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Published: March 18th 2009
So after a 12 hour flight, with an hour and a half delay at the Auckland airport, we finally arrived in Buenos Aires around 6pm the same day as we left (we left Auckland around 8:30pm that day!). Got to love the International Date Line! We left the airport after the slowest luggage belt in the world finally got our luggage t o us. We were immediately greeted with sounds of people wanting us to take a taxi or their shuttle into town. We opted for the shuttle company recommended to us by our hostel and were on our way. Half way into town, we stopped and had to switch to a smaller car. Immediately, I was thinking we were getting ripped off because they weren’t going to take us all the way to our hostel, but they did and things were all good. So much for me not being paranoid anymore. I think it’s actually getting worse because of all the ¨fun¨ stories I am hearing about South America. I think every man, woman and child is trying to rob me!
Since it was late, we opted just to check in and relax and go somewhere close for dinner.
I expected some authentic Argentinean food, but we found about a million pizza restaurants and decided on one of them. Chris took the first big step of South America: he ordered our food in Spanish! See in Asia, everyone knows you don’t speak their language, but here it is less obvious. We have pretty much communicated in poor Spanish everywhere outside the hostel we go. Even though our Spanish is poor, no one has spoken back to us in English. Instead they use really fast Spanish words to talk to us, leaving me confused and looking at the boys for help. My years taking French and Sign Language are NOT paying off here in Argentina!
After attempting to get some sleep after our long journey, we woke up the next morning to get our free hostel breakfast. It consisted of bad coffee, tangerine juice, cereal and bread. You had a choice of butter, marmalade or caramel sauce for your bread. That’s right- caramel sauce! So yummy in the morning. If only I had an apple to smother in it.
Our first stop of the day was the cemetery in Recoletta. It is a huge cemetery where only Argentina’s
elite are buried. The Cemetery includes graves of some of the most influential and important persons of Argentina, including several presidents, scientists, and wealthy characters. There are amazing tombs that look like mini churches, some complete with stain glass windows. Many have giant statues of the person or of Jesus or of angels. Full on marble statues like you would see in the Vatican or something. It was absolutely unreal and amazing. The most famous resident at the cemetery is Evita aka Eva Peron aka the ¨Don’t Cry for me Argentina¨ girl played by Madonna in the movie. Maria Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Domingo Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She was born out of wedlock in rural Argentina in 1919. In 1934, at the age of 15, she made her way to the nation's capital of Buenos Aires, where she pursued a career as a stage, radio, and film actress. Eva met Colonel Juan Perón in 1944 at a charity event in San Juan, and the two were married the following year. In 1946, Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina. Over
the course of the next six years, Eva Perón became powerful within the Pro-Peronist trade unions, essentially for speaking on behalf of labor rights. At that time, women in Argentina had no civil rights, so she couldn't be minister during Perón Administration; that's why she founded and ran the charitable Eva Perón Foundation, championed women's suffrage in Argentina which was recognized in 1947, and founded and ran the nation's first large-scale female political party, the Female Peronist Party. In 1951, Eva Perón accepted the Peronist nomination for the office of Vice President of Argentina. However, opposition from the nation's military and elite, coupled with her declining health, ultimately forced her to withdraw her candidacy. In 1952 shortly before her death from cancer at the age of 33, Eva Perón was given the official title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" by the Argentine Congress. Her grave was black and had many plaques with her name and likeness on them. There were so many flowers and plants, probably left by mourners to her grave. It took us a while to find her grave, as it is situated down a little alley in the cemetery and is not even close to being
the largest and most elaborate tomb. Of course, when we found it, we knew- there were about 20 other people lined up to take photos of it.
We actually really enjoyed the whole cemetery, which is a really weird fact. The tombs were so huge and you couldn’t believe what some of these families could afford, especially in the wake of so much poverty in South America.
From Recoletta, we walked to Palermo, a trendy suburb of Buenos Aires. It has many shops and cafes and trees line the streets. It was a fun little neighborhood and we were able to stop for lunch and have our first taste of empanadas- a South American treat. They were delicious and solidified my opinion that I am really going to like the food in South America.
