Wow an amazing place. The rest of my trip felt like a whirlwind, constantly cruising throughout the various barrios and other parts of the city. I'll do my best to include all the highlights...so many...
Last I left off we had just finished touring the botanical gardens in Palermo. After popping into an internet cafe so my buddy could chat with his parents and I could put in an on-the-go blog entry, we marched to the MALBA (Museo de Art Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires).
Filled with countless works of art in all forms of media, the free experience (yes, free on Wednesdays) was unforgetable. Works by Frida Kahlo, Tarsila do Amaral, Diego Rivera, Roberto Matta, Jorge de la Vega, and Xul Solar are just some of the many artists portrayed. Afterward we toured the massive parks around the barrio and ended up at the Evita Museum, which exists in the original Transition Home built by the former Vice President nominee and social worker. Inside holds many of Eva Perón's clothes, portraits, and artistic renderings of her life. It seemed to be very one-sided and girlish exhibit, but its hard to say anything bad about Eva in Argentina after all that she did for the lower class and women, but her legacy is certainly controversial. No need to get into a political debate...
At the end of the day, we returned to our hostel to meet up with two more friend who had agreed to join in on our trip. The following morning we started the day off with some glasses of yerba mate from a cafe like true Argentines...I'm quite fond of the drink, like it even more than coffee to be honest. We then set forth to barrio La Boca to checkout of the futbol stadium of the historic squad Boca Juniors and this unique part of town.
"La Bombanera" is quite a site. We explored the museum on the team's history under the stadium, then went on a full stadium tour (press room, locker rooms) and even sneaked up into the top section to the highest point in the stadium for a view.
We continued on to another part of Buenos Aires called San Telmo for an excursion of touristy areas called El Caminito (below) and Plaza Dorrego that has a lot of artesanal history, but now is just overrun with tourists. We didn't stay long.
That night it was my buddy's 22nd birthday, so we went out to uptown Palermo to a nice meat restaurant, La Cabrera, and I must say it was probably one of the best meals I have ever had and cheap too. Good stuff.
The next day we left our hostel for a tour of other parts of the city, and just outside the front door to our place, a massive walking protest was taking place. The march probably had about 10,000+ people from different political groups and spoke out against the current government of Argentina for their lack of concern regarding inflation levels and standard of living.
We asked a man on the street about the protest, and learned that the majority of these people were unemployed and we actually being paid by the government about once a month to participate in this march. They want legal recognition for their unions and walk down the widest street in the world (17 lanes) in Avenida de Julio towards the government buildings to fight their cause. Very interesting.
After following around the protest for a while, we got back on track and proceeded to barrio Recoleta where the Cementerio Nacional exists. Inside, mausoleums of previous presidents, politicians, and important figures are all held inside this place. We saw the final resting place of Evita Peron in addition to many others. Seems pretty wild that the majority of the well-known figures in Argentinian history are kept in one cemetary. Very different from the U.S. I could not vet over what a perfect place it would be for tag, paint-ball, etc. Bad thoughts...
Practically across the street was the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. What a treat. This 3 story landmark holds paintings from countless artists, and dedicates entire sections to Argentinian art as well as pre-columbian works. Van Gough, Monet, Picasso, Diego Rivera, Kadinsky, Miro, La Trec, Matisse...amazing. You could spend 5 hours in this place.
That night we headed out to a bar to watch some Olympic coverage. I love this time of year and there is a reason only comes every four years (well two if you count the winter Olympics which are awesome too). I hope China can keep a lock down on its country like it normally does, but all eyes are on them and the pressure is intense. They already dropped the ball with the murder of an American tourist related to the coach of the U.S. Men's volleyball team. I just have a bad feeling this type of stuff is not over yet. There is still a week and half left.
Our final day we headed back to Palermo to enjoy our final afternoon in the giant parks. We ran into an spot that rented our sports equipment for free (skates, ping pong, basketball, soccer, etc.). We were told that it was paid for by the government and it seemed as though a good number of people were taking advantage of the service. What a great concept. We also had a couple of classic Choripans (chorizo+pan(bread)) for lunch and our pre-bus ride meal.
Excellent.
Bus ride took quite a while with a one hour stop in Mendoza. But that was perfect because I got to watch the second half of the Olympic futbol match between Argentina and Australia. Argentina barely pulled it out with about 15 minutes left and basically played keep away until the final whistle. The trip was one of the best I have taken and I am once again so glad that I get to return with my entire family. It is going to be a blast. Upon returning hope I discovered that my classes have been delayed yet another week which is just ridiculous. I am heading to campus to talk with my potential professors about the schedule because many of the dates and times of classes aren't official yet and are subject to change. I need exact times. Bah. Hopefully I get this all straightened out by the end of today. I am also going to pickup my Chilean identification card (carnet), which officially makes me a temporary Chilean citizens. Sweet. Should be able to muster up a post near the end of the week. Cheers...Go U.S.A!!
