Tigre / Parana River

Day 9, 27 de Deciembre Tigre / Rio Paraná




Saturday AM early we took our first taxi ride to meet Sebastian, a tour guide recommended by the academia. Our plan was to visit the town of Tigre and see some of the River Paraná. Sebastian offers alternative tours to areas that still have elements of what he claims are old Argentina. He will arrange a one day tour in the vicinity of Buenos Aires or a week or more to the Andes, Patagonia or the northwest.
Sebastian’s website: www.lalunita.com.ar tells his company’s story.
Sebastian left a message for us to meet him at 8:00 A.M. at a subway entrance in another barrio some distance from ours and that was the reason for the taxi. He was there when we arrived and explained to us that we needed to wait for Sophie, a Belgian girl working at a restaurant in a hostel in Barrio San Telmo. 20 minutes after or meeting time, Sebastian called Sophie on his cell phone. After hanging up, he explained to us that Sophie is an agent for his tour company to the hostel guests and that she will accompany us so that she knows what she is representing. He also explained his frustration at having to employ “young people” because they tend to party and can be unreliable. A cab finally arrived with Sophie in the back seat. Sophie didn't look well. Sebastian conferred with the driver and pulled out his wallet. Turns out Sophie was not only late but couldn’t find her wallet. Once things were squared away, out pops Sophie and we began an 8 or 10 block walk to the train station.
Once at the station, Sebastian purchased tickets for the 4 of us and 10 minutes later we were on the train, headed north out of town. Sophie promptly went to sleep on the floor of the train. 40 minutes later we were at the end of the line in the town of Tigre, a port city of the Rio Plata. See the LOCATION link below for a Google map of the area. The town is miles east of the Atlantic Ocean but is a deep water port. It is also the beginning of a network of water taxis that provide transportation to communities and individual houses on all of the various tributaries that feed the river mouth. Below are the lanchas tied up side to side and they have destinations all over the river system. There must have 50 or more lanchas. They are long and narrow, more than 60’ in length with a 12’ or so beam and a single diesel engine.

Sebastian bought tickets for what we thought were all 4 of us. He gave each of us a ticket, and said that he was headed back to B.A. The three of boarded along with 30 or more other people and off we went. The pilot is a master with the boat, stopping and turning at various docks along the way. People got off and on at private and public docks. Many appeared to be tourists like us and others looked like Porteños headed to weekend cottages. This is the only transportation to these properties.  There were a few indios like the young lady and child below:

By now, Sophie had come around and was in full song …..for the balance of the day. Here’s a picture of her and Chris:

An hour or so later, the lancha dropped us off at Bonanza, a home built in 1898. They had coffee set up for us on the landing. They offer canoeing, horseback riding and hiking along the delta. Their web site is: www.lalunita.com.ar  After canoeing we returned for a barbeque of Argentine beef with salad and we all relaxed. We got to know Sophie, she is a lovely Belgian fluent in French, English and Spanish. She is traveling for several months, leaving tomorrow for Brazil for a 3 month stay. She works at each stop as a waitress or whatever. She had a boyfriend in Spain for a bit, an Argentine boy friend for a bit and is now traveling alone. All of this and she is 22 years old. Amazing young lady and great conversationalist in any language. Here’s Chris and Sophie at lunch and Alan going for a swim in the Paraná River. Yes, it’s brown. Tons of sediment as it flows south from the Andes. No, so far I haven’t shown any signs of being sick. So far.

Next we were off on a walkabout with our guide.  The mosquitos were heavy and we whipped ourselves with branches to keep them at bay.  Guide spoke English well and explained his area was settled by mostly German, U.K. and Italian immigrants in the late 1800’s. They built dikes, dried large wetland areas and planted fruit tree orchards with large processing plants. Later competition from Chile and political decisions put an end to their market and the area slowly became a collection of second homes for Porteños escaping the B.A summer heat.

On the way back along the river we saw the local market boat that calls at each dock 3 times a week. It doesn’t show in the picture very well but it had everything that you’d expect at the corner market.

