A Traveler's Photo Journal

The pool at Finca Adalgisa

Mendoza lies just 760 miles south of Salta, but it seems like another world.  We are staying in the Chacras de Coria neighborhood of Mendoza, pretty much the Boca Raton/Aspen of Argentina.  We suffered a slight sticker shock coming from Salta.  The Finca Adalgisa, where we are staying, is a beautiful 2 acre property, with California style and California prices.  The neighborhood is south of the main town of Mendoza, and is known for its nice properties and boutique hotels.  The Finca Adalgisa, (converted into a hotel in 2002) makes its own Malbec wine from vines first planted in 1916.  The finca’s wine is only for the guests.

Finca Adalgisa

We arrived to clear blue skies and warm temperatures.  Relaxation by the pool was followed by a glass of the finca’s own Malbec and tapas.  The property is beautiful, but the food prices are “international pricing”, very different from downtown Mendoza or Salta.

Finca Adalgisa’s wine tasting area. Many of the buildings are built around trees and grape vines.

We decided to walk into the main part of Chacras de Coria to get local prices for dinner.  We saw many dogs on the street, all of them friendly.  We can’t decide whether they are street dogs, or family dogs on the loose, but they are not afraid of people, are in good shape, hang out in the cafes and sometimes don’t even eat the treats we give them.

We stumbled upon a little fair with live music, pony rides and market stalls.  The weather was fine, as we had expected.  I’d been watching the weather reports, and Mendoza was always warm and dry.  Too bad that didn’t hold out.  Too bad for the grapes and the wine growers as well.

Iglesia Catedral, Salta

Salta is off the beaten path; way off compared to Buenos Aires.  But that can be a good thing.  Relatively new to the tourist route, Salta is well worth a day spent walking and discovering all it has to offer.  Just 15 years ago, according to the estancia’s manager, “Salta was a white space on the map.”  Most of the tourists in Salta come from Argentina.

The building that houses the MAAM

Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, MAAM

A big part of the reason it is now on the tourist map, is the Inca children found on top the volcano Llullaillaco and the museum built for keeping, preserving and exhibiting that important find (March 1999).  National Geographic partially sponsored the excavation (a joint effort between the US and Peruvian and Argentinean mountaineers and archaeologists), the results of which are now housed in the MAAM, Museo Archeological de Alta Montana.  The exhibit includes films of the discovery, funerary objects and accoutrements, and the three mummified children. All three children are not displayed at once, rather they are rotated.   The day we visited, El Nino, (the boy) was on display.  So life-like are the mummies, so real and recent looking, that it was a far more emotional experience than I was expecting.  The 6 year old girl, 7 year old boy, and 15 year old maiden were dressed in their finest, given corn alcohol to drink and coca leaves to chew, and then buried on the mountain top. 

El Nino. He was about seven years old when he died. The Boy was found seated on a grey tunic with his head facing the rising sun. As every man of the Inca elite, he wore short hair and a white feather ornament held by a woolen string tied around his head. Among the varied items that accompanied him was a miniature llama caravan led by finely dressed men. (From the MAAM brochure)

The exhibit discussed the ceremonial aspect, but it was hard to get around that when the children looked so real, almost alive.  The atmospheric conditions at 6,739 meters (22,109 feet) freeze-dried the bodies and mummified them naturally.  This museum alone was worth the visit to Salta, but we saw so much more.

We walked from the bus station into the main square, Plaza 9 de Julio, passing many historic buildings along the way, some of them Beaux Arts style.  For the most part, the buildings were not restored, save for a few around the main plaza, now museums.

We visited two such museums, the Museo Historico Del Norte, and the Casa de Gobierno, from 1913, in the Art Nouveau style.  The MAAM was my favorite, but they were all worthwhile.  The Historical Museum of the North is considered the best preserved and most complete “Cabildo” in all of Argentina.  It dates to as far back as 1626, but is most representative of buildings from 1789 to 1807.

