Buenos Aires : A great day cycling around BA winding in and out of crazy cyclists ably explained by a lovely student with a passion for politics and injustice of which Argentina has suffered more than most . He gave a good story about their most troubled of heroines Eva Peron . 26 km flew by in a flash . Topped off with a trip to a top ranking beer hall .The last picture is of Argentina’s broken railway which Eva Peron nationalised from the British. My great Uncle Dick helped build them
Published by culmstock
South America 
Day 16: Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is fantastic!!! But I’ll back up a little.
Our last morning in Uruguay was a bit boring. We drove through the vineyards north of Montevideo looking for wine tasting which was closed. The countryside away from the main roads was pretty but there’s no more to add. The small towns were quiet and functional. Actually we tried to buy a coffee at 11 am and could only find whisky bars open. We past road signs for ‘Fray Bentos’! I never knew it was a town in Uruguay. The meat produced here was loaded onto the merchant ships to help feed Britain during the war. It became a huge source of income for Uruguay. Finally we returned the car and caught a ferry to Buenos Aires.
Hurray!!!!!
The change was immediate and expansive. It’s a bustling city like any busy European capital. It has shining new office blocks reaching high into the sky, but they had also started renovating the old red brick dock side buildings, converting them into shops and hotels. All those red bricks came from Wales!! We were later to learn that the government had put a ban on demolishing the old colonial buildings to preserve them for the future so that Buenos Aires would always be beautiful…. well, for as long as the current administration survives.
Our Airbnb apartment is perfect. It’s a cool little self contained flat with huge windows in a quiet, safe neighbourhood. Everything we need is within a block from our building. We are here for 3 nights. Great!
LikeLike
Days 17-18
Neil does have his moments of brilliance. He’d booked us on an all-day guided cycle tour around the city, and we had one of the best days so far. Our guide, Santiago, was young, charismatic and full of knowledge about Argentina’s history. Our fellow cyclists were a very friendly young man from NZ and a British couple exactly our age. The coincidences grew as we discovered he was a newly retired doctor and she had studied maths at university like me! We all got on brilliantly and had a fantastic day cycling the back streets of Buenos Aires and exploring all kinds of suburbs.
First Santiago led us to Telmo, an area which had been the old docks quarter full of poverty, violence and prostitution. Now the old corrugated-iron buildings have been renovated and colourfully painted with wacky cartoon characters hanging out of windows like the prostitutes of old. Now the area is full of arty shops and cafes with restaurants employing tango dancers to dance outside and lure you in. It was such a fun, lively and colourful place.
Next, Santiago cycled us to a huge wall painted to show the mothers of the 8000+ people who disappeared in the 70s and 80s. The corrupt governments had killed so many people and banned demonstrations. These mothers would wear an old white nappy as a headscarf to represent her lost child. They stood strong together, but their children are lost forever. Some pregnant women were taken and killed after giving birth. No one knew what became of the babies, but now some grandparents are using DNA testing to try to find them. This past is all too recent, yet here we are enjoying the city.
Santiago described the football religion and how generations would follow the same team and their children would have to marry supporters of the same team. He showed us the Boca stadium which had produced Maradona, Messi and many other world famous footballers. Boca was originally a term of abuse, given to them by the Patrician team called ‘the River Plate’. It meant ‘shit shovelers’, but the supporters adopted it as a name they became proud of, due to its rich football heritage. Boys in the area are encouraged to play football to help them move out of poverty, and the girls are encouraged to become beautiful and sexy to marry these famous footballers. Maradona is God!
We cycled on to an ecological park on the banks of the river Plate. Vast amounts of rubble, created from the massive riverside building projects, had been dumped into the river creating new waste land. Trees and shrubs grew and many of the displaced wild life and birds migrated there. A few years ago the government decided to turn it into an ecological park with lawns, paths through the trees and river side picnic areas. It’s a tranquil space just minutes away from the bustling offices.
Santiago weaved our way down cycle lanes, crossing busy roads with ease as we all followed single file. We were like sponges, absorbing his wealth of knowledge of this turbulent country. The politics have always been a bit ‘dodgy’ as he called it. Governments have been cruel and corrupt for years and the economy has been a complete disaster leaving many without pensions or homes. Millions have lost everything. But despite the recent presidential resignation, Argentina is moving forward and is trying to create a better place. The economy is arguably stabilising and Buenos Aires has become a beautiful city with long open boulevards, street cafes, tango dancers, and we found the people friendly. They have a reputation for being rude and aggressive so maybe we were lucky. We liked all those we met.
We cycled on to see Eva Peron’s grave. Neil and I had already seen a documentary about her life, and Santiago told us the same facts but with a different slant. She was a bit of a Robin Hood. She’d bully and blackmail the rich to raise funds to provide housing for the poor. The Argentinian upper classes never accepted her in to their circles due to her humble illegitimate birth. She had slept her way to the top and had made many enemies along the way. But as well as the conspiracies and deception she employed, she also did a lot of good for the working classes providing homes and jobs for them. She’s remembered as a saint by many and is still hated by others.
The Peron politics are worth a read. His rise to power, then hers, her husband’s presidency and her vice presidency, her death at 33 and her husband’s subsequent fall, her body being embalmed and sent to Italy then returned to BA. There’s so much more.
Her final grave is in the crypt of her rich biological father’s family in the most expensive and impressive graveyard in the world. The huge structures were spooky. It was like a city of crypts. Some were tall solid granite structures housing the many coffins. Others were in disrepair and we could see the decaying dusty coffins inside. Just the upkeep on a new plot costs $20000 a year. Mad! But such is the wealth of the few in this extravagant country.
We left Santiago and our bikes (one named DR DR so a photo with Neil and Phil was a must) and went on to a beer tasting bar. They had about 50 beers! Afterwards we all went our own ways. Neil and I found a busy local restaurant to eat, then walked an hour and a half home. This is how safe we felt.
The next day we explored more of the city and art galleries, then chilled out in the late afternoon and met up with Helen and Phil for an evening meal. They were about to fly to Ushuaia and on to Antarctica for a cruise and we talked about our campervan plans. I’m sure we’ll meet than again some time.
We walked the 45mins home along busy streets passing humming cafes. The hot humid dense air was brewing a magnificent storm as lightening streaked through the threatening skies. We arrived home to witness nature’s spectacle of crashing thunder and lashing rain. We skipped the rooftop swim.
LikeLike
Ceri and Neil – thanks for the blog. Very well written and discriptive. You’re obviously having a great time. So well done – I am so happy for you. Have read the blog with interest and envy at the pictures. Looking forward to your next post. Keep in touch – all our love David and Debbie xxx
LikeLike