| Feb 9, 2006 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
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 | | show all 50 | | Fletcher with the side dishes of the feast | | The chefs: Brian and Tanner | | Their work | | |
| | Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and a very large modern city. There are about 7 million inhabitants, and plenty of suburbs in the surrounding areas yielding daily commuters much like New York. Known for its Tango, cheap high-quality leather, of course great steaks, and distictive European feel, Buenos Aires (BsAs or just BA as it is called) is much different than the other major cities I have been to on my trip, and I really like it. We stayed in the San Telmo neighborhood which has many of the youth hostels, is one of the more historic areas, and right in the center of the city next to everything.
We got in late on Thursday the 9th, taxied from the airport to our pre-arranged hostel meeting place (called The Clan), and were excited to find that Dan and Tanner had made it to BA and were waiting there for us. We walked around a bit, getting a tour of the area since Carmin and Brian had already been here on New Year`s and knew some of the closer attractions, such as a great and cheap hotdog/hamburger stand a few blocks away. The hostel did not recieve our online reservation, and the place was full since it was still high-season, but to make up for it they let us sleep on couches upstairs for a free night.
Friday Brian and I checked into another hostel, El Aleph, just a few blocks away, and I had to go drop off my passport for the Brazilian visa. Brazil is the only country I will be visiting that requires a visa, and if I was going to make it to the Rolling Stones show (which was now a goal), Friday was the latest I could hand in my passport. The rest of the boys were going to go up to the Brazilian border before me and visit the Iguazu Falls there, where the turnaround is just a few hours instead of 3 days. But because I`d be seeing the falls later with my parents, and wanted more time in BA, I diecided I would stay. The rest of the day we all just chilled and walked around and enjoyed the amazing weather we had suddenly found ourselves in. At night we also reunited with Fletcher (who we had seen in Fitz Roy) and made another of the best meals of the trip that night at his hostel. I`ll let the photos do the talking, but on the menu was a 1-pound boneless steak topped with a fried egg, with sauteed s, onions, and hash browns on the side. Accompanied of course with delicious and chepa wine. That night was our first taste of the Buenos Aires nightlife as well. We met up with a bunch of locals that Carmin and Fletcher had conenctions to, and made some good new friends.
Saturday was more of the same, relaxing, chilling, walking around, and not much else. But with each day I got more comfortable here and in the new summer-time climate, and really enjoyed the overall feel of this place. Despite being a major city, it does not have any of the big-city downfalls that I find in New York and other places. It is still relatively clean, the traffic and noise is not unbearable, and you can actually see large sections of the sky whenever you want. Saturday night we celebrated a birthday party of one of The Clan`s workers on the rooftop terrace, and had a surprise visit from some of the friends we made the night before.
Sunday we walked around BAA`s main tourist passageway, the pedestrian-only Avenida Florida, and checked out the chic mall Galeria Pacifico. The afternoon`s main activity was going to the big weekly street fair at Plaza Dorrego also in San Telmo. On the walk down there I ran into Matt yet again (Peru trekking, Cusco, Love Parade, and Puerto Natales). We found a great vegetables stall nearby, and with the discovery of fresh spinach, rosemary, and eggplant, the master chef Brian set the menu for the night. We cooked in our hostel, and once again check out the photo. The menu: fried breaded eggplant, tortellini and sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and the obligatory wine. The rest of the night was finally a low-key one, as the boys were all leaving early the next morning for the falls.
I had been in touch with Sarah and Hollee though, 2 of the 6 english s I had met originally in Peru and then hung out with in Bolivia as well, and they had just gotten to Buenos Aires as well. So Monday I met up with them for a bit. At night I went out to one of the suburbs of Buenos Aires, San Isidro, to visit two friends of mine who I had worked with in Lake Tahoe, California 3 years ago, but are from Buenos Aires, and whom I had not seen since then. Flor had me over to her house and Sole (my other friend) came by. We were treated to an out of this world amazingly delicious typical Argentine "asado" (barbeque) and were accompanied by two more of their friends, and Flor`s sister and parents. The spread was simply incredible, with the most savory meats and salads I had in a very long time. If you two are reading this, thank you so much. Ufortunately I was so involved with catching up, trading stories with all the guests of travel, politics, and world views, and of course stuffing my face with the edible goodness that I completely forgot to take any pictures. It was not until everyone had left and I was saying goodbye to Flor that I realized and snapped the one photo of the night with Flor and her sister. But it was a fun night, a nice way to see a less visited part of this country and do something a bit less touristy for a change, and of course great to see Flor and Sole again.
Tuesday I met back up with Hollee and Sarah and we went to the famous Recoleta cemetary in the Recoleta nieghborhood of Buenos Aires. This cemetary houses the wealthiest and the famous of Argentina`s past, including Eva Peron. There are not simple graves, but tombs and each one is a mini masterpiece with stone or marble architecture and statues. The entire area has a cement tiled floor and more resembles a mini city complete with street names and corners and alleys than any cemetary I had ever been too. It is so large and the tombs/houses so massive that Hollee and I even lost Sarah for a while and could not find her among the grid-like streets. I had never heard of this place before getting to BA and reading that section of my guide book, but I was truly impressed by it and would say its a must for any person in the area. It was a beautiful though fairly hot day, so we walked both to and from the cemetary which took a good amount of time. Of course, a stop at Argentina`s famous, chic, and expensive Freddo ice creamery was necessary. I also took some pics during the walk of BA`s central and very long Avenida 9 de Julio. It is also allegedly the widest street in the world. Yes, it is very wide, and takes more than one change of the lights to get across it, but its also cheating a bit since there are many grassy dividers breaking up the large sections of lanes. Still, all told, I think it is something like 20 or so lanes wide. There is also a very large Obelisk, a classic symbol of Buenos Aires, near the center of it.
Wednesday was my last full day in BA, and saw a lot more lounging and strolling around. At night I went to Cafe Tortoni, Buenos Aires` oldest and most famous cafe, for a live Tango show. It was great to see, and in addition to the live music and dancers they also had singers do some of the most well-known and traditional tango numbers, my favorite of which was "Por Una Cabeza"
Then Thursday was departure day, but my bus did not leave until the night time. So, Sarah, Hollee, Matt, and I decided to check out the La Boca, another touristy part of BA with a famed colorful section called El Caminito. We sat and had lunch at a streetside outdoor cafe that had tango dancers out in front. We relazed and enjoyed the show, and then were surprised with the invitation for Matt and I to each join the female Tango dancer for one song. Call it audience participation, a free Tango lesson, or public humiliation, but ether way it was phone. I have some pics of it, and video of Matt. Matt took a quick video of me as well, but by the time he figured out that feaure on my camera the dance was about to end. It was a fun and funny time.
And that was it. Matt and I had tickets for the same bus direct to Rio de Janeiro for the Rolling Stones show, and set out together that night. I left feeling like I could easily send more time in Buenos Aires down the road, and the idea that I might very well be back in April. |
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