The next day we decided to do a walking tour of La Boca. Our hostel offered the tour and since La Boca is not the safest area in Buenos Aires, we decided that this option would be better. The area is amazing and probably my favorite neighborhood in Buenos Aires. It retains a strong European flavor, with many of its early settlers being
from the Italian city of Genoa. The neighborhood sits at the mouth ("Boca" in Spanish) of the Riachuelo and that is where it gets its name. Since it is the poorer area, all the houses are painted different colors because the residents used to paint their houses with whatever paint they could find on the ship yards nearby. This meant that the buildings are yellow, red, blue, green, purple, pink and everything in between. The buildings were cute and old and there were many street artists selling their photographs and art everywhere in the street. There were also so many sidewalk cafes with tango shows for those passing by and the patrons of the restaurant. That meant there was tango music in the air everywhere and really added to the amazing atmosphere. We spent a lot of time walking around while our sassy Argentinean tour guide, Heidi, told us a lot about the area.
After lunch, we headed to the stadium in the area. La Boca is known throughout the sporting world as the home of Boca Juniors, one of world's top football clubs, as well as La Bombonera, home of Boca Juniors. The stadium rises up in the
middle of the barrio (neighborhood) and is painted bright blue and yellow- the colors of the team. Of course, Boca Juniors got their team colors when they lost a soccer match and therefore had to get their team colors from the next boat that went by on the river. The boat was painted blue and yellow and the rest is history. Boca has won a record 18 international titles, equal to A.C. Milan. Domestically, the club has won 23 national championships, second only to River Plate, their cross town rivals. Their most famous player and the most famous player in all of Argentinean soccer is Diego Maradona. He is somewhat of a national hero here and there was even a look alike Maradona walking around La Boca that you could take photos with. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, and, most distinguishably, Napoli. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 World Cup where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award
as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarter-final round he scored two remarkable goals in a 2-1 victory over England which instantly cemented his fame. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", which is probably where he gathered most of his international fame. He used his hand to knock a ball into the goal and the referees never caught him, meaning he cheated to win the world cup. Some national hero? He became head coach of the Argentina national football team in November 2008.
Argentineans love their futball and it is so part of their history and culture that I knew I had to learn about it and get ¨Boca fever.¨ I actually can’t believe my extensive knowledge of Buenos Aires futball... it’s kind of embarrassing. I guess when in Rome.... right?
The stadium was pretty cool though. There was a huge museum inside where they had many trophies that Boca has won and a lot of club memorabilia. We were also able to go out into the stadium and see it, without people. Maradonna even has his private seat within the walls of the club.
That night, our
hostel housed a free tango lesson. This is one thing I have wanted to do since we arrived in Argentina. Tango is as much a part of the culture as futball is. Heidi, our walking tour guide, told us that tango started in Argentina because when men got off their ships they would head to the local brothel for a drink and some ¨you know what.¨ Well, the women in the brothels entertained the men by dancing the tango with them, since it is such a passionate dance. From there, tango was seen in Hollywood and in the movies and it immediately gained legitimacy. Now, tango is everywhere, including where it started- Argentina.
Our tango instructors walked in to the hostel and put on a five minute demonstration for us. From watching this... I know why they used it in the brothels! But... then it was our turn. Our instructors taught us some basic steps first and then we gradually progressed to the more sexy side. I realized the girl does much more work in tango. By the end of the night I was kicking and rubbing my leg up and down Jeff’s. The girl is definitely the sexy
one in the tango. Jeff did amazing though and he was such a good sport. Our only problem was that I had trouble letting Jeff lead! But, I’m sure no one is surprised about that one! The whole experience was really fun and I loved every second of it. Even when our instructors made us get in front of the group and each so off what they had taught us individually.