We passed a grove of gardenia bushes being grown for the cut flower market. Great smells. There were also hydrangea bushes blooming like crazy.

Lots of color on the river.  Flora and fauna.  Don't know where this guy was heading but he was using a shovel for a paddle

We headed back down river about 6:30 P.M., boarded the train back to B.A. at 8:00 and arrived at 9:00. Hungry we walked and cabbed to Barrio Recoleta for a late dinner. Not for Porteños. They were still arriving at our restaurant for dinner when we left to ride the bus home at 12:30 A.M. When do these folks sleep?
Ciao, Alan & Chris

Barrio San Telmo Sunday 28 Deciember

Domingo 28 Deciembre Barrio San Telmo




We slept in Sunday AM after last night’s late dinner late….and I mean late. We decided to head for Barrio San Telmo, Between our Barrio Barracas and Barrio Monserrat where our school is located. Out the door by 11:00 AM and we rode the bus within a three block walk to Avenida Defensa where the street is closed of for 8 or 10 blocks. Lots of tourists and Porteños (Buenos Aires Residents), jugglers, street musicians, mime artists and Tango dancers all performing on a narrow cobblestone street lined with ornate buildings constructed in the late 1800’s. Amazing show and great talent. Below is a picture of Defensa on Sunday and Monday when it’s fairly empty.

Below is a mime that had the look of a frantic Porteño commuter.

                                  He stood like this forever until someone dropped money in his cup.

In the midst of all of this talent was my personal favorite, 2 blocks of street torn up for reconstruction. You can see the top of the water main, cast iron and maybe 30” in diameter with a foot of cover at the most. Lots of the services had been renewed, they are yellow plastic. Like most Latin countries, they don’t have main line pressure in the houses. Each service fills individual storage tanks on top of each building and the interior plumbing has static pressure according to how high each tank is. I think everybody drinks bottled water.

As we walked back home, this drum group walked slowly down the street with quite a following. Wish I would have filmed it a bit more.

Each side street in San Telmo has it’s own flavor. I don’t remember the street, but there were several cabarets in one area, most on the second floor with narrow winding stairs. A fire marshals nightmare. We saw the following Tango Show. Great stuff.

Back home to do our homework for Monday morning.  Click on the LOCATION link below.



Ciao

Day 7, Christmas Day

Day 7 25 de Deciembre, Navidad

Up about 10:30 on Christmas morning and it’s already warm outside. Liliana was up talking with Juan at the dining room table. We visited for a bit, said goodbyes to Juan and his daughter Laura, went down to the street and got on bus #17 headed to the Recoleta Cemetery. We picked the correct bus but got in the wrong direction……again.

2 hours later, we had regrouped, found our way back home after seeing lots of the southern area of Buenos Aires, and got back on the correct northbound bus to Barrio Recoleta. Easy, no?

The Barrio (neighborhood) developed as a haven for the well to do from the yellow fever epidemic of 1871. Here’s a link to a history of that event.

http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/genealogy/yfever/index.html



The Recoleta Cemetery is famous for not only its age but also for the grandeur (extravagance?) of the family crypts. It is set up like a miniature city with beautifully constructed crypts of stone with iron or wooden doors. You can see in most of them and they all have several lower levels for internment of family members over time. The degree of ornateness is a function of community status and wealth. A plaque on the outside listed name, dates, profession and other info. Crypts were dated from the mid 1800’s up to last year.



Here is a view from an upper window of the church next door.

Below is  Alan wondering among the alleyways. It isn’t too difficult to get disoriented. Even for us.

Here are a couple of pictures of the interior of 2 crypts.

Alan at the tomb of Eva Peron (Evita) Yes, there was a small line for pictures.

Back on the bus to our barrio and a late dinner at the restaurant across the street. Argentine beef is great. All grass fed and there are no feed lots to pour fat into the cattle prior to their appointment with the abbotoire. Back home to bed, school tomorrow, Friday,

Day 6 & 7 24 & 25 Deciembre, 2008

After finishing class on Wednesday 24/12, the school held a simple Feliz Navidad party for staff and students. A bottle or two of bubbly, small gifts and many laughs , in Spanish of course. Great people, staff & students alike. Pictures below of some of the staff, our professora is on the right hoisting her glass.

