11/10: Buenos Aires First Day of New Adventure - Yeah!

More than 18 months ago, we began planning for a trip to our last continent - Antarctica - which would involve a ten day cruise from Ushuaia in almost the southernmost point not only of Argentina but also of South America through the Drake Passage. After several friends shared their own exciting adventures in Antarctica, we could hardly wait to leave. However, in what we certainly hoped wasn't an omen of things to come on this trip that would also include a shorter cruise to Patagonia, renting our own car to then see more of that land that encompasses both Argentina and Chile, then a few days in strife-torn Santiago, and finally about ten days seeing a good chunk of Paraguay before flying home in six weeks from Buenos Aires, we got a big scare when our flight from Denver to Houston was delayed for three hours because of mechanical difficulties. That forced the airline to move everyone to a plane that had to be towed into the hangar once it arrived from another city. 

As the announced arrival time in Houston got closer and closer to the time of our departing flight, we became greatly concerned because of needing to get a connecting overnight flight to Buenos Aires. Our anxiety was heightened especially since there were no seats on the next night's flight to Buenos Aires and we began to wonder if we'd actually arrive at the port in Ushuaia before the ship left!

Luckily, the United gate attendant moved our seats to just behind Business Class so we could make a mad dash for the Buenos Aires flight which was leaving from another terminal just twenty minutes after our flight from Denver arrived in Houston. The travel gods were certainly with us as we did make it to the gate for our ten-hour flight to the capital city of Argentina. We were rather exhausted on arrival but thrilled to be back in the city we'd first visited two years previously when we toured much of South America.

After checking in at the same hotel we'd stayed at before, we changed into some warm weather clothes and began hitting some of our favorite sights. It was quite strange being back in Buenos Aires as we'd never until then gone back to a city we'd toured before except for London and that was only because it was a transit hub. 

The first photo of the trip was just a couple of blocks from our hotel with the stunning Teatro Colon or Columbus Theater, the city's main opera house, in the background. Considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic, it is acoustically considered to be among the five best concert venues in the world. The present theater opened in May 1908, with Giuseppe Verdi's Aïda, replacing an earlier building that had been on the same site. 

The iconic Obelisco de Buenos Aires was on one of the city’s most important streets, Avenida 9 de Julio, often credited as being the widest street in the world, with an incredible 16 lanes at some points. The street was so wide it took us three traffic lights to cross from one side to the other! The monument, designed by Argentine modernist architect Alberto Prebisch, was erected in 1936 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first foundation of Buenos Aires by Pedro de Mendoza in 1536, and it marked the spot where the Argentine national flag was raised in the city for the first time. 

The monument is also a beacon that is often the central focal point for everything from sporting celebrations to political demonstrations. The day before we arrived, Bolivians living in Buenos Aires gathered at the obelisk to herald the sudden retirement of their country’s corrupt former President Evo Morales. 

When we last visited Buenos Aires in the fall of 2017, I remember being so amused by the ottomans on many of the main streets. The looked so real, I immediately sat on one, only to discover they weren't soft and comfy but rather made of concrete that gave the illusion of an ottoman right down to the brass hardware!

I'd forgotten just how many impressive statues adorned thoroughfares and parks in Buenos Aires.

Not very impressive, I grant you, but charming nonetheless.

We were heading to the Sunday-only San Telmo Street Fair but got sidetracked by another one for a while.

The Feria de San Telmo is one of the most notable and popular events that takes place in Buenos Aires and, though we'd also gone to the San Telmo fair our last visit, I particularly was excited about returning. Nestled in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, the San Telmo Fair bustles with unique artisans and antiques every Sunday until 4.

Some neighborhood churches:

If anyone wanted Barbie outfits, San Telmo on a Sunday was certainly the place to find them!

Also, stuffed animals were a popular item!

I had first seen these adorable dolls the last time we were lucky enough to be at the San Telmo fair two years ago. Mafalda was an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Joaquin Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known by his pen name Quino. The strip featured a 6-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflected the Argentinian middle class and also concerned about humanity and world peace. 

I read that the comic strip ran from 1964 to 1973 and was very popular in Latin America, Europe, Quebec and Asia. Though the comic strip was so old, you can't walk anywhere in Buenos Aires without seeing images of Mafalda on shirts, stationery, mugs, etc! I thought she was cute as Bugs Bunny.

The San Telmo neighborhood was full of galleries and antique stores. 

Having just been in Ireland about six weeks ago, I never thought I'd come across such a beautifully hand-knit Aran sweater again so soon and in such an unlikely spot.

The fair has become so popular that many other streets are closed to cars during the Sunday fair so their merchants and restaurateurs can display their wares.

