Well last time I wrote we were preparing for a night out to see what the Gay scene in Buenos Aires had to offer. We researched and discovered that, as it turns out, the nightlife in general doesn't really get going until quite late (or early in the morning depending how you look at it) Still, we decided we should at least sample something of the scene to see what was what. Maps in hand, we headed for the Palermo neighborhood. After around 20 minutes on the metro we arrived, only to be faced with yet another "highway of doom". We soon found our bearings and headed in the direction of what was alleged to be the "Pride Cafe" - well yes we found it, but it was, what you'd call, empty! Fortunately the area had plenty of other restaurants nearby so after settling down for more steak and more malbec (served in a rather quaint penguin jug) we consulted the map once more and decided that we would give it another shot and head to a bar called Sitges. This was supposed to be where the night began before everyone headed on to the bigger clubs. A good half hour walk later and we found it, glad for some air conditioning, by this point we didn't really care whether it was good or not, or busy or not, we managed to last it out for about 40 minutes before realising that we were way too early and the music was a blast from the 80's past. We didn't stay long...perhaps our dancing shoes are not what they used to be but all three of us were happier to be heading to bed rather than ordering more alcohol!
Sunday started somewhat cooler and sadly considerably overcast than previous days, not to be beaten we still made our plans to head to the district of Recoleta, specifically to the large cemetery to see the (alleged) final resting place of Eva Peron. As we set off the rain started, but it was still pretty humid. By the time we arrived at the cemetery the rain was bordering on torrential, fortunately we managed to take shelter in a shopping mall and wait it out. We didn't wait long, maybe half an hour and the skies cleared and the sun slowly broke through and burnt the clouds away,. The cemetery was impressive, if that is the right description for such a place! Massive to say the least - 55,000sq metres of above ground tombs and like a little city in it's own right. Founded in 1882 as the first public cemetery, it is now the resting place of many famous and significant people of Argentina's past, including Eva Peron.
Like a maze, we wondered, got lost, lost each other, and then eventually found what we came to see. Hidden down a small side "street", the tomb in the family name "Duarte" What we found most striking about his place was the contrast of relatively new mausoleums to ones that clearly no longer had any family to care for them, to the point that coffins were precariously balancing on rotting shelves and even poking out of crumbling walls. Quite moving and eerie.
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| Just one of the maze lie "streets"in the cemetery |
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| Many of the mausoleums were crumbling and coffins were exposed |
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| The alleged final resting place of Eva Peron |
Sunday evening saw the weekly Pool Party at the hotel, whilst relaxing by the pool in the afternoon we watched the transformation of the decking as it became a sort of dance floor complete with mirror balls, DJ Station and strobe lighting. The setting of the area around the pool is pretty perfect and as the party began it was clear that this weekly event attracts more than just the hotel residents and is quite a big night on the scene in general.
A slower start to today, legs still aching and the sun beating down we thought a good plan would be to try out the open top bus tour. We all were pretty sure the lady said the tour was about an hour. 3 hours later, stomachs grumbling from starvation and we finally stepped off the bus. However, saying that, the tour was really interesting in parts. The first section covered all the places we'd already seen over the past few days and cleared up a few questions that we'd been unable to answer ourselves, however the tour then went into areas we'd not ventured too, nor particulaly wanted to on our own, specifically La Boca. This district is quite unsafe, some parts of it you woudn't walk around in daytime, let alone at night. However it is the home to the La Bombanero stadium and many up and coming art galleries, it is also here that the now famous Argentine Tango first came to be. It's clear that this area is not very affluent and poverty is clear on every street. Ramshackle houses boarded up, windows without any glass, crumbling walls/balconies etc - it was quite eye openeing and realy made you appreciate the luxuries that we have back home. The number of police on the street also confirmed this was not a very safe area. At one point we saw a significant number of police and one local with his short covered in blood - quite what had happened, we never knew and I don't really want to think about. We then saw undercover police in stab proof vests and I saw a number of men with guns - I wasn't sure if they were police or just locals, either way, I was releived when we left!
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| Crumbling La Boca |
We're pretty exhausted tonight and the last few days of intense heat and walking miles on end have taken their toll and we've retired to our rooms early. Tomorrow we're planning on revisiting a few of the areas that the bus tour took us today to investigate in more depth, and then a little shopping as I need to go find myself something suitable for the cooler climates that I will hit when I get further south later next week!
Hope everyone is well back home!
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