Last Day in BA - March 19, 2014

Before I describe our last day in BA, I wanted to close the loop on the thread of a story that I started off the coast of Uruguay. The German pocket battleship Graf Spee had been scuttled and lay in the shallow waters close to where we had docked in Montevideo.  After scuttling the ship, the German Captain, Hans Langsdorff escaped to Buenos Aires. I thought we might come across his grave in BA but we did not. Suffice it to say, the noble Captain committed suicide in BA, 3 days after he scuttled his ship. He took his own life while he lay on the ship’s battle flag, in a hotel, in BA. He was buried by his crewmen, with full honors, in a cemetery we did not get to in our visit.

The last day of one’s vacation should normally not be as busy as our’s was. We were tuckered out after a full day of polo followed by the nighttime tango show and were sleeping soundly when the alarm went off to get us up and ready for a full day of touring. We breakfasted again in the Elena restaurant and were ready on time to checkout and be picked up by Carlos and our driver.

A short time later, we found ourselves in the Plaza de Mayo, the center of the political heartbeat of Buenos Aires. If someone wants to protest something, they do so in this place. We got out of the van and discovered that there were two protests going on the day of our visit and the park was very busy. Carlos negotiated the hubbub of The Plaza with us and it was here we learned how knowledgeable he was about his city and how much pride he had in it. We stopped in front of the Mayo Pyramid, the monument that commemorates the May revolution of 1810 that led to independence.  Surrounding the plaza are several important buildings, including the Casa Rosada, the home of the executive branch of the federal government and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Famous people have spent time here.  Eva Peron and Pope Francis are noteworthy examples. 

The Mayo Pyramid in Plaza de Mayo with Casa Rosada in the
background

Metropolitan Cathedral looks more like a library or bank than a
catholic church

We had lots of ground yet to cover, so we left the district of Montserrat and went through San Telmo to get to La Boca. La Boca is a working class neighborhood, famous for its brightly colored houses and the Boca Junior football club. We bought a soccer jersey here for our son and walked through the Caminito, a walkway an open-air museum where tango dancers were performing and local artists were displaying their wares.  Mrs. Gym found a couple of colourful handmade scarves at one of the stalls here. We then jumped back in the van and went back into the adjoining district of San Telmo but this time we stopped at the indoor market there. This area is quite distinct with its cobblestone streets and its colonial architecture. The venue of the tango show we had enjoyed the previous night was somewhere nearby.  The indoor market was in an old warehouse with a roof supported by wrought-iron trusses.   Carlos picked out a pastry for us at a kiosk here and we took a loop around the market where a wide variety of goods were being sold. There were many antique dealers and a great butcher shop inside the market. We left San Telmo and circled back through some very upscale areas towards Recoleta and a place that Carlos had picked out for us to have lunch.

Caminito an open-air museum in La Boca

The figures on the balconies are sculptures

The barrio was a working class neighborhood near the docks

typical artist kiosks in Caminito area

Our lunch spot was the Sottovoce, a highly rated Italian restaurant in the Recoleta area that caters to numerous politicians and government employees who work nearby. The walls are adorned with the caricatures of famous patrons which are hung on the wood-paneled walls. The pasta was great and I hope we can try it again sometime in the future when we are able to enjoy a longer service and some fine wine.

After lunch we visited the very famous Recoleta cemetery and the tombs of many Argentinian Presidents, Generals and wealthy families including the family tomb of Eva Peron’s father where Evita is buried. All the tombs contain the remains of many generations of well-to-do families and the architecture of each one is quite unique. Carlos led us around and pointed out some of the oddities and compared the architectural styles that were used in the cemetery.

an elaborate family resting place

memorial to Evita

each family plot contain many family generations and
may include several levels of caskets

a fancy coorner lot

a typical avenue in the cemetery

Later in the afternoon we explored the barrio of Palermo in the northern part of Buenos Aires.  This is a huge neighborhood that contains the largest green space in the entire city. The park is called the Palermo Woods. Although Palermo is newer districts than the barrios we had toured in the morning, this area is where all the rich and famous live and the real estate is very pricey, especially near the park.  There were numerous trendy cafes, bars and outdoor patios in the area. The restaurants covered all of the themes.

This is an old theatre turned into a bookstore that we took in

part of the Rose Garden in Palermo Woods

roses everywhere even though the "season for roses" was over

A water feature in Palermo Woods

elaborate walking paths

Palermo Woods

Before heading off to the airport, Carlos led us on a walking tour of the Rose Garden which is a part of the Palermo Woods and although this wasn’t the best season for the roses, it was still an impressive display. The enormous, multi-use park was well planned out for use by a variety of outdoor enthusiasts and had the feel of Central Park in NYC.

Our tour complete, Carlos saw us to the airport and when we got there offered guidance to the check-in counters. We said goodbye there and thanked Carlos for a job really well done.

Sadly, this is the final submission from the 2014 South American expedition. It was a great trip but it went by too quickly. We had that one night in a Rio hotel and then hooked up with the Oceana cruise ship which remained docked for a couple of nights allowing us to tour Rio with the cruise’s guides. We then sailed down the entire southeastern shoreline of Brazil stopping at several great points of interest and seeing a great variety of Brazilian geography. Then we docked in Uruguay and had a fantastic tour of the capital, Montevideo. Finally, we crossed the River Platte and left the ship in Buenos Aires. From there we had a whirlwind land tour of Argentina, seeing the world-famous Iguazu Falls and spending two incredibly full days in and around Buenos Aires. We were dog-tired at the end, so tired that it took me a year to finish this last installment. I apologize for being so tardy with this.

As I finish this submission Mrs. Gym and I have already embarked on the 2015 adventure to a new and exciting venue which is almost as far away from home for us as you can go. Stay tuned!