Cementerio de la Recoletta

I spent the better part of my afternoon taking pictures on film in el
Cementerio de Recoletta today. The cemetery is a city of the dead -
it is huge, with blocks and blocks of above ground crypts and
mausoleums. In addition to the tombs, there are many statues, both of
religous icons and of the departed. Most of my shots today were with
my film camera, but here are a few I captured digitally.

I didn't cover as much ground as I had originally intended (owing to a
lack of energy associated with drinking and dancing until almost 7
a.m.), so I'll have to scheudle more time for a more extensive photo
tour of the city's northern neighborhoods. On the plus side, I
stopped in a great cafe that featured traditional northern Argentine
food. A spicy beef empanada and a bowl or lorco (a hearty stew with
white corn, chorizo, pork back, and beef tripe) turned out to be the
perfect way to recharge. Buen provecho!

La Plaza de Mayo

I snapped these three shots after class this afternoon - The first is
the Casa Rosa, which is basically the Argentine White House and the
anchor of the southern end of la Plaza de Mayo. The Plaza, which is
the largest in Argentina, was developed to commemorate Argentina's
independence from Spain. Today, Los Madres de los Desparacidos march
in the Plaza every Thursday as a continued protest against the
government's kidnapping, jailing, and execution of 30,000 citizens
between 1976 and 1983.

Southern Neighborhood Notes

Yesterday was my first time in the neighborhoods south of the center: Boca, San Telmo and Puerto Madera.

Boca was at the mouth of the Rio Plata and the main harbor for BA in the city's early days (the river has since been channelized, and the port is north of the city, directly on the Atlantic Ocean). This neighborhood was the landing point for the first wave of Italian immigrants, and it continues to be one of thepoorest areas of the city, the Italians are long gone, but it is still primarily an immigrant neighborhood. It is one of the lowest parts or the city and prone to flooding, so as soon as one can afford to, they move to higher ground. Despite the poor reputation (and poor plumbing), I found the colorful buildings and small, narrow streets inviting - it is a shame that the main drag in Boca has been taken over by chintzy tourist shops and everything off the main street is a broken-down slum. Still, I'll return this Sunday for a futbol match - Boca is home to Argentina's most popular and successful team.

San Telmo is north (and out of the flood plain) from Boca, and features much of the city's colonial architecture. It is more consistent looking, upscale, and ped friednly than much of the city, but it is also overrun with tourist shops - the wealthy abandoned the neighborhood following a yellow fever outbreak 100 years ago, and everyone else was priced out by the tourist shops.

Puerto Madera was the industrial zone on the Rio Plata that replaced Boca as the city's main port. Unfortunately, the locks and dams built along the river were too small for most shipping boats, and the port was closed and relocated to the north within 15 years of its opening. The warehouses were abandoned, and the whole area sat fallow for years. About 10 years ago, developers began rehabilitating the area - buildings on the west bank of the river were converted to student housing and classroom space for the Catholic University of Buenos Aires (along with a number of chain bars, including Hooters). On the opposite bank, most of the buildings were demolished and huge apartment towers took their place. Even with the crash of 2001, real estate in this area is doing well - one of the Argentines I asked claimed that apartments sell for $5000 US per square meter. This information is subject to be totalyl wrong, based on his lack of information and my lack of Spanish comprehension. Notice how my lack of accurate information doesn't keep me from writing things down.

For a city with a river and access to the coast, it seems to me that BA does a poor job of engaging or activating the waterfront. You could be here for days without seeing a drop of water (unless it fell on your head from a free-standing air conditioner), and even in the spots where the Rio Plata flows through the city, little is done to bring people to the water. The bridge is a nice feature, and as construbtion continues in the old port area it will be interesting to see if additional investment occurs to highlight the natural ammenity of the river.

OK - enough for now. I plan on heading back to some of these areas on Saturday to take more pictures. I'll also try to hit some more contemporary areas of the city for comparison.

Puente de la Mujer

This bridge by Calatrava leads from the historic center over the Rio
Plata to a super-lux hotel, located in a restored grain silo. Rad.
I'd write more, but I'm off to dinner. . .

La caja in San Telmo

La Boca

Hijo in La Boca

Something to Look Forward To

Today was my first day of school - first time I've had one of those in seven years. It went well, which is a good sign considering I'll have another first day of school (albiet one with a bit more pressure, perhaps) in a few months.

Like I said though, the day went well and helped me set my expectations for the next four weeks as I cram as much Spanish into my brain as I can before hitting the road for other South American destinations.

I'm looking forward to not saying every third word in Italian. I guess it is a good sign that my brain recognizes that I am trying to access what I know of a language other than English, and I am comfortable rattling off complete sentances without the halting, searching, stubling moments that usually accompany a beginner's speech. Unfortunately, so far I fail to realize that half of what I say isn't English or Spanish until the teacher asks me to explain what I mean and what words I am using. I didn't even realize I knew this much Italian, but it is all pouring out. Oh well, it is only my second day here - lots of time to get the wires uncrossed.

