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Published: November 3rd 2008
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Buenos Aires, Argentina, the southern city that never sleeps, the Paris of the South (though more NYC in feel and senses), received us with charm—and a public demonstration that blocked the highway from the airport to town. We were too tired to notice or take pictures. We immediately had lost luggage (Mark’s Thermarest) but we arrived rather unscathed. Our "4 star" hotel was decidedly less than expected but it was a safe place to relax for our first night, and we even caught the Broncos crushing defeat on ESPN--with Spanish commentary of course (ESPN Deportes).
First night = Lomo. Done.
We left the city center, which rivals Times Square in flashiness and overwhelming tourist trappings, to one of the barrios for something safer, cheaper, and quieter. San Telmo turned out to be what we wanted. It is very dense, filled with colorful stores, markets, art galleries and plazas. Still it is quieter than downtown, yet with tons of great cafes and restaurants.
The first week produced jitters. Now that we had been planning and saving and changing our lives and abandoning our pets for so long to make this trip happen, here we were - but where is
that? Buenos Aires is a funnel; everything leads toward the Casa Rosada (the Pink House) where the executive branch resides. To the north and south and west are the barrios, to the east is the reserve ecologica - a dump/landfill project in the Rio de la Plata that never panned out, but filled in with lots of flora and fauna.
We went through it on our daredevil cruiser bike tour of the lower city - there is a short lifespan for road bikers in Buenos Aires city proper. The bike tour took us through San Telmo - the oldest part of the city first settled by Italian immigrants, and la Boca (Spanish - the mouth) where shantytowns grew up by the old port. The port is now gone, and la Boca is downtrodden but proud to the home of the Boca Juniors- the Yankees of Argentine soccer. There hated rival - the River Plate, is in more glitzy Palermo. Diego Maradonna played for Boca.
However, Mark became an instant Boca fan upon seeing their stadium. Go Blue!
Buenos Aires, and La Boca originally, is the home of the Tango - a dance invented by men waiting their
turn in brothels. It was danced between two men originally but has evolved to a sexy couples dance. We learned a few moves, and attended a show one night and a milonga - a social gathering - in Palermo later.
We also visited Recoleta, a cemetery where the elite have long since tried to one-up each other with elaborate mausoleums that now look like a small city. We paid our customary respect to Evita Duerte Peron. Recoleta cemetery is the most expensive real estate in the world - it is full and plots go for between 3 - 20 million dollars - and can be rented!
Also, BA is home to South America’s largest Jewish population- approximated to be at over 250,000 in the city alone, and one of the largest temples I have ever seen. The day we visited Once, the Jewish barrio, it was Simchas Torah and everything was closed. Unfortunately, due to the state of things in the last decade the temples are under strict security, and at one Chassidic temple we passed, pictures were not allowed. But it was cool to see the kosher shops and Spanish speaking Chassidim all over the place.
We took a day trip north to the town of Tigre - called the Venice of Argentina - because the Rio Parana breaks up into a delta of one thousand arroyos and man-made canals, filled with little private casitas with docks. Here is the taxi that also served as delivery truck (pizza must take a while) and we partook of our first asado- aka your South American barbecue. Later, we canoed!
A word about the food here. In general, it is not that hard to adjust, with the possible exception of breakfast. This is not a rice-based culture; these are meat and potatoes people. It’s just that the meat (in pig form) comes everywhere and in all foods. Except breakfast, which Mark found to be very lacking. White bread abounds. Vegetables do come out at dinner, though. But the worst has to be the sugar. These people are all in one collective diabetic coma with poor dental health. Breakfast involves sugar (sometimes you cannot find coffee without sugar - it’s just not offered), plus white bread or rolls, Medialunas (crossiants with sugar glaze), and side helpings of dulce de leche (sweetened condensed milk) as a spread.
Overall we
have greatly enjoyed Buenos Aires for its culture, tango, and friendliness. We look forward to telling you more! For loads more pictures visit mati.smugmug.com
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Danno
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Yay blog!
Yay, Mati's blog! Yay!