Exterior of the Museo Historico del Norte

The exterior portico of the Museo del Norte

We took a short break for lemonadas, browsed through the stalls of a market, then had a nice lunch on the main square.

Enjoying a lemonade break on the main square

There was less graffiti here in Salta than Buenos Aires, and I actually liked this painting on a building.

Lunch spot on the Plaza 9 de Julio. We saw many street dogs, all of them friendly

A little more shopping and walking around while waiting for the church to reopen for afternoon visits.  We learned that the black and red colors of the ponchos worn by the gauchos during the war symbolized red for blood and black for death.

At 5 pm the Iglesia y Convento San Francisco church opened its door for visitors.  It is being restored on the exterior, and is fashionably covered in a faux exterior.  That was a nice change from the usual ugly construction scaffolding.

The exterior, under construction, of Iglesia y Convento San Francisco

Interior of Iglesia y Convento San Francisco

The taxis were cheap and numerous, costing only $2 – $3 for rides to the market and the bus station from Plaza 9 de Julio.  The 1 hour and 15 minute bus out and back from the estancia was only $2 each way.

A well deserved coffee break

Casa de Gobierno

Casa de Gobierno

Estancia El Bordo de las Lanzas

A short taxi ride, two hours on a jet, another short taxi ride, a 1:20 minute bus ride, then a 5 minute walk on dusty roads had us at the Estancia El Bordo de las Lanzas.  The Estancia is a 400 year old estate built by General Guemes’ mother.  We discovered that General Guemes was the most famous and important of all gauchos in the area, and rallied all the other gauchos to fight the Spanish for Argentina’s independence.  There is a town named for him, and a statue here in El Bordo in his honor.  El Bordo is north of Salta, near Jujuy, in the NW part of Argentina.

The house is beautiful, with the tile roof, whitewashed walls, inner courtyard and covered verandahs that make these old houses so pleasant.  We arrived around 7 pm, just enough time to check out the casa and get settled in before dinner.  Dinner was a barbecue, with  four other guests.  After dinner four children from the village gave an exhibition of Argentine native dances, including the chacarerra.

We came here for the horseback riding, which we did at 9:30 the next morning.  The estancia’s head gaucho, Gallardo, took us for a four hour ride through the property and into a nature preserve where we saw caymans.  I rode Lipan and my sister rode Hornero.

Gallardo

Me on Lipon

Afternoons are for relaxation and siesta.  We took full advantage of the laidback atmosphere.  The other guests left so we had the place to ourselves.  Sophia made us a wonderful dinner enjoyed in the main dining room.  The soups she made for both lunch and dinner were wonderful.

Sophia serves up her wonderful soup

Our ride the next day, with Gallardo, started at 8 am.  We rode the same two horses on a different route, and it was lovely.  Our 3 ½ hour ride was followed by another tasty lunch and more relaxation, of course.  This is what El Bordo is all about;  horseback riding the gaucho way, farming the land, good food, and relaxation.

Casa Rosada

After spending the previous evening mourning the loss of my camera, today I thought it best just to carry on.  We spent the day retracing some of our steps, and me getting used to a new camera.  We went straight back to Plaza de Mayo and the downtown area (carrying the backpack in front, not behind me) and back to the Casa Rosada.

Statue in the Plaza de Mayo

Monument to the May Revolution 1810

Downtown street

Tango runs this city.  It is the money maker and the motivator.  It is used to sell anything and everything.  And if tango is the heart and soul of Buenos Aires, then Carlos Gardel is the voice and face of tango.  After the Plaza de Mayo we walked into the neighborhood where Carlos Gardel grew up and where his old home, now a museum, is located.  It is not a touristy part of the city, which now makes me feel more comfortable than the busy tourist streets.

Fruit stand in Carlos Gardel’s neighborhood

Gardel’s museum was closed but the area surrounding it is practically a shrine to him.  We passed many buildings with his likeness painted on the side and a statue in his honor.  The streets around his home are very colorful, some buildings painted with his likeness and music notes.

