Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Wednesday January 27th, 2016. Buenos Aires, Argentina



Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and is its largest city. It has a population of approximately 2,890,151. The city is divided into 48 districts. People from Buenos Aires are known as "Porteños" (people of the port). The city is the birthplace of the current pope, Francis, who was the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The city is known for its European-style architecture, rich culture and the Argentine Tango. It hosted the first Pan American Games in 1951 and the 1978 FIFA World Cup and in 2018 will host the Summer Youth Olympics.

A settlement at the present day site of the city was established briefly in 1536 by conquistador Pedro de Mendoza. However, attacks by the local indigenous tribes forced the new settlers to move to Asunción in Paraguay in 1539 and by 1541 the site had been completely abandoned and burned to the ground.

The city is well located to control the region's trade between Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and parts of Bolivia. This led to it being re-settled when the province of Buenos Aires was removed from Asunción's control in 1617. The city welcomed its first bishop in 1620. Using the alliance between Spain and Napoleonic France as an excuse, Britain attacked Buenos Aires twice during the early 19th century. The first attack was led by colonel William Carr Beresford who succeeded in capturing the city. A second British force arrived in 1807, but they were unable to capture the city and were forced to retreat. During these invasions Spain failed to intervene and help the citizens of its colony repel the attacks. The citizens successfully defended themselves, resulting in an independent government in 1810.

After breakfast we left the ship and boarded the shuttle bus for the 10 minute ride to the Terminal de Cruceros. Once inside we queued at the Tourist Information Desk for a map and to find out where there was a bank where we could get some local pasta (Spanish vernacular for cash - M can now use her language skills). We started walking up a long boulivard and used a pretty impressive pedestrian bridge to cross about 10 lanes of traffic. After asking a local policemen we were directed to the railway station where there was an ATM that didn't work with M's card. So we went back to the original plan of going to the Santander that the tourist office had told us about. To do this we needed to walk through St Martin Park with a tower called the Monumental Tower. Once on the other side of the park we found yet another bank and decided to give it a go. The first terminal spat M's card out in a flash but then the security guard directed us to a different terminal and a few minutes later we had a fistful of Argentine Pesos.

We walked towards the city centre through the Rotiro area up a traffic free boulivard lined with posh shops all housed in colonial buildings, some of which were very elaborate. One of them was the Cueesta Blanca Building. We cut through a fantastic shopping mall which was all in Art Deco style and wonderfully ornate in order to emerge at the Plaza de Mayo (May Square). This is the main square in central Buenos Aires. Since being the scene of the 1810 revolution that led to independence, the plaza has been the hub of political life in Argentina. The Government House (Casa Rosada) is located on one side of the square. This is the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. This pink coloured building is one of the most emblematic in the city. At the oppoiste end of the plaza to Government House is the Cabildo which is one of the oldest examples of colonial architecture in the city. While we were in the plaza we bumped in to Pam and Stewart who were trying to find the cathedral. M kept insisting that it was the building immediately behind us but Stewart insisted that it was a bank. Turned out M was right - but it din't really have a particularly cathedral like exterior. Before crossed the road to look at the "bank" we wandered around May Square. There were 17 crosses commemorating the loss of life during the Falklands War. There were also loads of banners and slogans hanging on fences and trees remonstrating about the poor treatment of the veterans from the war and claiming injustice for more than 30 years. One of the veterans was living in the square in a plastic tent as a mark of protest.

Next we crossed the road to the cathedral which is called the Metropolitan Cathedral. It has been rebuilt several times since its origin in the 16th century. The present building has a mix of architectural styles with some pretty impressive columns inside. There was a service going on on the left side. One of the strangest things was that the confessional was public. There was a lady in a red dress kneeling in front of it with the priest inside confessing all while tourists walked past taking photos of her. When we left the lady had been replaced by a callow youth.

The four of us left the cathedral, crossed the road walking past the Cabildo and headed down Avenida de Mayo which is an attractive street where the city's first skyscrapers were built. We turned right onto Avenida 9 de Julio which claims to be the world's widest avenue. As we walked down this impressive avenue towards the Obelisk we passed some sort of very loud demonstration by what looked like construction workers - with much banging of drums and chanting. We came to the intersection of Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Corrientes where the Obelisco (Obelisk) is located and crossed lanes and lanes of traffic (using a pedestrian crossing) to get to the monument which is in the centre of the avenues. This 67 metre tall structure is where ecstatic football fans come to celebrate when their team wins. After crossing back to the shady side of the road we continued north along the Avenida 9 de Julio, passing the Colón (Columbus) Theatre. This huge French Renaisance style building has stood here for oveer 100 years. Many of the greats of opera and ballet have performed here and it was extensively refurbished in the late noughties. We continued on until we needed to cross over in order to turn half left. The pedestrian crossings on this wide street count down so that you know exactly how many seconds you have before the traffic will start to move again. M crossed but D, Pam and Stewart remained on the other side. All of a sudden the last lady to cross (who was just behind M) started screaming. Some young bloke had jumped on her back and was trying to steal her handbag. He then leapt onto the pullion seat of a waiting motorcycle where his accomplice took off at speed. At this moment a car in the outside land accelerated and drove across 3 lanes of traffic and rammed the motorbike (and its riders) over onto the pavement. The driver then pulled ahead and jumped out to apprehend the crooks. The police arrived very promptly and neither of the two thieves escaped. M was asked if it was her bag the crooks had tried to grab. She pointed out the lady that she thought it was who seemed to be in a bit of shock. We don't know whether the car driver was some kind of vigilante or an off duty cop, but it was all very exciting.

We continued on until we reached the Recoleta District of the city. It is here where a number of foreign embassy buildings and flash hotels and shops are located. We came to a large green area flanked by the Señora del Pilar Basilica. This church was designed by Jesuit architect Andrea Bianchi and inaugurated in 1732 thanks to don Fernando de Valdez e Inclán who donated the lands and don Juan de Narbona who financed the construction. The facade is in the Classical Style and the right wing has a double belfry which is the only one in the city. The Alter Piece and most of the images inside the church date from the time of its construction.

Next we went to the Cementario de la Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetery) which was our last destination. The cemetery is the resting place of Argentina's leading celebreties including Evita. We asked in the office where Evita was buried and were told plot 88. We wandered through the 'city of the dead' where the streets were lined with impressive statues and marble sarcophagi passing the graves of past presidents, military heroes, influencial politicians and the rich and famous of Buenos Aires. We found Evita's Duarte family tomb and took some photos. Back outside the cemetery, M purchased a bargain FM and we made our way back to the shuttle bus and then the ship. We stayed on the deck for the sail away and watched the little tugs pull us out of Puerto Nuevo.

After dinner we went to the Country Caberet on the Pool Deck where the show team performed a selection of well known country songs.

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