After strolling for well over an hour up Calle Defensa, the main street in San Telmo, we reached Plaza Dorrego, the historic square in the heart of the San Telmo neighborhood. Every Sunday, the square is the focal point for a bustling arts and antiques fair that had something of a carnival atmosphere. Almost 300 antiques sellers had set up shop in the square and along Calle Defensa, offering a mix of old furnishings and ornaments - some that belonged to the historic mansions in the area - plus old advertising signs, vinyl records, musical instruments, clocks and bric-a-brac.

The fair had been as much fun as it had been the last time. What a great way to spend a few hours on a Sunday and get some local souvenirs!

From San Telmo we walked to the Plaza de Mayo in the center of town. The oldest public square in Buenos Aires, it has been the scene of many of the most important events in the city's history, from the second founding of the city in 1580, through the revolution of independence, to more recent political demonstrations. The square was named after the Argentine revolution, which began on May 25, 1810. 

As well as being the site of the May revolution, the square was also the location for Argentina's first political rally in 1890. Plaza de Mayo has remained the focal point for public gatherings, either in support of, or to protest against, successive governments ever since. That tradition  reached its peak with the crowds that came to hear Eva "Evita" Perón speak from the balcony of the Casa Rosada or seat of government in the late 1940s. 

The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo or Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo began meeting in the square in 1977 to demand information about their missing children during Argentina's last military dictatorship. 

The mothers continue to meet in the square but now walk instead of march because of their advanced age, around the May Pyramid every Thursday at 3:30 pm. That was something I had really hoped to witness this trip since we hadn't been in Buenos Aires on a Thursday last time and unfortunately not this time either. 

Facing the Plaza de Mayo, the Metropolitan Cathedral was the Catholic Church's main site in Argentina, and is where Pope Francis, as Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, used to perform mass before assuming office in the Vatican in 2013. The Cathedral’s history was a long and turbulent one. Since the first chapel on the same site was constructed in 1593 under the orders of the city’s founder Juan de Garay, the building has been redesigned and rebuilt seven times. The last construction, the one that we saw, was started in 1752 but not completed until the mid-nineteenth century.

The building’s facade was more reminiscent of a Greek temple  than a Catholic church. The twelve Neo-Classical columns  represented the Twelve Apostles, supporting a triangular piece. This bas-relief depicted the encounter between Jacob and his son, Joseph, in Egypt, and was intended as an allegory of the unity of the Argentine nation after civil unrest. 

The oldest sculpture in the Cathedral was the Christ of Buenos Aires, carved by Portuguese sculptor Manuel do Coyto in 1671. 

The Major Altarpiece depicted the Holy Trinity and was one of a few remaining elements from colonial times, dating from 1785.

The cathedral's floors were covered by Venetian mosaics and depicted various religious symbols, like the passion flower which symbolized the Passion of Christ.

A particularly lovely chapel was the Most Holy Sacrament.

The marble mausoleum of San Martín and the Unknown Soldier was the work of French sculptor Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse. Around the sarcophagus, three female figures representing Argentina, Chile and Peru, represented the countries liberated by General San Martín. The grenadiers at the entrance to the tomb stood guard and paid homage to the founder of their institution.

More of the lovely Venetian mosaics!

From our last visit, I remembered how drawn we were to the city's imaginative and stately architecture. I was again so impressed by what we saw just on our first day wandering through much of the city. The tiled sidewalks by contrast were a pedestrian's nightmare with constant cracks and holes galore large enough to swallow your feet that made walking challenging.

No idea why all of a sudden a crowd of rollerbladers suddenly appeared on one of he major streets but they were fun to watch!

CarameLandia sounded like my kind of store as I love gooey caramel but a photo was as close as I got to inhaling the scent I love!

This street singer attracted quite a crowd as he expertly sang one of Creedence Clearwater Revival hit songs. You may recall the American rock band was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Galerias Pacifico was an historic Buenos Aires building constructed in the 19th century in the heart of the city. 

When we looked up after entering, we couldn’t help but be flabbergasted by the magnificent murals in the dome. If we hadn’t known better, we’d have thought we were in a first-rate art gallery rather than a fancy shopping center! One of the murals by the country’s top artists depicted Buenos Aires Railroad to the Pacific. The commercial center was named after it because the railway’s offices were located in the building. 

It was sad reading that the beautiful Galerias had a dark history as the building was a clandestine detention center during Argentina's last dictatorship.

Next post: A long, long walk through the city capped off by a meal at our favorite restaurant!

Written on November 12th, 2019, from Buenos Aires even though we should have been down in Ushuaia by then if the travel gods had cooperated! Finally posted from Ushuaia on the 13th as the travel gods didn't cooperate alas.