February 4-5, 2017 Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2017 Cruise to South America & Cape Horn

February 4, 2017 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Arrived for our first day in Buenos Aires. The ship will be docked in this port for two days allowing passengers plenty of time to visit this large city. Took a tour of Tigre River Delta. For over 100 years, the town of Tigre and its many river channels have served as a quiet escape for locals and tourists alike from the hustle of Buenos Aires. Many weekend homes are located along the river channels. There is a labyrinth of waterways much like Venice, Italy except that the islands are very tropical and there are no bridges to connect the islands and no roads on the islands. The homes, which are located along the various river channels, can be reached only by boat. Children go to school on a “school bus boat,” there is a public “bus boat,” there are “grocery boats” that bring food and water to purchase (you raise a flag on your dock when you want the grocery boat to stop at your home). We were told that the price of homes along the canals range from $30,000 to $150,000 although there were clearly a few that would exceed that price. There were lovely English gardens, riverside villas and historic sites including the home of the first president of Argentina which has been enclosed in glass to protect it from deterioration, the heat and the humidity.

   
Yacht Club, Marina and Restaurant.  City Center Tigre. Wooden cruise boats on Tigre River Delta

   
Tour of the Tigre River Delta canals on a River Cruise Boat.
   
Rowing Club kayaks and parks on the River
   
Some commercial vessels and storage along with houses.
   
Some really nice homes and yards and some plants to dodge.
     
Home of the first president of Argentina which has been enclosed in glass
to protect it from deterioration,heat and humidity. With all the traffic on
the river it can get rough and the bulkheads and yards can get a beating.

   
A parks, marina and even an amusement park are on the river.

After a two hour cruise along the waterways, we visited the town of San Isidro for a stop at its famous cathedral. Tomorrow we ‘abandon ship’ for three nights in Buenos Aires.

         
House in San Isidro with a Burger King ad in the front.  The San Isidro Park in front of the church has the oldest Artisan Fair in Buenos Aires Province.
       


   
Soccer Stadium, Parks and Statues on the city tour.
   

Building with plants as a wall and the seaport.

February 5, 2017 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Departed the ship in search of our hotel. We had booked a boutique hotel in the Hilton “Curio” collection in an area of town that appeared to be convenient. Our taxi driver knew almost no English. As we arrived in the area, it appeared to be an old part of town. Not at all what we expected. Even worse, there was a street fair flea market with vendors taking up blocks and blocks around the hotel. It turns out that they do it every Sunday. The taxi driver could either not find the hotel or could not get to it.  In the little Spanish I understand, he told me we had to walk more than two blocks then go through a passageway to the hotel. We were not about to leave the taxi and drag our luggage through the crowds and vendors to a hotel we could not see from the taxi. About that time a man came by and the driver said something to him. In perfect English, the man told us that he was staying at the hotel, it was very nice and to follow him and he would take us there. Reluctantly, we followed the man dragging out suitcases on cobblestone streets two blocks and across a plaza (not a passageway as the taxi driver had said). We were very happy to see that hotel. The hotel turned out to be really nice. There was a police station on the plaza across from the hotel and we felt perfectly safe in wondering the streets of what turned out to be the oldest part of Buenos Aires and the area where the tango was invented.

Buenos Aires has become more like Paris. Restaurants and coffee bars everywhere. The old streets in the area were very narrow and almost all cobblestones so walking was not easy. After resting in the hotel and getting some lunch, we went out to see the flea market vendors. Turns out the area where the hotel was is famous for its antique shops and most of the merchandise for sale was antiques. Sadly it started to rain and chased us indoors, but we were tired from our long trip and in need of rest. We found that the cable TV had absolutely no English channels so we had to watch the Super Bowl with Spanish announcers! We did not last until halftime since we were on Atlantic Time which is one hour earlier than New York so the game started late for us. The announcers got just as excited for a touchdown as they did for a soccer goal, so it was fun to watch. I did wake up for a little of the halftime show then again for the last 5 minutes of the game plus overtime.

     
This is the street we had to walk and haul our luggage but on Sunday it was full of market tents and people.

   
Our hotel Anselmo Hilton “Curio” collection on the Plaza Dorrego square in San Telmo the oldest neighborhood in Buenos Aires.  We were told by the staff it was converted recently from a parking garage.
 
It had a lovely restaurant and bar and an atrium patio.  The lobby had this Leggo of Evita Peron.


Edward enjoys watching the Tango dancers every afternoon and evening at the Plaza Dorrego square in San Telmo.
 Edward in the restaurant at the Anselmo Hotel
   
Elaine enjoys the entertainment and food and drinks from one of the restaurants on the Plaza Dorrego square in San Telmo just a few steps from our hotel.