In the meantime . . . it was Valentines Day and we were in Buenos Aires, (Good Air) Argentina. . . Home of the Tango! How cool is that!?
This is our first glimpse of the city from Deck 14 of the Star Princess.
Nothing special to look at from here, but this city was full of treasures!
Getting off the ship was, as expected, well organized and executed. Getting out of the port and into the city however, was a lesson in patience. Imagine, if you will, 2600 passengers, all with at least one large piece of luggage, funneling into a space about the size of postage stamp, while 3 cabs at a time backed in, loaded up, and disappeared into the city. It was a frustratingly slow process and without defined lanes in which to line up, the mob was left to police itself when it came to people nudging and weaseling their way toward the front. For the most part, though, the herd remained civil and soon enough, we were on our way to the Hostel de Granados, in the San Telmo neighborhood. (Thankfully we had booked a place on line before leaving Valparaiso). Ironically, the hostel was on Avenida Chile! This is it with the tables in front. Part of the main floor was a bar while the rest, and the upper floors made up the hostel. Did I mention that it was a youth hostel? We felt a little conspicuous checking in with a truck load of luggage while everyone else was 70 pounds and 30 years lighter than us!
Once we dragged our suitcases to the top floor and got over the feeling of being over-weight and over-aged, we settled in to what would be home for the next 4 nights. I think that we had one of the only rooms with a private bathroom.
With a little fridge in the corner, and a community kitchen downstairs, we were all set. The room was clean (except for South America's national insect . . . the flea!), safe, comfortable and well located for exploring Buenos Aires by foot . . . and subway . . . and bus. Not bad for $40 US per night.
As is the case in any new city, our first order of business after settling in, was to start the exploration. So, with map in hand . . . we were off!
By the looks of this picture and others to follow, we virtually had the city to ourselves! With a population of about 13 million people, we soon started to wonder where everybody was. We were told later that the city all but closes down on Saturdays and as a result, the only people on the streets were people like us . . . tourists! It was odd to see the streets so quiet in such a big city.
We took some of these shots simply to capture the flavour of the area. It seemed that at every turn there was another cool building with interesting architecture. That made it fun to just wander around.
We're not sure what this building was, aside from beautiful, . . . but notice the fence along the right hand side of the picture.
It provides protection for Casa Rosada, Argentina's seat of Government. And yes . . . as the name suggests, it is pink! In 1873, there was a union of two political parties. One party's colour was red while the other's was white. The blending of the colours was to be a symbol of the union.
If you've seen the movie "Evita" (Madonna) or are familiar with the Eva Peron story, this is where it took place. The balcony scene in the movie was actually shot here.
The interior of the palace was not pink! This is the inner courtyard where we waited for an "English" tour that never materialized. We did, however, manage to glean some information through a fellow tourist that aided us with some translation.
The uniforms worn by the palace guards are fashioned after the ones worn in the time of South American military hero San Martin.
The palace looks out over this park, Plaza de Mayo, the city's most historical place. From the May Revolution of 1810, to the constitution of 1860, to the Peronist Concentration of 1945 and the major events of the county's modern history . . . this plaza has seen it all!
And where you have a park and a gathering place for politicians . . . you are likely to get a protest or two. Such was the case while we were there.
Twenty-seven years after the Argentines lost the war over the Falkland Islands, public demonstrations continue. In Argentina, the Falkland Islands are called the "Islas Malvinas", and there is still strong national sentiment that the islands belong to Argentina. The literature that we were given suggested that the English have ruled the islands virtually unchallenged for hundreds of years. But . . . we all know that history is written by winners and is not always the whole truth.
OK . . Moving on!! Also on Plaza de Mayo was the Catedral Metropolitana where the remains of the aforementioned South American hero General Jose de San Martin are buried.
Speaking of churches and cathedrals, we saw some beauties!
This is San Ignacio. Its the earliest church still standing in Buenos Aires as construction began in 1686. It was also the first building in the city to be built of brick instead of adobe, and the bell tower served as a look out for pirates in the Rio de la Plata. Arrrgggg matey!!
The exterior of this cathedral is remarkable, but for the most part, it just blends into the surrounding neighborhood (keep in mind the tower towards the back of the church). The interior however . . .
was simply spectacular!