After the party, back on the bus with the rest of Buenos Aires, headed for home. Our bus stop is across the Plaza de Mayo from the Casa Rojado, home of Argentina’s beloved (not) Presidenta Christina Kirchener Yes, it’s pink.

Most shops are shuttered by noon for the holiday.. In preparation for the Christmas Eve party with Liliana’s family, we took a long siesta. After staying up until midnight every night, walking everywhere, dealing with the bus rides and communicating (or not) constantly in Spanish, we’re exhausted every afternoon.

Guests started arriving by 9:00 P.M. Both of Liliana’s daughters with spouses and baby, and old family friends. They were all as gracious as Liliana and the daughter of her best friend spoke perfect English. Dinner was served around 10:30 P.M. with liters of Quilme Lager and Argentine Malbec wine. I remembered that Chilean wine was well received everywhere else, but not in Argentina. Ask any Argentine, they’re very clear about where the best wine comes from and it isn’t Chile..

About 11:45 P.M., champagne glasses were set out but not filled until a couple minutes to midnight. At midnight, the toasting began. Outside sounded and looked like World War III. The entire skyline was filled with skyrockets and there were firecrackers going off in the streets….big firecrackers more like military ordinance. Liliana’s 5th floor small balcony has an unobstructed view to the east and there were skyrockets as far as you could see in all directions. Meanwhile back in the apartment, the toasting continued , hugging , kissing and mucho tears. Turns out that Liliana’s friend of 40 years, Juan had just lost his wife December 10th, and this was his first Christmas without her in 40 years. She was also Liliana’s best friend, their children had grown up together, etc. I’m guessing that Liliana probably told us earlier in the week, but we failed to understand. Here’s a picture of family and friends about 1:00 A.M. Juan is the gentleman on the left. He is as wonderful a man as he appears.

About 2:00 the party broke up, the younger ones left and the remaining viejos cleaned up the living room and continued to visit. Juan and his daughter stayed over in the living room , which was a good thing.



Click on “LOCATION “ below for a Google Maps view of the school.



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Buenos Aires & School

Day 3 & 4 21 & 22 de Deciembre




Up early Sunday A.M for a van ride to Santiago Airport. On the LAN Chile jet for a 2 Hr flight to Buenos Aires. After this trip, we’d go anywhere on LAN Chile. Clean modern aircraft, smiling helpful flight attendants and delicious meals to boot. Just like the old days.

Landed in Buenos Aires at 11:30 and Chris had arranged to have us picked which was great. The cab driver hit 130 Km/Hr on the freeway into town in light rain. He dropped us off at our home stay apartment in Barrio Barranca. Click on the location link below to see the location in Google Maps. We rang the bell and down from the 5th floor comes lilliana, our hostess.

A single women “our age” she and Chris hit it off right away. Lilliana has been hosting students from the language school since last October and we’re number 4. From what I’ve read, Liliana’s situation is similar to many middle class Argentines, they live a comfortable life but there isn’t any extra, When she goes to the store she makes a list of the necessities and makes no impulse buys. She has a 5 year old Peugeot sedan that she keeps in a secure garage in the next block. Like many Argentines, she is from Italian immigrant grandparents. She is full of life, uses her hands and eyes when she talks; laughs a lot, and lets people know what’s on her mind as do most people in Buenos Aires. Vastly different from Santiago. Here’s Lillian helping Chris with her school work.

Lillian speaks no English, but she is beginning to pick up words from her student guests. I’m writing this on 23 December and she has invited us to join her and her family for dinner tomorrow, Christmas Eve. We accepted hoping that she was really as happy about having us as she seemed. She has 2 daughters and one son, all with spouses and kids. There will be several other of her friends here, about 20 + people. As is the custom here, the party starts at 10:00 PM, dinner at midnight and they drink a toast to the baby Jesus at 2:00 A.M.

