Day #22…Saturday, February 21, 2015

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires means “fair winds” and is often referred to as “the Paris of South America.”  Two (2) Spanish conquistadors, Pedro de Mendoza and Juan de Garay in 1536 and 1580, founded the city respectively.  The first small settlement in 1536 was attacked by indigenous people and four decades later, Juan de Garay established a permanent settlement there. 

For 200 years, Buenos Aires, was a sleepy and isolated town until the cattle boom of the 1880’s.  An influx of European immigrants changed the face of the city forever.  By the end of the century, Buenos Aires was quickly becoming one the wealthiest and most important cities in the world.  Beautiful mansions and buildings reminiscent of Rome, Paris and London dotted the impressive, wide avenues. 

Buenos Aires is the second largest city in South America, second to Saõ Paulo, Brazil, with a population of approximately 3,000,000 people in the city and just under 13,000,000 for the greater metro area.

The climate is typically pleasant but can be humid in the winter months from June to September.  The primary language is Spanish and the Argentina Peso (8.6 pesos = 1 USD) is the national currency.

Arriving at the pier in Buenos Aires, our friends, Judy and Frank from Dayton, joined us and boarded a shuttle bus from the pier to the port terminal building.  Several tour booths were busy with cruise passengers trying to book a private tour for the day.  We were warned that the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus would have long lines and opted to take a free shuttle to the city sponsored by H. Stern Jewelers.  We also were told that the hop-on-hop-off bus price for each passenger would be approximately $20.00 and the price was double that amount.  Mutually we agreed that we would try to get a better deal in the city.

Upon arriving at the jewelry store in the Plaza San Martin square area, we immediately noticed another hop-on-hop-off bus line called Rio L’Open Tour (Lollapalooza) and found the price to be $30.00 per person with three (3) available bus route options.  We bought an all-day ticket, boarded the bus, put on our earplugs and began what became our best day of the cruise thus far!

We took the red line route first and toured on Florida Street, a main thoroughfare of the city.  Old world architecture and rich Latin American character surrounded us.  Monuments, parks and gardens appeared in every block.  It was explained that the city is divided into four (4) quadrants and each district represents a specific influence of the city itself.  The Plaza San Martin area and Florida Street are the main shopping and business sectors of the city mixed with old European buildings and tall modern skyscrapers. 

To our surprise, we actually had our own tour guide for the day.  Our bus stopped at the Plaza de Mayo and Pellegrini areas (a center square large white monument) for photos and the guide accompanied us off the bus and waited until we returned.  We had never had a hop-on-hop-off bus experience like this and felt we were on a private tour.

The recorded tour bus information (in English) continued to guide us past many of the city sites.  We traveled on the widest avenue in the world, Avenida 9 de Julio, with sixteen imposing lanes of traffic that takes at least two traffic light rotations to cross.  The Colon Theatre is located on this avenue and sets the benchmark for fine acoustics and gilded magnificence.  It is considered one of the most representative historic monuments in Argentina.  Acknowledged as the third best opera house in the world by National Geographic, the century old structure is one of the city’s most treasured gems.

The Casa Rosada, known as the “Pink House” is a palatial mansion, once the home of Juan Peron, former President of Argentina and his celebrated wife, Evita.

The red route bus tour took 2.5 hours and then we were told that the second route, the blue route would leave from the central square in ten (10) minutes.  Near a McDonald’s Restaurant, we purchased food to go and boarded the hop-on-hop-off bus again to take our second route of the day. 

Our first stop on this route was the La Boca district.  This historic neighborhood is at the mouth of the Riachuelo River and has a strong European flavor, multi-colored houses, a vibrant street scene and a number of atmospheric tango cafés.  It is the birthplace of the spirited tango.  We strolled along the famous Carminito, past colorful outdoor art galleries and brightly painted wood and corrugated steel homes.  We spent a small amount of time visiting some of the shops and headed back to the bus.

After traveling through the most upscale area of the city, we exited the bus for a stop at the Recoleta Cemetery.  This remarkable cemetery is located in the influential area of the city containing 6,400 architecturally diverse mausoleums including the black marble crypt of legendary Eva “Evita” Peron.  The monks of the Order of the Recoletos arrived in the outskirts of Buenos Aires in the early 18^th century.  The cemetery was built around their convent and a church, Our Lady of Pilar, built in 1732.  The order was disbanded in 1822, and the garden of the convent was converted into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires.

After a 1.5 hour ride through the northern Palermo Soho area and viewing many parks and monuments along the way, we stopped at the Plaza San Martin square again and boarded another tour bus for the 3^rd and final green tour route of the bus tour. 

Our first stop on the Porteño route was the Estadio de River Plate, the Argentine Soccer Stadium.  Tickets were being sold for a game today against Brazil and the mass of red shirted stadium visitors was huge!   Dennis wore a Brazilian colored yellow shirt and was the sole person in the stadium who wore the opponent’s colors.  He hurried into the stadium store, received glaring glances, bought a beer and headed back to the bus.

We took photos of the Hippodrome and the Buenos Aires Zoo.  Evita’s Museum is also located in this district.  Polo fields were passed and we saw several horses and their riders working out at a private horsemen’s jumping club.  We also passed through the San Telmo area, the colonial area with its historic buildings and cobblestone streets.

Our tour guide stayed with us the whole day and after the last route was complete (1.5 hours), we gave her a tip and she acted like we were the first people to ever offer that gesture of thanks.

After a marvelous day in Buenos Aires, we took a free shuttle back to the ship.  We went to another performance by Gaucho Del Plata and vocalist, Claude Eric.  We retired to the cabin so we could ready ourselves for tomorrow’s port call at Montevideo, Uruguay.