GA Days 32 & 33 (January 6 & 7) - following disembarkation from The Eclipse it was time to begin exploring Buenos Aires on foot. Not knowing the city when selecting a hotel and only defaulting to Jean’s request of quality, I booked the Marriott Buenos Aries that is well situated on the 9th of July Boulevard a block away from the trademark obelisk. As we were soon to discover, the area is in the heart of the tourist district with many different pedestrian-only walkways full of shops, souvenir kiosks, restaurants, fast food joints, and many theatres.
The immediate large intersection kind of reminded me of Times Square in New York - large marquee-styled electronic billboards, bustling pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and accompanying acoustics. The energy was quite evident from mid-day well into the evening; in fact, as the sun set and more neon lights came on the whole area came more alive. Unlike New York (and Montreal) there was not the maniacal honking of horns - being 99% Latin I thought it would be much the opposite. Cars obeyed traffic lights, people waited in crosswalks for cars to get through (when no cars are coming the pedestrian lights became more of a suggestion), and everything flowed rather nicely.
On the first day after getting off the ship, the skies were a bit more grey and it showered briefly as we had lunch; it was very warm and muggy, plus a bit slippery on the stone walkways. In the side pedestrian alleys there were a lot of people offering money exchange - I imagine many of this was panning, but there is a bit of a racket for money exchange as the Argentinian peso is so devalued. Devalued to the point the exchange for Canadian is about 600 pesos for every $1 Cdn. So the money exchange on the street is a bit of a haggle but the “exchangers” benefit since the exchange rate for whatever currency they get (Euros, American dollars, Chilean pesos, etc.) will only get better.
Again, we came across some lovely colonial architecture mixed in with the new. There was a very beautiful synagog just off the theatre district near one of the many parks we walked through. All the parks are well-cared for and nicely manicured, although we noticed that each time we went near grassy areas little bibittes snuck out to bite us on the legs - nasty little things leaving us to scratch and itch. Also in the parks is where we found many indigent peoples, presumably homeless, sleeping on benches and making use of the water sources.
One of two highlights on our first full day exploring by foot was the Recoleta Cemetery located in the Recoleta barrio. This area houses the tombs of well-to-do families, prominent military leaders, some politicians, and, of course, Eva (Evita) Perón. It was a circuitous but scenic walk through some very lovely neighborhoods to get to the cemetery - brilliant blue skies and a scorching sun getting to about 31+C.
The walk to, and visit of, the cemetery was well worth it as the maze of tombs and mausoleum structures helped paint the history of Buenos Aires and Argentina. Nestled between the tributes to aristocratic and military figures were the final resting places of famous writers, philosophers, and artists. There were a number of tombs for British people and other nationalities in the mix. It did seem like there was a competition for most ornate or biggest or most unique memorial - an odd kind of race to the end. But the fact we are here and paid $4 Cdn admission each suggests the mission of the shrines has worked…the inhabitants of the tombs are being “seen” and remembered well after death. Because room is at a premium, more cremation urns are evident within the tombs. And not just of people - some family pets are interred, as well.
The most sought after tomb was that of Eva Perón who finally found eternal peace within the Duarte family plot. Eva rose to fame from poverty to being a prominent First Lady and political figure in Argentina; although very controversial in her time, Eva used her position to champion the rights of the workers, begin many charitable organizations, and be a role model for future female politicians. However, a huge part of her benevolent contributions were to further the power of her husband, the Peronist socialists and, of course, herself. Because of the subsequent unrest and turbulence with the military dictatorship following her death and that of her husband,
Eva’s body had been moved several times to ensure its safety - at one point being buried under another name in an Italian cemetery for 11 years. I need to do some reading to understand all the story, but apparently one of Eva’s sisters purchased the family tomb in order that Eva could be repatriated and rest at peace in Buenos Aires.
The other highlight of the second day was taking in Tango Porteño, a stage show mainly of tango but with some other artistic additions that showcased rural musical art forms and lounge singing. It was colourful, loud, and worth the price of admission; we paid about $35 each for show and beverages, and were served empanadas and as much wine or beer as we wanted. The only thing that detracted from the performance was having two large tables of families seated right next to us with kids running around during the show, a couple of the parents turning on their iPhone lights and engaging in loud conversations, and…one of them listening to podcasts or social media of some sort - without earbuds. I mean…what’s the point of paying for a show and not watching it?
Anyway, the tango orchestra was incredible! Snappy dance tunes punctuated by slow ballads, all well orchestrated and executed. The group tangos were OK but overly choreographed - at some points I thought I was in a Michael Flatley production. But it was the individual pair tangos that I found particularly captivating - harmonious movements and flow accented with a few flourishes that were exaggerated by the design of the costumes. Beautiful!
We also got to link up with our new UK friends, Bobby, Chris, and Glen - they were the kind group of guys who felt sorry for me early in the first cruise and took me in as a stray for cocktails and dinner seatings ☺️ We had met up the previous night for supper only to discover we had, coincidentally, booked the tango show for the same performance. Wonderful group to hang out and we hope to meet up again sometime soon.
And then it was time to have a wee rest, shower, and then head out for dinner. While we were getting ready for dinner Buenos Aires was treated to a pretty dramatic thunderstorm and downpour - it was the first real rain I have encountered in over a month. And dare I say…still no snow? 🤭 I will do a separate post about the food…so much to choose from, all (so far) very delicious, and also quite inexpensive. I have decided that I shall use the same currency calculation for peso/dollars for calories - 600 Argentinian calories per 1 Canadian calorie 😁
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