On the summit of Cape Horn stands a large statue, the silhouette of an albatross. On a nearby plaque, this poem is inscribed:
SOY EL ALBATROSS QUE TE ESPERA
EN EL FINAL DEL MUNDO.
SOY EL ALMA OLVIDADA DE LOS MARINOS MUERTOS
QUE CRUZARON EL CABO DE HORNOS
DESDE TODOS LOS MARES DE LA TIERRA.
PERO ELLOS NO MURIERON
EN LAS FURIOSAS OLAS,
HOY VUELAN EN MIS ALAS.
HACIA LA ETERNIDAD,
EN LA ULTIMA GRIETA
DE LOS VIENTOS ANTARTICOS.
SARA VIAL
Translation found on the Internet:
I am the albatross that waits for you at end of the earth. I am the forgotten soul of the dead sailors who crossed Cape Horn from all the seas of world. But they did not die in the furious waves. Today they fly in my wings to eternity in the last trough of the Antarctic wind.
Sara Vial
My approximate translation:
I am the albatross with wings unfurled
That waits for you at the end of the world.
I am the forgotten soul from the sailors torn
Who came to cross Cape Horn
From all the seas of the world.
But those sailors brave
Did not die in the furious waves.
Though no mortal can rescind
The works of waves and wind,
Today as you see me in the sky,
With me in my wings they fly
To eternity in the Antarctic wind.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
HOME AGAIN!
Wed AM, 27 Feb 08, Lynchburg, VA
WE’RE HOME AGAIN!
It was 29 hours from when we left the hotel in Bueonos Aires until we arrived safely home last evening at 7:45 PM.
Seven of those hours were spent in the Atlanta airport where we arrived at 5:30 AM yesterday. We had tickets for the 10:00 AM Delta flight to Washington Dulles Airport. We’re very unhappy with Delta Airlines. There was an earlier Delta flight, and they had unused seats for us, and we were on time for it, but they wouldn’t let us aboard unless we would pay $50 additional apiece, which we certainly were not willing to do. Then we missed our 10:00 AM flight because they changed the gate and failed to announce the change in the original gate waiting area. They said it was our responsibility to monitor the TV screens for changes. So we got on the 12:45 PM flight for the 1-1/2 hour ride to Dulles.
We took a taxi to where we had left our car with our Franco relatives near the airport. Staying awake to drive home wasn’t difficult, but when we got home we went straight to bed and slept for >10 hours.
:-)
Bernie
WE’RE HOME AGAIN!
It was 29 hours from when we left the hotel in Bueonos Aires until we arrived safely home last evening at 7:45 PM.
Seven of those hours were spent in the Atlanta airport where we arrived at 5:30 AM yesterday. We had tickets for the 10:00 AM Delta flight to Washington Dulles Airport. We’re very unhappy with Delta Airlines. There was an earlier Delta flight, and they had unused seats for us, and we were on time for it, but they wouldn’t let us aboard unless we would pay $50 additional apiece, which we certainly were not willing to do. Then we missed our 10:00 AM flight because they changed the gate and failed to announce the change in the original gate waiting area. They said it was our responsibility to monitor the TV screens for changes. So we got on the 12:45 PM flight for the 1-1/2 hour ride to Dulles.
We took a taxi to where we had left our car with our Franco relatives near the airport. Staying awake to drive home wasn’t difficult, but when we got home we went straight to bed and slept for >10 hours.
:-)
Bernie
RED EYE FLIGHT TO ATLANTA
8 AM, Tue, 26 Feb 08, Atlanta Airport
RED EYE FLIGHT
If you’ve been on a red eye flight,
You know it’s torture light.
You forever cruise
Trying to snooze,
Miserable the entire night.
Now that it’s past, I can say it wasn’t really that bad. I got stiff some places from sleeping in odd positions, but that has mostly passed. It was ten hours from Buenos Aires to Atlanta. So, if it wasn’t good sleep, it was a lot of it. Helen slept quite a bit of it, which is unusual for her.
Not only is Buenos Aires a heck of a long way south of Atlanta, it’s a long way east as well. We set our clocks back three hours upon arrival. Even Santiago is two hours later than Atlanta.
