Visiting relatives, friends and steak
Trip Start
Mar 28, 2006
1
26
31
Trip End
Sep 14, 2006
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Arrived early this morning and were met by Monica and Moira (Monica is a good friend of Jo´s Mum, and Jo was a pen pal friend with her daughter Moira over 10 years ago) at the airport before returning with Moira by train from Retiro. After a mate - Argentina´s national drink, a type of herbal tea and an indication of friendship - and a short sleep, were off to explore their local area (and also my mother´s once local area) of Acassuso, a suburb north of Buenos Aires, a residential area made up of apartment buildings as well as entire blocks of private houses with gardens.
In the evening, on several occasions we encountered people rummaging through garbage with a shopping trolley next to them. Moira explained to us that the "cartonero" train carries people who, after the late 2001 crisis, have to make a living rummaging through other people's garbage
01 1st night BA with Brenda and Moi
. By collecting old newspapers etc and taking them on this train, they in return receive a few pesos to be able to recycle various materials. Seeing this was bizarre and difficult to describe and something you have to see to believe.This evening we went for a drink with Moira and Brenda in San Isidro.
Thursday 22nd August
Headed into Recoletta this morning, an upscale residential area not far from downtown Buenos Aires and also where Monica works at the Irish embassy. It is also a popular spot for dog-walkers. Sounds strange, but these are all the rage in BA, with 10 dogs per walker not an unusual sight (and they are not handbag dogs, we saw a German Shephard, spaniels and labradors with one chap). I wish I had a tasty bone handy, it would have caused canine carnage. We walked through the park to where in tourist terms Recoletta is better known for its famous cemetery which is the final resting place of many of Argentina's wealthiest and most famous families and personages. Most tourists come here especially to see the Duarte family mausoleum where Eve Peron's (First Lady of Argentina) family are entombed in the family vault.
02 Exploring the monastery at Recoletta
A bit of background on Eva Peron - she worked as an actress, sang in nightclubs and was from a poor background. In early C20 Argentina, it was a bad time for unemployment and hunger in a country that was a major producer of food. Buenos Aires had been a city for aristocrats, wealthy Argentinians, and Europeans, but industrialization in the late '30s brought many "dark-skinned workers," as the middle and upper classes regarded them. The city had more slums and tenements than wealthy neighborhoods. Eva saw all of this, and vowed to one day change it, making all social classes equal. On June 4th, 1943 a military coup ousted then-president Ramon Castillo. General Pedro Ramieriez took over, and Colonel Juan Peron became prominent in his government. When an earthquake hit and destroyed 90 percent of San Juan (Argentina) a few months later, Peron organized a National Relief Festival and invited the most popular stars to participate - including Eva. In 1945, Eva and Juan, by then vice president, were married. The Labor Party had chosen Peron as its presidential candidate. For the first time the candidate's wife accompanied him on the campaign. Eva handed out buttons and greeted people in the towns. At this point a different side of Eva (the actress) emerged: Eva the leader. She entered the political arena and took steps to work for great causes. General Juan Domingo Peron was elected president and immediately gave Evita an office in the Secretariat of Labor
03 Eva Perone´s (Evita) grave at Recoletta
. From there she gained control of the unions. She traveled the country making speeches and appearing at union rallies. She also campaigned for women tirelessly, knowing from first-hand experience the degradation and hardship. Although a very popular woman with the lower class, the middle and upper classes opposed her greatly. They did not like that she was from the lower class. She helped the union workers get better wages, and cared for the needy. She saw herself as a bridge between classes. One of Evita's monumental changes took place in 1951 when she helped women win the right to vote. Through her efforts, many women entered, and were successful in, politics; in 1952, 23 women took the office of deputy, and six the office of senator. In 1951, Evita was confronted with both uterine cancer and the idea of running as vice president with her husband in the next election. Over a million people voiced their support, but, shockingly, she formally announced she would not run due to her illness. Soon after, she became very ill and could not continue her work. In 1952, the Peron-Quijano ticket won, and Evita accompanied her husband to his second inauguration. It was her last public appearance. Many people offered her their own blood for her transfusions. Surgery was unsuccessful, and a few months later, on July 26, 1952, Eva Duarte de Peron died at the age of 33. When her body was taken through Buenos Aires, the crowds were so vast that three people were crushed to death and over 12,000 were injured. On to La Boca this afternoon where we explored the market and enjoyed a choripan (basically a very tasty argentinian hotdog accompanied with chimichurri which became famous during the depression days of 2000-2001 where neighbours would meet in the street corners making these sausages and sharing them in a big popular parrilla or grill)
04 Visiting the market in La Bocca
. Chris got into a conversation with the owner, despite neither speaking the other language. Topics covered? Football, Boca Juniors was the local team where Maradona started off and he is still worshipped as a God. Safety, apparently the surrounding areas were a little dodgy with muggers. And the Falklands War (Malvinas in Argentinian). He thought it was stupid, as did I. It was started by the military junta in Argentina as a last desperate attempt to become popular and disguise their botch-job of running the country. And to a certain extent it could be argued that Maggie responded in such an emphatic fashion for the very same reasons. Friday 22nd August
Monica´s day off work today and we drove up to San Antonio de Areco, one of the most traditional settlements of the province of Buenos Aires, located about 100 km north from Buenos Aires. It still had old houses with their colonial iron grids and narrow sidewalks on the streets and we visited a lovely chapel built by Jose Ruiz de Arellano, in 1730 from which the town was founded around (known at the chapel of San Antonio).
