Author: Tim

Wednesday, January 16 – Buenos Aires

I know you’re all dying to hear about my Tango experience, so I’ll lead off with that! 🙂 First off, the hotel pickup went smoothly, that was a good start! I was pretty skeptical going into this, but I must admit I enjoyed the evening. I sat at a table with a friendly Brazilian family. They spoke some spanish and a little english, I speak a little spanish and no portuguese, so it worked out great! The dinner was surprisingly good. I had butternut squash soup, chicken involtini, and mousse cake. There was also free-flowing wine. And that “special attention” that I was promised? A glass of champagne following dinner. OK, apology accepted. Now on to the show! The dancing was amazing. There were four different couples dancing either as a pair or in groups. A band accompanied them, also performing instrumentals or with a male and female singer during the interludes. I attempted a couple pictures, but the low lighting in the theatre didn’t accommodate.

Earlier in the day I visited the Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA), mainly because I wanted to check it out, but also because it was 1/2 price Wednesday! ($2.50, rather than $5 – yes, I’m cheap!) As with yesterday’s museum post, I’ve included a couple of my favorite pictures, but I’ve also set up a link to the museum’s web site if you have further interest.

I thought of another one of my travel safety habits to share. I do NOT walk around staring at my phone! Mainly because I like to observe my surroundings, but I also want to be aware of my surroundings. Crime is an act of opportunity. Not paying attention is an opportunity. In fact, when I go out here in Buenos Aires I leave my phone in the room safe. I have a map for directions and a little Canon Powershot for pictures.

Oh, I’m pleased to report that, following the “locked PIN” incident, I have used my credit card on several occasions with no issues! Whew! Crisis averted! 🙂 And finally, a BIG thank you to everyone for your comments! It’s great to hear from all of you while I’m away.

Thursday, January 17 – Buenos Aires

Today will likely be my last full day in Buenos Aires. 🙁 It’s been a wonderful experience. Beautiful city. Clean. Safe. Much green space. And very friendly. Hopefully I can return one day. (there’s a lot to see out there though!)

It was another beautiful day, so I took advantage and did some more roaming around. In the eastern part of the city is the Palmero Rose Garden – containing more than 18,000 roses, a lake, fountains and busts of famous writers. It was a perfect day to visit!

Came across another Armenian business. I thought it was cool that they included genocide remembrance signs in their window!

And I made it back to the Armenian cafe, Viejo Agump, that was closed when I stopped by last Friday. Very nice place! I had an excellent meal of sarma frio, pilav, and fresh squeezed orange juice. I’d have to say though that I prefer the Sergenian sarma and pilaf recipes (but I may be biased!) .

By the end of the meal I was stuffed, but I had to try some Baklava, so I ordered a piece for take away. Tasted great later that night!

Tuesday, January 15 – Buenos Aires

There was on and off rain today, so it was a good opportunity to hit a museum. And bonus! It was gratis Martes (free Tuesday) at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which is located fairly close to my apartment. It’s a wonderful collection, with works by many of the well know masters, and a nice Rodin display. I’ll post a couple pictures below, but to best appreciate the museum you should check out their web site (linked above).

Poor timing alert – their visiting exhibit at the moment is the works of JMW Turner, on loan from…The Tate Museum in London! Oh well.

A formal dinner was planned for this evening (more on that later), so after the museum I dropped by a place called La Cocina to pick up some of their empanadas (meat and vegetable-filled pastries) to take away and snack on. Empanadas are very popular here, and La Cocina is a favorite amongst the locals.

Regarding dinner, I’m ashamed to say I made a reservation for a Tango performance, which includes a meal. I usually abhor this touristy stuff, but felt obligated to attend while in Buenos Aires. And I was assured by my friend German at the front desk that this was a very authentic, local show. It should be noted that the package also included a hotel pickup and return. Well, after I waited, and waited, and waited 45 minutes in the lobby for the ride (maybe they were delayed due to rain-related traffic issues?), German received a text stating that they were having vehicle problems and would not be able to pick me up. So we have rescheduled for tomorrow night, and I have been assured that I will receive “special attention” while in attendance. I’ll let you know how it goes!

I’ve been asked to comment on safety and security concerns in each of the places I visit. I think this is a great idea! I’ll lead off by saying that, as most of you know, I’m a pretty boring guy. So I naturally tend to avoid the situations where a lot of the problems occur – doing stupid stuff, at stupid times of the night, in stupid locations. Most of it is common sense. Also, prior to traveling I’ll review the US State Department reports on each of the countries I visit. They provide a good safety analysis. In addition, I’m not flashy and try to blend in when walking around (I’ve had three locals so far stop me on the street and ask me questions!). Finally, pickpockets are the scourge of tourist and densely populated areas. I’ve been lucky so far in that I haven’t been a victim. I think one reason is that I usually walk around with my trusty Lands’ End canvas messenger bag hooked over my shoulder. I keep everything in there and out of my pockets. When over the shoulder it can’t be snatched, and the canvas is too thick to cut.

