Jim & Barbara Burton Travel: Buenos Aires Part 2

Buenos Aires Part 2

After returning from Iguazu Falls our last week was spent catching up with unvisited areas and museums.

We continued to walk around the city visiting The Spanish Memorial and Florida Street which is pedestrian only. It is full of retail shops and people shouting Cambio. Here you can change money on the street at a much better rate than the banks. However, you also run the risk of being given counterfeit bills.

Our next excursion was to San Telmo, a rather vibrant Bohemian area, where we saw very different architecture and Tango dancing in the Plaza.

We stayed in on New Years Eve and enjoyed a bottle of Champagne, on the roof terrace, which was a gift from the Poetry Building. They were all such nice people and looked after us royally.

After five attempts to visit the Botanical Gardens we gave up as there was a problem with the Agua (water) but did visit the Eva Peron Museum. This was a beautiful Museum depicting her life and is housed in a mansion that she bought originally for the rescue of needy women and their children. Due to political issues this house was expropriated and closed. After another change of Government it was reinstated as a Museum, in memorial to Eva Peron who died of cancer at just 33 years of age.

Our next trip was to the Tigre River a very famous river in Argentina. We first went to St Isidro a beautiful church on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Then we travelled on to the Tigre, stopping at The Puerto de Frutos, which was originally a fruit port, but due to flooding in the Delta fruit growing was not a viable occupation. It is now an artisan market for products such as wood crafts and baskets etc.

The Tigre was named from jaguars that were hunted there, on occasions, in its early years. The area was first settled by Europeans who came to farm the land. Tigre is still an important timber processing port. Antique shops, riverside restaurants and pubs and its renowned natural beauty make Tigre a popular tourist destination. Rowing was introduced by the British and a vibrant rowing club still remains. The Tigre is at the beginning of the Parana Delta and there are many summer homes here which are only accessible by river. The local population travel everywhere by boat or water taxi including the school children and their teachers. The current on the river is also very strong. We had a wonderful day here and enjoyed the company of Angela our new friend who is a university professor from Bogota, Columbia.

Our last trip was to the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, The Opera House. It was designed in the European style and considered to be one of the five best acoustical venues in the world. It is certainly one of the most beautiful and architecturally outstanding. Unfortunately there were no productions ongoing while we were there.

Just a few more pieces of art or architecture and it was a sad goodbye to our friends at The Poetry Building in Recoleta who looked after us so well. Thank you Yanina, Irina, Ken & Rocia.....................