Boa Viagem - (Good Trip)
Buenos Aires via Dallas - March 2005

Carol and I were headed to Buenos Aires via Dallas and we had a brief rendezvous with Kate, Tom Pablo and Maggie in the DFW airport as they were on their way to Cancun.

We borrowed Kate's car from the airport parking lot and drove over to meet Jill then picked up Cara at her play school.

Kevin, Cara and Jill at lunch.

After lunch, Kevin showed us his office at Intermeta. This was a fun mini-visit then we had to return Kate's car and resume our wait at the airport.

American Airlines has one flight a day from Dallas to Buenos Aires and we were traveling standy status so there is always a question of whether there would be seats available for us. We felt lucky when our names were called after everyone else had boarded.

So the plane takes off and the pilot said we would arrive in about 10 hours and 30 minutes and almost immediately hit turbulence that was so strong the metal objects in the galley could be heard crashing about and some of the passengers were screaming. The woman seated next to Carol said she felt sick. I started digging through the seat back pocket for the air sickness bag but could not find it, perhaps another casualty of the airline cost reduction efforts. Carol tore off the plastic wrap on the pillow and gave that to her. I annouced in a fairly loud voice, "only 10 hours and 15 minutes more of this" and got enough of a laugh to calm some of the passengers down. In actuality, the turbulence lasted ony about an hour. We flew through the night sleeping badly and arrive in Buenos Aires in the early morning.

B.A. is a city of 13 million and is the capitol of Argentina.

One of the city's claims to fame is the 9 of July Avenue allegedly broad enough to be visible from space.

Our hotel was near Plaza de Mayo, the governmental center of the city. The pink house in the foreground is the equivalent of our White House.

Carol found a good looking 4 star hotel via the Internet and when we arrived, we were pleased to see the Nogaro was clean, comfortable and very well located.

We were a little concerned to see all the policemen with their water cannon truck parked in front of the hotel.

Later on we saw the political protesters marching and the reason for all the police.

Florida was a pedestrian only shopping street near our hotel. We saw numerous street performers like this harpest...

this mime...

and these tango dancers.

We showered and slept after our long flight then went out to meet Fernando Chirelli who had stayed at our house during the worst part of Argentines financial crisis of 2002. We walked around then caught a bus to Fernando's neighborhood of Palermo Hollywood to see his apartment and the Channel 13 TV station where he works the 9pm-6am shift as a reporter.

Dinner at 11pm per the Argentine custom.

On Sunday Fernando picked us up in his car and we drove out to his parents home.

The lunch started with some fruit, cold cuts, a drink and good cheer.

Soon we were overwhelmed with food as generous course after course appeared.

This is Plaza Dorrego on a quiet week day. (The following Sunday, Market Day, we returned to find the place jammed with vendors booths and shoppers.)

I looked at the bars while Carol looked at the numerous antique shops.

One of the antique shops had this old telephone and it reminded me of the earliest telephone that I can remember in Mom's home. You had to turn the crank to generate a signal to the operator who would ask you for the number you wanted. I recall it was on a party line and you had to listen for your own ring pattern before answering the phone. Of course it was possible to listen in on any of your neighbors calls.

A church

San Martin Cathedral

The changing of the guard at St. Martin's tomb.

Carol was priviledged to have studied under Jorge Luis Borges himself, the literary giant of Argentina, in the early 70's.

This looks like a mural on a church ceiling but it actually is in a shopping mall.

Another day, we visited the cemetary in Recoleta to see Eva Peron's tomb. Carol thought the tomb would be marked with signs.

Still looking...

We did find it at last.

Fernando Yrazu, (a good friend of Anne's at Northwestern) parents live in B.A. and they were very gracious to take us to dinner at the Clo Clo restaurant. We had a wonderful time with them and a terrific meal punctuated by the excitement of jet planes passing low overhead to land at the airport on the other side of the street! The gave us a nice picture book of Argentina in both Spanish and English.

Hiring a cab, we drove up to the community of El Tigre which is a jumping off point from the mainland to the maze of waterways in the delta of the Rio de La Plata in the background of this aerial view.

These wonderful wooden boats make regular trips through the delta not only for sightseeing tourists but also for delivering packages, hauling school children from their delta homes to town, etc.

Inside is strictly bench seating with all the windows up to let in the breeze.

I have no idea how big the fleet is but here are four boats in just one location. The captain would maneuver the back of the boat up to the dock to allow passengers to board or exit.

The buildings were up on stilts to protect against flooding.

We got off the boat to have lunch at El Toro restaurant. Unfortunately this verdant setting was swarming with mosquitoes.

Another day we went to the harbor and boarded the Buquebus to cross the Rio de La Plata to Uruguay. The river mouth was perhaps 20 or 30 miles wide and we were out of sight of land for awhile.

We arrived at the small city of Colonia del Sacramento and delighted at the clean air, cobblestone streets and tranquility.

A scenic alley

Sycamore shaded street.

A curious old car.

We saw many old cars still in service.

This old house is now preserved as a museum.

Kitchen in the old house.

I am in the fossil museum with the remains of a glyptodont in the background.

I had never heard of a glyptodont before and was surprised that this National Geographic article said they used to range across the southern U.S.

This was one of the displays at the museum. Apparently this cannon killed at both ends!

All the walking made us weary and we were glad to find rest, shade and lunch at the yacht club.

Returning to Buenos Aires harbor in late afternoon.

Modern buildings in Puerto Madero.

Scott and Marccus were able to fly from Recife, Brazil to visit on our last weekend in B.A. We enjoyed a drink and some hors d'overs in our hotel room before heading out for the typical late evening dinner.

Scott and Marccus are both vegetarians and did not enjoy beef, the specialty of Argentina.

We walked through Plaza San Martin and reveled at the lovely chorisia speciosa blooms. Carol said they were called palo borracho in Spanish.

This is a pretty big fig tree!

Scott treated us to a selection of wines and a nice lunch at Champs Elysees restaurant in Recoleta.

Tango was born in Argentina. Earlier in the week, Carol and I had gone to the El Querandi tango supper club at the suggestion of a friend. We had dinner at 10pm then the show lasted to midnight.

While Scott and Marccus were visiting, we took them to the El Viejo Almacen for tango.

We had dinner on the second floor then went down to the show.

Filming was not permitted but that didn't stop Carol. The music was great, a piano, bass, two concertinas and two violins.

Carol and I heard noises outside our hotel window and found this painter at work. In the enlargement, you can see he has a block and tackle hooked to the top of the wall. He would paint all he could reach then untie his rope and let himself down a few more yards. Wonder what OHSA would say about this?

On Sunday, Plaza Dorrego is now jam packed with vendors booths.

Later we had lunch at the La Pergola de San Telmo restaurant overlooking the plaza. We hurried back to the hotel so Scott and Marccus could get their bags and head for the airport. Due to the distances involved, it may be a long time before we see each other again.

Our last steak dinner in Buenos Aires was accompanied by this boy on his accordian. We had a fantastic trip thanks to Kate and her AA privledges!