Wednesday 29th January 2014
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Tango at Cafe Tortoni
Cafe Tortoni
Empty club
Night out
In the club
In the club
La Boca
La Boca
La Boca
La Boca
La Boca
La Boca
La Boca
Sunset
Dinner time
Walk time
Plaza San Martin
Jose San Martin
Torre de los Ingleses (aka Big Ben)
Palacio del Congreso
Plaza del Congreso
Palacio Barolo
Avenida de Mayo
Palacio Barolo
Eva Peron
Cafe Tortoni
Paint stains from a protest
View to Obelisco from Plaza de Mayo
Plaza de Mayo
Plaza de Mayo
Casa Rosada behind protest barriers
The last time we felt like were in a city, as we know it, was over a month ago in Santiago where we spent three days. Before that was Lima, over two months ago, where we spent four days. Since then we had seen the most amazing, breathtaking sights of nature. The kind of places that make you feel fortunate to be alive, and not just then but every time you recall having been there. In these places you feel like part of god’s plan. Just like the place you’re in.
Despite that, it has to be said, there is something about a cosmopolitan city. It’s easy to think it’s just the familiarity of it all, having grown up in London – the best city in the world! But I think it’s more than that. The beautiful architecture, the history, the people who came before and left their mark, the things to do and places to go, an abundance of good food, culture, the pleasure of a nice meal with wine; the ease of everything – not having to be prepared/practical with what you wear, not being stressed about not having something because you know you’re only minutes away from a shop where you can buy it. Yes there definitely are lots of nice things about being in a city.
We were looking very much forward to being back in a city for a while and we had heard such good things about Buenos Aires. We soaked up the city in BA. We got an apartment in San Telmo (the oldest part of the city) for the first few nights and then later stayed in a hotel (yes, hotel not hostel!) in Recoleta. We did a walking tour of the city, went to cafes, restaurants, bars; we even went out to a club. We ate eggs for breakfast, ice cream at Freddo (maracuya mouse flavour was awesome), wore normal clothes. The weather was pretty mild while we were there but the mosquitoes were fierce nevertheless, particularly in the greener parts of the city.
Buenos Aires, architecturally speaking, looks nothing like any other South American city. The wide boulevards and grand buildings screams Paris. In appearance it has a distinctly European feel. This is because the city is built largely with materials imported from Europe. By the early 20th century, Argentina had become extremely wealthy through agriculture. According to the Economist, In the 43 years leading up to 1914, GDP had grown at an annual rate of 6%, the fastest recorded in the world. The invention of refrigerated vessels meant that Argentina was able to export frozen beef as far as Europe. Land owners became very wealthy and needed something to weigh down the ships which would otherwise return from Europe empty. They filled them with materials which would be used to build their lavish family homes or as they are called there, palaces. Today Buenos Aires is still filled with palaces. Most of them belong to the state now but a few still are privately owned.
As the money flowed in so did the foreigners and by 1914 half of the population of Buenos Aires were born abroad, many from Europe. And so goes the joke, that Peruvians are descendants of the Incas and the Argentines descended from the boats.
Argentina’s prosperity was not to last. An over dependence exports (particularly to the UK) and foreign currency resulted in the initial blow during the first world war. Poor literacy rates contributed to their inability to bounce back; unfair division of land contributed to unrest and political turmoil which have since resulted in a vicious cycle of restrictive trade policies and further volatility in the economy. Argentina had not seen a democratically elected president for 60 years until the elections in 1989. Interruptions in democracy are still a threat with presidents having a habit of changing the rules to allow them to serve extra terms.
Looking around Buenos Aires it is difficult to reconcile the once incredibly prosperous country with the state of its economy today. The architectural prowess alongside the graffitied protest barriers. Recent currency crashes (25% while we were there) means money is pouring out of the peso and into more stable foreign currencies such as the US dollar. In retail establishments and even on street corners people try to buy dollars by offering an exchange rate as much as 50% higher than the official rate. Ordinary Argentines have strict currency controls in place against them. We were told by a local that people could not afford to travel because the tax on foreign spending was so high (around 40% on credit card spending if I recall correctly). Just taking money out of a cash machine carried a minimum 5% charge when we were there and there are also withdrawl limits. It was impossible to buy foreign currency while we were there.
The city felt quiet while we were there. The majority of people having a good time in the restaurants when we were there seemed to be foreign. It was a time of the year when Porteños are known to go for summer holidays but I couldn’t help but feel the economic problems weren’t helping.
Buenos Aires is so large that there are several walking tours covering different regions. We did two, well one and a half. The walking tour we did around Recoleta was excellent, one of the best we did the whole trip. The guide was full of interesting facts like the government intervention to fake it’s place in the Big Mac Index. (You can’t find the Big Mac on the menu in McDonalds in Argentina but if you ask for it they will serve you one and it’s much cheaper than any of the other burgers!) We were given a Porteño’s view of the controversy around the Falklands being a distraction from more serious problems faced by the country. We were told about how currency controls affect ordinary people. We found out that plastic surgery was standard on medical insurance plans (one procedure every three years included) along with a personal psychologist (apparently, if you don’t have a shrink, there’s something wrong with you). We were even told the entirely horrifying story of what happened with Evita’s body after she died. Without the tour I think we would have been left with the image of a beautiful city on the brink of economic collapse.
-50.973273
-72.875219
Ramblers Rumblings 