That night, we decided to have our first night out in the famous Buenos Aires nightlife. We had met some friends on our walking tour and some girls in our hostel room and decided we would all go out together. Since people do not go out until 2am, we sat around the hostel and socialized while trying not to fall asleep. By the time 2am hit, I was tired and not really up for going out, but I forced myself. We took a cab to the club, paid 20 pesos to get in, and realized it was a not so fun drum and bass (techno) club filled with smoke. I am still not used to the smokiness of all the bars and hostels around here. I think I
am going to come home with second hand lung cancer! Well, after about an hour at the club we called it a night. Me, Jeff and our friend from Philly went to hail a cab, but had to walk a few blocks to make sure we got a legitimate cab and not one of those cabs that rob tourists. We survived our night out though and hope that upon our return to BA we can find a better place to go.
We checked out of our hostel the next morning and had all day to stroll around the city before our overnight bus to Iguazu. Jeff and I went to Florida Street, a pedestrian street with tons of shops. Jeff was eying an Argentina soccer jersey. From there we strolled through one of the many parks in BA and happened to come across a buddy bear exhibit. A Buddy Bear is an individually painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculpture. The exhibit has over 180 life-size bears, decorated for all the countries in the United Nations. The bears tour around the world and this was their first stop in BA. The exhibit was really cool and the bears were painted so
beautifully. Of course, we found the USA one, which had been painted like the statue of liberty and took a few photos. We really enjoyed the exhibit, which talked a lot about world peace and how we are one people. Their message is ¨We have to get to know each other better, it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully .¨ This is so much a part of the message we have received as we have traveled. Everywhere we go, we meet amazingly nice people and despite our cultural differences, we are all just people that are striving to be happy. I hope that through my blogs and my stories I have from around the world I can help some people understand each other better and therefore, care for each other more.
Ok- enough of that...Insert my Iguazu Falls blog here because this is when we went.
Back in Buenos Aires, we arrived super early and had some time to kill before heading to the Boca Juniors soccer game. We hung around and checked in to our new room at the hostel, which came complete with a third story balcony
overlooking the street. It was a great view. After that, we headed to San Telmo, another area in Buenos Aires, for the Sunday street market. The market was awesome and I loved that area of the city. All the streets were cobblestone and the building looked old and European. There were blocks and blocks of people selling their wares as well as people playing music and people sitting at different sidewalk cafes. We absolutely loved it. I just wish we had more time to spend there before having to get back to the hostel for the game.
At 4pm we left to go to the Boca Juniors futball game. We decided to go with the hostel because to be honest I was pretty nervous about heading to a South American soccer game on our own. In retrospect, we would have been fine and got ripped off by the hostel, but it was fun, so I am not going to get mad about it. A huge bus picked us up from the hostel to drive us the 15 minutes to La Boca. Just before we arrived they passed around a piece of paper that told us to stay with the
group at all times for our safety. I didn’t realize the game wasn’t until 7:30, but that people line up so early and this is why we had to arrive at 4pm. So we got in line with all the crazy futball fans and waited the almost three hours until they let us in. Luckily there was a guy selling chorizo sausage sandwiches on the street to hold my hunger over. They were yummy and delicious and probably the best street food so far in Argentina. Jeff and Chris managed to buy a knock-off Boca jersey for 40 pesos (about $10), much better than the 270 pesos they want for the real thing. They felt like true fans with their new jerseys and immediately blended in with the sea of blue and gold fans. They finally let us in after a group of military style police were let in first. We had to pass two security check points and then finally-we were in!
The section we were sitting in was general seating so everyone just piles in. We got our seats and then the people from the hostel suggested we move back under the ceiling of the level above us.
Apparently, people like to urinate off the top pavilion onto the people below. I never saw it happen during the game, but I was still happy we made the decision to move back. As it got closer to game time more and more people began to pack in. There are no aisles or seats, just benches that everyone squishes on to. The food vendors push you out of the way so they can continue walking to sell their products.
When we arrived the Boca Junior Juniors were playing (the equivalent of the minor league team). They were losing 2-1 and came back in the last five minutes to win. They scored their last goal on a penalty kick when time was out. They won 3-2 and the game got nasty, we saw the keeper get red carded and someone get head butted. If this was any indication, I knew the real game was going to be crazy.
