BUENOS AIRES

April 6, 2013May 26, 20131 Comment

Sleeping on the bus ride to Buenos Aires we woke to the feeling of a wet floor below us. When I say we woke, really Will woke in a panic that perhaps he had wet himself in his sleep! It had been pouring down rain ever since we left Cordoba and it appeared that not even the inside of the bus had escaped the storm. Luckily, we had picked up our belongings before they got too wet unlike the poor man next to us who we watched on arrival as he squeezed the water out of his bag. Unfortunately, relief had struck too soon and as I retrieved my backpack from below the bus it also felt quite damp. Continuing on to our hostel I was surprised to find the whole contents of my bag was soaking wet – welcome to Buenos Aires!

It was Easter Monday and the streets were quiet (although luckily I did find a laundromat to sort out my soaking clothes)! We walked along Buenos Aires’ (or as many call it B.A) newest neighbourhood Puerto Madero, the old waterfront and as it goes in many cities, now some of the most expensive real estate in B.A. The weather was still recovering from the incredible amount of rain and we once again were victims of the worst of it when we joined an incredibly lame pub crawl on our first night. According to their website they “take you to the best bars and hottest clubs” whereas the reality is they take you to empty excuses for pubs complete with “bar crawl hosts” that exude tacky tourist. I guess the one advantage of that was, we went out of our way to get drunk really fast (not hard when they sell beers on tap in 1 litre plastic cups) and this also numbed the pain when it absolutely poured down rain as we waited to get into one of their “exclusive” venues.

Will and his big cannon..

Buenos Aires_050 In our days to follow we participated in various walking tours, our first to Retiro and Recoleta, two of the most exclusive and wealthy neighbourhoods of BA. We walked down Av Alvear which is full of impressive old mansions and continued to Recoleta Cemetery, home of the tombstone of Argentina’s most celebrated first lady, Eva Peron. The cemetery is quite incredible, almost like a small neighbourhood in itself (except your neighbours never stop to say hello… sorry, really bad joke). We walked through the grid of family crypts, containing the remains of the city’s elite before continuing on our tour and visiting the famous flower artwork which used to open and close its petals throughout the day however no longer works. It was given to BA as a gift from an artist but when it broke down, BA claimed it never actually wanted the gift and therefore refused to fix it, which is quite a shame.

Buenos Aires_193 Our next day was spent exploring the Microcentro and Congreso neighbourhoods of the city, home to business suits, skyscrapers and old European buildings. Separating the two neighbourhoods is the ‘widest street in the world’, Av 9 de Julio which at its widest is 16 lanes! In the middle of the street is the Obelisco, a 67m high monument standing tall amongst the hustle and bustle.

Buenos Aires_087 We couldn’t come to BA without experiencing a futbol (their spelling not mine) match and the best team to watch is Boca Juniors, Argentina’s, if not South America’s most celebrated futbol team. We joined a group tour to the stadium, somewhat of a relief as the atmosphere at the stadium was tense to say the least. Argentinians really take their futbol seriously, so much so that armed guards and barb-wired fences separate the away team from the devoted Boca supporters. We watched as the stadium filled in, firstly the many Boca supporters but then followed by the entrance of the rival team – Ecuador’s confusingly named team – Barcelona. They tried their best to make an entrance, complete with drums and chants however were incredibly outnumbered by the home supporters and their cheers dissipated amongst the home crowd. Last but not least, Boca’s most passionate supporters entered the stadium, bringing with them their many chants and the loud beating of their cheer squad drums. Blue and yellow flares were ignited throughout the stadium as it erupted with cheers before the arrival of the players themselves. Luckily, Boca won the game 1-0 and after the game we safely walked the streets back to our bus. I can only imagine what it would be like should the opposing team had won (I must say I was secretly sort of hoping for it but also sort of afraid of what may happen if they did!) Buenos Aires_108 Another day, another walking tour, this time exploring San Telmo and La Boca. San Telmo was originally won of the most attractive and affluent neighbourhoods in BA however in the late 19^th century, following a Yellow Fever outbreak, it was deserted by the elite as they searched for higher and drier ground. Immigrant families flooded the area with old mansions divided to house the many poor families. Many say San Telmo was the birthplace of Tango with the various background immigrants coming together to create an emotional and original dance form. Nowadays its cobble stone streets are filled with antique stores, remnants of its past life and incredibly fun to explore.

