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Buenos Aires - Is this Really South America?

I took off today to meet my good friend, Sue, in Buenos Aires.  I was told Buenos Aires was quite a bit different from Peru, but was still VERY surprised at the extent.  South America is full of surprises with countries as different as the 21 different climate zones in Peru.  

After meeting up with Sue at the airport, we taxied into the city - in a taxi that was not on its last leg and was actually metered.  It seemed funny not to have to negotiate the fare before getting in and not wondering if the car was going to make it to our destination. 

As we approached the city, I felt like I had just entered into New York or some cosmopolitan, European city with tall sky scrapers bearing such names as Microsoft and Citibank and taxis vieing for position, horns blaring.  Sue and I stayed in a gorgeous, newly remodeled 2 bedroom apartment right in the middle of El Centro - the center of Buenos Aires and one of the many unique barrios that make up the city of millions of people.  We were one block off Florida Street (a pedestrian shopping mall that stretched for miles!) and San Martin Plaza.  We were close to Puerto Madero, the subway, the train station and the bus station, so we could grab any type of transportation just outside our door!

TIP:  If you go to Buenos Aires and plan to stay a few days, or a week or more, you might want to look into renting a furnished apartment (we used www.bytargentina.com).  It is very economical.  This is the first place in all my travels that I have seen the option to rent an apartment for such a short length of time.  I definitely will start checking on this possiblity for future trips! 

It was incredible having a nice place to put your feet up at night, open a bottle of wine (from Mendoza, of course), break out the dark chocolate, toast to GREAT friends and review the day's happenings and preview the next day's plans.  Lounging in this place made me realize how much I missed having a home base! 

Sue and I spent our days walking the streets and exploring the nooks and crannies of many of the barrios.  I think we wore out several pairs of shoes while working off all the good food we ate - AND Sue thought she was coming for a relaxing vacation!  She actually did get a little time to relax in the park in Puerto Madero, on the ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, on the train to Tigre and of course, at night in our wonderful abode.  What more could you ask for with so much to see and do in a city that goes, goes and goes! 

Buenos Aires is located on the Rio de la Plata River which looks more like a muddy ocean than a river.  The river is several miles wide, in fact so wide that you can not see the land of Uruguay which is across the river without taking the fast ferry for an hour. 

The people in Argentina are referred to as portenos and are descendents of many European cities.  In fact, they have a very large German population, so no matter what your nationality, you never look out of place in BA.  

Portenos love their meat, drink and their tango.  The most popular foods are their parrilla or Argentine BBQ and pizza.  The parrilla is not anything close to an American BBQ other than the meat is grilled.  The dish comes with HUGE amounts of every kind of grilled meat available - beef, pork, chicken, charizo sausage, blood sausage, intestines.....  It has no sauce and sometimes is very bland in flavor for they do not use many spices.  They eat every part of the animal including the tongue, brain, intestines, liver, stomach etc.  I preferred staying with the lucious steaks which they are also famous for.  You can get a rib eye steak 2 inches thick and as big around as a dinner plate for less than $7.  Incredible! 

As for their drink, they love wine and beer.  Of course, Mendoza supplies most of the wines to the city, but actually other parts of Argentina make wine, too.  They also have many pubs and beer halls or "cervecerias" that served some known beers as well as some similar to our micro beers.  We had a cerveceria across the street from us and it just started going wild about 2:00 AM waking Sue several times.

As for the Tango dance, it was not born in Buenos Aires, but it has made Buenos Aires known as the capital of the Tango.  Tango is everywhere and is quite an exotic, sensual, emotional dance that took decades to become "acceptable" in the mainstream of BA.  For a brief history of tango, you can go to: http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/tango.htm.

Since we walked through so many barrios, I will review some of the sights we saw in the specific barrios below:

El Centro - The center for the banks, commercial offices, theatres, cafes, shops, hotels and restaurants with the civic center of the national and local governments.  It is the home to many plazas all named after famous Argentineans or dates in history.  The La Plaza de Mayo is probably the most well known and popular.  This plaza is the original historic core of the city and was founded in 1580.  From 1810 on, all important political events in the country occured here.  Here is where the Casa Rosada, the "Pink House", is located.  It is the House of the Government and where Evita Peron and husband stood on the balcony addressing the common people of Argentina.  The house was built in the 1800s, and as you can see in the picture, currently under renovation.  The pink color was chosen by former president Domingo Sarmiento in 1873 to symbolize the union of the 2 political sectors (red was the color of the federales and white of the unitarios). 

Also in the plaza resides the Piramide de Mayo - the May Pyramid - the first monument to commemorate the 1810 revolution for independence.  All over Buenos Aires are monuments and statues commemorating famous events and people.  You can't walk a block without seeing at least one!  Between these, the fabulous parks, cathedrals and incredible European colonial architecture, Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to stroll.

Avenida 9 de Julio (9th of July Avenue) runs through downtown.  It is the widest avenue in the world at 140 meters crossing Buenos Aires from the north to the south and is named for the date of the Argentine independence in 1816.  Along this avenue, in the Plaza de la Republica, is situated the El Obelisco (The Obelisk) - a 60 meter high monument built in the 1930's to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Spanish settlement in the Rio de la Plata (River Plate where Buenos Aires sits).   

