Nov 23, Wednesday

Nov 23, Wednesday

Well I really made up for that lazy day I had on Tuesday.   At 8 am I went down to the lobby so that they could check to see if I could get on the city tour.  Done !  The bus would pick me up at 9, so I had a quick breakfast and got ready for the day.   It was a very slow start since they were still picking up passengers and there was a lot of traffic, but by 10 am we started the official tour.   There were no maps however so it was hard to figure out where we were.  Still, I got a lot of pictures despite the fact that it was basically a “drive-by”  tour of the various barrios of BA:  Centro, Recoleta, Palermo, Monserrat,  La Boca, San Telmo & Puerto Madero.  

 Old & new architecture throughout the city

   One of the museums I need to go back to

  Memorial to Eva Perron, who died of cancer at the age of only 33

  One of the downtown buildings

 Art on a highrise

During the 3 hours, we only got 3 stops.  One at the main historical square “Plaza de Mayo”:  just enough time to walk around the plaza, take pictures of the buildings, and go for a quick walk-about in the Cathedral. 

  Plaza de Mayo

  Casa Rosada, Government Building

  The Cathedral

  More buildings in the square

The second stop was at the baseball (soccer) stadium where no one was interested in paying extra to get a glimpse of the inside, but this was the mandatory “shopping” stop at the sports shop  {kind of like the Turkish carpet shop when you do a tour in Morocco, Greece or Turkey}.  

The third stop was the best one, in an area of Buenos Aires called “La Boca” (original port) in the “Caminito” streets, an artsy funky area known for its Tango cafés & bars and multi coloured buildings.  

Beautiful wall art.  The window helps to give perspective on the size of this work.

  One of the restaurants

  The streets of El Caminito

  More art on the streets

  The old port

  Buildings in the Puerto Madero area

  El puente de la mujer  (the Woman Bridge)

  Modern buildings and warehouses converted to shops and condos.  + yachts in the marina.

Got dropped off a few blocks from my hotel and the first thing I spotted at the first corner was a Starbucks.  Now I would prefer a Colombian coffee shop if I could find one, but Starbucks will do as a “Need-my-cafeine” replacement.   Had a quick bite with my large café latté and continued on my way.  I decided to walk past the Ibis Hotel and return to the Obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio. 

 Crossing Avenida 9 de Julio

This avenue is supposedly the widest one in the entire world.  From there I asked for directions to the nearest Tourist Information Kiosk, got a city map as well as a few brochures and began to re-orient myself.   Decided to take the Metro to visit one of the areas mentioned during the city tour:  The Japanese Gardens and the Rose Gardens in the Palermo area of BA.

The metro stop didn’t reach my destination, so I had quite a long walk to get there, past the zoo where I spotted a few animals & birds through the gates & foliage.    Walked through a huge park and had to ask for directions a few times since I couldn’t see any signs anywhere, but it was definitely worth the long walk.

  The street beside the zoo

  Giraffe peaking out from its enclosure

  Can't remember the name of these animals, but I have seen them before in Peru

  Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens

From there I needed to ask for directions to the Rose Gardens since it was just off my map !    The taxi driver I asked was very nice and pointed me in the right direction, with a warning that I should be careful of my camera since young people have a tendency to steal them and sell them for drug money.   “Gracias Señor !”   It was another long walk to the Rose Gardens and I finally realized that I had my leather soled black loafers on.  Fine for the city tour which was mostly on a bus, but not so good on gravel walks.  OUCH !  OUCH !  OUCH !   I swear I could feel every single pebble through the soles of my feet.  Walking to the rose gardens along the flowering jacaronda trees. 

The Rose Gardens

From there I needed to get walk to the zoo and walk back to the metro stop.  I had planned on visiting the Botanical Gardens that were beside the zoo, but from the glimpse I got of it, and the fact that my feet were incredibly sore, I decided to just catch the metro back to Avenina 9 de Julio and walk back to my hotel instead.   Spotted a small grocery store a few blocks from the Ibis, so I stopped to purchase a few bottles of water, a few bottles of juice, and a bottle of wine.   I really need to replace those liquids in my body.      ;-)   

I downed one entire bottle of water and one bottle of juice before taking my shower. 

The glass of wine was for dessert.

Nov 21, Monday & Nov 22, Tuesday

Nov 21, Monday & Nov 22, Tuesday

(PS,  I added photos of Bariloche in my previous post)

Nov 22, Tuesday

OK.  I have to admit this.  First day in Buenos Aires, and  I slept until 1:30 this afternoon.  Spent the rest of the day watching movies on TV.   I guess I needed the extra sleep.   Buenos Aires can wait until tomorrow.

Nov 21, Monday

There was rain and extremely strong winds all night, rattling the windows of my room.   The ash on the roof next door is clearly visible now.

The wind is still blowing very strong when I get to the bus station for the drive from Bariloche to Neuquen.   Although the sun was bright when we left, within a short time we drove into the worst of the storm.  I can understand now why some of the highways had to be closed during the past few days.

  Bariloche in the distance

  Just a few miles outside the city

  This is not a snow storm,  it's ash !

  Ash already on the ground

  Arizona like rock formations, seen through the ash fall

  The worst of the storm we drove through

  Finally clear skies half way through the drive to Neuquen

  Beautiful scenery just before reaching Neuquen

It is a 5 ½ hour ride on the bus and more than half of it is through ash fall and wind whipping up what is already on the ground.  

The land was fairly green as we drove out of Bariloche, but became arid once we got further away from the lakes.   Lush green only appears near water.    After we had driven out of the storm, there were vast open views of the land.

From the bus station in Neuquen, I grabbed a cab to the airport, not knowing whether I would be able to catch a flight to Buenos Aires or not.   Luck was with me yet again;  there were 4 flights out that afternoon and evening.  Although the LAN flight was full, I was able to purchase a ticket with Aero Argentina for a flight that left almost at the same time at 6:30.

Flight was uneventful and landed in Buenos Aires  at around 8:30.   I had not booked a room since I did not know whether I would be spending the night in Neuquen, or flying here, so when I left the airport by taxi, it was with fingers crossed that I would be able to get a room at the IBIS.   “Je suis Merdeuse !”   The taxi driver could not believe I was able to snag a room with no reservations.   And on top of that, they could accommodate with for one week!   I’m all set for Buenos Aires.

Nov 19, Saturday & Nov 20, Sunday

 Bariloche Main Square.   It's a ski town in the winter.

  Rare view of the snowy peaks

  Streets of Bariloche

 

 Restaurant where I ate this sinful raspberry tart !

Nov 19, Saturday  &  Nov 20, Sunday

Relaxing in Bariloche.   Lots of ash falling here and no point in going sight seeing.   Went out to book my bus ticket for Monday morning to Neuquen.  I’ll decide from there if I can fly elsewhere in Argentina, or if I have to continue by bus.

No wifi connection in my room; have to use lobby area.    Limited contact for the next few days.

 City street

  Visible ash under the eaves after the rain

   Windy morning the day I left