After a great lunch in a very traditional restaurant, with various meats including steaks and chorizo cooked on a parilla, we visited Monica´s farm (Amancay) where we got to work on the new trees planted to provide some shade next to the fields
05 Exploring La Bocca
. Our visit wouldn´t be the same without a trip to the best chocolate factory and shop around, where we sampled some of the local´s favourites, mostly containing various forms of chocolate and of course dulce de leche.The day ended with a trip to a Tango dinner show which we thoroughly enjoyed. The food was excellent and the Tango, was very exciting and impressive to watch, even though everyone tells us that hardly any argentinians know how to dance the tango anymore! The house band was led by the accordion player, who apparently was one of the most famous in BA and who plays at the Colon, the national Opera House. A lot of Argentian music is accordion based - 4 out of the 10 band members were accordion players.
Saturday 23rd August
This evening we went for dinner at Tomy´s (my mother´s cousin) house in Belgrano. We caught the train and wondered to his house so we could see a little of the town, mainly a residential area with large luxurious apartment blocks, about half way from Acassuso into downtown. We met Tomy for the first time (despite knowing him from all the family research he has been involved in) along with his wife, father (Robert Waller) and lovely two children (To be continued....)
Sunday 24th August
Tomy picked us up from Monica´s to head out to Tigre, on the fringes of Buenos Aires and a very popular weekend spot due to it´s proximity to the network of Islands in the River Plate
06 Chris enjoys his Choripan
. Tomy is a member of the Tigre sailing club, and after a wonderful lunch (Chris having Vacio, a tasty cut of beef with soft fat similar to lamb) we crossed to the river to an island and the sailing club. Tomy´s family had acquired a boat that was originally built for Billy, Jo´s Grandad. It is currently being refurbished, and so we sailed on a sister boat, which had been beautifully restored completely in wood, and was perhaps the best-looking boat on the river that day. The sun shone, and messing about on the river was a great way to spend a lazy Sunday. With mile upon mile of channels and islands, thousands of Buenos Aireans escape the rat race on the weekends in this fashion, with boat taxis servicing the many holiday homes based on the islands. We even managed to surprise Tomy with our aptitude at boat steering - a result of a number of weekends steering wooden longboats of the Norfolk Broads.The evening turned into a highlight of the trip, as we were invited to Moira´s Dad´s (Charlo) house for a traditional Asado (Argentian BBQ). The coals are lit slightly differently, as they are lit on top of the food grill, and then when the pyramid is full of glowing embers it is tipped underneath and spread around. An enormous tray of meat is then introduced - chorizo and blood sausages, pork and the best steak (Lomo) I had ever tasted. Throw in red wine, bread, salad and a friendly atmosphere and you have a superb recipe for an enjoyable evening
07 Moi and Chris in La Bocca
.Tuesday 26th August
This evening we went to La Bistecca for dinner with Monica, Moira and Noy. This is no all-you-can-eat salad bar, but an all-you-can-MEAT bar where you can return as many times as you like. Chefs were stood behind a huge charcoal grill sizzling with barbecue smells of steaks, racks of lamb, spicy chorizo sausage, and juicy chicken. I have to stay I have never seen Chris´eyes light up this way before over food. In addition to the meat you could fill your plates with roasted vegetables, fancy greens, melt-in-your-mouth Argentine mozzarella, prosciutto, slices of about 20 different types of quiches, or a sampling of about 20 different pasta dishes which the chefs standby to prepare. Most tourists would probably faint when the waiter delivers the bill, about $6 per person.