Our flight to Dulles leaves at 10 AM.
I’ve done three miles (one hour) of hall walking for exercise here in the Atlanta airport so far. I had no opportunity for exercise yesterday.
In addition to memorable, enjoyable experiences and education, this trip gained us several new American friends.
:-)
Bernie
RED EYE FLIGHT
If you’ve been on a red eye flight,
You know it’s torture light.
You forever cruise
Trying to snooze,
Miserable the entire night.
Now that it’s past, I can say it wasn’t really that bad. I got stiff some places from sleeping in odd positions, but that has mostly passed. It was ten hours from Buenos Aires to Atlanta. So, if it wasn’t good sleep, it was a lot of it. Helen slept quite a bit of it, which is unusual for her.
Not only is Buenos Aires a heck of a long way south of Atlanta, it’s a long way east as well. We set our clocks back three hours upon arrival. Even Santiago is two hours later than Atlanta.
Our flight to Dulles leaves at 10 AM.
I’ve done three miles (one hour) of hall walking for exercise here in the Atlanta airport so far. I had no opportunity for exercise yesterday.
In addition to memorable, enjoyable experiences and education, this trip gained us several new American friends.
:-)
Bernie
BUENOS AIRES INCLUDING PARANA RIVER DELTA TOUR
Monday afternoon, 25 February 08, Hotel Emperador, Buenos Aires
BUENOS AIRES
We’ve seen the Plaza Mayor
And where poor folks live in squalor.
The tango was born in Boca.
It’s nothing like the polka.
We’ve learned what Evita stood for.
We’ve sampled Argentina’s beef
About which we have no beef.
Each other’s feet we’ve mangled
Trying to learn to tango.
A pickpocket is a source of grief..
In a souvenir store
With leather goods galore,
Helen got loose,
Bought a jacket made of moose
But nothing more.
The money, we think, was spent
On the world’s biggest rodent.
What can be the excuse
For calling a rat a moose?
The capivara to compliment?
Boating in the delta,
We saw houses built for shelter.
We’ve eaten tasty food.
The summer weather was good,
And we didn’t swelter.
We’ve visited the city of the dead,
All of whom were well fed.
We’ve learned about the disappeared
And how Evita poor folks endeared.
Our flight home we’ve now to dread.
In today’s excursion we bused about 45 minutes to the suburb of Tigre, making a pit stop along the way at the San Isidro train station.
Things learned from our guide, Leo, along the way, some known already: Argentine products area corn, wheat, beef, wine, fish, soy beans, leather and leather goods. Argentina has an open immigration policy (no limits on who can move in). Argentina has a polka style of music – Latin singing backed by a polka beat. The River Plate recedes 46 meters per year because of sediment deposition, causing islands to enlarge and new islands to emerge.
From Tigre, starting on the Parana river, we (two bus loads, maybe 60 people) had a boat ride of about two hours in the Parana River Delta, and we had lunch at a restaurant in the delta. The water is very brown from sediment. There are many houses, lived in by retirees and people who work in the delta. It’s serviced entirely by boats. There are no roads, no cars. People from the city go out there for weekends. Nobody lives there and works in the city; it’s not feasible. There are little schools and chapels out there. No grocery stores. Grocery store boats come by and service the houses. Likewise, garbage boats pick up the garbage. We asked our boat guide about real estate costs. He said you can maybe buy a house for $20,000. Most of them look to be rather small, simple houses. He said it’s better to rent and that 5 years ago for a short time he rented a house for $100 a month.
Tigre itself (not the little rivers of the delta), by the way, once was a major capital of competitive rowing (skulls and shells). (Eric knows all about that.) Rowing is still done (practice and races), but we didn’t see anyone rowing. There are many old rowing club buildings, including the splendid old Buenos Aires Rowing Club building.
It’s 4 PM. We’re waiting for our 5:45 PM bus ride to the airport for our journey home.
:-)
Bernie
BUENOS AIRES
We’ve seen the Plaza Mayor
And where poor folks live in squalor.
The tango was born in Boca.
It’s nothing like the polka.
We’ve learned what Evita stood for.
We’ve sampled Argentina’s beef
About which we have no beef.