Regarding Buenos Aires specifically, I’ve felt completely safe here. I know there are a couple dodgy areas (that I read about and was told by the hotel staff), so I avoid them. Also, I see the foot patrol police out in force as I walk around the city. I’ll keep this feature going as I visit other areas on my trip. Thanks for the suggestion JKU!

Monday, January 14 – Buenos Aires

Today was another beautiful day for walking – partly cloudy with a high in the upper 70s. I ventured back to explore more of the city centre and also checked out the newer and more exclusive area by the waterfront called Puerto Madero.

The pictures below are from Plaza de Mayo in the city center. The plaza takes its name from the events of May 1810, which resulted in the first successful revolution in South America’s fight for independence from Spain.

Here are a couple pictures from the city centre in the vicinity of Plaza de Mayo…

The Puerto Madero Waterfront is a short walk from Plaza de Mayo. The ship in the picture is the Presidente Sarmiento. It was launched in 1897 as a training vessel for the Argentine Naval Academy. It is now a museum.

I also went on a tour of Teatro Colón today. It is a beautiful venue. I took a bunch of pictures, but they really don’t do it justice. I’ll post one though – this is an upper reception area and is of note because it was used for a dinner gathering at the G20 Summit held here at the end of last year.

OK, it’s meal time! As you can tell from my previous posts, and you’ll see here, I like frequenting little, out-of-the-way cafes. As opposed to the places in the tourist areas, they offer a nice local feel, good food, and reasonable prices (and have I mentioned that I’m cheap?!?).

So today I ordered the chicken risotto, totally ignorant of the fact that its similarity to the chicken with rice dish that I had a couple days ago would be uncanny! Doh! Oh well, it was very good, and as you’ll see, I received a surprise at the end of the meal!

Sunday, January 13 – Buenos Aires

It was raining this morning and into the early afternoon, so it turned into a quiet day. That was probably a good thing because I have to remind myself that this is an 11 week journey – not every day needs to consist of 25k steps!

I spent the morning finalizing this journal and getting it published, doing some trip planning and reading (a book about Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing excursion into the Amazon – appropriate!). I was originally scheduled to leave Buenos Aires on Wednesday but have decided to extend and will now depart Friday. (the beauty of not having an itinerary!) I like it here – the city, where I’m staying, and will take advantage of the great internet service to research and plan the next steps of the trip.

I did make it out for some roaming around this afternoon. It was fairly quiet on the streets, it being Sunday and many shops were closed. I ended up back at Teatro Colón and was going to take a tour, but they were booked up until late afternoon, so I bought a ticket for tomorrow. (After attempting to use my US credit card and being told by the ticket agent that my “PIN was blocked” I ended up forking over cash (ugh!). A subsequent call to the credit card company (via Skype using my apartment’s wifi) resulted in the representative informing me that the card was not blocked (huh?)) Point taken – backup cash and backup credit card.

Not a very photogenic day, but I did have another Armenian sighting. This looked like an interior design shop…

Finally, here’s a bonus pic from a couple days ago of The Recoleta Cultural Centre. It’s very close to the cemetery.

Welcome to My South American Travel Journal

My goal is to update this as often as internet connections allow. Starting out the posts will likely be pretty simple. Hopefully my skills will improve over time and the site will look a little more professional! I’m also thinking you’re going to want mostly pictures and less of my writing. Which is fine with me!

Thursday, January 10 – arrived Buenos Aires

Arrived at Ezeiza airport around 9am. The immigration line was massive. Took approximately 90 minutes to clear! Reminded me of entering Nepal, or maybe Sydney (haha)! For a city of nearly 3 million people, the international airport is badly in need of expansion.

Opted to take the bus (similar to a van galder) into the city center, then transferred to minibus for transport to my hotel/apartment. Cost was 12USD versus 40 for a taxi (I’m cheap, plus I like the local immersion). Total transit time (from Chuck’s generous pickup on High Point Rd to the hotel drop off): 26 hours.

I’m staying in the Recoleta area of the city. It’s near the city centre, and a great place for walking. The architecture and streets have a very Parisian style. I ventured out for a while today, but was pretty tired. No pictures unfortunately. Sorry! Definitely tomorrow!

Friday, January 11 – Buenos Aires

Today was a beautiful day – clear skies, low humidity and high of 75 degrees. Perfect for walking!

I visited La Recoleta Cemetery today. An amazing place – containing the vaults of the notables in Argentinian history. Here are some pictures…

There is a large Armenian population in Argentina/Buenos Aires – estimated at 100,000. I saw much evidence of that in my roaming the city today. I even came across an Armenian cafe, but unfortunately they close at 2pm on Friday. I’ll be back! (saw sarma on the menu posted in the window!)

Saturday, January 12 – Buenos Aires

Today was another beautiful day for walking! It was a little warmer than yesterday with a high around 80 degrees. I concentrated on the City Centre area of Buenos Aires.

I mentioned before how the city reminds me of Paris. Here are some examples of the architectural similarities I noticed…

Finally, I realized I hadn’t posted any pictures of my apartment, so here ya go…