Flashback Series: "Hello, Buenos Aires!"

Evita soundtrack on repeat. That’s the best way to describe my four days in Buenos Aires with Cecilia – we even watched the movie at the hostel in Buenos Aires after we visited the Casa Rosada, the famous movie site, and at any point in time could be caught singing one of the songs out loud.  We had a fantastic time in this wonderfully cosmopolitan city – each district had its own unique character, and it was easy to feel like you were in two different cities at once simply by traveling a different direction for a few miles.

Buenos Aires was one of the top destinations on both of our South America travel lists – we had both decided it would be worth the extra cost to travel to Argentina, even though we had to pay a $160 fee (Ceci preferred to call it a fine) to enter the country. In the Argentinians’ defense, they have to pay about the same amount to enter the United States, so they seem to think it evens out. Either way, this lovely little hit on our bank accounts had just been implemented in January, only for residents of the United States, Australia, or Canada. You have to pay by card online before entering the country, then print off the confirmation page. When we got off the airplane there was a little guy waiting by the gate with a sign saying that residents of the three countries I just named had to show him proof of payment before proceeding. After we showed him ours, we asked what would have happened to us if we hadn’t paid the fee ahead of time or didn’t have proof of purchase, out of curiousity. His response? To point back at the plane we had just exited. No smile. Yikes.

We arrived in BA after staying overnight at the airport in Lima, Peru (we parked ourselves next to a Starbucks and had free wifi all night), which we chose to do instead of arrive in the city at 10 PM the night before – nighttime arrivals in a new big city usually aren’t the best idea for two female backpackers, costwise or safetywise. So instead we arrived in the city center bright and early on a Monday morning, ready to get to our hostel and start exploring.

We had some luck finding a wonderful hostel – three other people had recommended the hostel to us in Peru, and it turned out that one of the guys who had been on our Machu Picchu tour even had a couple nights booked there already for the same time we would be there. Mill House was a great hostel right in the middle of the historic downtown, just a few blocks walk from the Plaza de Mayo, the heart of the city. They had lots of activities on offer, a great common room to hang out in, order food, and meet fellow travelers, and nice rooms with a lot of balcony space.

The Paris of South America

Our first order of business after we checked into the hostel was to find some coffee, because we are Gina and Ceci, so after a short time wandering around and admiring the city streets we found ourselves a cute little outdoor café. The weather was wonderfully warm – a nice change after chilly weather in the Andes. As we sat with our coffees and observed our surroundings, we decided our first impression of the city was that it was a mix between Paris and Barcelona. (Fun fact: we both studied abroad in Barcelona in the same year in college. I left in August and she arrived in September.) We couldn’t believe we were still in South America. I had always heard that Buenos Aires was considered the ‘Paris of South America’ and now I certainly understand why. The beautiful buildings on the broad avenues, with outdoor cafes and wide sidewalks for strolling were definitely reminiscent of any major European city. Those Spaniards sure knew what they were doing when developing Buenos Aires into their shining glory capital city, along with Lima and Mexico City.  

Downtown plaza in Buenos Aires

 In Buenos Aires I had my very first tour bus experience. I’m ashamed to say that I usually look on the big city tour buses with disdain, filled with all the tourists zipping around on an open rooftop bus taking pictures and listening to the guide or recording. I really don’t know what my problem with the tour buses were, I just always felt like I would enjoy exploring a city by walking around it instead of zipping around on a bus. But, Ceci really enjoys the tour buses, so when she decided she wanted to take the tour and invited me along (yet another reason why Ceci is the best travel buddy ever – she and I are both independent enough to do things that we want to do on our own, so we’re perfectly happy splitting up at times but we get along so well that we usually just end up having more fun together). I knew she wanted me to come, so I decided that I couldn’t judge the tour buses unless I had done it myself, and bought my ticket. And you know what, it wasn’t half bad. I learned quite a bit, and I saw more than I would have by just walking around in the same amount of time. I don’t know if I’d do one again by choice, but for such a big city with limited time it really was a good way to get a feel of the layout of the city.  

