Good Air!!

Who isn’t looking for good air?!!   In Arizona and many other cities we get the air quality reports.  Often Arizona isn’t so good with lots of dust in the air.  But now we get to what they call Paris of the south.  French influence has inspired many of the buildings.  Almost 15 million people live here and it is the most visited city in South America!!  I have to sometimes pinch myself to remind me that I am here amidst doubts that I would make it. 

People from around the port are here because they are immigrants from all over the world.  They come for employment and for a better life, climate or to leave politically corrupt regions.  There is always hope that making the move will be beneficial for one and their family.  Always hope.  

The World Cup was held here and everywhere we hear about Messi!!!  He is the famous ambassador and all tour guides bring up his name.  Every souvenir shop is taking advantage of his notoriety and success!  

60% of the people, culture and architecture have Italian influence.   They tell us this is the birthplace of the tango and that now it is making a resurgence.  It is the National dance of Argentina but  originated in Spain.  When it first began to take place the wealthy upper class looked down on it as music from immigrants and something that was cheap and of the low life.  But as we know now it made a successful resurgence all over the world and is appreciated, loved and deeply felt by many.  The ship even offered classes but you need a willing partner and mine was not so much into that!!! Had it involved snakes or birds or something crawling around I might have gotten more interest!

This is a very large Industrial port and terminal. We can’t walk here in the port so we need transportation to get out to the main exit.  We then are provided with a shuttle that goes to downtown and drops us at Point Plaza Hotel or Plaza de Maya

which is in the heart of the city.  

We can see Casa Rosada or the pink house. Now this historic building serves as a seat of government.   It was painted this color in 1873 to make political parties happy!!  Wonder if that would work in the US?!! Ha ha

There is also a Puerto Madero district which has been  converted area.   

There is a famous Woman’s Bridge  built to resemble a couple dancing the tango which connects the two sides of the city.  

They tell us this might be a good place for bird watching but so far we really haven’t found anything spectacular and I have one of the best bird spotters around so if he doesn’t see it or hear it it’s not an “awe” day!!  Ha ha 

This town of Good Air has the widest Avenue is the world !  They say there are 22 lanes for a few miles but that’s incredible.  The lanes are kind of divided with strips between some lanes for buses, some single just very amazing!   You really have to be careful crossing. 

Another interesting fact about this city is that it has the largest Jewish community in South America. Many came here as immigrants to escape the horrors of Europe and wars.   San Telmo is the oldest area of the city.  

The Mercado of San Telmo is all  indoors and is a huge  market.  You can find hand made artisan items and many stores.   You will also find the best empanadas they say because they are baked not deep fried. 

Alfajores are the traditional cookies here and very popular.  They are filled with jam or chocolate with two cookies and caramel in the middle.  They tell us to look for them and we do!!  We actually bought two bags at the port terminal to share with our stewards, table waiters in the Lido and all those we pass cleaning railings, vacuuming our stairs and hallways and those behind the line serving us.  They know us well and call us by name.  We feel honored to be their friends.  They work harder than anyone we know. 

Street art is big here and La Boca is the most well known area for street art.   Here you may see Tango dancers, souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants and very unique art.   Even cars can be artistic as you will see. 

Argentina’s hero and liberator was Jose de San Martin.  There are statues and memorials to him. Another area of interest is the Recoleta or the Cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. It is a top attraction and very pretty.  There are many famous people buried here from politicians to artists, musicians and those who fought for rights and freedoms. 

Another very interesting piece of art is a huge flower with petals that open and close day and night!!!

Palermo which is a neighboring area has an area of  20,000 rose bushes !!!   A Japanese Garden was constructed in 1967 so the area is very international and exudes cultures and heritage from all over the world. 

Our first day here they tell us that the Terminal will have tour offerings and that there is a  Hop on hop off tour.   WiFi is free in the large modern terminal with shopping and a nice cafe.  You could also purchase souvenirs with credit cards or dollars. So far we have been very lucky with our credit card and in most places paid with the US dollar. 

 

It is 1.3 miles to town on the shuttle so folks are not going to walk for safety reasons and also because of the heat and humidity.   The first subway built was in 1913 in Latin America.   There are over 35 miles of routes you can travel through on the subway.   It is very cheap about 15 cents to get on and go one route. We didn’t try it but some folks did and said it was great!!

The Peso is the currency here with the conversion being $1= 50 pesos.   It Fluctuated greatly in the past and lost 90% of its value over the last ten years.   There is also a Blue dollar here which converts to 935 pesos to $1 but we don’t get any pesos.  We use our currency converter app and it’s great.   Our first day is sunny and overcast up to 81 and we do our own thing. 

A very busy and bustling town full of unique architecture 

Shopping here is this famous building. We walked here and went inside to browse 

The streets were busy everywhere but we felt safe although we take great caution 

The main Plaxa.  It really is spring here or late spring.  But we looked for birds 

The bridge of the Woman dedicated to the Tango

The colorful Boca neighborhood kind of Bohemian 

This is what I meant by even the cars become works of art!!!

Another famous plaza and statue dedicated to San Martin a famous general 

This is the amazing flower that opens its petals in the day and then closes them at night!!

