Two days in Buenos Aires

Day One – comings and goings

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Lots of activity this morning as over 130 of our fellow passengers left the ship – including several we have grown fond of. We said goodbye to Lew and Theresa from Washington DC; to Ian and Elspeth from Edinburgh, Scotland; and to Jurg and Elo from Switzerland. Even with new passengers coming aboard, we are now 70 fewer – lots of extra cabins!

This is a large, very busy container port so passengers are not allowed to walk from the ship to the terminal. Instead we board shuttle busses for the 10-minute ride to the terminal building where we meet our tour bus, and where others catch taxis or book private tours. In addition to the Prinsendam’s many disembarking and embarking passengers, two other cruise ships were boarding very large numbers for cruises that originated in Buenos Aires. It’s a busy place.

As we got off our shuttle bus to begin our two-day tour we saw friends from last year’s world cruise, Jay and Barbara from England, waiting to board. They will be with us the rest of the journey to Fort Lauderdale.

This afternoon we began our two-day adventure exploring this beautiful city. It is called the “Paris of South America” and we can see why. It has a very European feel in both its architecture and ambiance. Traffic is light because it’s Fat Tuesday, the last day of the Carnival celebration.

Our guide, Paola, gave us a rather detailed history of the Eva Peron era. It is apparent that Eva is still revered here as she is the reason there are social services here today. We visited a monument to her constructed at the site of the house in which she died – which had been torn down by the elites who had fought her efforts to help the workers. We also visited Eva’s grave in the famous Recoleta Cemetery. Ironically she is interred there surrounded by the mausoleums of the social elite in Argentina who hated her so much. The door to her mausoleum is always adorned with fresh flowers.

           At Evita's tomb.

As we passed under the over-pass of a relatively new highway we saw a monument in the dirt to the hundreds of people whose bodies had been found there as the excavations for the highway began. They are among the hundreds – maybe thousands – of the “disappeared” who were incarcerated and never heard from again during one of Argentina’s several repressive military regimes.

Remembering the "disappeared."

We are amazed how Buenos Aires continues to thrive in spite of near constant upheaval in the national government. After only 30 years of a fragile democracy the country is once again in military hands – the Peronistas. They are the reason the mayor of Buenos Aires decided to erect a statue of Peron so many years after his death.

The Plaza de Mayo, the main square, is currently occupied by the tents of hundreds of protestors against the current government policies which are privatizing many services and reducing social services. Many of the banners mention Evita. There are also references to the “mothers’ movement” seeking information about their missing sons and relatives who are still unaccounted for as part of the “disappeared.” A group of army veterans from the Falkland War (the war of the Malvinas) whose veteran benefits have been ended have occupied the square for the past eight years. The square is adjacent to the Casa Rosada – the pink government building. This is where the crowds that cheered Evita gathered, so if you saw the movie, you will recognize the building.

Another highlight of our tour was the 75-foot metal flower. Located in one of Buenos Aires many beautiful parks, it opens and closes daily with the light. Paola told us that the flower broke on the day its creator died, but has since been repaired.

Giant flower sculpture

We had an early dinner in an Argentinian steak house in Puerto Madero. This area is the old dock-lands of the city that fell into neglect after construction of the new port in 1926. A regeneration project begun in 1989 has transformed the area into a fashionable neighborhood of apartments, shops and restaurants. Because we were unfashionably early, there were not many people about. An elderly gentleman from our bus had his Rolex watch stolen while there. It is difficult to generate much sympathy, however, since we have received numerous warnings about not wearing expensive jewelry and avoiding walking alone. He was doing both.

In the evening we were treated to a tango show at one of the city’s most famous tango theaters. Tango is enjoying a renaissance today. There are tango clubs all over the city where the young people visit to dance the nights away. Jay, our friend from the world cruise who just boarded this ship today was a dance host on the Amsterdam. He and Barbara have just spent the last three weeks here perfecting their tango!  The tango show clubs are a bit like the Fado Houses in Lisbon.

As we were returning to the ship about 10:00 p.m. we passed a long line of ship’s crew members just leaving to “paatee” the night away. Buenos Aires has a very vibrant night club scene that kicks off about 11:00 each night and lasts into the wee hours. Ah, to be young again.

Day two – the neighborhoods

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

This morning we were off again to visit the neighborhoods of San Telmo and La Boca – two of Buenos Aires’ most historical and artistic centers. At the Plaza Dorrego in the San Telmo neighborhood – where independence from Spain was sworn in 1816, we had coffee in an historic coffee house with our guide and friends, Toya and Bob from Chicago. The rest of our fellow tourers were at the Starbucks across the street using the Wi-Fi. Go figure.

With Toya, Paola and Bob at San Telmo coffee house

Then on to La Boca – a fun, busy, colorful neighborhood with lots of tango dancers on the street and many artists. The walls of the buildings are painted many vivid colors and covered with murals. This was the area where approximately 6 million immigrants from Italy, Spain and Central Europe landed at the port between 1880 and 1930. Being short of supplies to paint their newly-built houses, the residents used whatever leftover paint they could find from the shipyard. The result is varied, to say the least. After roaming around the open-air market, “La Caminito”, among all the shops and craft and artist stalls, we ended up purchasing a print from a man who was minding several artists’ stands. Snoozing on a chair behind the easels was a cat. Although it is a stray, it comes here every day where the man feeds it. Not exactly a pet, but almost. I did get to have a small “kitty fix”.

At home among the art stalls

As the tour was ending we had the choice of getting off at the central, up-scale shopping center on Florida Avenue and taking the ship’s shuttle back later, or returning with the tour. We got off and enjoyed mingling with the crowds, walking up and down the wide pedestrian through way. We had a light lunch at a small sandwich shop. Later, as we approached an intersection on our way back to the shuttle stop, we were delighted to spot Lew and Theresa, who were spending a few days in Buenos Aires before flying home to DC.

And so, we bid adios to Buenos Aires. Next stop, Santos, Brazil. We will be in Brazil for almost two weeks.