We were first greeted by moths and locusts. Yup. The night before we even got to port the outdoor areas on the ship got inundated. The ceilings of the outdoor pool bars were covered with black moths and little green locusts. They were everywhere. On the walls, on the floors, swarming around the lights, on the furniture. Very strange. One outdoor bartender was waging battle with their broom swatting and sweeping, but finally gave up.
Once we arrived in Buenos Aires in the morning, we joined our tour group.
I was really looking forward to seeing La Recoleta Cemetery. This was the resting place for notable people ranging from Argentinian Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, actors, writers and philanthropists to Napoleon's granddaughter. For those who think visiting a cemetery on a vacation is dark and creepy...think twice. They can be beautiful, peaceful, educational treasures for your time and this one is among the greatest.
Giant, white marble pillars greeted us as we faced the entrance to Recoleta.
I stepped inside and it opened into a serene, Gothic, grand display of huge above-ground crypts in rows and rows which became streets or avenues of more. Each crypt was different in their design, some mysterious, some spiritual, some gaudy...almost all more expensive than a typical home in Argentina. But all well maintained and reverent.
So we walked along avenues of these monuments to powerful families and many individuals who have graced Argentine history in some special way.
The highlight was seeing the final resting place of the First Lady Eva Perone who was a champion of the poor and who died much too young of cervical cancer.
Hours could be spent wondering throughout the myriad rows.
Buenos Aires was divided into forty-eight neighborhoods or barrios and after leaving the Recoleta neighborhood where the cemetery was located, our tour headed into the La Boca district. La Boca is a popular destination for tourists visiting Argentina, with its colorful houses and pedestrian streets.
Tango artists performed on the streets and in the "Caminito".
Tango-related memorabilia was sold by many vendors. We learned that tango began as a dance between men in a time when the male immigrants of European families fled to Argentina. Wives and children came much later. The tango began in the mid to late 1800's along the River Plate that borders La Boca and here is considered to be the true, authentic version of the dance. It has evolved over time into a very passionate, energized dance. This, combined with a radical political history, gives La Boca a "gypsy" feel to it as well as a musical, colorful, slightly Bohemian style of wild abandon. This is where my intrigue with Mate began (more on that later).
This barrio was also the home to the "La Bombonara" (the chocolate box) futball stadium, nicknamed due to it's unusual shape. Also the acoustics in this stadium are supposed to be amazing and renowned.
Our tour bus drove us along the muddy brown Rio de La Plata (River Plate). According to our guide, this river had become very polluted over time and drinking just a very small vial of it's waters could lead to death within three hours. Not the best advertisement, but intriguing. Regardless, the color of the river is due to sediment and not pollution.
Rick and I left our tour bus as it stopped downtown along the river near the Puente De la Mujer (Woman Bridge). This swing bridge over the River Plate was a pedestrian footpath. The architect who designed it claimed it's gentle arch was a snapshot of a couple doing the tango. I supposed it could be the arch of a woman's back as her dancing partner led her into a graceful dip...if I really used my imagination.
Anyhow, we grabbed a delicious lunch near the river, explored Buenos Aires then walked back to the ship.
As we pulled away from the dock that evening, we listened to the hum of cranes working non stop in the very busy port loading and unloading cargo onto container ships. We were told that Buenos Aires would have been a great overnight stay in port; however, the berth we occupied was one of few spaces available for cargo ships coming and going.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in Rio during Carnival? Well, keep following this 2014 adventure of a lifetime as we venture further into Brazil: South American Cruise 2014
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