Each other’s feet we’ve mangled
Trying to learn to tango.
A pickpocket is a source of grief..
In a souvenir store
With leather goods galore,
Helen got loose,
Bought a jacket made of moose
But nothing more.
The money, we think, was spent
On the world’s biggest rodent.
What can be the excuse
For calling a rat a moose?
The capivara to compliment?
Boating in the delta,
We saw houses built for shelter.
We’ve eaten tasty food.
The summer weather was good,
And we didn’t swelter.
We’ve visited the city of the dead,
All of whom were well fed.
We’ve learned about the disappeared
And how Evita poor folks endeared.
Our flight home we’ve now to dread.
In today’s excursion we bused about 45 minutes to the suburb of Tigre, making a pit stop along the way at the San Isidro train station.
Things learned from our guide, Leo, along the way, some known already: Argentine products area corn, wheat, beef, wine, fish, soy beans, leather and leather goods. Argentina has an open immigration policy (no limits on who can move in). Argentina has a polka style of music – Latin singing backed by a polka beat. The River Plate recedes 46 meters per year because of sediment deposition, causing islands to enlarge and new islands to emerge.
From Tigre, starting on the Parana river, we (two bus loads, maybe 60 people) had a boat ride of about two hours in the Parana River Delta, and we had lunch at a restaurant in the delta. The water is very brown from sediment. There are many houses, lived in by retirees and people who work in the delta. It’s serviced entirely by boats. There are no roads, no cars. People from the city go out there for weekends. Nobody lives there and works in the city; it’s not feasible. There are little schools and chapels out there. No grocery stores. Grocery store boats come by and service the houses. Likewise, garbage boats pick up the garbage. We asked our boat guide about real estate costs. He said you can maybe buy a house for $20,000. Most of them look to be rather small, simple houses. He said it’s better to rent and that 5 years ago for a short time he rented a house for $100 a month.
Tigre itself (not the little rivers of the delta), by the way, once was a major capital of competitive rowing (skulls and shells). (Eric knows all about that.) Rowing is still done (practice and races), but we didn’t see anyone rowing. There are many old rowing club buildings, including the splendid old Buenos Aires Rowing Club building.
It’s 4 PM. We’re waiting for our 5:45 PM bus ride to the airport for our journey home.
:-)
Bernie
Sunday, February 24, 2008
ESTANCIA GUEVARA
Sun, 24 Feb 08, Buenos Aires
ESTANCIA GUEVARA
Music, dancing, horsemanship,
Eating, chatting, good fellowship.
A great time we had,
And I’m very glad
We made the estancia trip.
In a souvenir store
With leather goods galore,
Helen got loose,
Bought a jacket made of moose
But nothing more.
Today we did our estancia (meaning ranch or farm) excursion. We were two bus loads of about 60 tourists total. We drove about 85 miles northwest to the vicinity of San Antonio de Areco and visited the 220-acre farm of Franciso (Pancho) and Florencia Guevara. It was a most enjoyable day.
On the way out we had a “technical stop” near Pilar. More than a pit stop, it was for shopping at a store full of mainly fine leather goods, and also silver goods, jewelry, knives, etc. Helen bought a soft, attractive mottled brown leather jacket for only $150. It is said to be of moose hide. We don’t know if it’s really moose or where the moose or other deer-family animal came from.
On the way out our bus guide, Susan Alter, gave a nice review of Argentina’s varied and sometimes sad history. Argentina was VERY strong economically in 1920, but wealth was in the hands of just a few people. Juan Peron was first elected president in 1936, served two terms, was deposed in 1955, came back for a third term in 1970. There was chaos, corruption, hard times, despotic dictatorship, especially after Isabella Peron became president in the 70’s. Democracy was restored after the Falklands war ~ 1978, just after the “disappearing” was at its peak ~1977. There was much corruption during the 10-years of the Menem government. Things have stabilized under the Kirschners. Unemployment is now about 10 percent. Argentina has socialized medicine, available to all.
Susan told us that an average Argentine eats 140 pounds of beef a year. The beef is low-fat because the cattle live on the range, not in feed lots as in the U.S. She said there are 50 million cows in Argentina (more cows than people).
