Sunday, March 19
"Habia una vez", despite little sleep I woke up early because at the top of my agenda was to find a new hotel. However first thing in the morning is not ideal since most hotels are fully booked and they do not know whether guests are leaving. Finally, working my way down the Av. de Mayo to no. 686, I found the Hotel Turista that had a room for one person, not facing the street, with TV and air conditioning for 60 pesos. (75 double) tel. 4331-228.
This was unusual for me because it was actually a one-star hotel one step above my usual budget category. In real estate the key phrase is -"location, location, location" and that is true about this hotel. It is almost across the street from the start of the Peatonal Calle Florida which gives walking access to the whole of the Microcenter. It is also next to a McDonald's if you feel a "Mac attack" coming on, but I would find that unlikely in view of the great "hamburgesa completa" that you can get in most cafeterias. Also close by is Plaza de Mayo, the Casco, San Telmo, the Financial District as well as an Internet Café next door-- you couldn't have a better location. But remember, it is a one star which still doesn't make it a Holiday Inn by a long shot.
My next destination was the Iglesia Nueva Apostolica at Pasco 735 to see if my Spanish had improved because 2 months ago I understood very little and I am happy to report that I understood a significant amount.
On my walk back, I stopped in at Torre Jacaranda, at av. 9 Julio y Alsina, which is a new 22 story condominium right in the center of Buenos Aires. (www.torrejacaranda.com.ar). Just to demonstrate how affordable Buenos Aires real estate can be, a two bedroom suite of good size on the fourth floor sells for $95,000 U.S. The same condo on the 20th floor is $135,000 U.S. One of my main aims in coming to Buenos Aires was to look at real estate but I got too wrapped up in enjoying the city to spend much time on real estate.
Having said that, on a different day I looked at Puerto Madero real estate. Puerto Madero is a mega urban renewal project of the old harbor area near the Rio del Plata and it is first class with expensive real estate prices to correspond. A two bedroom in a luxury high-rise condo in this area is more likely to be in the neighborhood of $750,000 U.S. However at Puerto Madero you are about a half hour walking distance from the Microcenter and the area is isolated enough that you would not want to make the walk at night whereas at the above downtown address you are within steps of the Peatonal Lavalle.
After transferring my luggage from Hotel LaReina to Hotel Turista I was finally free as a bird again to explore my favourite city. Again, following the second recommendation of the porteno couple in Ushuaia, my destination this time was San Isidore which I would access by taking a train from Estaction del Tren Mitre which, along with Estacion del Tren Belgrano, are right next door to Retiro-the bus terminal. Upon arrival at Mitre, by far the longest line to buy tickets was for Tigre, which was the train I had to take to get to San Isidore. At this point I concluded that many people couldn't be wrong with the result that I would "go with the flow". If all these people are going to Tigre, there must be reason.
I mentioned previously that portenos are very disciplined at lining up for public transportation. Painted on the train platform are markers where the doors of the trains will be and that is where people line up in single file. Because of the number of people, I went to the very front to get a chance to get a seat, which I succeeded in doing.
Another aspect of public transport here is common etiquette, which dictates that you give your place to an older person, so it wasn't long that I was standing for the last 45 minutes of the trip to Tigre, a place of weekend escape for a lot of portenos just 23 km. north of Buenos Aires.
Tigre, from the moment you arrive, evokes images of a clean, orderly resort town reminiscent of southern France. Make sure you pick up a map at the tourist office in the railway station but in my usually "go with the flow manner", as opposed to study the guide book approach, I just drifted along with everyone else which brought me into an area of canals and boats, very reminiscent of Amsterdam. This was a comment which I heard repeated by several other tourists as I walked along the canal lined with trees and mansions which were the home base for various sailing, yachting and rowing clubs. For a longer walk along the canal, cross the bridge at the McDonald's and walk the far side of the Rio Tigre and your path won't be blocked by a yacht club as it is on the near side.
I succumbed to the lure of a one hour cruise on the Delta Queen-"la major opcion para disfrutar la belleza de nuestro Delta" which in fact was mostly a cruise on the Rios Tigre, Lujan and Sarmiento, lined with cottage type homes.
However, it is worth noting that one of the houses along the Rio Sarmiento was encased in glass to control humidity, thereby preventing its deterioration. It was in fact once the home of former President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Albarracín (1868 to 1874). By the way--he was buried in La Recoleta Cemetary in Buenos Aires upon his death in 1888.
Again, as so often happens, even the scenery became secondary to the conversations with fellow tourists and in this case, it was a verbose German with whom I was able to practice my German. He had traveled mostly in Brazil, which immediately caught my imagination since that too is a country I am very interested in (but on the other hand-which country am I not interested in?!) What caught my attention were the following points he made: the city of Salvadore in northern coastal Brazil was outstanding in its colonial grandeur; he was relieved of his camera in broad daylight in a park in Rio de Janiero and that he was not that keen on the Carnival, saying they waited for three hours for the parade to begin and then it took forever for the Samba schools to pass by with long pauses in between.
During the boat cruise, I noticed an area of intense shops and large crowds reminiscent of a huge flea market. Finding this street was my goal after the boat cruise, which brought me past a huge amusement park, the Estacion Delta and the Tren de la Coast, as well as the Casino, at which point I found what I was looking for.
It is called Puerto de Frutos and this is the "sweet spot" of Tigre in my opinion. Besides, as the name implies, being a fruit market, it sells almost anything else that would beautify your house or home in great abundance in many, many little shops selling antiques, pottery, wicker products and many other artesenal products. There is a buying frenzy displayed by the huge crowds here and it seems I am the only one not carrying something home that was bought here.
I did have more important things on my mind, in this case, it was hidden between wicker basket shops and was called Delizias y Dulzuras Zulma Muller (the very name makes your mouth water) Lavalle 539 Las Casuarians Local 8. I had a great café con leche with two delicious "brownies"-they are called the same thing in Spanish. I really enjoyed it until I was told by the waitress that the bill was 13 pesos to which I responded: "no puede ser" which she sarcastically repeated and then recalculated for 6 pesos less and walked away as if I had insulted her. I felt like looking for Zulma Muller to have a few words with her about her employee but the day had been wonderful so far so why spoil it with negative vibes.
Then it was back to the train station and luckily, a waiting train. I walked all the way to the front without finding a single empty seat. So there I stood at the very front of the train in an area reserved for bicyclists. Before long, two American gents came along and soon we were in conversation to pass the time of day. What caught my interest was that they were employees of FEDEX, temporarily based in Buenos Aires on a six-week rotation. They were in fact a pilot and his mechanic - talk about a symbiotic relationship. Every conversation is a chance to learn a little bit more and so I learned that FEDEX Argentina in fact flies everything from Argentina to a hub in Viracopos Campinas near Sao Paulo, Brazil for further dispatching. These men from Raleigh and Houston love their jobs and are a very important part of a huge logistical system. What struck me during our conversation about various types of aircraft etc., was that for whatever reason, we seemed to be the center of attention for the other 10 - 15 people who were in the bicycle transport area with us in the train. It appeared as if they were intently listening in on our conversation even though I am almost sure that no one spoke English.
The return trip was a long one, over an hour----and it brought an end to another step in my gradual familiarization of this wonderful city of Buenos Aires and its surroundings.
8 votes 