We stayed in this port overnight.  The next day we took a third party tour with a small group. Our tour picked us up at the port. The description said we would get spectacular views of the city from the Rio de la Plata and then take a one hour boat ride up one of the widest rivers in the world!  After that hour we arrived at the Parana River Delta a magical place that seems like a fantasy land. We went through many narrow channels and around islands.  This area is a popular weekend destination for Portenos ( residents of Good Air).  At lunchtime we were dropped off at Tigre, which is a major city within the suburbs. We enjoyed a delicious snack of empanadas and drinks in a local outside cafe that belongs to the local rowing club.  Rowing clubs here are the thing!   Boats are the main source of transportation here and you see everything from small old kayaks and canoes to small motor boats ski boats and larger excursion or water taxi boats. For the rest of our tour after walking through Tigre we drove though the city area which is the capital and home to 35% of the people in Argentina.  We visited a local fruit market and bazaar with some great souvenirs and the saw to he San Isidro City where the marvelous Neolithic Cathedral stands. 

Ernan is our guide here guide and he tells us they have replaced the port three times!  They have 140% inflation and they are hoping to get a new president that can help the people. 

In 1874 the British brought the  right type of cattle and built the train station.  Black Angus cattle were grown mostly for export and the English loved the meat.  But then there was the English invasion and 

wars with the Spaniards.  They fought again with the British on the Falklands.   The Argentina naval square changed from great the British square.  Great Britain became very angry with Argentina when they began to  sell cattle to the US. 

There are over 900 acres of parks in the city and they also provide free public law school!!  They used to have a monastery in the building but now it is the school.  Amazon River is the largest in the world he says but some say the Nile is. 

The  Parana River is the 2nd longest. 

Igazzu falls produces enough power for three countries!!!

Widest Avenue in the world is 47 blocks long.

The famous Opera house holds over 3000 people and has the best acoustics in the world

There are 17 theaters in 10 blocks of the Corrientes 

Natural gas and oil reserves are plentiful here and a rich resource for Argentina . 

The famous Alfajores are everywhere and lots of different flavors.  One night they even made them for us in the ship!  They are like a two layer cookie covered in chocolate with caramel or some other flavor inside. We tried them but they were just ok :)

Inside the Galleria shopping center with free WiFi and several floors including one with a very large grocery store. 

The murals are beautiful everywhere and depict highlights of the city and culture. 

I saw this unique table at an artisan shop and took the photo for a friend onboard who collects license plates!  Even the backs of the chairs have plates on them!  Guess you can get pretty creative with what you have!

This was in the mall a part of an airplane where you sit inside. You can see the tv screen by the curtain.  It’s part of a travel agency where he shows you the tours on the screen!!  I guess you had to be there to see it but it was unique. 

I loved this hanging chandelier outstanding the opera house that they are temporarily using and renovating. We couldn’t go inside. 

Another park dedicated to General San Martin. Most parks looked well used and with the drought not too lush or inviting. 

Getting ready for the boat ride 

These are transport buses or large water taxis that go very fast to other towns like Montevideo 

Along the Rio where folks have their vacation homes accessible only by water.  Some are even B& B’s you can rent.  But you come by boat!

Here is a short clip of our boat ride and passing the stick homes along the river.  The guide said you can flag your area on a sand bank and claim it as yours because the sand continues to accumulate. You only pay a minimal amount of taxes for 20 years. You can start building on it.  Then it is yours !   Many don’t have water but either drill wells or collect it from rainfall. Also the government will supply many with electricity after a community is established.  Lots use solar.  And they have to pump their sewage into an interior pond system.  It was amazing. Developers are taking advantage of this almost free land. 

This house is really a museum covered by glass to protect it! 

Some places are almost shacks but all have docks and ramps.  You can see the river does fluctuate so they have to be able to adjust 

Here is a very nice docking station for getting off at Tigre.

Every big town has one of these and this is part of a big amusement area 

The birds found a perch on the old crane. Mostly Cormorants. 

This is their Coast Guard which looks a lot like our boats

This is the area where we had our lunch. Nice rest rooms and a lovely hotel.  

Our tables were ready for us. We all enjoyed the shade too. And I had the local beer. 

These were our empanadas… one was cheese and onions and the other two beef.  They were delicious 

Then on to some artisan areas. Baskets and weaving out big here.  

They also sell furniture but our guide says lots of it is made from bamboo or lightweight wood.  They don’t make things to last a lifetime here they just use what they have.  It works!

A little grocery stop here where I looked for spices for a friend.  It was interesting but didn’t find what I wanted and didn’t know what everything was! Ha ha

I took this because I have never seen so many different olives!!!  I would have bought some but getting them home would have been risky.  The guide says they do grow many olives here of a great variety.  

Beautiful tiled murals.  Lots of work indeed 

I took this because this is where you take your wine bottles to have them recycled!!!! They drink so much wine here that they have special bins for the bottles. When the bins get too full they put them beside the bins!

This is a huge beautiful casino!  We couldn’t go inside but the grounds were lovely and it had a large walk out bridge like balcony where you could look up and down the river.  The guide joked that if you lost too much money gambling you might be jumping off that balcony into the river to die!

We saw this beautiful tree by the casino.  Anyone can build a casino here not just indigenous people.  The guide didn’t know the name of the tree but it’s the Cocklebur Coral Tree!!

No scent to the flowers but they were so unique and solid.  The leaves were waxy and tough too 

This is the balcony off the walk way from the casino. 

And in Tigre this art amazed me. It was all tile too. Looked like it had been an operating fountain at one time. 

Back to the city there like many places is a mature of the old and new and often the very poor and very rich 


Many homes are built sharing walls and not many windows. The green house has a large water tank on top that is covered for sanitation and evaporation. 

And the night before we got to this Good Air city folks that were leaving us had their luggage outside the staterooms to be picked up.  We lost 250 folks here and took on 150.  You capsule tell the difference in losing 100 guests and I liked it!! 

By this time you probably know where we have been Buenos Aires!!! That means good air and that’s what the explorers noted of the area.