It surprised me that the fences are back some distance from the two-lane paved highway, I’d say about 40 yards. Susan says this wide strip of land is owned by the provincial government. But the farmers farm it -- separately and usually with different crops than on their own side of the fence.
We were treated to a demonstration of horsemanship by four gauchos (cowboys) ranging in age from 16 to 78. They demonstrated “jousting” (threading a ¾-inch diameter circle at full gallop. AMAZING! They demonstrated the boladero (spelling?), a weapon involving three stone spheres wrapped in leather and connected to a three-way rope. This is twirled at full gallop and thrown to tie up an animal’s legs. They staged some little races in front of us. The 78-year-old is amazing -- as are the others.
It rained and even thundered, but that was no problem as we were inside most of the time.
We had one heck a lunch. Wine, salad, potatoes, barbecued sausage, barbecued chicken, three servings of barbecued beef, desert. The meats were DELICIOUS with an unusual salty quality. Consequently we skipped dinner when we got back, but some of us gathered for a while at a coffee house near the hotel. I used the coffee shop’s half hour of free wireless time, needing help from the waitress to get started on the Internet. I continue to need help from the bartender to get on line here in the hotel too.
We were treated to music and dancing and were even pulled out onto the dance floor briefly. There were three musicians – guitarist, drummer, and an accordionist who doubled as a violinist. There were two dancing couples. They all were dressed in folk costumes (think cowboy/Mexican), and they did folk music and folk dances typical of various regions of Argentina (think Mexican/cowboy). It was not the Inca-type music we heard last night. And Sr. Guevara sang a solo for us. They were very good, and the music and dancing were VERY enjoyable.
Obviously the Guevara’s are much into tourism as well as farming. They were all set up for this operation and did it splendidly. They are a very warm, hospitable couple. And their English is superb.
Sra. Guevara is amazing in that she is the mother of nine and grandmother of five but still has a great and trim figure and face.
One of their sons is a “professional” polo player. We didn’t meet him, but there were several photos of him playing polo.
There were a several very nice antique carriages on display.
This is in the “humid pampas.” The land is very flat, by the way, and originally was nearly treeless. There are also “dry pampas.” I asked Pancho about numbers related to his farming and ranching. This farm is 220 acres. He has a couple smaller holdings close by without buildings. At one time, farms of 10,000 acres existed in this area, but no more. He says it’s not profitable to raise cattle here. He raises soy beans – we saw a lot of soybean fields – and corn and winter wheat commercially and some oats for his horses. He hires contractors to do the planting, fertilizing, spraying, and harvesting. He has 12 employees at this location.
In addition, the Guevaras have a ranch of 8,000 acres with 800 cows in the dry pampas some 600 miles he said (but I think he meant 600 KM) away. He has four gauchos there, and usually he merely goes there – he says over one day and back the next, driving fast on open highway – once a month to pay salaries and check up on things.
The beef are slaughtered at about 800 pounds when 20 to 24 months old.
This evening I did a three-mile walk from the hotel. When I do that, I don’t carry anything at all that would be worth stealing. We’ve been warned to be very careful because there are pickpocket thieves about.
Tomorrow we do an excursion to the suburb of Tigre with a boat ride from their into the Parana delta. Then in the evening we go to the airport for our long flights home.
:-)
Bernie
ESTANCIA GUEVARA
Music, dancing, horsemanship,
Eating, chatting, good fellowship.
A great time we had,
And I’m very glad
We made the estancia trip.
In a souvenir store
With leather goods galore,
Helen got loose,
Bought a jacket made of moose
But nothing more.
Today we did our estancia (meaning ranch or farm) excursion. We were two bus loads of about 60 tourists total. We drove about 85 miles northwest to the vicinity of San Antonio de Areco and visited the 220-acre farm of Franciso (Pancho) and Florencia Guevara. It was a most enjoyable day.
On the way out we had a “technical stop” near Pilar. More than a pit stop, it was for shopping at a store full of mainly fine leather goods, and also silver goods, jewelry, knives, etc. Helen bought a soft, attractive mottled brown leather jacket for only $150. It is said to be of moose hide. We don’t know if it’s really moose or where the moose or other deer-family animal came from.
