For our 2nd weekend back in Buenos Aires, after a week in the northern jungles, we had a few more sights to see, most importantly the Recoleta Cemetery, and we got our guide from last week, Tracy, to meet us again at the hotel for a 10:30 am start. However, before that we had a bit of cruise business to take care of, which was to get an “official” COVID test. The reasons for this are still unclear, we are told variously that Ponant (the cruise line) requires this, or alternatively that Ponant doesn’t require it but that it’s required to visit Antarctica, which seems completely bogus because who in the world are we going to infect in Antarctica?! Anyway, the hotel had this under control and we took a 10 minute taxi ride with one of our new Australian friends to a nearby lab for an 8:15 swab, then returned back to the hotel for “breakfast.” While we were eating, we got emails with the good news that we had all tested “negative” so we were good to go. What a relief, after that hanging over us all week long!
Jim and I met Tracy in the lobby and drove up to the north end of the City again, to visit the Recoleta Cemetery, one of the absolute “must visit” locations here in Buenos Aires. It didn’t disappoint! Kind of like Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, it is filled with above-ground family tombs, but here each tomb at ground level usually has a room (you can peer through the doors of most of them) containing several full-size and some smaller caskets, just placed inside on shelves, totally exposed! Each one then has either a very steep, very narrow stairway that descends into a below-ground room, or a grate that can be removed to provide access to the lower level. Tracy explained that over time the bodies are moved to smaller containers and eventually then moved to the lower level to make room for new arrivals. Seeing the actual caskets, sitting out in the open inside the mausoleums, was pretty creepy to say the least, but it was all very interesting. Some were taken care of, some looked as if nobody had entered in decades. This reminded me of a project that I did when I was a senior at Newman where I went around Metairie Cemetery and took photos of various architectural styles represented by the family tombs there.
In the Recoleta there were also many, many significant personages from Argentinian history, from generals, to writers, Nobel laureates, former presidents, and dictators; tucked away in a narrow side alley in a family tomb not much different from any of the others, is the tomb of Eva Peron herself.
Eventually, we came to what is apparently the only Jewish burial in the entire cemetery:
And finally, the Duarte family tomb, where Eva Peron is buried. The
story of the long journey that she took after her death before being buried in La Recoleta, some thirty feet underground, is pretty incredible. Yet, on this hot Saturday in March, we stood in front of this tomb, practically alone. So hard to find is the Duarte tomb, that several people, hearing Tracy speaking in English to Jim and me as we we walked away, asked her for help finding it….apparently many people don’t even know that she is buried in the Duarte tomb, not a Peron tomb.
Not far from Evita’s tomb, in a lovely shaded location at the center of the cemetery, is Pedro Aramburu, the dictator who overthrew the Peron Government in 1955. This cemetery is full of so many political adversaries, all resting in such close proximity to each other.
After that fascinating walk through the cemetery, it was time for some cold refreshments, so we went to a neighborhood cafe,
La Biela, just across from the cemetery, where Tracy had a coffee and Jim and I each had a large amount of dulce de leche ice cream (which ended up being lunch!).
Next stop was an interesting, upscale little shop where Tracy had arranged for us to sample some “mate,” the national drink of Argentina. Yerba Mate is everywhere, you see people in the streets with a thermos bottle under one arm, carrying a special cup (also called a “mate”) and straw called a bombilla. From what I had read, I expected it to be an acquired taste, and it didn’t disappoint! I’d say that the “traditional” brew that we started with tasted just like brewed grass clippings, but they had some other blends that were much nicer. I decided that a traditional leather-covered Mate and silver bombilla would make a handsome souvenir of this trip, and they had a nice selection to choose from, so I made another contribution to the local economy here.
Nearly done, we walked next to the
El Ateneo, a bookstore in a converted theater, which was jammed with people, and it was nice to see a bookstore so busy.
We started our tour of Buenos Aires last weekend with a visit to the Quinquela Martin Museum in La Boca, and ended at the
Museum of Decorative Arts, in a beautiful mansion in the Recoleta neighborhood. At this point, we were pretty worn out, but it was certainly easy to admire the grandeur of this old mansion.
Sitting atop a desk in an upstairs bedroom were a pair of Chinese roof tiles that I immediately recognized from my visit to China in 2018 where I was so fascinated by these ceremonial roof tiles that appeared on so many old buildings. These were a pair of “Rooster Riding Deities” which are always the first (outermost) of these tiles and appear on even the lowliest building, followed by other beasts in increasing numbers depending on the importance of the building (the highest number is on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, in the Forbidden City in Beijing). Here are photos of the ones I saw today in Buenos Aires, and a another photo from my 2018 trip to Beijing. This was very cool!
Cab ride back to the hotel, and I wanted to walk a bit more around the Puerto Madero neighborhood, so I went out by myself and got a few photos. After all that, we had a dinner for everyone on the cruise, where we met more Australians (and dined with them). Bags are to be outside our doors by 10:00 pm for tomorrow, and we are being bused to the airport starting at 6:00 am. Somehow I lucked out and drew the last bus, so I get to sleep a bit later and don’t have to be downstairs until 7:00 am! Tomorrow will be an exciting day as we fly to Ushuaia and finally embark on our cruise!
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