Wednesday 27th August
A general comment on BA, or more precisely the cars of BA - the European influence is evident, with VWs, Audis, Renault and Citroen to the fore, along with Ford. I witnessed a who's who of my Dad's company cars over the last 20 years. Audi A6, A4, VW Passat, Rover 600, Peugot 405, Ford Sierra and even a Cortina. As you can see, the age of cars varies immensely, although even the gleaming cars seem to have dents in and driving in BA is definitely not for the faint hearted - they aren't necessarily bad drivers, but just very fast with a penchant for lane-changing and loitering between 2 lanes
08 Retiro station
. And ignoring red lights late at night. And we were about to spend an extended stay on the road - a long distance bus journey to Iguazu Falls, a mere 15 hour trip.We had arranged the dates so that we were travelling on the same bus as Moira on her return to Sao Paulo (just the 33 hours). If it sounds like total hell, think again. To our surprise after SE Asia, Oz and Tom's NZ driving(!), it was both comfortable and relaxing. Only 3 plush, reclining seats to an aisle. But the catering was even better: It started with a round of whisky as soon as we set off. Evening meal then put most airline food to shame, tasty, hot and accompanied by beer or wine. And obviously after dessert they came round with a glass of sparkling wine. The evening film was not your average family entertainment film (unless you are a family solely of adolescents). American Pie, the Wedding. Yes, Stiffler and the chocolate truffle.
Thursday 28th August
After a relatively decent sleep on the bus, breakfast was a half hour stop with waiter service and a fair few pastries. The eventual arrival in Puerto Iguazu was signposted by the changing landscape - flat rural fields were replaced by hills, forests and bright red mud on the roads. A slight mix-up over the hotel room (they had us down for a top-notch suite!) was rectified, and so we got down to some serious....sleeping
09 Our favourite local icecream in Martinez
. Tiring, this luxury bus travel. Eventually managed to haul ourselves out of bed to go to the inclusive buffet meal. Not quite up to the standard of La Bistecca, but tasty nonetheless.Friday 29th August
A breakfast buffet to assist our expanding waistlines, then a short walk to catch the local bus to Iguazu Falls. We had been warned that the Falls were running low due to a shortage of rainfall, which as we were about to discover was not necessarily the case today. A walk through a wooded area brought us almost immediately into contact with some wildlife - the greedy Coatis, who despite a very loud tour group seemed oblivious to all tourists whilst they hoovered up any fruits dangling from the trees. Cue a frantic period of photography, we even managed to catch them doing a flying fox impression!
A small train transported us to the 'Devil's Throat' area of the Falls (Garganta del Diablo), and Jo managed to spot a crocodile sunning himself on the river bank. No swimming for us today. A raised walkway takes you to the edge of the Devils Throat, and there was definitely not a lack of water here. Photos were at the whim of the wind, as a wall of spray would suddenly provide a spotted effect on the camera lens. There was something very peaceful about watching such an immense wall of water, especially with the quirky light caused by some threatening storm clouds
10 Church of San Antonio de Padua
. We just managed to speed-walk to the train station when the thunderstorm arrived, and it felt like it was trying to solve the water shortage in one go. As the only route back, we had to climb onboard the open-sided train and face the elements. Fortunately, as experienced travellers (luck) we had waterproofs and light trousers shorts on, and so the soaking wasn't quite as bad as for the women in her thick woollen jumper sat opposite.A plus side of the rain was that it washed the tourists away - we took the 'lower falls' path, which enabled us to take a ferry to an island in the centre of the falls. We were the only passengers, and saw only 1 other tourist in about 2 hours (who was equally happy with the peace and quiet). And the sun came out. The lower falls is where the water shortage is most acute, and instead of a wall of water there were a few individual falls and a number of trickles. It is still an awesome place though, and if, as I overheard, it does require 74 days of rain to be restored to its full glory then this may in future be the norm as opposed the exception.
As we were tied to eating at the hotel, we went for a wander in the evening and discovered a wine bar to relax with a bottle of finest argentinian red. Hence we were fairly giggly by the time we rolled up for the buffet.
