Day 6 - 28 Sep Exploring Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina

Photo above - Caminito Street, La Boca, Buenos Aires. More photos to follow

Back out into the city

Had a lay in this morning, then met for breakfast with a couple of the people I will be travelling with from now on. At 9.30, set off with one of them to have a look around the city. Although overcast again, it was dry and mild. We started on the same route I took yesterday afternoon, along Avenue 9 de Julio, passed the Opera House, and up to the obelisk. I had wanted to go up it to see the city from 220 feet, but it was fully booked. There was a large BA for Buenos Aires nearby that lots of people were posing at, so I took some photos.

Eva Peron and the pink house

Next we continued walking further south to the Plaza de Mayo, a large square, which hosts regular peaceful protests and is where the Casa Rosada or pink house is, the place of work of the country’s president, where in 1952 president Juan Peron’s wife, Eva Peron addressed the assembled masses in her final address before her death. There are other buildings around the square including the Metropolitan Cathedral, where people were knelt down inside facing a priest in an open confessional, totally in view of passing tourists, who could stop and listen if they wanted. There was also an old historical colonial town hall by the square, which is now a museum.

Colourful La Boca

Next we walked further south for about 40 minutes to the working class district of La Boca. This area is right on the water and was a dock area. There was even an attempt in the 1890's to make La Boca independent from Argentina! It is also home to the Argentine football team Boca Juniors, and we walked right past their stadium. People come here though to see three short streets characterised by the colourful painting of the buildings. There are a lot of bars and restaurants here, and people selling paintings, and people offering to tango with you!

There is a small harbour here but you cannot directly see the South Atlantic Ocean. We stopped at a cafe for a drink and a pastry, then caught a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi took us along the waterside for a long part of the way, and this area does look a bit neglected in parts.

A leisurely day, before tomorrow when we take an internal flight north to a city called Salta