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,
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