Advertisement
The sleeper bus to the capital of Argentina was a good introduction to the city! We were given fancy sandwiches, champagne and a delicious beef dinner. Truly first class. The thing about BA is that the “first class” part can be found here but with the elite comes the very large gap to those struggling to survive.Pulling up at the Retiro, the main bus station was definitely an eye opener. A shanty town of sorts with armed guards with bullet proof vests borders the station and inside the station there is also a strong police presence. On the drive in the amount of homeless people in parks or on the streets was striking, probably the most I’ve seen in a city before.
In contrast to this poverty and struggle to live our visit to the cemetery for the upper classes really is an experience. I would say it is a must do here. The gregarious, enormous, showy crypts, tombs, mausoleums, plaques are a sight to behold indeed. There is no such thing as your standard headstone here. Most of the plots are massive structures that can hold numerous coffins, an altar and sometimes a seating area. Many of the tombs
have coffins just sitting inside the door which can be little but a metal gate or a stain glass structure. This is the place for the rich and famous to make sure they are remembered for their wealth after they go. The elaborate designs and sculptures really were impressive and I was joking with John about what the talk would be in Killybegs if you decided you wanted something similar!
A lot of tourists are drawn here to visit Eva Peron’s grave. She was the president’s wife and is famous for some for the film Evita starring Madonna. From the very little reading I did, seemingly she was the one everyone liked, her husband was not high on the popularity polls but she was known for her warm, caring nature and she did fight for women’s rights. She is buried here with her own family, having died long before her husband who is buried outside the city somewhere. I was happy to see that her resting place was not one of those crazy structures but was simple with lots of plaques dedicated to her even though it was a family grave of the Duarte’s (her maiden name). There were
some flowers laid there and people came and went quietly.
I suppose walking around here it was a bit eerie but overall it was a thought provoking encounter. How can these overpowering marble, granite, stone and glass structures be so prominent here? After seeing so many people living day by day, sleeping rough and fighting to survive in shanty towns, I wonder how the “other” side can justify this spend to show off their prosperity. A little to some could go a long way.
Of course we couldn’t visit Buenos Aires without taking in a Tango Show. After all this is not only the first city of Argentina but the capital of Tango. We did a bit of research and settled on going to a show in Café Tortoni (the oldest café in the country). The cosy setting in such a historic setting, some wine and a tango show made for a great evening. The music was enthralling; the intricacies of the footwork, the speed and fluency of the dancing had me glued! I think John was even impressed. The only downside was that the talking parts were in Spanish (this is becoming a theme, right) and we
had to make it out as much as possible. To be honest I was so happy just to see the dancing it didn’t matter but it probably would have been even more incredible if we knew what they were saying!
The next day, we were up exploring some more. The docklands area in BA was something I wanted to visit and it was a lovely morning so off we went! The area has been upgraded and restored with a long stretch of old shipping houses restored to house lots of fine dining restaurants. In comparison with walking the streets in the city centre, there was definitely a “set” of people hanging here. It was clear that those with little or no money didn’t come here which was sad. If we walked past one more man with tight white jeans and a sweater over his shoulder we would have bought the outfit for John, just to fit in!! So in our backpacking gear we ended up finding a place in our price range and managed to get a full three course dinner for about 10 US dollars each (including steak my friends!).
We also checked out the pink presidential
palace which is right in the centre of the city. Again this was in Evita when she talked to the crowd from a balcony on the front of the building. There was a good buzz around the palace because the celebration of Argentinian independence was the next day. We took a walk to an area called San Telmo too. All these different neighbourhoods provided a new landscape to the city and here the streets were cobbled, there was an abundance of antiques shops and a market with the quirkiest stands selling antique jewellery to money from all over the world to matchbox collections. It was clear that this city has something to offer for nearly everyone!
Our final day was the Independence Day and we took in the celebrations. We had a walk around the shopping area, taking in the bustle of a public holiday. We visited the pretentious Galleria Pacifica (think Dundrum but very fancy) and then went to the contrasting market type shops selling hoodies and bags. On the main street there was a large market with artisan bags, jewellery, hats, socks, bags and the like on sale. There were lots of people wandering around in couples
or with kids and there were some acts warming up on stage in front of the palace. Unfortunately we would miss the night time action but it was good to see the sense of community and celebration in such a diverse city during the day. If I had to describe BA, I would say it is a real mixed bag but that’s what makes it a must on the tourist trail, I think!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.048s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0286s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb