Wanting to get out of the city for a while, the next day we jumped on a train on the way out to the estuary and the town of Tigre.
However, first we decided that we need to check out the famous Cafe Tortoni. We hadn’t really known much about the place prior to our arrival in BA but having seen the queues outside it from the moment it opened to the second it shut, we were intrigued.
The inside was a spectacular homage to the art deco roots of old Argentina, and the history of the place could be felt throughout. There were hundreds of tiffany lamps, marble columns and old oak tables and chairs. There was even a tango museum at the back. The coffee and food were fairly average but the atmosphere of the cafe made up for it.
The train to Tigre was an interesting experience, the journey took about an hour and there wasn’t a minute of peace. Every single stop at least 3 sellers got on and patrolled up and down the aisle flaunting their wares. There were also a large number of beggars trying various different methods to get the passengers to part with a few paseos here and there.
When we arrived it was clear that this was the place to be. The entire train had been packed and instantly emptied when we arrived at this stop. We wandered around for a little while, deciding to walk down the north side of the estuary first and take in the sights. Apart from the frequent bellow of “Helados!” from several ice cream vendors, the whole town had a very chilled vibe.
We eventually decided to wander back over to the other side of the river and take part in the most popular activity of the town, a boat trip. We paid $350 each (about £3.60) for a 90-minute cruise and went off to find some shade to wait our boarding time. The trip was pretty interesting, with plenty of information on the history of the town, the people that lived there and how colonising changed so much for the indigenous people of the region. Half the tour was in Spanish and half in English but we couldn’t help but feel a lot more was said in Spanish.
After the tour we jumped on the train back into town, we had big plans for dinner. On our very first night of this 6-month adventure, back in Tokyo, we met an Irish couple who recommended a Buenos Aires restaurant to us. We couldn’t quite believe that the day we visited this place had finally arrived! Don Julio is one of the best steak restaurants in Buenos Aires. We didn’t have a reservation but we had been told that this doesn’t matter, in fact, sometimes this is better. Basically, you can show up and put your name on the list and this pretty much entitles you to unlimited free fizz while you wait.
By the time we sat down to eat, we were almost too drunk to enjoy our steaks. Thankfully, almost is not quite. We browsed the menu and couldn’t believe how cheap everything was. We decided to treat ourselves to the most expensive thing on the menu (£20), a rare tenderloin steak each with a side of French fries and a salad. And a very fancy bottle of wine (£7). The food was absolutely unreal, everything was perfect and we rounded it all off with a shared pancake stuffed with Dolce De Leche (Argentinian caramel which is basically crack).
The next day we were feeling pretty guilty about perhaps not seeing as much of BA as we could have so we decided to take some drastic measures. The stop for the Hop On Hop Off bus was just around the corner from our hostel. We got up early and headed out in time to jump on the first bus, we were leaving the city at 7 pm that evening and so we didn’t have as much time as we would have liked, as we had to go back to the hostel and grab our bags before attempting to find the bus station.
The bus arrived and we jumped aboard. Unlike the American family behind us, we had come prepared, we had brought our own headphones and some local currency… (I always find it so presumptuous when Americans assume everywhere takes dollars and so don’t bother getting any local currency). We went straight up to the top deck, where I immediately banged my head on the roof of the not-so-open-topped bus.
After dealing seats several times to finally find a headphone jack that worked, we settled in to listen to the history of the city. There is a hell of a lot of churches in Buenos Aires, as well as old European style building that adds to the cities European feel and sense of age. After about 45 minutes we arrived at our first planned stop, La Boca.
We jumped off the bus and waded into the world of colour that was La Boca. We were a little early for the tour that we had planned to take and so settled down in one of the many street cafes to order a coffee. Except that apparently Martin didn’t get the memo. He ordered himself a huge dulce de leche milkshake. It’s not that I was jealous, it’s just that I didn’t realise “getting a coffee” could mean “getting a delicious caramel based beverage that makes everything in life better”.
We met up with the tour group in the main square, amongst the market stalls, men and women were dressed in full tango gear ready to take photos with tourists, and artists painting depictions of the neighbourhood. We set off on the tour, exploring the very colourful streets, learning about the history of the immigrants who made this neighbourhood what it is and finding out about the not-so-pure origins of tango.
As we walked throughout La Boca we had the chance to experience the tiny dwellings that were expected to house upwards of 20 immigrants at a time, we heard live music being played in the traditional style, explored markets and got introduced to paradilla style restaurants.
One of my favourite aspects of the tour was seeing the giant mural to La Madres De La Plaza De Mayo. We had learnt about these powerful women a few days previously during the city tour we had taken, but to see this huge mural dedicated to the in another, incredibly bohemian part of the city just drove home how important they were in their efforts to end the terror of the military government’s regime.
The tour ended outside the huge and overbearing Boca Juniors stadium. This giant, blue and yellow monstrosity of a building can be seen for miles around and seems to capture the heart and essence of La Boca. It’s in the middle of a residential area and is surrounded by statues of Argentina’s legendary football players. Opposite is also another mural of the legendary 3 days that La Boca spent as it’s own republic in response to the repression from the government. Ultimately the chaos and colour of this neighbourhood made it a really special place that I’m kind of gutted we didn’t get to spend more time in.
PHOTOS OF LA BOCA STADIUM
We jumped back on the bus to resume our tour of the city. The next stop we got off at was the famous graveyard of the city where many notable people are buried, including Eva Peron. We wandered around the cemetery, marvelling at the sheer size and opulence of some of these family graves. Equally, we were pretty freaked out by some that seemed to have fallen into disrepair, including coffins that were hanging open and floors and roofs that had fallen in. We later learned that some of these mausoleums were worth up the $3 million USD, not including a yearly maintenance fee as well as paying the relocation costs to remove any existing “residents”.
PHOTOS FROM GRAVEYARD
Sadly this was signalling the end of our day and the end of our time in Buenos Aires. We hopped back on our bus to take us back to the hostel. We had time for a little food, which we managed to find for $50 (50p!!). We grabbed our bags and went off to find the bus station. By this point, we were half excited for (Martin) and half dreading (me) our upcoming 18-hour bus journey.