Two Days in B.A.

Evening Walk About in the Rain

Well … our last two days in Buenos Aires did not go quite as well as we hoped.  Our Spring/Summer like weather was replaced by grey skies with intermittent monsoon rains and lightning.  It was a “warm” “wet”.

On day three we were up at 6 am to get ready for a tour pick-up from our hotel ready to explore Iguazu Falls, one of the World’s foremost natural heritage sites.  Our tour involved flying two hours north to Brazil and then viewing the falls from the northern Argentina side along with a trek through the jungle.  The first inkling of a problem was when we got a text telling us the pick-up would be an hour late.  We weren’t bothered because it meant a more leisurely breakfast. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for the 10:30 flight.  We sat at the gate for four hours before the “Delayed” sign turned to “Cancelled”.  Dejected, we returned to the hotel.

We met an American couple that had made it to the Falls two days earlier.  They made it there but didn’t get back.  Their return flight to Buenos Aires was inexplicably canceled.  They missed their flight back to the US having been stuck there for an extra day.  Maybe we were lucky not to make it there.

First Taste of an Empenada

Traditional Argentine Drink - Pista Sour

Anyone for Some Meat!

We made the best of the rest of the day dodging raindrops, checking out the shopping mall, and finding a little bar/restaurant that had an English speaking waitress, classic rock and delicious tapas.  We returned three times during our stay.

Pedestrian Shopping Streets

Metal Flower Petal Art (2 Stories Tall)

The next day’s weather was much better but we experienced another disappointment.  After a good walk about the town, we took a taxi to the very outskirts of the city to see the Feria de Mataderos.  Various guidebooks advertise the event, that occurs every Sunday afternoon, as an exhibition of traditional Argentine dance and gauchos.  We rode a taxi for a half hour and were dropped in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. 

It Had A Picture and Smell of a Horse

And There Was a Kinda Horse

The taxi driver did drop us off at the sign, Feria de Mataderos but I didn’t want to get out of the cab. Deborah had researched the event extensively and was determined to find it.  Presumably “it” had to be around there at some point but certainly not on the day we visited.  I don’t think the guidebooks lied but they were certainly not up to date.  There was nothing but an old walled ground that clearly had been something back in the day.  There was a smell of horse shit but nothing else.  We grabbed the first taxi we could get and returned to the city.  Dejected.

We did manage two highlights.  We visited the landmark cemetery near our hotel  It was the first of its kind in Buenos Aires and is filled with ornate above-ground tombs of the city’s greatest.  The most visited is Duarte de Peron, Evita - once the revered leader of Argentina.

We also had a fabulous tour of the Colon Theatre Opera House. The Opera House was built in 1908 and is considered one of the best architectural and acoustic houses in the world.  It is stunningly beautiful with its Italian marble finishing’s.  The foyer is finished gold leaf details and stained glass imported from Paris.  Our English speaking guide was great and able to give the back stories to the theatre’s history.

Stained Glass From Paris

We learned a little more about Buenos Aires history on the tour.  It seems the city’s leaders were determined to recreate Paris at the city’s beginnings.  The French influence was so great, the upper classes only spoke French despite their Spanish roots.

We are now off to the Mendoza wine region on the interior plateau.  We will return to Buenos Aires via the cruise ship for the final three days of the trip.