Saturday 30th August
Up early so we could see a bit more of the Iguazu Falls area before catching the bus in the afternoon
11 Steaks all round
. We hadn't realised that if you got your ticket stamped on exit (the day before), it was half price the following day. Fortunately, the power of digital camera revealed itself, and one look at the bedraggled explorers on the screen convinced the ticket woman we weren't trying to pull a fast one. We didn't head for the main falls, instead taking a nature trail into the rainforest. Again, it was blissfully devoid of tourists, and we soon came across a strange looking rodent/marsupial/guinea pig (delete as appropriate). Numerous information signs highlighted the flora and fauna. One such sign was on the palm tree, which grow wild in the protected park. Apparently, palm hearts are a real delicacy, and poachers sneak in at night, climb the tree and cut out the heart from the centre of the palm leaves which unfortunately kills them off. So if you are inclined to buy a palm heart, you should ensure they are sourced from a palm farm. The endpoint of the trail, was a relatively small 30ft waterfall. Once upon a time, however, it was not so small, and in fact was part of the original Iguazu Falls, before over time it was diverted to the present site (we are talking millions of years here). The small, private pool may well have been swimmable, but it was also freezing so we just chilled out and soaked up the sounds of the water, birdsong and the fascinating sight of leaf-cutter ants of documentary fame. They are highly impressive, even without a close-up camera.
12 Visit to Monica´s farm
An all-too-short break sadly had to finish, and so back onto the all-night bus. This time, evening meal was at the depot, where aside from the obligatory beer and sparkling winr, they had a live local band playing. Slightly strange was the choice of film: Green Street. Elija Frodo Wood was in it, but that was the only non-English bit about the film. Cue a football hooligan movie (definitely not soccer), with West Ham and Millwall the main protaganists. Jo and Chris' flat is about equidistant from the 2 football grounds hence all was a bit close to home. There was no attempt at Spanish subtitles as Cockney transcends any known international language. Sunday 31st August
We arrived into BA around lunchtime, and so Monica invited us to join her for her typical Sunday afternoon - at San Isidro Sailing Club. It is a highly impressive place. Not only can you take out sailing or rowing boats, but there is an 18 hole golf course, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools and numerous social clubs such as the choir Monica sings in. Based on two islands, there is a ferry to take you to the second, more quieter, island in the middle of the river plate. The wonderful sight of a parila restaurant greeted us, and is wasn't long before we were tucking into chorizo and blood sausages for starters followed by the inevitable (and delicious ) steak
13 Helping out on the farm
. A great place for an after-dinner stroll too, and ever-changing. The delta is moving down towards the sea, depositing silt on the riverbed and against any existing islands. So the purchase of the 2nd island becomes a better deal each day as the amount of land grows. A little bit about the River Plate (and for once Chris isn't going to talk about football!). It is huge, and divides Argentina from Uraguay, which is a popular day trip from BA via a few hours ferry - something for us to do on our next trip to Argentina.Monday 1st September
Sadly our last full day in Buenos Aires, and so we headed into the centre for a little tourist view of the city. The main square is ""where the "" campaigned in the 70s against the military dictators' oppression and the kidnapping off the streets of anyone they considered a threat to the regime. They used to where a white scarf on their arms as a silent protest, and there are now scarves painted on the floor as a permanent reminder. The balcony of the pink house in the square has been used for addresses by most of the famous Argentinian leaders - Peron, Evita and of course Maradonna. Unfortunately it is also a bit of a tourist trap with stalls of tat and much to Jo's delight, thousands of pigeon's! We walked down to the "" region, known as the bohemiam quarter. With cobbled streets and seemingly hundreds of antique shops, it certinaly is a bit different to many other parts of the city
14 Jo working hard!
. However, it was a little quiet as many places close down on a Monday. One aspect of the city that was a stark reminder of home was the underground, which was probably the only one we had come across on our trip that was in a similar state to London's tube, as in a little worn and shabby and lacking in air conditioning. Chris had been looking forward to the evening meal for a while - Cabanas La Lilas, described by a culinary-aware friend as the finest restaurant in the Southern Hemisphere, with the finest steak. We weren't to be disappointed. We brought along Monica and Noi, and once again were just about the first diners at 8pm. It proved to be a good move, as by the time we left the front bar and passage-way overlooking the kitchen was rammed to the rafters with people waiting to eat. Cabanas La Lilas has it's own herd of cattle from which they source their steak. Definitely a good idea, it was simply the best steak Chris had ever tasted, where the expression melt in your mouth was perfectly apt. On the downside, the Gaucho Grill in London will never have quite the same appeal as before!
Tuesday 2nd September
A memorable couple of weeks in BA sadly come to an end, but fortunately we have another little adventure to look forward to in Chile.
