Monday 19th November
After flying from Birmingham to Amsterdam we had a brisk 30 minute yomp between gates before boarding the next plane for a further 13 hour flight. We arrived in Buenos Aires at 6.45 am. The flight had been fairly average with dreary food and good films, but sleep was hard to come by - mainly due to the fidgeting of the sprawling whale of a man sitting next to us in the window seat...
We arrived and gritted our teeth as we waited while the entire plane full of passengers seemed to have their passports minutely examined by two bored looking passport control officers. Having painstaking filled out a bewilderingly worded customs form on the plane, we were slightly confused when they just waved it away and would not look at it.
Annoyingly the North face ‘Rolling thunder” bag on the luggage carousel that looked identical to ours, also bore a red luggage label in the name of Judith Pauwelsen... After much discussion with the baggage assistance staff, we described what had happened and tried to make arrangements for the guilty party to send ours back to our hotel via a taxi.
Meanwhile, we were greeted in arrivals by the charming Natalia - our guide for the next few days. We drove to Hotel Krista in the Palermo Hollywood district. The driver, Carlos, was a tall charming man in a crisp white shirt who would not have looked out of place behind a solicitors desk. Whilst he practiced his perfect “Good morning Sir / Madam, pleased to met you”. We responded by practising our Spanish “Buenos Dias Senor. Encantada!” Meanwhile Natalia set about retrieving our suitcase with a determination which left us in no doubt that it would be returned pronto!
As so often seems to be the case with these South American hotels there was no flashy front entrance - just a large oak door set into a wall in a side street. Inside, however, a short corridor lead into an open sunny courtyard and hotel reception with bright modern furniture set in traditional high ceilinged rooms with wood panelling, glass chandeliers and old ornate plasterwork. The hotel was a series of corridors opening into small courtyards with a walled garden at the rear, full of climbing scented jasmine. We were warmly greeting by Carmen -a charming Venezualian girl - an energetic bundle of smiles who set about doing everything she could to help us, including providing maps, breakfast, fresh coffee and a restaurant booking for this evening.
Our room was traditional and comfortable - wood panelled, decorative plaster and large glass doors opening into a small courtyard.
We contemplated a short nap as we had each only slept for 30 minutes or so on the plane, but after decided against it.
Instead we lounged in the big old sofa in the breakfast room and enjoyed delicious coffee, fruit scrambled eggs and pastries.
Meanwhile our lost luggage arrived and we were able to set out to explore Buenos Aires.
Armed with street maps and sun gear we set off to explore the Recoleta and Palermo districts of Buenos Aires on foot.
There is nothing quite so exciting as setting out into a new foreign place on a bright sunny morning armed only with an annotated paper map and a whole empty day at your disposal. After our busy past few weeks, we felt like children on the first day of the school summer holidays and Christmas morning rolled into one. The bright sunshine and crisp blue skies added to that feeling.
We wandered along the streets - a complete mix of Old Colonial Spanish, 60s and modern architecture, to see the Botanical and beautiful Rose Gardens.The parks were busy with local runners and families relaxing under the jacaranda trees on the bank holiday. We were bemused by an enormous (100ft high!) shiny metal flower which opens in the sun. After lunch of empanadas & beer we discovered the local crafts market at the Plaza Francia. If you're looking for tooled leather or delicate silver jewellery this is the place to come. So many Artisans!
The Cementerio de la Recoleta is like a small village of ornamental granite shrines, for the rich and powerful, built in 1822. Indeed most of the shrines here cost more than the houses owned by local people. There is a central square with narrow cobbled streets radiating out in all directions, criss-crossed by more streets to create an incredible labyrinth. Each crypt is a work of art, demonstrating amazing designs and craftsmanship, from ornate 19th century mausoleums decorated with stained glass and stone angels, to modern cuboid buildings of polished black stone and glass. Each bears the family name of the occupant(s) and very often the huge ornate coffins were easily visible, stacked on shelves inside or below the building. Like in any graveyard, some memorials are well tended and some neglected. Some crypts had broken doors and smashed glass and dead flowers inside, the coffin exposed and the wooden lid warped from exposure to the elements.
The Duarte crypt was easy to find. This was Evita’s family name and she was interred here, in 1952, by her family, although her husband, President Juan Peron, was not. We consulted the map by the gate to locate Evita’s black mausoleum, but could just have followed the numerous tour guides...
The Argentinians have taken recycling to a new level - filling old Art Deco theatres with bookshops. These were popular places to stop at, although none sold a book on the birds of Patagonia in English.
Our tour continued via cafes and craft beer bars back to the Hotel Krista. On our way we stopped at Bar Cronico for a couple of craft beers as the sun fell low in the sky. We knew we had walked a long way, but to our amazement we found that we had clocked up 17 km. We allowed ourselves a brief shower to remove the street grime and sun tan lotion before changing and heading back out to find dinner.
That night we ate at a local Parrilla aka Argentine grill house - La Cabrera. This was recommended by Natalia and our hotel receptionist, Carmen, and endorsed by our Moon guide to Patagonia.
We were not suprised that it was fully booked. Despite this, they advised us to turn up at 8pm and be prepared to wait. On arrival there was already a small group of people standing outside on the pavement. We looked inside and were briskly informed by a waiter in flat cap and braces that they did not open until 8.30. We apologised and he suggested that we sat down outside. We thought of standing next to the growing crowd, but instead, perched on chairs by a table on the pavement as instructed.
To our amazement the same waiter shortly reappeared with a beaming smile, some bread and olives and two menus. This was followed by some sparkling water, a bottle of smooth rich Malbec and a detailed explanation of the menu. Our Rene-styled waiter insisted we only needed only one steak and certainly no chips with our salad. We saw why when the four tennis ball-sized pieces of sizzling fillet steak arrived at our table!
Meanwhile, the crowd on the pavement continued to grow.
Groups of diners would arrive and be called inside by name, but the rest just waited. There were other empty tables beside us on the pavement but we had no idea why we had been singled out for lavish and delicious service, whilst the others, despite their protestations to the door man, just waited!
It was a brilliant end to our first day in Argentina. The waiter was friendly and chatty, the steak was absolutely superb and the wine delicious. We were unable to finish all our dinner but they packed the left over steak up with the salad and bread rolls ready for a picnic on the plane on Tuesday! This despite the best efforts of a cheeky passer by who twice tried to snaffle the last piece of fillet off the platter! And the bill? Less than £50. Meanwhile, the people who were originally standing on the pavement when we arrived were still standing there...
The rest of the evening was a blur. We were so full and so exhausted that we stumbled back to the hotel, passing numerous bars heaving with music and revellers for whom the evening was just beginning!
The room was hot and stuffy and so Bill sought the advice of the night porter who helpfully indicated the remote control sitting on the table... Kathryn meanwhile was temporarily struck dumb by his striking resemblance to a young Andy Garcia...
We crawled between the crisp white sheets and were overcome by sleep in moments! Apart from a 30 minute nap on the plane, we had been on the go for over 40 hours and walked a total of 28,000 steps over 21.6km. Time for a rest!