On the way out our bus guide, Susan Alter, gave a nice review of Argentina’s varied and sometimes sad history. Argentina was VERY strong economically in 1920, but wealth was in the hands of just a few people. Juan Peron was first elected president in 1936, served two terms, was deposed in 1955, came back for a third term in 1970. There was chaos, corruption, hard times, despotic dictatorship, especially after Isabella Peron became president in the 70’s. Democracy was restored after the Falklands war ~ 1978, just after the “disappearing” was at its peak ~1977. There was much corruption during the 10-years of the Menem government. Things have stabilized under the Kirschners. Unemployment is now about 10 percent. Argentina has socialized medicine, available to all.
Susan told us that an average Argentine eats 140 pounds of beef a year. The beef is low-fat because the cattle live on the range, not in feed lots as in the U.S. She said there are 50 million cows in Argentina (more cows than people).
It surprised me that the fences are back some distance from the two-lane paved highway, I’d say about 40 yards. Susan says this wide strip of land is owned by the provincial government. But the farmers farm it -- separately and usually with different crops than on their own side of the fence.
We were treated to a demonstration of horsemanship by four gauchos (cowboys) ranging in age from 16 to 78. They demonstrated “jousting” (threading a ¾-inch diameter circle at full gallop. AMAZING! They demonstrated the boladero (spelling?), a weapon involving three stone spheres wrapped in leather and connected to a three-way rope. This is twirled at full gallop and thrown to tie up an animal’s legs. They staged some little races in front of us. The 78-year-old is amazing -- as are the others.
It rained and even thundered, but that was no problem as we were inside most of the time.
We had one heck a lunch. Wine, salad, potatoes, barbecued sausage, barbecued chicken, three servings of barbecued beef, desert. The meats were DELICIOUS with an unusual salty quality. Consequently we skipped dinner when we got back, but some of us gathered for a while at a coffee house near the hotel. I used the coffee shop’s half hour of free wireless time, needing help from the waitress to get started on the Internet. I continue to need help from the bartender to get on line here in the hotel too.
We were treated to music and dancing and were even pulled out onto the dance floor briefly. There were three musicians – guitarist, drummer, and an accordionist who doubled as a violinist. There were two dancing couples. They all were dressed in folk costumes (think cowboy/Mexican), and they did folk music and folk dances typical of various regions of Argentina (think Mexican/cowboy). It was not the Inca-type music we heard last night. And Sr. Guevara sang a solo for us. They were very good, and the music and dancing were VERY enjoyable.
Obviously the Guevara’s are much into tourism as well as farming. They were all set up for this operation and did it splendidly. They are a very warm, hospitable couple. And their English is superb.
Sra. Guevara is amazing in that she is the mother of nine and grandmother of five but still has a great and trim figure and face.
One of their sons is a “professional” polo player. We didn’t meet him, but there were several photos of him playing polo.
There were a several very nice antique carriages on display.
This is in the “humid pampas.” The land is very flat, by the way, and originally was nearly treeless. There are also “dry pampas.” I asked Pancho about numbers related to his farming and ranching. This farm is 220 acres. He has a couple smaller holdings close by without buildings. At one time, farms of 10,000 acres existed in this area, but no more. He says it’s not profitable to raise cattle here. He raises soy beans – we saw a lot of soybean fields – and corn and winter wheat commercially and some oats for his horses. He hires contractors to do the planting, fertilizing, spraying, and harvesting. He has 12 employees at this location.
In addition, the Guevaras have a ranch of 8,000 acres with 800 cows in the dry pampas some 600 miles he said (but I think he meant 600 KM) away. He has four gauchos there, and usually he merely goes there – he says over one day and back the next, driving fast on open highway – once a month to pay salaries and check up on things.
The beef are slaughtered at about 800 pounds when 20 to 24 months old.
This evening I did a three-mile walk from the hotel. When I do that, I don’t carry anything at all that would be worth stealing. We’ve been warned to be very careful because there are pickpocket thieves about.
Tomorrow we do an excursion to the suburb of Tigre with a boat ride from their into the Parana delta. Then in the evening we go to the airport for our long flights home.
