¡Buenos Aires!

Wed 10. Nov
Buenos Aires, Argentina...

With the rhythm von Santa Maria de Buen Ayres (Gotan Project) in my head (and my earphones) I came into this 13 000 000 inhabitants city I was dreaming of. Chaotic, great, with some slums near the bus station where we have arrived safely. We means: me, my backpack and small travelling family, too (the Angel, Brasilian chica and Zebra). By metro to San Telmo to hostel Tango City, easy. To get stuck in between floors in hostel in a stupid elevator, easy, too...  

The cama, how comfortable - almost the whole 20 hours ride from Puerto Iguazú to BA I have slept like a baby

slowly, but surely... Buenos Aires!

After a short shower I took a short walk and a dinner in San Telmo, artistic part of the town, with beautiful buildings which were inhabited once by 1870 by the higher layers of society but then left after several epidemies. Great houses vere divided into small flats for immigrants. So San Telmo turned into more alternative neighbourhood with galleries and ateliers, now with more and more boutiques and restaurants. Here the Tango was born and in Plaza Dorrego lovely tango shows are still present.

en la Plaza Dorrego

Thu 11. Nov

Shortly after a very modest breakfast in my hostel (quite dry breads, Broetchen) me and my new friend from Berlin went to barrio Boca - a poor part of town next to the harbour, boca, mounth, where the Rìo Riachuelo opens into the old harbour. Years ago it was mainly inhabited by workers. The artistic spirit of Boca you can see mainly in Caminito street.

Just only a few streets in Boca are safe (others are suspiciously empty as we have seen) - when I was walking with my friend a policeman stopped us and strongly recommended to us a change of our walk direction - and sent us to this small touristic corner of Boca... It is very picturesque and crazy place, full of tourists, sure, but special. Cafés with live tango shows, music, artists (or people pretending to be), thievs, school children, men trying to get you in one of the restaurant tempting with special offers just and only for you - and even: for you everything free, yes, sure... - and Diego Maradona with whom you can have a picture, for some pesos of course. Incredibile, but the guy was really looking like Maradona itself! You can pose as well with one of tango dancers to have a hot shot pretending to be a professional in this passionate dance. In one bar with a great band with live music I had opportunity to take my first lessions in tango, or maybe the tango dancer had just opportunity to make me dance as he wants. And despìte maybe 15 cm difference (guess who was taller...) it did work out somehow.

...and here as it should look like!

Boca is an exciting place but indeed very dangerous. While we were sitting and having a coffee, there was a short street fight between one guy trying to put tourists in one of the restaurants and... one tourists... It was horrible, the local guy beside hiting the tourist was pulling the tourist even on his small backpack, the wife of the tourist was going crazy, one woman tried to help the victim, everybody was gazing, nobody moved a single finger to stop this fight (I did not as well, sure), and the band started just to play the music a bit louder, show must go on. That`s it. After few minutes a policeman came, but the fight was over. I have seen that this local guy was following a bit the tourist. A but later I saw the agressor standing again on the same street in the same place, others were checking his face for injuries...

Both of us had different plans so we splitted. I went to the center and my friend wanted to visit museum of the art. She did not, it was closed. She wanted to leave for a bus stop and in this moment two teenagers attacked her and tried to steal her backpack... Again everybody was gazing but nobody moved... She was screaming and had a great luck that one policeman immediately came - so nothing really happened and this guys did not managed neither to hurt her nor to steal anything... In such moments you really understand, that you have nothing in your hands...

Anyway, I feel very good in Buenos Aires. At the evening I never have any bag or so with me and thats more less fine. I feel here more secure here than in Rio de Janeiro or in Salvador. Even if in the early evening the cartoneros are hatching out of their hidden places and collect cartons and any materials, sorting them out of rubbish to sell them later. In the evening the rubbish is always lying everywhere because people collect stuff for selling or... they search for food. You see the whole families falling asleep lying on one carton on the pavement (you feel the wind of a third world; Lonely Planet, 2007)... Seeing a homeless person lying on a very old materace, doing crosswords or reading a newspaper show you how much they still try to have normal lives. Many people of a middle class have lost during the crisis everything so that now they are forced to live on the streets with their whole families.

Nevertheless, I have felt in love with this wonderful city. People are very nice and helpful, architecture is just great and impressive, from old kind of colonial style to the very modern skyscrapers in Puerto Madero.

Afternoon I have spent in the city microcentro and walking in the wonderful and very atmospheric Cementerio de la Recoleta, where e.g. Evita was buried. Many alive people would wish they can live in such beautiful "accomodations" as here buried ones... In the late afternoon sun with just a few tourist this place seemed to be magic.

In the evening me and my "Berliner" friend met my amigas from Buenos Aires whom I have met in Rio de Janeiro before. We went to one of the most noble locals in the city in Puerto Madero, the hafen City of Buenos Aires... El Clan. Great place. We have immediately noticed thet the place was full of very beautiful women, really only bbeautiful women and maybe few guys. Why? Because (hm, now forget any political corectness, ròwnouprawnienie or Gerechtigkeit...) the beautis were allowed at this day to have an entrance for free... to chase the guys most probably. We had not only a free entrance but a whole extraordinary and very elegant dinner gratis, thank to my argentinian friends (chicas meravilliosas!!!). Good that I have put "small black" into my backpack, otherwise it would be very peinlich. Even if I had to combine it with my Teva-hiking sandals, immerhin black sandals with no shameful Jack Wolfskin logo ;). The dinner was great, followed by dancing in San Telmo.

Fri 12 Nov

Lazy morning, empanadas con carne and yogur natural in the sun at the campus of Universidad Catolica Argentina.

from the left: empanada, ampanada, yogur and spork (=spoon+fork)

Sun and heat -  I have to tank it before I leave to Patagonia. Now it is sure, the next stop will be Puerto Piramides at peninsula Valdes, whales please wait for me, I am coming soon!

Casa Rosada, Congresso. Once again -  Buenos Aires is a wonderful city, I like it so much and I could live here at least for some time, no doubt.

Sat 13 Nov

Time to update my blog and enjoy the sun in one of parks in Recoleta. At the entrance to Cementerio you see an enormous ombú-tree.

The whole green comes from just one tree

Great sculpture, the Flower on Plaza Nationes Unidas which can be opened or closed depending on the daytime... Visit in Museo de Belle Artes. Hippie mercador next to the Cementerio de la Recoleta.

¡Me gustan las vacationes, me gusta el sol, me gusta viajar, me gusta aquí!

I am so happy that I will spend here the next two days. If you wanna feel in love, just come to Buenos Aires