Buenos Aires - Heart of the city

It is one of the great capitals of the world with a rich and controversial twentieth century history. Buenos Aires was the launching pad for all of the other journey's made in Argentina. Because of its vastness and diversity, it would not be right to sum it up in a single post. Instead, it will be broken up into episodes with later postings covering other aspects of this great city.

Post one here will deal with the central area, what the Americans might describe as downtown.

The first impressions of Buenos Aires, once one had negotiated the astonishing traffic chaos, was that despite travelling 13 hours from Europe to get here was that it still felt like a European city. For me, Buenos Aires most resembled Madrid. In terms of layout and architecture the two cities, certainly in the metropolitan areas, felt like twins. With the high number of immigrants from the Iberian peninsular and native language being Spanish, this was not a huge surprise to me.

The old Naval building

  Getting around the city centre is simplicity itself. the SUBTE (Underground) is excellent and cheap. You can buy a travel card at many newsagents, called a SUBE, and have it validated with a pre-determined amount at the station. The card is valid on buses too. Users of Oyster cards in London will understand the concept. SUBTE

The buses are wonderful, some painted in some highly decorative and retro schemes. There is a online map outlining the various routes, and there are hundreds of them. I am a seasoned user of bus timetables but I frankly struggled to comprehend them. Instead, I would look at the key locations of the route painted upon the side on the bus. If it coincided with somewhere I was planning to go I would climb aboard. Thus I was able to make trouble free journeys to Boca, San Telmo and later Palermo with no difficulty. It was a little daunting for the first few days as one orientated around the capital.

Go by bus. It's route can clearly be seen along the top.

The central area also contains most of the significant retail outlets and at the heart of this is the pedestrianised street of Florida. Travelling along Florida you can not fail to hear the chorus of "cambio - cambio" the foreign exchange pedlars offering pesos in exchange for hard currency, mainly US dollars on the back market, or curiously the blue market as it is called here. Until recently this was a means for tourists to get a good return although some vendors were unscrupulous  and caution needed to be exercised. At the time I was there business was made the the "cambio" merchants as the blue rate and the official rate were more or less in line with one another.
It did not seem worth while trading your dollars with street traders when for not a lot less the banks would give you a similar, if slightly lower rate. With regard to currency, we had taken a number of US dollars before we left Europe. Most shops, businesses and bed and breakfast establishments will take them. I wish we had taken more. The Euro is also widely accepted, the Pound sterling less so.

Torre de Ingeses

After passing through Florida towards Ritero you come upon the dominant landmark of the Torre de Ingleses - Tower of the English. Despite being called English it was all of Britain's gift to Argentina to celebrate 100 years of independence. The tower was designed by Sir Ambrose Poynter and built from materials imported from Britain.

In 1982, following the war between the two nations over the Falklands/Malvinas, the Junta renamed it the Monumental Tower although most people I spoke to still referred to it by its original name as does much of the tourist literature. The tower is open to visitors who can get a lift or elevator up to a balcony area which offers views of Ritero, the dock area and some of the parkland south of the airport. Opening times are erratic although I was lucky enough to get to the tower just as they were opening it for the day.

Casa Rosada not to be missed

Heading in the opposite direction brings visitors to the Plaza de Mayo dominated by the brightly coloured Casa Rosada, perhaps the most famous building in Argentina. From its balconies individuals such as Juan and Evita Person, Leopold Galtieri and Diego Maradona have addressed the crowds beneath them. As the presidential palace it has been central to the history of this dramatic country and decisions taken here have had long-lasting repercussions both to Latin America and world events. Casa Rosada offers visitor tours, mainly in Spanish, however English speakers can have a tour in their tongue on Saturdays. Sadly my schedule did not quite match that of the tour and so I am unable to pass judgement. I would say though that standing outside one got a sense of history. That is enhanced by some of the other buildings around Plaza de Mayo. The oldest surviving building in the capital, the old parliament, is directly opposite Casa Rosada. To one side, the Cathedral and the National Bank sit close together. It may be fair to see that the bank is a grander building than the cathedral.

Buenos Aires offers so much more than comparable cities and throws in the odd curiosity. A train passes through the streets of the capital at walking pace martialled by two guards as it weaves its way through what can be rush-hour traffic from the dock areas. This happens two or three times a day. The locals just looked resigned as the length of the wagons pass before them. It means it'll take extra time for them to reach their destination. The train carries vital provisions to the interior.

In later postings I will be describing the delight of Puerto Medera and wildlife at the end of the street.