Prime Time Travel: Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

January 6th -10th 2016

We leave home in Geelong, Victoria, Australia at 5.15am on Wednesday morning for our flight to Buenos Aires from Melbourne, via Sydney, and Santiago, Chile. We arrive at our hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina some 36 hours later and it’s still Wednesday!

Our days here are variously spent on pre-booked activities and self-guided wanderings. We take a small group city tour which serves to familiarise us with this large bustling city where taxis rule, police presence is very noticeable, footpaths need some (lots of!) attention, folk are generally pleasant and helpful, and the only place we can find a soy latte is Starbucks!!

First stop is the Cemetery where we find the tomb of the Duarte family where Eva Peron was eventually buried, some 20 years after her death.

We spend time in La Boca precinct - Caminito Street, with its colourful, arty culture and where Evita, Maradona and Carlos Gardelle (’father’ of the tango) are celebrated, is a highlight. The home pitch of Maradona's home club, Boca Junior, is nearby.

The main City Square is an experience of another kind. Ever present political activity with peaceful demonstrations happening almost all the time. Nearby is the “Pink Palace” which now houses government offices, but is famous as the place where Evita delivered her famous speech to the people of Argentina. There is a heavy steel fence surrounding the Square with gates allowing access - these are closed when activities need to be controlled. All public buildings around the Square are guarded by armed police, including the Cathedral, the ‘home church’ of Pope Francis.

There are many parks in the city. In one of them, we find a giant metal flower. It is hydraulically operated and opens as the sun rises, is fully open in full sun, and closes as the sun sets...quite an amazing piece of technology.

Our only contact with the tango up till now is an occasional glance at “Dancing with the Stars.” A ‘dinner & show’ evening (so very us!) gives us a whole new perspective - the ‘theatre’ of the modern tango, the almost gymnastic abilities of the dancers, and, to conclude, the dramatic and sensual ‘classic’ tango performed by a mature aged couple.

Estancia Santa Susana is a working ranch some way out of the city where gauchos (cowboys/horsemen/jackeroos) work with cattle. The owners also run a ‘tourist’ ranch which is where we go for a day trip to see how it all works. The original family chapel and homestead serve as a museum. Furnishings and household items, mostly original, along with family photos stretching back several generations are displayed. Visitors can ride a horse, take a wagon ride, spend time watching birds, particularly the national bird of Argentina, the Hornero, or meet the iguanas wandering among the pampas. We have a lunch which could only be described as ‘Carnivore Heaven’ - Black Angus steak, chorizo & chicken, filet mignon & black pudding washed down with local wines & beer - before watching the ‘gauchos’ do some trick riding. Interesting, but probably not how the real ranch works.

Like all really big cities, we find Buenos Aires a mix of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots,’ where men in suits make their way past beggars on the streets, where families play in the parks, where tourists move through like a swarm of bees, and where you are safe unless...

...a man comes and stands beside us at traffic lights. He points to John’s shirt and then to the sky indicating that a bird has pooped on him. He pulls a handful of paper towels from his pocket and starts to clean the “poop” asking John to remove his backpack. No luck there so points to my shirt...I have the same mess. Take off my shoulder bag? Don’t think so! Short story is that we have been ‘mustard bombed’...a trick, usually perpetrated by a group of 2 or 3, but this time the ‘victim’ wins and our ‘good samaritan’ leaves empty handed.

Farewell Buenos Aires!