Next door to Carlos Gardel’s home and museum

Across the street

A street corner on Gardel’s street

Carlos Gardel art

Carlos Gardel in tile

My sister stopped to purchase some tango clothes, while I found some of the shop windows very entertaining.

Me against a colorful building

Carlos Gardel statue

Beautiful shoes, 1700 Argentine Pesos

Shop window

More tango for this afternoon as we headed to the Confiteria Ideal, where they have a dance at three.  Unfortunately it is every day but tues, so we had to be content with lunch and no dancing.  Two more repeats, the Café Tortoni and the National Tango Museum and Academy.  Alas, the photos are not the same, but we had a good day.

Confiteria Ideal

Tango steps in the sidewalk outside the Confiteria Ideal

Tango Academy

Bandoneon in the Tango Museum

The interior of Café Tortoni

Back to the hotel to rest until the evening activities, dinner and a show/dance at 11 pm.

Our last evening in Buenos Aires began with dinner at Don Julio’s, just two blocks from our hotel.  Don Julio’s is listed in just about every guide book as one of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires, especially known for steaks, but they had good vegetarian options as well.  The wine list was extensive, with very good reasonably priced wines by the glass.  We had an excellent glass of Malbec for 35 Argentine Pesos, around $3.50.  The service was speedy and professional (not always the case in Argentina), and the atmosphere was friendly.  We sat down to dinner at 10 pm.

Dpn Julio’s

After dinner at Don Julio’s we walked to one of the top rated Buenos Aires milongas, Salon Canning.  My sister had danced here the night before and reserved a table for us for tonight because one of her favorite tango bands, Color Tango, was scheduled to play.  The cover charge for the night was $6 each.  This was only my second milonga experience, the first being the Sunday night milonga in San Telmo’s Plaza Dorrego.

I’m learning quite a bit about tango on this trip, despite not being a dancer.  It is my sister’s passion, so I’m along for the ride in this respect.  The dance is fun to watch, and since a lot of the action is in the feet, it is a good excuse to watch for beautiful shoes.  According to my sister, tango in Argentina is all about the embrace, while in North America, it’s all about the steps.

The dance started at 11 pm.  You can see how tango fuels the economy here.  It brings in tourists and locals alike to the tango classes, dances and shows, and supports the shoe, clothing and trinket industry.  We saw many groups of tourists from all over the globe.  The place was packed on a Tuesday night, always a popular night.  The band didn’t start until 2 pm, but they really were wonderful, and so much better than the recorded music.  I thought Lonely Planet put it best when they wrote, “…as the beat up sound system plays tango classics.”

Last dance

Due to an early flight at 10:20 the next day (that is early for Argentina) we left the dance at 2:30 am.  My sister got her one last Buenos Aires dance in, although not the last milonga for the trip as they do have some in Mendoza as well.  As we passed Don Julio’s on our way back to the hotel at 2:30 am, patrons were still relaxing at the tables.

As a non-dancing spectator, I enjoyed the outdoor milonga in the historic Plaza Dorrego the best.

NOTES ON BUENOS AIRES

The City:  Despite having my camera stolen, I like the city.  It is often called The Paris of South America, and we would agree.  With a little more money invested into restoration and sidewalk repair, and the removal of the graffiti, it would be as beautiful as any European capital.  It is a beautiful city with great parks, historic buildings, churches and a vibrant downtown.  Pick-pocketing can happen in any big city and it would be wise not to carry a large camera in any busy city downtown area.

The People:  Everyone we had personal contact with was courteous and helpful.  The staff at the Bobo Hotel were stellar, and I would highly recommend staying there.  The location was good; Palermo is a greener neighborhood than many, within walking distance to many of the popular milongas, and surrounded by trendy restaurants.  Every day we saw examples of common courtesy: a young woman on the subte gave up her seat to an elderly man, an older woman gave up her seat to a woman carrying a baby, people stopped to ask if they could translate for us, strangers stopped to warn us about carrying the camera in view.  At Don Julio’s when we got our bill, they had not charged us for two glasses of wine we had while waiting for our table.  We brought this to their attention and they left to fix the bill.  When they returned with the corrected bill, they also brought us two more glasses of wine.  When we protested, they smiled and said “for free, for free”.