Now . . . recall that exterior tower? Here is what it looks like from the inside looking straight up!
Amazing!!
Those churches were all in and around the old neighborhoods of "Centro" and "San Telmo".
This one is called "Our Lady Of Pilar Basilica" and was a twenty-minute subway ride away in an area called Recoleta. It was built around 1720 by a Jesuit monk. The double belfry on the right, with spheric clock on top makes this structure unique. The basilica was declared a national monument in 1942, in part because of what is next door.
And what was next door was what brought us to Recoleta in the first place.
The famous Cementerio de la Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetery). Why "famous" you ask? For one thing, anyone who was anybody and had the money to prove it, has accommodation here.
Secondly, it's just an amazing place . . . unlike any cemetery we (and maybe you) have ever seen!
It's much like a miniature city with tree-lined streets . . .
. . . where every house is a mansion of marble, granite,
and angelic statues.
Each of these "homes" may hold 3 or four generations of family members, and to make room, they come complete with basements. In some cases, you can peer in and see the stairway down, and often, the caskets sitting on the shelves.
This is the "home" of the Duarte Family, and when we were there, there was a massive line-up of tourists to see it. We managed to sneak in the back way and avoid the line! "Duarte" was Eva Peron's maiden name, and her remains are here in her family's plot.
You can imagine that it is expensive to get in here, and apparently, also expensive to stay. As fortunes dwindle, some families literally pick up their loved ones, sell the plot and move to more affordable digs. This is the worst, and perhaps the only case of neglect that we saw. I expect that there is no family left to pay the bills for this guy, and for some reason he hasn't yet been removed (or evicted!).
This was an interesting feature on many tombs. An upside-down torch on your grave essentially means that your light has gone out . . . you're dead!
The cemetery is a very popular tourist destination, and therefore, resting in peace may be difficult for the residents!
Now then . . . we don't want you to think that we spent all of our time hanging around churches and cemeteries. After all, Buenos Aires is the home of the TANGO! It seems that the Tango is the centre piece upon which the tourism industry of Buenos Aires is built.
Tango is everywhere and when done well (or more appropriately, done in the style that we liked), is sooo cool to watch! (A little more on the Tango later)
Near the start of the blog I mentioned that the streets were nearly deserted. That was on Saturday afternoon. Well, Sunday was a different story!
From our hostel, on almost every street . . . in almost every direction . . . for as far as the eye could see . . .
there were tourists, locals, street vendors . . .
and musicians. How many street bands have you seen with an upright piano!?
All of the entertainers that we watched along the way were very good, and some of their CDs have made their way into our collection.
After a full day of meandering, shopping, browsing, and sightseeing under the intense Argentine sun, Monday would bring with it, some peace and tranquility in the "Carlos Thays Botanical Garden" in the Palermo neighborhood.
The park was clean, quiet and full of beautiful vegetation and even more beautiful sculptures.
While most of the beauties were naked . . .
this one was not!
I don't recall the story behind this sculpture but if you take a close look, it's essentially a party scene, complete with drunks and revelers.
What happened next came as a complete surprise to us. While wandering through the park, we were suddenly forced to cope with a strange liquid descending from the sky. Yes, it was raining, and aside from some drizzle on board the ship and a short shower in the Falklands, we hadn't seen rain since we left Canada! This turned into a good ol' fashioned thunder storm, and as a result, we flagged a cab, checked the map, and took shelter in a small but very nice auto museum.
The following few shots are of some interesting buildings that we stumbled across as we ventured through the various areas of the city. We've included them for a couple of reasons. First, to preserve the memory of our visit, and secondly to give you a sense of what this city has in store for visitors.
The castle on the left is a University, and while it is magnificent, check out the treat on the right.
The original old tower has been preserved and incorporated into the new glass structure.
I can only imagine what the original structure looked like, but as it stands now, it's one of my favorites!
The Star of David says it all here.
A theatre. . . if I remember correctly.
We found that many of the street in Buenos Aires were wide and spacious. In the distance, you can see one of the most famous landmarks of Buenos Aires . . . the Obelisk. It was erected in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city. It is 220 ft. (67 meters) high and is a traditional gathering spot for sports fans in the mood to celebrate.