BA’s thinnest building

Just a small sample of the antiques…

La Boca is a locals’ neighbourhood that was also home to many immigrants who worked in the warehouses along the river. The main attraction is the various colourful corrugated buildings, a result of the immigrants splashing leftover paint on their dwellings in an attempt to distinguish their small properties. We walked the most famous street – Caminito, a tourist attraction by day however one of BA’s most dangerous areas come night. For us, one of the highlights was the “Bee Man” some old guy in a red bee suit walking the streets and saying hello to everyone. I think he was going on about being in some movie many a year ago dressed as a bee and I also think that perhaps that also led to him becoming completely insane.

A tour to BA would not be complete without learning some more of its long and interesting history. Settled in 1536, it has suffered attacks by foreign countries (as well as being bombed by its own navy), control by ruthless dictators, lived under the shadow of Gestapo-like police while also being home to some of the most important writers and artists in Latin American history. It has seen both economic booms and growths in wealth as well as complete economic crashes resulting in crippling poverty. We walked through the streets, learning about the kidnapping of thousands of children and the rise and fall of Juan Peron.

In our last days we explored the final neighbourhoods of BA, enjoying Palermo’s cosmopolitan lifestyle and relaxing in picturesque Parque 3 de Febrero where we had the whistle blown on us for lying down on the grass. The famous San Telmo antiques market was on Sunday and we walked the many streets full of old soda pop bottles, cameras, street signs and other antiques of early BA.

Weirdest statue in the park…

Buenos Aires is an incredible city, the perfect mix of old and new, with colonial architecture reminiscent of Paris, shopping and nightlife to envy other European cities but all mixed with its own Latin American flavour. With so many different neighbourhoods to explore it is hard to not fall in love with some part of the city.

CORDOBA

March 30, 2013May 25, 2013Leave a comment

It was Easter Friday when we arrived in Cordoba following our 14-hour bus ride from San Juan. Cordoba is Argentina’s second largest city yet on our arrival, its streets were quiet and empty. The Argentine Easter weekend coincides with another National holiday making it a six-day break and many had gone away. As a result, perhaps we did not get to truly experience Cordoba city and our days were spent doing not much more than walking around, viewing the old cathedrals and buildings throughout the town and visiting a number of museums.

We took a paddle boat ride through the park, something that was becoming somewhat of a common past time as we explored the various cities. In addition to the many old buildings throughout the city, Cordoba has now devoted a whole area of the city to modern art and encouraging a new generation of Cordobites (no idea what you call them, that was Will’s suggestion) to break out from their traditional ways.

In the evening on Easter Friday, the streets were filled with local and visiting Argentines walking with candles to the various churches throughout the city. Pope San Francisco paraphernalia lined the streets, from posters to t-shirts, Argentines are very proud of their new Pope. It was very quiet and somewhat peaceful in the city which I am sure is a contrast to most normal weekdays.

On one of our days we took a day trip to Alta Gracia, a tranquil little town set in the mountains surrounded by leafy trees and parklands. Alta Gracia is home to a 17^th century Jesuit estancia, now a UNESCO World heritage site and we walked through the grounds learning about the history of the Jesuit history and various Spanish occupies over the years.

We had a parilla lunch for two and I ate my only Easter egg before continuing to Che Guevara’s childhood home. Che’s family moved to Alta Gracia from Buenos Aires after a doctor recommended the dry climate for his asthma. The house is now the Casa Del Che Museum, full of family photos, Che’s belongings and information about his time spent in Argentina.

Our ticket gained us entry to two other house museums – a French artist and a Spanish composer, both who had lived in Alta Gracia at some stage. It was a little strange to have their houses and museums on display – really all 3 of them were famous for what they had achieved outside of Argentina and had only spent a small portion of their lives in the town. Nevertheless it was a peaceful place and nice to relax outside of Cordoba for a day.

SAN JUAN & VALLE DE LA LUNA

March 28, 2013May 14, 20132 Comments

We arrived in San Juan, three hours north of Mendoza and walked the quiet streets to San Juan Hostel our base so we could spend a day exploring Parque Provincial Ischigualasto – also known as the Valley de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). We researched available tours but upon meeting two other travellers at our hostel – Doerthe and Federico from Uruguay, the four of us decided to hire a car and drive there together the next day.

