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Published: February 8th 2016
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So much for that last trip. For now. Right now it's all about Patagonia. We will be gone almost three weeks and it is an adventure we are both very excited about. This is also a tour, beginning in Buenos Aires and ending in Santiago, with a cruise of Tierra del Fuego and stops in a few national parks in Chile inbetween.
This will be our second time in Argentina, the first time being the year before last when we visited Buenos Aires and Iguaçu Falls on our own. I (and a cast of thousands!) loved Iguaçu Falls, but Buenos Aires stole my heart. The city proper, particularly the Recoleta and Palermo Barrios were wonderfully walkable, with people everywhere all day and late into the night. On the streets we visited, we never once had that creepy “where is everybody” feeling that is so common in cities in the States. I’m excited to be returning.
We’ll revisit some things we have already seen that I look forward to seeing again, particularly the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), as well as covering some new ground. Of course, this time, we are on the tour company’s schedule, which
is a good and a bad thing. You see things you might not have picked out yourself, which can be very good, but your time is not your own and you inevitably end up booking it when you would rather be wandering at your own pace – not so good. It leaves you little time to gaze thoughtfully at wonderful architecture, take in the amazing graffiti, and enjoy the street life, all of which defines Buenos Aires. We do have some free time, but not a whole lot. And Buenos Aires demands a whole lot of free time.
My favorite things about Buenos Aires? First has got to be all the people on the streets! MALBA, as already mentioned. Coffee shops with displays of fabulous sweets featuring dulce de leche and the cafés con leches served with shot glasses of augua con gas and medialunas (slightly sweet crescent rolls). BTW, just so you know, a medialuna that isn’t shaped like a crescent can be called a vigilante (why, of course…). Flaky empanadas filled with tasty stuff. The old European styled architecture. Steaks (always too well done but delicious anyway) with chimichurri. And the way people kiss in the street!
I mean, seriously lip locking in public. Old, young, gay -- albeit maybe a little more discretely even in socially liberal Buenos Aires. You know, when in Rome….
Of course, as tourists, we saw little of the barrios around the city proper. Things can be a lot less beautiful outside of the beautiful parts we visited. For every person living the good life in Buenos Aires there must be a thousand (more?) who struggle just to survive. Not that it's a lot different in big cities in the States, but people living in the US often think poverty is worse for people in South America. I'm not so sure that is true -- poverty everywhere kills bodies and souls.
This trip, however, is geographically very different than our previous Argentine trip resulting in dramatically different environments. After summer temps in Buenos Aires we have windy and cold while cruising the fjords of the Chilean Tierra del Fuego – wet gear required. Cool to cold -- if we are lucky, highs in the low 60s F -- as we explore two national parks a little further north before returning to full summer temps in Santiago.
And,
here's the tough part: We are limited to one suitcase and one carry-on-item. Obviously, the carry-on-item is none other than the ever indispensable international travel back pack, of course! So, I picked up three pairs of those thin quick-drying travel panties to save room. Ha! Like that is going to fix my problem. It’s Latin America, you gotta bring jeans and even thin ones take up room! Gotta bring warm stuff. Sandals, but will they be the toe protecting Keens or the more elegant open-toed Tevas? Hiking boots and heavy socks – I usually wear the hiking boots on the plane, a pain in the ass but it saves quite a bit of room. One night in a club for tango, one night as a dinner guest in Santiago, the Farewell Dinner. Ok, a fancy scarf might fix this.
A fashion dilemma, right? So, given the travel agency offered very little advice, I sat down, counted how many days in what temperature ranges and loosely identified those days as summer (Buenos Aires and Santiago), spring (the two national parks and nearby cities in Central Chile) or winter (Ushuaia, nearby park, and Tierra del Fuego cruise). I’m thinking I can
wash summer stuff while visiting the cooler climes based on our schedule. Either that or I’ll simply stink in Santiago.
I think it will work, but where oh where will we put the chotskies? Looks like we'll be in the market for micro-souvenirs. I hate that, especially when you start seeing some wonderful handcrafts and art you would really like to take home with you.
Speaking of, I still remember something I didn't buy in the feria on Defensa Street in Buenos Aires that I wish I had. It was a painting of people who appeared to be spinning up into space. Hard to describe this adequately but it was skillfully done by a real artist and it touched me deeply. It didn't take a whole lot of knowledge of the history of Argentina to know these were the Desaparecidos, the Disappeared of Argentina's dirty war. I talked briefly with the artist who said people didn't remember. She did. I've thought of this one painting ever since.
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