We get up at 7:00 AM, toast, cereal, yogurt and coffee and head out to catch the bus for a 20 minute ride to school. Just the two of us and 4 or 5 million BA residents going somewhere, all apparently at the same time. The buses, and there’s millions of them, are packed tight….really tight and this from someone who lived on a submarine for 2 years. You start barely inside the front door and do your best to migrate towards the rear exit as the bus travels along streets with signs that you can’t see. I carry a piece of paper with the school address on it and ask for help from others.which seems to work. Here’s Chris headed in the door once found it. No signs just numbers. I’m sure there must be some sort of sign ordinance.

The school is well organized and on the 4th.floor of one of the very old and ornate building in the old downtown. It’s one block from the main square surrounded by huge ornate European influenced government buildings. We’re at the upper age range of the students, most being in their 20, an equal mix of Germans, Swiss, Kiwis and Aussies. We’re the only folks from the U.S. at the moment..

Toured another portion of Barrio Barranca this afternoon. Waves of mostly Italian, French and British Isles immigrant families have lived in these buildings which shows in the architecture. MariBell, a volunteer at the school gave us the walking tour. Here’s MariBell at the end of the tour and the front of one of the houses.

All for now.

Ciao  and   Merry Christmas , Alan  and   Chris

Day 1&2 12/19&21 – Arrived in Santiago, Chile after an all night 11 hour flight from LAX. Chris had booked a room for two nights in the Orly Hotel in the Providencia District of downtown Santiago. After the flight we paid our $131.00 “Reciprocity Fee” to customs, had our passports stamped and were on our way to a shower and midmorning nap.


Recharged in the afternoon, we had lunch and went for a long walk (really long) to check the Providencia area. Santiago is a very clean and up to date town. As in most of Latin America, there are plenty of buses but in Santiago we saw only new or nearly new buses. Nothing spewing black diesel smoke with lots of exhaust noise (a small disappointment for me).

The main freeway into town from the airport is underground through the center of town as is a very clean subway system. Both run parallel to the Rio Mapucho and are covered over with a long (several miles) public park. Running and bike paths and lots of public art. All

So much construction in the city (that may stop because of the economy downturn). It is a city being reborn as modern and attractive. Amazing how much transportation, including parking, is underground. throughout We were told that even though the parks are beautiful, there are mixed feelings as they were developed by the Pinochet gov’t, which apparently was not very sensitive to project detractors or private property rights. I always thought conservative governments were all about private property rights but maybe like the counterclockwise whirlpool when you flush the toilet in the southern hemisphere, those types of things are different here.

As in many cities, there are bands of homeless dogs around the streets of Santiago seem to have staked their area of the street- same ones in the same places each day. They cross busy streets with the lights and are very streetwise. They are unnerving in packs, but alone some are so eager just for simple attention- they seem to have been someone’s pet sometime.

The river has a huge bed but is fairly low because it’s the dry season. We both noticed that the water is fast running as the entire city is built on a tilted plane that receives snowmelt from the west slope of the Andes. We couldn’t see the Andes from Santiago because of the smog. Maybe those buses aren’t so clean after all. Or maybe it’s just the 6 million people that live in the city .

We walked all afternoon and ended up in the Bellavista neighborhood for dinner at one of dozens sidewalk cafes after riding the funicular to the top of Cerro San Cristobal. Beautiful, somewhat hazy views of the city and a slow but exciting ride back down. . Argentine sirloin steak for dinner and we split 2 bottles of Schop Beer. We took the bus back to our hotel, missed our stop, and thought we’d just stay on the bus until it looped back. (my idea). Took 2 hours to get back.

Saturday we took an escorted tour with another couple to the Pacific coast and the cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Beautiful weather and the crowds hadn’t arrived yet. The Argentines come in January and the Chileans come in February. More on that later. The second photo is of one of the many hillside houses left from when the English occupied this part of Chile in the late 1800’s.

The third photo is supposedly the only carving removed from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the early 1900’s. It’s in front of a museum in Vina del Mar.
Click on the location ink below for a Google Map