With our small map in hand and instructions from our hostel owners we set off on the 4-hour (325km) journey to Valle de la Luna. About 40 minutes in to our trip, when we should have been arriving at our first landmark it became apparent that perhaps we weren’t heading in the right direction. Argentinians do not really care for directional signs so we continued, waiting for some indication of the direction we were heading. After what seemed like forever waiting for another road sign, our suspicions were confirmed and we had to turn around. Luckily we hadn’t missed our turn by too far and we were soon back on the right course.

Our first stop was to Vallecito, home of the shrine of ‘Difunta Correa’. The legend behind the shrine is that in the 1840s a lady named Deolinda Correa walked the deserts of San Juan searching for her husband’s battalion carrying food, water and their baby son but when her supplies ran out, she died of thirst, hunger and exhaustion. Apparently when passerbys found her however, the infant was still feeding from the dead women’s breast and this was celebrated as a miracle. The shrine is considered the location where she died and since the 1940’s has grown from a simple cross to a small village, with its own gas station, school, post office, police station and church. There are also two hotels, as well as a number of restaurants, souvenir shops and an office for the non-profit organisation in charge of the site. Throughout Argentina there are roadside shrines with her image along with plastic bottles of water left to quench her thirst. Devotees leave gifts at various chapels in exchange for supernatural favours and the shrine continues to grow as belief in her miraculous powers becomes more widespread. It was Easter Thursday and over the Easter long weekend they were expecting up to 200,000 pilgrims to descend on the site. We continued on, passing small villages and enjoying the various landscapes along the way. There was one section of road that was highly entertaining – straight as far as the eye could see but wavy throughout, like a really hectic rollercoaster! We dipped down and back up, feeling our stomachs move along with the car – it was absolutely bizarre to have such a road out in the middle of a flat desert! Federico sipped his mate (pronounced mar-tay rather than “mate”) and Will and I were invited to try it for the first time. Mate is almost like a religion for Argentines (and like Federico, many Uruguayans as well). Yerba mate is a dried leaf, a relative of holly that is put into a mate gourd (I can only think to describe it as a mug but they are traditionally made out of pumpkins), mixed with hot water and drank similar to herbal tea but using a bombilla (silver straw with a filter at the end) to sip it. Everywhere you go in Argentina you will be surrounded by Argentines drinking Mate, sharing it amongst family members, friends and even co-workers. When the mate gourd is filled and passed to you, you must sip through the bombilla until all of the liquid is gone. Argentina is the world’s largest producer and consumer of Mate, consuming an average of 5kg per person each year. Most Argentines will carry a thermos with hot water, a mate gourd, a bombilla and a bag of yerba mate and they will continually fill their mate gourd throughout the day. Restaurants, gas stations, basically anywhere you go will have hot water available so that you can fill your thermos. We arrived at Parque Provincial Ischigualasto and joined a convoy of cars that were all to be escorted by a ranger to drive through the park. The park takes its name from an old word meaning ‘land without life’ and as we drove through the park it was easy to see why it had been called so. The park is full of different rock formations along with dinosaur remains, with some fossils dating back to the Triassic Period (180 milion years old).We drove along, stopping at various rock formations and thankfully having Federico to act as our translator as the guide only spoke Spanish. He could have told us anything and we would have probably believed him! At times you really did feel like you could have been exploring the surface of the moon and we all agreed it would be the perfect place to film the next sci-fi blockbuster. Continuing through the park it was amazing how quickly the landscapes would change and the contrasts throughout. One minute we were “on the moon” driving past crater-like valleys and rock formations such as Cancha de Bochas (the ball court) and then as we continued, large red rock walls and cactuses surrounded us and it was like the scenery from a western film. Valle de la Luna_108 We stopped at “El Submarino” rock formation before the official tour finished at “El Hongo”. The ranger left us with some time to continue driving on our own, taking in the landscape and having a bit of fun with our cameras. As we drove out of the park, a small fox stood near the side of the road seeing us off (and quite frankly just scaring me) and not long after we were on our way back to San Juan. On our return trip, we all had our moments of doubt as to whether we were heading in the right direction as everything seemed to look different and once again we struggled to find any signs. It was funny because I think we were all thinking the same thing yet no one said anything and we waited nervously for an indication we were in fact on the right path. Luckily this time we were and as we continued we watched as hundreds of Argentines walked and rode along the side path to Vallecito and the shrine of Difunta Correa – the Easter pilgrimage had begun.