coins that you get if you are planning on using public transport. Essentially coins are more valuable than gold in this city. The public transport system requires that coins are used and on top of this the correct amount is needed. Machines don't give change and drivers don't give anything. We thought we could be smart and make a purchase from one of the small convenience stores, a bottle of water for example, to break a note and get the change required.
Bad idea...apparently convenient stores are not so convenient after all and simply won't give change. They may however offer a couple of sweets to make up the difference. It seems that the metal used to make the coins is more valuable than the coins themselves so they are illegally exported out of the country for melting down and creating the current shortage crisis. The government is aware of the problem but hasn't come up with a solution as yet.
Two more bus trips left, two more places left to visit on our South American adventure. Our stay with Jose and her parents Thomas and Leticia has been delightful. They are all the greatest and one day we hope to be their hosts when they come and visit us in Australia. BA will always be one of our South American highlights.
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