Once the actual Boca game started, everyone was on their feet. If you sat down you would get boo´ed so of course, I stood the whole time. The crowd was insane. They had these songs or chants that everyone knew the words to.
They didn’t stop the entire game. There was always constant chanting or singing going on. I only wish I knew the words, but I think I heard some not so nice ones in their chants! All I could do was smile and clap along. At certain points they would all start jumping up and down and you would see a sea of people all over the stadium jumping up and down.
The section directly across from us was the other rowdy section. There was a fan band in that section that played the music for the chants non stop the entire game. There were also huge Boca banners and blue and gold streamers that hung from there very top of the pavilion to the bottom. The energy was amazing. The only time we got to sit down was at half time. While the people chanted they would throw their hands in the air creating one big blanket of hands in the air. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Futball is such a way of life for the Argentineans and I was happy we were able to experience it. I couldn’t imagine being there for a final or
something like that.
We never had any trouble at the game and never felt unsafe. I think that is probably because Boca won 3-0, but that made the game excited. There were these giant fire hoses with firemen on the roof above us. Apparently they are used for crowd control and in case anyone sets a fire in the stadium. I did not want to get firehosed, so I was happy everything went smoothly. At the end of the game, they kept the crowd inside the stadium and only let one section out at a time. Time about crowd control! Since we were in the cheap seats, they held us until about a half hour after the game was over before we could finally leave the stadium. Besides the smell of urine in the hallways, we got out safe and I survived my first South American soccer match. I can’t imagine that I will ever go to a sporting event again where the fans have so much passion!
We made friends with three Aussie girls that were staying in our dorm with us and we all decided to get some famous Argentinean steak the next night. The six
of us hopped on the subway and went to Palermo to go to supposedly the best value steakhouse in BA. When we arrived around 8pm we were told they were completely booked for the night and we could either wait until 10:30pm to eat or make reservations for tomorrow. None of us could wait another two hours to eat, so we booked in for the following night. This made me a bit nervous since we had to catch an 11:30pm bus to Uruguay that night, but it was our last chance for steak!
We spent our last day in Buenos Aires, walking around the city and generally chilling out. It was St. Patrick ’s Day so the hostel was buzzing with activity. All the Irish were celebrating and the hostel was dressing everyone up in green and selling green beer. Jeff and I decided to pass some time by getting into the festivities with a green beer of our own. We ended up running into Heidi, our sassy walking tour guide and we sat with her for a few hours chatting and celebrating St. Patty’s day!
Then it was time for steak! We met up with our Aussie
friends and once again took the subway to Palermo. We decided to sit outside at the restaurant because really- when can you sit outside and have amazing steak!? We ordered some appetizers and a couple bottles of win, since Argentina is also famous for its amazing wine. The appetizers were huge! They brought us the biggest chorizo sausage I had ever seen. We also had cheese and sauce to eat the sausage with. It was yummy! Then came the main course! Jeff and I decided to split our waiter, Angel’s recommendation: the rib eye. When it came out it was one of the biggest pieces of meat I had ever seen in my life. I just hoped it tasted as good as it looked. We immediately cut into the steak and were not disappointed. The steak was delicious! It was probably one of the best steaks I had ever had in my life. The steak came with a variety of dipping sauces as well as some hot and cold side dishes including olives, mashed potatoes and garlic. Everything was some of the best stuff I tasted! When all was said and done we had spent less than $25 for appetizers,
steak and wine- not to mention the free limoncello aperitif Angel brought us at the end of the night. All went well and we caught a cab back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff and made it to the bus station with time to spare! What a great way to end our Buenos Aires experience, great food and great new friends!
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Courtney Enriquez
non-member comment
Hilarious
So I am rolling on the floor... although I shouldn't be all that surprised... just who else is creepy enough to take pictures with someone's gravestone besides you :o) ha ha ha ha. You have always made me smile! Travel Safe! Court