A visit to Buenos Aires wouldn’t be complete without touring the historic Plaza de Mayo, site of the Casa Rosada, (White House equivalent) best known for the balcony where Evita sang “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” The Plaza, also famous for the site of the Argentine defeat of the colonial Spanish on May 25^th, 1810, is still an important landmark and site of protests and demonstrations. Argentina has been through some pretty heavy political turmoil in the last century, including the presidential legacy of Juan Peron and his wife Eva, followed by a military dictatorship in the 1970s. The military ruling led to what is now known as the ‘Dirty War’ in Argentina, when hundreds of political suspects mysteriously disappeared, most to be tortured and killed. The mothers of these unfortunate prisoners have since joined together and formed the association of Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.  Once a week the women met in the Plaza de Mayo to silently protest and commemorate their lost loved ones. They still do this today, in remembrance. The Plaza de Mayo is the heart and spirit of the Argentine, and continues to retain its historical significance to this day. 

 Plaza de Mayo

 Casa Rosada

View from Evita's balcony

  We had a quick tour through the Casa Rosada, translated into ‘the Pink House,’  bordering the Plaza de Mayo. It was originally built as a fort in the late sixteenth century, but since then has been renovated and rebuilt, its current structure lasting since 1898. According to Wikipedia, there are a few reasons for the pink color – one of them being that they used cow’s blood to tint the paint in order to prevent humidity, another proposes the idea that pink neutralized the two opposing forces, red and white, of the two main political parties at the time. Who knows? Either way, it’s a beautiful Neoclassical building, with an elegant interior that has now been preserved as a museum. Technically, the current Argentinian president doesn’t actually live there, but still uses the building for official business.

La Boca

 One of the highlights of the city for me was going to La Boca, an old neighborhood in a formerly rundown area that used to be considered highly dangerous. In the past, there was a high concentration of Italians (mostly Genoese, they say) living and working in La Boca (which means ‘the mouth,’ referring to the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, the river which runs through the city out to the ocean – La Boca used to be the port area of the city).  It went through a bit of a Renaissance from its rough and rowdy reputation, and is now considered a culturally thriving area, where the birth of the tango, Argentina’s national dance, took place.  It’s well known for its brightly painted houses of different colors, especially a street called El Caminito. I heard a story from Ceci that the reason there are so many different colors is because most people couldn’t afford enough paint to color their entire houses, so instead they shared the paint and chose to make everything multicolored. La Boca is also the home of one of Argentina’s most famous football team and stadium, the Boca Juniors. The area is very touristy, if you stay in the safe part, but still a nice place to spend an afternoon walking around and enjoying the sights. If you're lucky you can even catch a tango performance at one of the outdoor cafes or out on the streets. We spent an hour just sitting at a cafe (Ceci and I somehow always managed to know exactly when the other wanted to have a coffee break) and people watching in the sunshine. 

One of many coffee breaks, in La Boca.

 Ask most travelers what Buenos Aires is famous for and they will likely say one or all of the following:  Evita, the tango, good wine, and steak. We had been to the Casa Rosada, seen the tango cafes in La Boca, so by our last night it was time to indulge in a delicious wine and steak dinner, at a restaurant recommended to us by at least three people. Not only did I truly have the best steak I’ve ever had in my life, but I also the cheapest steak dinner in my life. Four of us paid no more than 18 dollars each for bread, salads, steaks, and wine. If any of you ever go to Buenos Aires, please do yourself a favor and go to La Cabrera, listed at the top of nearly every ‘best steakhouse in Buenos Aires list. It is absolutely worth it. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed walking around Palermo, one of the more upscale districts of the city, before and after our meal.

  Our last morning in the city we had coffee at Café Tortoni, a famous Buenos Aires establishment since 1858. It has been selected as one of the ten most beautiful cafes in the world, and has been visited by celebrities such as Jorge Luis Borges, Albert Einstein, and Hilary Clinton. As we reminisced about our lovely time in BA, we congratulated ourselves in delaying our plans in order to spend an extra day in the city. It was worth it for all the coffee breaks at lovely cafes, the walks in the beautiful streets, the delicious food, and the different districts. But, all good things must come to an end. We had a late afternoon bus to catch, so after sharing a taxi ride with one of our roommates, we bought our bus snacks and prepared for departure. Our last glimpse of Buenos Aires was through the bus window in the rain as we drove away from the city. We decided Argentina was crying for us. We knew we’d be back.