:-)
Bernie
Saturday, February 23, 2008
EL VIEJO ALMACEN
Sat eve, 23 Feb 08, Buenos Aires
EL VIEJO ALMACEN
The show at El Viejo Almacen
Was for sure a perfect ten.
Fine Inca music we were experiencing
And superb singing, piano, tango dancing,
Accordion, base fiddle, and violin.
This evening was our evening-on-the-town excursion. There were three events one-right-after-the-other in two buildings across-the-narrow-street-from-each-other belonging to the same outfit. All of this establishment is called El Viejo Almacen, meaning warehouse. (The building was once a hospital and was once a warehouse.) First, a couple gave us a demonstration and then lessons in the tango in the main floor (not the stage) of the little theater. They are good instructors and tried to teach all of us the eight basic steps of the tango. Helen was having as much difficulty learning it as I was. It was a nice experience.
Then we went across the street and up the stairs in the restaurant and were served a nice dinner. I had Argentine steak again, and it was great. Helen had fish. There was also appetizer, desert, and wine, but I had milk instead. Nice dinner. Nice fellowship.
Then we went back into the theater where we had had dance lessons. Now there were tables and chairs set up for us.
There we were treated to a music-and-dance program that must have been 1-1/2 hours long. (I didn’t look at my watch at the start.)
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FANATASTIC!!!!! Certainly one of the most memorable highlights of our entire trip.
It was in two parts, or three, or several, depending how you count them. The first and third parts of the three involved tango dancers, a male singer and a female singer, and musicians including two violins, two accordions (and later a third virtuoso accordionist), a pianist, and a double base player. All on a fairly small stage. There were many numbers. There were many tango dance numbers. There were at least five dance couples. Dance numbers usually featured just one couple but in one instance three couples and in another instance four couples. The same couples repeated in different costumes. One of the couples were surprisingly old. The dancers were fast, lively, FABULOUS. There was solo singing by each singer, and they were great. There were several solo numbers by the lead violinist, a real virtuoso. There were several solo or feature numbers by the special virtuoso accordionist. There was one solo by the pianist, and he was no slouch.
The other part, in the middle, was Inca-type music by four men in colorful red folk/Incan costumes. A drummer. A guitarist. A man with a little stringed instrument something like a mandolin. A flutist with several kinds of flutes including two pan pipes. They played several numbers together, and each of them did solo numbers. FANTASTIC they were. Wonderful rhythm and they encouraged the audience to clap along with them.
:-)
Bernie
EL VIEJO ALMACEN
The show at El Viejo Almacen
Was for sure a perfect ten.
Fine Inca music we were experiencing
And superb singing, piano, tango dancing,
Accordion, base fiddle, and violin.
This evening was our evening-on-the-town excursion. There were three events one-right-after-the-other in two buildings across-the-narrow-street-from-each-other belonging to the same outfit. All of this establishment is called El Viejo Almacen, meaning warehouse. (The building was once a hospital and was once a warehouse.) First, a couple gave us a demonstration and then lessons in the tango in the main floor (not the stage) of the little theater. They are good instructors and tried to teach all of us the eight basic steps of the tango. Helen was having as much difficulty learning it as I was. It was a nice experience.
Then we went across the street and up the stairs in the restaurant and were served a nice dinner. I had Argentine steak again, and it was great. Helen had fish. There was also appetizer, desert, and wine, but I had milk instead. Nice dinner. Nice fellowship.
Then we went back into the theater where we had had dance lessons. Now there were tables and chairs set up for us.
There we were treated to a music-and-dance program that must have been 1-1/2 hours long. (I didn’t look at my watch at the start.)
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FANATASTIC!!!!! Certainly one of the most memorable highlights of our entire trip.
It was in two parts, or three, or several, depending how you count them. The first and third parts of the three involved tango dancers, a male singer and a female singer, and musicians including two violins, two accordions (and later a third virtuoso accordionist), a pianist, and a double base player. All on a fairly small stage. There were many numbers. There were many tango dance numbers. There were at least five dance couples. Dance numbers usually featured just one couple but in one instance three couples and in another instance four couples. The same couples repeated in different costumes. One of the couples were surprisingly old. The dancers were fast, lively, FABULOUS. There was solo singing by each singer, and they were great. There were several solo numbers by the lead violinist, a real virtuoso. There were several solo or feature numbers by the special virtuoso accordionist. There was one solo by the pianist, and he was no slouch.
