Adios! Buenos Aires

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Well, that was a hectic week in Buenos Aires, but I think we hit all the sights. Monday was spent in the dead centre of town - that's right the cemetary! Recoleta cemetary is quite famous as Eva Peron is buried there. A somewhat goulish but interesting place to visit. The 6ha public cemetary houses the remains of National heroes, independence warriors, presidents of the republic, writers, scientists and artists. Some of the architecture of the "tombs" is pretty awesome.

Tuesday we went shopping! Well, we walked to the main shopping precinct of Avenue Florida for a bit of a look around. Lucky really as the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the day.

Wednesday we took a trip up to Tigre, about an hour north of BA. Tigre is like the Dunsborough of Buenos Aires where the Portenos have their "weekenders". We took a local train to Mitre (trying to avoid the American tourists) then changed to the Tren de la Costa (train of the coast). Well you don't see much of the coast, but trading standards probably don't apply in South America! From what you can see, the water is quite brown and uninviting. Tigre is on the Delta del Parana. Arriving on the Tren de la Costa you are confronted with a crap amusement park and casino right on the waterfront. A short boat ride away is the small hamlet of Tres Boca (3 mouths) which is a psuedo canal style development. We spent the afternoon wandering (getting lost) around Tres Boca before catching a water taxi back to Tigre.

Thursday was a trip to La Boca and Caminito, a poor portside area south of the main centre. It is rather pretty with brightly painted buildings. The original immigrants used left over paints from the dockyards to paint their houses. It covers about two blocks and tourists are advised not to venture outside of these blocks, even in the day time, as evidenced by the cops standing at the periphery! We took a local bus there and back which was pretty easy once you know how much to pay (1.25 pesos) and how to say that in Spanish to the driver as you get on! The poor areas of town are pretty bad and you really don't feel like getting off the bus when passing through. There are quite a few beggars on the streets here, but on the whole they respect a polite "no, gracias". I haven't had to use the Australian "no" yet, but got close the other evening.

Went to a lovely restaurant for a steak dinner, the speciality of Argentina. Whilst very nice, David at Torres can sort you out with something better (that's why we are the lucky country). Had a Latitud 33 cab sav, a rather nice drop from Mendoza but much lighter than our Aussie cab savs. Went down well with the char-grilled rib-eye and rump steak. (Lea has now memorised "well-done" in Spanish). Having a Latitud Chardy as we write this, fresh and light and not bad, but again lacks the bold full-on flavours of Aussie wines. However price wise they are pretty good, the chardy is $16.50 peso, about $9, so you just can't go wrong! I feel quite tempted to go to Medoza when we are in Santiago, but it's a long bus ride (might spend the fare on wines and stay in!)

Friday was a trip to Palermo, about 3kms from where we are in Barrio Norte. A nice neighbourhood and a little quieter too. There is more English spoken there and it is akin to the western suburbs of Perth. It is more residential than Barrio Norte with more restaurants, trendy shops and an Irish pub (they get everywhere!). A short underground trip and a pleasant walk back (although we missed our street and walked 12 blocks more than we should have - but the exercise will do us good).

Saturday, our last full day in Buenos Aires, we spent walking around Recoleta. It got pretty hot, so an afternoon siesta in the park with the locals worked out well. Tomorrow we fly to Iguazu Falls where we're staying on the Brazilian side, Foz do Iguazu.

BUENOS AIRES:

LIKES:

The architecture
Sense of place (has it's own identity)
Tree-lined streets
Desayuno of cafe con medialunas
Latitud 33 2006 cab sav
Leathergoods (with hair...sorry Karene)

DON'T LIKE:

Dog crap on the footpaths

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Photos

Recoleta Cemetary
Medieval gothic tomb

Evita
Resting place of Eva Peron

Recoleta Cemetary
Funky, groovy tomb

Stack 'em up boys!
The filing cabinet... file it under "D".

House Museum
"what the....?" Yes, that is a full sized house in a glass case!

Tres Boca
Canal living - South America style

Tres Boca
Sort of quaint... in a watery way

La Boca (Manila)
So you wanna dance?

Downtown BA
Clash of architecture.... Jono's getting arty now!

Comments

[Jo]

Hey!
Good to see you guys are getting into the blogging! It is bringing back great memories and also plenty of envy! xx

[mike]

a revelation
Well you guys are good at this hey....perhaps well tip off lonely planet and make it paid employment? 80% - 20% split to the manager (me-self appointed)on account of you guys having all the fun?/?. Abstract shot of the period building in the glass buildings reflection was excellent mate but you could have waited the extra 10 mins so a sinorita was in shot!!!! Dont need to do market research these days but because of globilisation we must see whats about!!!! have fun M