I didn't take this picture, but it gives a better idea of the area around the Obelisk. We walked through this monstrous intersection, but it is difficult to get a sense of its grandeur when you're in the middle of it.
Before we get to our last day in South America, here are some odds and ends.
Outside of a museum, we came across this big cat. But . . . the cat that we really liked was . . .
the small one curled up for a sleep!
This is the Eva Peron museum (Evita in Spansh means "Little Eva"). Man . . . they loved this woman! Justifiably so I guess, as she gave a voice to those who needed it most . . . women, children, the poor . . .
Use your imagination and you will see a giant, 20 meter high silver rose. It's 6 metal petals open with the sunlight and close when night falls.
When we came across this store, I started making plans for picking up a unit and driving it back to Canada. Sure, it would have to have been slightly used to fit into our budget, but driving a Ferrari on a cross continental journey would have been soooo cool.
Well . . . it didn't work out quite as I imagined it. This store had no cars! In fact, it was a restaurant with one corner dedicated to selling Ferrari trinkets. The closest we came (or will ever come!) to buying a Ferrari was a key chain!
Wednesday, February 18 was to be the last day of our Most Excellent Adventure, but as our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until 10:00pm, we had time to explore just one more neighborhood before heading to the airport. Little did we know that getting there and back would be an adventure in itself! The best way, we were told, to get to La Boca was by bus. To get on the bus, we would need exact change. To get exact change, we would approach street vendors, stores, restaurants, and even a bank without success! At first, we thought that people were just being jerks about it, but we then realized that they really didn't have the coins to give us. Each bus had a ticket vending machine on board so we weren't even able to put what we had in the bucket. We needed the right coins! To this day, we don't understand why it was so hard. The return trip turned out to be equally challenging. We were taken under the wings of one local couple until they gave up in frustration. Finally, a friend of our lunch waiter took us directly to the bus garage where we could buy a ticket with our paper money. It was perhaps the most perplexing situation of our entire trip!
OK . . . enough about the transportation. We eventually did make it to, and from, historical La Boca . . . and here it is!
It is one of the city's original neighborhoods and is close to the original port. It's trademark is the brightly coloured buildings.
Originally, the houses were painted using left over paint from the ships. As you can see, the tradition continues today. It is also home to a high number of artists and . . .
tango clubs!
In fact, along the street where we ate lunch there were several outdoor tango shows being put on to attract the tourists and their dollars.
This dance was less tango and more traditional goucho. (Amazing footwork!)
How am I going to explain this to Charlene!!??
I can't really blame the poor thing. How could she possibly resist a 50 year old, overly hairy, white guy with no ability to dance?
The hat was her idea and ultimately, it was a blessing! As we looked longingly into each other's eyes I realized that . . . as long as she insisted on me wearing the hat, we had no future together.
I left her and my five bucks on a streetcorner in La Boca, Buenos Aires. Oh . . . what could have been!
After that heartbreak, there was only one thing to do . . . beg for Charlene's forgiveness and get outa town! This is the Buenos Aires airport . . . surprisingly small for a city of 13 million people!
A game of Scrabble helped to pass the time while waiting for check in and before we knew it . . .
we were home . . . safe in the arms of friends and family.
The challenge now is to cleverly wrap six months into one paragraph. Here goes:
It was the best of times . . . it was the worst of times! Corny I know but, it is true. Clearly, the vast majority of our adventure fits into the category of "Best of Times". We relaxed, explored, made friends (life long we hope), ate well, drank well (ohh, the wine was good!), gained knowledge, grew together, grew individually, were awe struck, humbled by the kindness of strangers, laughed, smiled, groaned, and occasionally even cried. Yes, there were days that were very difficult, but I believe that they only served to make us stronger. We now know that we can do it! In some ways, the trip didn't turn out as we had planned . . . but what adventure does? In fact, the dictionary defines "Adventure" as: 1) A risky undertaking of unknown outcome; 2) An exciting or unexpected event or course of events. Our time in South America definitely falls within those parameters.
We are thrilled when people suggest that we have inspired them to try something new, but ultimately, perhaps selfishly, this trip was for us, and we will cherish it forever.
Hasta luego,
Amor,
Norm and Charlene
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if we only see them with our eyes open" (Jawaharial Nehre)
