Getting to know Buenos Aires

My 13 hour flight went well, I managed a little sleep and 2 movies - such a great performance by Emma Thompson in 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande'. I met a couple also traveling to join an Antarctica cruise, it was their belated honeymoon which had been delayed for three years. It sounded like we were going to have similar experiences but they were surprised to hear that I was going to do a polar plunge! 

Immigration went smoothly, and I was relieved to see my orange suitcase appear on the carousel as soon as I walked into baggage reclaim. The hotel had organised a driver to pick me up at the airport and for the first time in my life there was someone standing with my name on a card in arrivals. So within 30 minutes of landing I was in 34 degrees of summer heat on my way to the hotel and beginning my adventure. 

The driver spoke excellent English, which apparently is rare in Argentina as it is only taught in private schools. Now wish I had learnt more Spanish, but Google translate will have to do. He explained that I should make sure that I get the ‘Blue Dollar’ rate from a Western Union exchange. This rate would be nearer $300 peso’s compared to the $187 rate I might get at the hotel and any rate at an ATM. Luckily I had brought US Dollars with me. 

The Magnolia Hotel Boutique in Palermo was delightful, the staff spoke great english and were really helpful. My room wasn’t yet ready, so I changed into some shorts and t-shirt, had a delicious coffee in the lounge and used their wifi to let family at home know I had arrived safely. 

Then with water bottle, map from the hotel (and tips where to go) I set off to explore Palermo. My first stop was a Western Union, where I exchanged my dollars for Argentine Pesos actually getting 360 pesos to the dollar (about 300 to the English pound). However, it does mean you are carrying large wads of cash around, but it does make everything much cheaper. In many places you can also pay with your credit card and get the better rate. I used Starling and found that  after the first amount came out of my account, a few days later I would get a refund giving me a rate between 350-400 pesos to the pound. 

Wondering the streets, which were surprisingly green with trees giving welcome shade from the summer sun, I found several craft markets in the process of setting up and a cafe serving a vegetarian salad. I realised being vegan in Argentina might be a challenge so may have to just stick to being vegetarian. 

I had already booked an introductory city tour with Signature Tours, so went back to the hotel and waited for the bus. The small minibus picked me up at 1.45pm and I joined the tour guide and 4 others to see the sights of Buenos Aires. 

We started by driving towards the obelisk, the landmark of Buenos Aires, along a 16 lane road (said to be the widest in the world). The obelisk marks the foundation of the city in 1536. We came to our first stop at the Metropolitan Cathedral on the Plaza de Mayo. This square is the oldest in Buenos Aires and is surrounded by the main government buildings and is where people came to protest when in 2001 when the currency crashed and the president was forced to resign and left the roof of the building by helicopter. Imagine waking up to hear that all your money and savings were gone. 

In the square there were strange white symbols in a circle on the ground, they symbolised the white headscarves of the women who protested about their missing children who had been taken during the military dictatorship. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo began meeting in the square in 1977 to demand information about their children and today still continue to meet in the square every Thursday. The white scarves came from their children’s nappies.

We drove past the Boca football stadium, in its bright yellow and blue. Why yellow and blue we asked? Well apparently the club couldn’t decide what colour to paint it so eventually they went to the port and said they would use the colours of the first ship that docked. It was Sweden, hence the yellow and blue.

Then we walked around the streets of Boca, whilst an amazingly colourful neighbourhood our guide said it was not somewhere you should come after dark. It felt very touristy. This was where the early immigrants came, many from Italy and Spain giving it a very european feel. People lived in tenements, packed in awful conditions. Buildings were built using whatever they could find, painting them with paint left over from the ships, hence the different colours. Here was the birthplace of the Argentine Tango, during our walk we heard tango music and occasionally glimpsed dancers entertaining in cafes. Our guide told us how the Italian influence explains why Argentinian Spanish is slightly different to general Spanish. 

During the tour we saw a lot of graffiti or perhaps I should say street art. Graffiti began in the 1950s and 1960s as a form of political expression, but it is now a recognised art form and sometimes commissioned. One difference compared to other cities is that artists are rarely troubled by the police and can work undisturbed during the day.

We drove past an amazing sculpture of a flower called Floralis Generica, made of stainless steel, 23 metres high and weighing 18 tons, the petals open in the morning and close in the evening. 

Our final stop was outside the Recoleta Cemetery holding the mausoleum where Eva Perón was eventually buried. We didn't go inside, but as I was coming back to the city after the cruise I decided to visit the cemetery on my return.

In the evening I found a restaurant serving great veggie dishes and margaritas! I have to say I felt quite safe walking around Palermo at night, although the pavements were sometimes a bit treacherous and I was pleased I was in flat sandals. After my trip to Iguazu Falls (see my other post) I spent my last day in Buenos Aires visiting the parks in Palermo giving me an opportunity to practice with my camera before getting ready to fly south to Ushuaia where I would meet my ship bound for Antarctica.