I'm looking forward to getting to know Spanish better than I know the streets. No one believes that I just arrived yesterday because I know where all the neighborhoods are, which Subte to take, and which streets will be shortcuts to destinations. I walked around yesterday for a long time and spent a lot of time with the map on the plan ride in, so I have a handle on where things are. Now if I could only get a handle on what I was trying to say.

I{m looking forward to looking forward less. Turns out, I only know how to conjugate verbs in the present or future tense. When I finally manage to say something in Spanish, I make it sound like a grand plan for the future rather than something I did this morning or last week. This is my teacher's new favorite running joke.

So far I'm known as the Italian-loving, forward-looking guy with a knack for directions. Stop me when I hit something that is out of the ordinary - I could have told you that before I left.

A few more thoughts about logistics, then I'm going to wrap up for the day. Sorry for the long post and lack of phots - I'll fix both of those in the coming days. Before I do though, a few more details about where I live and where I learn.

The house is a two-story flat that I share with the landlady (who is not hot, for those of you who were wondering), her son, her dog, and four other boarders. One of the boarders is a medical student from Wales, one is a Japense ex-pat from Sao Paolo, one is from France, and one is from Germany. We all eat breakfast and dinner together, but during the day go to different programs during the day - interestingly, they are all women and all older than me. At school, I am in a group of six - also very international and also all women (though here all younger than me). It is interesting to see the different attitude the students have - the girl from Casablanca grew up speaking Arabic and already knows French and English, so she is tearing through the Spanish as though it were nothing. The French girl also has learned a few languages in the past and isn't she about speaking, though her Spanish has even more French in it than mine has Italian. The other three girls are native English speakers (from teh US, England, and Scotland) and HATE to speak - they know at least as much as the rest of us, but are shy, embarassed to make a mistake, and are quick to fall back in to English. I think it will be interesting to see how people progress and how much they are able to get out of the class based on these initial impressions. As always, all my predictions and prejudices are certainly wrong, or your money back.

Take a Walk

I made it to Buenos Aires!

That`s the good news. The bad news is that it is cold and rainy today,
which reduces my urge to walk around and explore. I`ve sucked it up a
little bit and covered about four miles between my neighborhod and the
city center on foot, so I figured I could share some notes while I dry
off.

My apartment is in barrio Villa Crespo, which is a bit more than three
miles west of the center. It consists of mostly tall 1960s and 70s era
apartment towers, though from my 7th floor bedroom window I can still
see the roofs of many smaller shops and flats around me. The barrio is
mostly housing, with a few shops and bars mixed in - it is also on the
Corrients subte line, which can put me in the city center in about 15
minutes.

Walking northwest for about 10 minutes from my apartment tower, you
cross in to Palermo Viejo, which my guidebook billed as ``the hippest
barrio in BA.`` I don`t yet know if this is true, but it is at least a
believable claim. The buildings step down from 8-plus stories to one
or two levels, and the architecture is a mix of brick, modern class,
and old colonial. Mostly subdued colors and materials, though every
now and then a bright yellow, orange, or pink building pops up and
brightens up the street. Even on a rainy Sunday afternoon, the
neighborhood is a lively mix of cafes, bars and boutiques - I had a
tasty sandwhich and a lousy cup of coffee in a cafe facing a plaza
where I could watch passersby window shop and walk their dogs
(speaking of, there is crap EVERYWHERE - definitely watch your step
while walking around).

After lunch, I headed out in the rain and walked in to the city center
- here, everything is closed so I`ll hold off on pictures or
impressions until I am here at a more happening hour.

The Way We Get By

It is a lovely clear day in Miami as I prepare to fly to Buenos Aires
via Panama City. Despite the ideal condituons, I nearly managed to
sabotage my trip before it even started through some last-minute
planning.

I have a one way ticket to BA, since I'll be returning to the States
from Lima in May. Entry to Argentina is only permitted if you can
prove that you are leaving within three months - knowing this, I
booked tickets late last night/early this morning to fly from BA to
Peru and Peru to the US. Unfortunately, I waited too long to buy my
tickets to have the airline process them, so when I arrived to check
in for my flight today I couldn't prove that I would be leaving within
the three-month window. Without a return ticket, the airline wouldn't
check me in.

Luckily, the staff from Copa and Taca (the airlines I am traveling
with) were very helpful and willing to cooperate with each other. They
agreed that my un-processes reservation was enough to let me fly
today. Assuming that I don't get fined and deported by a less-
agreeable staff person in Panama or Argentina, I'd say that the
situation worked out well. No thanks to me.

And to think, up until recently, I was professional planner.

Initial post

Even though I haven't gone anywhere yet, I figured that it was time to launch my travel blog.

This post comes from my storage locker in SF via cell phone. After a weekend in Tahoe and some family time in South Florida, I'll start blogging for real about living and studying in Buenos Aires, traveling in South America, and other random anecdotes I think people might find interesting. Whenever possible, I'll include photos too, since those will probably be more interesting than me raving about the 800th awesome steak I ate for dinner, how much I like Radiohead, or whatever other randomness ends up here.

Thanks for being interested in the continuing saga of my hobo year - I'll try to keep content updated and interesting (but no promises).

Be in touch,
EP