February 5, 2006: It’s hot in Buenos Aires; as hot as Sydney in February – and just as sticky and humid. This isn’t surprising as the latitude of both cities is similar, around 35 degrees south. Since we arrived yesterday, the sky has been cloudy and we had rain for virtually all this morning. This is neither the place nor the weather for a digital SLR so I’ve only used the Ixus 750 since I arrived. Being small and inconspicuous, this camera is ideal if you don’t want the label “tourist” to float invisibly over your head. Other tourists also carry compact digicams, so you can fit into the normal scene.
|
February 5, 2006: It’s hot in Buenos Aires; as hot as Sydney in February – and just as sticky and humid. This isn’t surprising as the latitude of both cities is similar, around 35 degrees south. Since we arrived yesterday, the sky has been cloudy and we had rain for virtually all this morning. This is neither the place nor the weather for a digital SLR so I’ve only used the Ixus 750 since I arrived. Being small and inconspicuous, this camera is ideal if you don’t want the label “tourist” to float invisibly over your head. Other tourists also carry compact digicams, so you can fit into the normal scene. Buenos Aires is like any big city with a population of several million (almost three million in the city itself; who knows how many in the dormitory suburbs). There are posh bits and not so posh bits; safe places and locations that are definitely not safe. We’ve followed pretty thoroughly the warnings about pickpockets and been told where we should and should not go! Yesterday evening we visited the old docklands, which have been done up in a similar way to Melbourne’s South Bank or Sydney’s Darling Harbour and are a focal point for city folk in the evenings. Many restaurants have been opened in the old warehouses, most of them with open-air dining areas facing the channel that leads to the sea through a series of locks. The frigate, Presidente Sarmiento, is moored here permanently and open to visitors for a small fee (around $1).  The 109-year-old frigate, Presidente Sarmiento, sits moored in front of the old warehouses, which have now been converted into restaurants, with offices above. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped for a beer at an open-air cafø©, where two guitarists and a singer were serenading patrons with Argentinean songs. While we were there, several couples got up and tangoed in the street. This was a wonderful experience as it showed up just how much tango is part of everyday life here.  The Ixus 750 was great for night shots, especially when slow synch flash was used, as in this shot of a couple dancing the tango in the street outside a bar. It being wet this morning, we opted for a half-day tour of the city, which took us around the civic centre and then down in to the Boca region (famous for its local soccer club, the Boca Juniors) and then back to the posher part of the city. We left the bus here for lunch in a cafø© then a visit to the excellent National Fine Arts Museum. This art gallery has an excellent (though smallish) collection of Impressionist paintings, some original sculptures and models by Rodin and a wonderful exposition of local art, dating back to pre-Christian times and extending to the end of the 20th Century. Naturally, everything is labeled in Spanish; but you can usually guess the meaning of most labels.   Colourful and full of tourists by day, Boca is famous as an area where poor immigrants settled. They built their houses from the cheapest materials available, cladding the walls with corrugated iron, which has been painted in bright colours. This area is full of advertising for tango shows and souvenirs. After spending a couple of hours in the gallery, the next stop was the nearby Basilica de Nuestra Signora del Pilar, one of the older – and more elaborate – churches. Behind this church is the famous Cemetario de la Recoleta, where most of Argentina’s famous people are entombed – including Eva Peron (the well-known “Evita”). Her body is interred in the Duarte family crypt and the locals continue to decorate it with flowers in her memory. Tomorrow we fly out to El Calafate and the mountains, leaving the heat and humidity behind – we hope. 
The tomb of Eva Peron is still visited by locals, who leave flowers in her memory.
Margaret’s Antarctica Post 1: The Preparation
|