Recoleta - An "old money", elegant residential neighborhood filled with palaces, parks, aristocratic bars and restaurants, museums and galleries.  Some people describe it as "a piece taken from Paris" with its French style.  It was named after the Recoleto monks who settled there in the early 18th century creating a convent and monestary and the famed Recoleta cemetary where all the famous politicians, wealthy businessmen, historical figures and who's who of Buenos Aires are buried.  This includes Evita Peron.  The cemetary is not to be missed with its unique above ground family vaults which are full fledged architectural monuments to the those buried there.  What I found extremely interesting is that you could look into these tombs and see the caskets fully adorned with flowers, pictures and momentos of their life.  The cemetary is a bit like a maze and you can easily get lost without ever seeing another soul (or should I say, living soul). 

Sue and I also visited the MALBA Museum here.  An interesting modern art museum housing "modern" art from the Andy Warhol era.

Palermo - One of the most popular and exclusive barrios for foreigners to stay and to buy apartments.  It is an upper end area with lots of parks, museums, restaurants, gardens and quiet residential neighborhoods.  Here we visited the Botanical Gardens (El Jardin Botanico), the Japanese Gardens (El Jardin Japones) and other parks.  The zoo and the planetarium is also found here.  Before I left for Lima, I stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast in Palermo called Casa del Sol y Sombra (http://www.casasolysombra.com/) - the House of Sun and Shade.

San Telmo - The home of the Sunday San Telmo Market in Plaza Dorrego when Tango and music fill every street.  It is an old neighborhood that once housed the Buenos Aires elite until the yellow fever epidemic in 1871.  In 1970, San Telmo began to be remodeled and is now home to many young travelers and artists among all the historic colonial buildings.  On Sundays, the streets fill with musicians, artists, street acts, tango dancers and of course, tourists to immerse themselves in some of Buenos Aires traditional culture.  Also, there are blocks of antique dealers and quaint cafes. 

San Telmo is also home to the "Minimum House" - the smallest and narrowest house at only 2.2 meters wide.  Sue and I didn't see it, but it is the type of house that was annexed to the main house and used to be inhabited by slaves.  When slavery was outlawed, the slave owners had to provide housing and so, this "house" was given to a newly freed slave.

La Boca - The most colorful barrio in Buenos Aires.  La Boca was the first port city of BA.  Now, the port looks a bit like a ship graveyard!  However, the barrio is alive and thriving with its many tango bars and wildly painted houses with 3 D figures hanging out of the windows.  The most famous area is Caminito road where many of the La Boca photos and characteristic pictures are taken.  Caminito was named after the famous tango by Gabino Coria Penalosa and Juan de Dios Filiberto in 1926.  It is a windy road because it follows a stream bed which used to run until the 20th century.  There also was a railroad line that has since been dismantled leaving remanents of the track in many alleys and streets.  The area became a trash dump area until the 1950's when the neighborhood decided to clean it up and recover the land.   It is quite a site! 

Sue and I walked there by the huge Boca Juniors Stadium which is home to one of the most popular football (our soccer) teams in Argentina.  We decided to take a slightly different route back, but were quickly stopped by some young adolescents guarding the entrance to the street.  They quickly got across to us that we were not to enter this area - it was extremely dangerous!  We turned around and got a taxi to take us out of the neighborhood and the taxi driver reiterated to us the VERY dangerous area that was!  Glad we had our angels watching out for us!     

Retiro - Near El Centro, it houses the Retiro train and bus stations and is home to gigantic corporations.  The Retiro Station, one of the largest train stations in the world, sits on land once occupied by the Rio de la Plata River.  It burnt down in 1897 and reopened in 1914. Florida Street runs right into San Martin Square which is roughly in the center of Retiro.  General San Martin's bronze monument, of him riding a furious horse, is here as well as the equivalent of our "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" and War Memorial.  This is guarded by soldiers in full uniform standing in the intense heat of the summer sun. How they don't pass out, I'll never understand!  In front of Retiro Station is the La Plaza Fuerza Aerea (Air Force Square) where the Ex English 60 meter high Monument Tower (Torre Monumental) stands.  It looks like the characteristic English clock tower and was donated to Argentina to commemorate the centennial of their independence.  

Puerto Madero - Currently being revived as part of Buenos Aires refurbishing process.  This port is being reborn similar to our LODO area with lofts, offices, and elegant restaurants which line the newly renovated dock area.  It is the least inhabited yet most expensive area in BA.  It is from Puerto Madero that Sue and I took the ferry to Uruguay and spent time relaxing in the park guarded by the "Woman Coast Guard".  There is also aan Ecologic Reserve along the edge of the river.

Interestingly, the area's streets are named for distinguished women in Argentine or Latin American history.  They also have built a gorgeous, revolving bridge called the "Bridge of the Woman" connecting the port areas.  Nice to see how important women are being remembered!  

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