Another long day gone and a longer one to come. Spent a day exploring Buenos Aries by tourist bus, taxi and on foot. I like the on foot bit, you see so much more. Buenos Aries is only a few hours flight from Ushuia, but it is a world away. Apart from the heat and all the trees the most obvious things to me were that in most areas there is very little rubbish lying around and there are no stray dogs. Here dogs seem to be more pampered than at home with lots of pet accessory shops and quite a few dog walkers out and about with several dogs at the same time. I even saw a poodle have her own chair at a roadside café.
There is also a bit of history here all the way from the 17 hundreds to the bomb shrapnel marks on the walls from a military coup about 30 or 40 years ago. But Argentina has had a stable democracy since the last dictator got ousted back in 1983 (I think) after the Falklands war with England. The Malvinas/Falklands is still a sensitive issue with many. The two subjects that are likely to create a lively discussion are politics and football. I know nothing about either here, so got away with it easily. There are a huge number of memorials and streets named after important dates and presidents and other important figures.
Another place to see memorials is the Recoleta Cemetary. Fascinating to look at the various mausoleums, especially if someone can tell you about some of the historical figures entombed there, like Evita Peron
Seeing I did my exploring on a Sunday there were markets everywhere, and mostly artisan type stalls where everything anybody could make was available for sale. By I just walked by as I wanted to visit the Japanese Gardens, like many others so I found out. If you ignored all the people you could find parts that were an oasis of calm. The many parks were full of people and families enjoying a day out. Same with the tourist areas like the colorful La Boca harbor side suburb. I do prefer natural landscapes to manmade, but it was an interesting diversion. Now to head back to an alternate reality.
Regards
Walter
