Buenos Aires

I am enjoying my time in Buenos Aires. It is a large city, with lots of distinct sections or districts to it.

The first night here I stayed in a hotel out by the airport. It was very fancy – obviously catered to business people and the spa, fitness facilities weren’t even available. I don’t know if I would have run but it would have been nice to have the option.

I moved to a hotel in the Recoleta section of the city. It was wonderful. Not only was it a great hotel, I had my own tiny kitchenette & everything but it was very close to many great things. I had a view of the famous cemetery, was within walking distance of many of different outdoor cafes & ice cream stores. I was also within walking distance of many different tourist activities, and some of the other districts as well, it was great. I was also right beside a huge park. I loved the park, there were lots of benches & paths and the park seemed to be huge.

Just as an aside, off topic, there was this one huge tree in the park that was really neat. The base of the tree was fenced off but there was a bench around it so you could sit underneath it – just not climb it, I suppose. The branches of this tree were massive as well. They are supporting the branches of this tree by putting wooden pillars up, so the branches aren’t on the ground. Also, you can sit & walk around underneath the tree that way. They have done a good job of using the tree & protecting the tree as well. I’ll have to find out what kind of tree it is, add that to my list go things to do.

My first day, I took a taxi to the Palmero SoHo district, which is known for the shopping. It was fun. I had lunch in a great little outdoor cafe, the streets were all tree lined, it was nice. I just spent hours walking around. I walked to the
Obelisco de Buenos Aires, which is an icon of Buenos Aires and is considered at the center of the city.

After walking around for hours I tried to get a taxi to take me back to my hotel. I should have started earlier because it took me over an hour to find one willing to drive out to my hotel as the hotel was out by the airport, it took me a couple of hours to get back. The next day I moved to a little condo really close to the cemetery and the park.

I went to La Recoleta Cemetery a couple of times during the week, just to wander around. It sounds gruesome, and some of them are but it is such a neat cemetery. The layout was designed by a famous architect and has many prominent and influential Argentinians buried there. The only one I have heard of though was Eva Peron, Evita. Even though she has the most visited tomb in the cemetery she was still considered too low class to be buried in this cemetery. The entire cemetery is laid out like a small town with tree lined walkways. It reminded me of some old horror movie, that I certainly wouldn’t have watched, with some mausoleums being beautiful & looked after, while others are broken & falling apart. Each mausoleum has a family name on it and many have brass plates attached. They maintain the tradition of having the date of death posted but not the date of birth. The one time I wandered around I was joined by my friend Rhys, from Australia who I met in the Galapagos and who happened to be in B.A. It was fun to meet up with a friendly face in a new town.