March 04 – Embarkation

Today we start our cruise.  

During the early afternoon we said goodbye to Catherine and Gil.  It was great fun touring Buenos Aires and discovering the wonderful food and wine that was available at the different restaurants with them.

Earlier in the day we had walked over to the San Telmo market.  It is hard to imagine but there were several blocks dedicated to the selling of bling and trinkets.  It seemed to me that original artisan works were few and far between.

At the end of the market we were entertained by a couple, who must have been in their eighties, performing the tango.  They didn’t have the kicks but their footwork was synchronized and graceful.

Maybe because it is Sunday but I’m noticing more displays centered on Pope Francis.  He was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires before being elected Pope.  They say his humanity was developed when he was a parish priest in the poorer neighborhood of La Boca.

I must admit my impression of Buenos Aires is neutral. If you were to rate Paris and Rome as a ten then I would rate Buenos Aires as a six or seven.   The guide books claim that the city has the charm and elegance of Paris.  In truth it doesn’t come close.  

Yes there are sweeping boulevards to direct the traffic and a few of the public buildings do have an architectural feel that would not be out of place in Paris.  But about a third of buildings have a style that you would find in southern France or Spain.  The rest of the buildings seem to be designed as plain boxes with a good portion of them in serious need of maintenance.  There is an impressive skyline in the downtown area and along the residential section of the harbor area but so does every other major city.

The sidewalks are in serious need of repairs.  Most the sidewalks are either tile or cobblestone.  A lot of the tiles are broken and many of the cobblestones are missing which has resulted in large holes in the sidewalks.  It is dangerous to walk on them, especially when you’re looking at the sites and not your feet. 

Also there were not a lot of sidewalk cafes, which seemed to be highlighted in the books that I had read.

I never felt scared walking on the streets at night, even thought there were many homeless people on the street.  That could be because there seemed to be a very heavy police presence.

In my opinion two days in Buenos Aires would suffice.  This would allow you time to visit some of the top neighbourhoods, have an Argentinean BBQ dinner and see a Tango show.