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Published: October 2nd 2006
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Last day of our trip! And somehow, in our almost twelve-day stay in Argentina, we had failed to explore one of the most colorful and unique barrios in Buenos Aires: La Boca. With only a few hours to spare, we decided to do something about our oversight.
Since we still had a couple of leftover subte tickets that we wanted to use up, but no subte line would get us all the way to La Boca, we broke our itinerary in two: we took the subte system from Plaza San Martin to the end of the C-Line, Constitución Station. Once there, we exited the station and located a taxi stand where we started the second half of our itinerary. The city areas around Constitución Station seemed to be as friendly and lively as the rest of the Buenos Aires that we had experienced so far, but as our taxi was approaching La Boca, we noticed a change in our surroundings: most of the buildings along the road appeared to be rundown warehouses and here and there we could spot seedy characters loitering around. Our taxi driver noticed our slight apprehension and told us in a calm voice that under no
circumstance should we wander beyond the area where he was going to leave us. The advice seemed to be well founded and as we descended from the taxi, we quickly made mental note of where we had approached the area.
One of our initial interests was to find “La Bombonera” (pet name given to the stadium where Buenos Aires’ football team, Boca Juniors is based) but the most prominent feature we noticed immediately was an old and very large metal rig that extended over the inlet that allowed large ships to dock in the area. As we arrived, a ship was maneuvering to go out to open waters. We barely missed the opportunity to photograph the ship as it raced pass our vantage point. Sergio, Joaquín, and I walked along the dock until we reached the base of the metal rig. We spent a few minutes there capturing a few photos and then retraced our steps back to the point where we needed to go inland to find La Bombonera Stadium.
As we moved away from the dock, La Boca revealed itself as a hot tourist spot. Many street vendors started to offer their wares rather insistently as
we walked by. Sergio and Joaquín discovered a gallery that housed several stores with interesting merchandise. They still needed to buy gifts for some of their friends at Georgia Tech. We spent some time browsing the various stores and ultimately bought a couple of articles made by native craftsman.
After leaving the gallery, we headed straight for La Bombonera, a few blocks further. We were not sure exactly what we would find there but we found that the stadium included a museum dedicated to the Boca Juniors team and its feats through the years. We purchased tickets and promptly went in.
The Boca Juniors Museum gave us a wealth of insight about what the impact a team of a global sport such as football can have in a community. One of the main displays on the first level of the museum contrasted the timeline of Boca Juniors activities and achievements through the framework of World events taking place through the decades since their founding. Another display provided a 360-degree video of what would be the personal experience of the viewer to be accepted as a player of the club as the person goes through training and the first
match with the team.
The second level of the museum included an incredible amount of trophies and memorabilia from the various championships that the team has won since the club was created. We rounded up our visit to La Bombonera by actually going into the empty stadium and getting a glimpse of what it must feel like when a visiting team has to face Boca Juniors in their home turf and with the place full of their fans. When we were there, only a friendly cat came to welcome us but perhaps he was wishing that we would move on soon so that he would get the place for himself once again.
We returned to the dock area to catch a taxi back to the Marriott. By then, it was getting time for us to check out and wait for a pre-arranged remise to take us to Ezeiza International Airport for our flight back to Atlanta.
Our hotel’s bell captain informed us that several demonstrations by various groups protesting salaries, benefits, etc. were blocking major thoroughfares so as to make their complaints heard. These blockages were causing major traffic delays and could impact our reaching the airport
in time for our flight. He advised us to leave at least thirty minutes ahead of schedule. We decided to comply.
Traffic was heavy, but we were fortunate since the anticipated blockages in the highway to Ezeiza did not materialize. Sergio and Joaquín were so tired, that both of them slept most of the way to the airport. Our driver left us in front of the terminal where Delta’s check-in counters were located. Check-in was a breeze and soon we were in line for security check and immigration. Sergio noticed that the Boca Juniors team was leaving Argentina at the same time we were. Several of their players and coaches were patiently waiting for their turn to go through security in the same area we were… What a coincidence!
After going through security, the three of us headed for the VIP room offered by Delta. We were to wait here until it was time to board our plane. Unlike VIP rooms in large airports such as Narita or Schiphol, the VIP room in Ezeiza offered individual service. The lonely gentleman staffing it would come from time to time to offer guests a plate of hors d’ouvres and drinks.
I left Sergio and Joaquín at the VIP room and headed for the Duty Free stores in the terminal. I sill had to find something special for Elizabeth who at the last minute had decided not to come with us to Argentina to baby sit our special-needs cat, Dali. I was specially looking for local jewelry or an item for another one of her collections: small bunny rabbits made of different materials. Since I had been looking for any of these items without any success since the beginning of our trip, I was not very hopeful that I would find them now. My luck was about the change though. In the first store that I looked, I found a set of earrings and a pendant made of a red stone unique to Argentina. They also had a rabbit statuette carved from another local mineral. I was set.
In the meantime, I did not notice that our time to board our plane had come and as I was approaching the VIP room, I was surprised to see both Sergio and Joaquín hustling towards our gate. They were also annoyed by my “disappearance” so close to our boarding. That was something unusual, since I am always the one being responsible for everyone else.
Our flight back to Atlanta was totally uneventful. Sergio even took advantage of the multi-hour flight to befriend a coed that was sitting within his vicinity. I can always count on him to be our family’s travel social director.
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