The other part, in the middle, was Inca-type music by four men in colorful red folk/Incan costumes. A drummer. A guitarist. A man with a little stringed instrument something like a mandolin. A flutist with several kinds of flutes including two pan pipes. They played several numbers together, and each of them did solo numbers. FANTASTIC they were. Wonderful rhythm and they encouraged the audience to clap along with them.
:-)
Bernie
RECOLETA CEMETERY, ETC.
Sat eve, 23 Feb 08, Buenos Aires
RECOLETA CEMETERY
In the richest cemetery ever seen,
Super wealthy dead lie serene.
Their souls off to heaven went,
And I really think the riches spent
Totally were obscene.
Last evening I noticed that a lot of the vehicles driving in the city at night use only parking lights or other very dim lights for headlights or, once in a while, no headlights at all.
This morning was our 3-1/2 hour tour of the city. We made four stops: (1) the monument to Evita Peron, (2) the Recoleta Cemetery, (3) the Plaza Mayor, and (4) Camineto in La Boca.
Recoleta Cemetery was opened in 1822. I’ve never seen anything like it. Well, I haven’t seen the cemetery in New Orleans. Some, including Helen, who were with us and have seen that one say it is similar but less opulent than the Recoleta Cemetery. A city of the dead. A city of dead who died very rich. Extremely opulent family mausoleums. In most instances you can look through a glass window into an ornate little room and see the caskets. We all took particular note of the Duarte family mausoleum where Evita Peron is buried.
The Plaza Mayor is the national square. There is an obelisk at its center, around which the mothers of the disappeared still march once a week. At one end is the Pink House, where the president works, but her residence, the presidential palace, is elsewhere in the city. At the other end is the city hall and next to it the one-time city hall which is now a museum. Also next to the square is a cathedral. Several blocks down the street is the house of Congress, but we didn’t see it. Homeless people are living in their makeshift quarters centrally in the square in the shadow of the obelisk.
“Boca” means “mouth.” The Boca is a section of town along the river, and it once was the main port of the city. It is where poor immigrants came to live. Traditionally they were mainly Italian with some Spanish and other countries represented. Nowadays people move to the Boca from Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. I don’t know if these are legal or illegal immigrants or both. Near the Boca is a squatters’ slum. The Boca itself is still a low-rent district.
The Boca was an area of many single men and prostitutes. The men sang about love and horse racing but never about work, and the tango was invented in the Boca. Camiento (meaning tiny road) is a little area within the Boca that is a tourist trap and attraction. You can pay to get your picture taken with a fake prostitute or a fake tango dancer. You can buy paintings and souvenirs and photograph the scene and surroundings.
We drove past the soccer stadium, which is in or next to the Boca. It’s odd to me to see a big stadium right in a very crowded urban setting. The stadium seats 60,000 and is decorated with painted murals.
All around town you see the payobora (spelling?) tree with its pink flowers.
We drove through the huge Palermo Park and saw runners jogging there. Other parks are scattered around town.
The main drag, 9th of July Avenue, is a boulevard 140 meters wide (four strips of pavement with three interspersed strips of greenway).
Our guide, Leo, said the Rive Plate is 220 KM (132 miles) wide.
Juan Peron was ousted in a revolution in 1955 and went into exile in Spain. We were shown some bullet marks on a building next to the Plaza Mayor that were from the aircraft of the Argentine military at that time. Peron came back to power in 1970.
A really nice apartment in Buenos Aires, Leo said, costs $4,000 a month to rent, or $3,000 per square meter or $500,000 total to buy.
There are a lot of statues around the city. There are statues of historical figures, as you would expect. Sometimes you also see a stylized statue of a couple dancing the tango. There is a small such statue a couple blocks from our hotel.
Helen and I ate an inexpensive lunch at a simple restaurant a block from the hotel.
I did an hour’s worth of walking, counted as 3 miles, in the afternoon before we went on our evening excursion.
The temperature was comfortably cool in the morning and warm but not too hot in the afternoon. I worked up a minor sweat on my walk and consequently changed my shirt and undershirt.
The locals eat dinner at 9 or 10 PM, and restaurants stay open until 3 AM.
Banks are open from 10 AM until 6 PM. Shopping malls are open 10 AM till 6 PM seven days a week.
:-)
Bernie
RECOLETA CEMETERY
In the richest cemetery ever seen,
Super wealthy dead lie serene.
Their souls off to heaven went,
And I really think the riches spent
Totally were obscene.
Last evening I noticed that a lot of the vehicles driving in the city at night use only parking lights or other very dim lights for headlights or, once in a while, no headlights at all.
This morning was our 3-1/2 hour tour of the city. We made four stops: (1) the monument to Evita Peron, (2) the Recoleta Cemetery, (3) the Plaza Mayor, and (4) Camineto in La Boca.
Recoleta Cemetery was opened in 1822. I’ve never seen anything like it. Well, I haven’t seen the cemetery in New Orleans. Some, including Helen, who were with us and have seen that one say it is similar but less opulent than the Recoleta Cemetery. A city of the dead. A city of dead who died very rich. Extremely opulent family mausoleums. In most instances you can look through a glass window into an ornate little room and see the caskets. We all took particular note of the Duarte family mausoleum where Evita Peron is buried.
The Plaza Mayor is the national square. There is an obelisk at its center, around which the mothers of the disappeared still march once a week. At one end is the Pink House, where the president works, but her residence, the presidential palace, is elsewhere in the city. At the other end is the city hall and next to it the one-time city hall which is now a museum. Also next to the square is a cathedral. Several blocks down the street is the house of Congress, but we didn’t see it. Homeless people are living in their makeshift quarters centrally in the square in the shadow of the obelisk.
“Boca” means “mouth.” The Boca is a section of town along the river, and it once was the main port of the city. It is where poor immigrants came to live. Traditionally they were mainly Italian with some Spanish and other countries represented. Nowadays people move to the Boca from Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. I don’t know if these are legal or illegal immigrants or both. Near the Boca is a squatters’ slum. The Boca itself is still a low-rent district.
The Boca was an area of many single men and prostitutes. The men sang about love and horse racing but never about work, and the tango was invented in the Boca. Camiento (meaning tiny road) is a little area within the Boca that is a tourist trap and attraction. You can pay to get your picture taken with a fake prostitute or a fake tango dancer. You can buy paintings and souvenirs and photograph the scene and surroundings.
We drove past the soccer stadium, which is in or next to the Boca. It’s odd to me to see a big stadium right in a very crowded urban setting. The stadium seats 60,000 and is decorated with painted murals.
All around town you see the payobora (spelling?) tree with its pink flowers.
We drove through the huge Palermo Park and saw runners jogging there. Other parks are scattered around town.
The main drag, 9th of July Avenue, is a boulevard 140 meters wide (four strips of pavement with three interspersed strips of greenway).
Our guide, Leo, said the Rive Plate is 220 KM (132 miles) wide.
Juan Peron was ousted in a revolution in 1955 and went into exile in Spain. We were shown some bullet marks on a building next to the Plaza Mayor that were from the aircraft of the Argentine military at that time. Peron came back to power in 1970.
A really nice apartment in Buenos Aires, Leo said, costs $4,000 a month to rent, or $3,000 per square meter or $500,000 total to buy.
There are a lot of statues around the city. There are statues of historical figures, as you would expect. Sometimes you also see a stylized statue of a couple dancing the tango. There is a small such statue a couple blocks from our hotel.
Helen and I ate an inexpensive lunch at a simple restaurant a block from the hotel.
I did an hour’s worth of walking, counted as 3 miles, in the afternoon before we went on our evening excursion.
The temperature was comfortably cool in the morning and warm but not too hot in the afternoon. I worked up a minor sweat on my walk and consequently changed my shirt and undershirt.
The locals eat dinner at 9 or 10 PM, and restaurants stay open until 3 AM.
Banks are open from 10 AM until 6 PM. Shopping malls are open 10 AM till 6 PM seven days a week.
:-)
Bernie
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