Dogs:  We saw dogs everywhere, all accompanied by their people and being treated well.  We also saw the dog walkers in the park, but the maximum number of dogs we saw with one walker was 6.  Dogs seem to have a good life style here and are treated as part of the family.  Dog boutiques were numerous.

Graffiti:  The city’s biggest detraction is the graffiti on the buildings and monuments.  My sister was here 7 years ago and noticed a marked increase since then.  We saw graffiti on historic buildings, monuments, store fronts, doors, everywhere except the tile mosaics in the subte stations.  We spoke with some locals about it and were told that “Americans associate graffiti with gangs, but here it is all political.”  Also, there is no consequence for the vandals.  If you are caught, there is no fine, and the police will walk right past and do nothing.

The stained glass ceiling light above the main staircase in the Teatro Colon

Walking around the city today reminded me a lot of both Madrid and Barcelona.  Downtown Buenos Aires has some very wide avenues (9 lanes in each direction) with a green space in the middle, lots of historic buildings and a bustling crowd of business people.  Still, many of the buildings have graffiti which is such a shame.

We took the subte from Plaza Italia to Catedral.  As we exited the subte into the busy street, we decided it was safe enough to get the camera out again.  We stopped in a shop and right away the young shop woman pointed at the camera and said “Be careful.”  She said that just this past Saturday in front of their shop a tourist had had their camera snatched right from their hands as they took a photo.  We put the camera back in the backpack and only took it out to take photos.  We even would look around first to make sure it was clear before getting the camera out.

We walked around Plaza de Mayo and photographed the area, including Casa Rosada and the Obelisco.  We took a side street and found a Franciscan Church (with many banners showing Pope Francis) and toured that as well.  A stop in a book store for postcards and more walking.  We covered the entire area of Plaza de Mayo on foot (I took many photos, none of which are included in this blog, but more on that later).

Teatro Colon

One of our main goals today was to tour the Teatro Colon, one of the world’s greatest opera houses.  It dates to 1908.  We bought tickets for the 1 pm English-speaking tour.  The theater is fantastic and it would have been wonderful to see a performance.  Our guide was a music student and she treated us to some singing.  It was a great tour and the building was really beautiful.

Inside the Teatro Colon

Inside the theaters main hall

The Colon Theater is only about 5 or 6 blocks from the tango shoe mecca called Comme il Faut.  My sister has bought shoes here before, and it sounded like so much fun I wanted to try it.  It is hardly advertised and no signs, so it took a bit of finding, but we did.  You ring the bell, and as you’re let in they ask you to sit.  No shoes are displayed.  They ask you your size, the heel height and the color you are looking for, and then they start bringing out boxes and setting them all around you on the floor.  It was fun, and I had at least 25 boxes open.  Because I had no particular color in mind, I said I wanted something beautiful, I had a rainbow of shoes to try.  When we arrived, we were only the second patrons, but as the afternoon wore on, more and more customers came in.  It is a busy and colorful store and a lot of fun.  I ended up with two pair of beautiful tango shoes that will be worth just as much used in the US as they are new here.

Buying shoes at Comme il Faut

After our shoe extravaganza we headed to the historic Café Tortoni.  We had a wonderful lunch and toasted our day with a glass of champagne.  More great photos were taken (none of which will ever be seen).   Our next stop, right next door, was a tour of the National Tango Museum.

Café Tortoni

It now being about 5 pm, we had only to walk a few blocks to the subte and be back at the hotel.  The camera was dutifully packed into the backpack and we walked nonstop to the subway.  As we descended the subway steps my sister noticed the backpack, which had been zipped and clasped, was open and my camera missing.  We were victims of theft, from a zipped backpack, while wearing it and walking and talking.  (We later got more info on the camera thieves.  It is a gang of women who pick pocket tourists targeting cameras almost exclusively.  They are professionals and work in groups on the street and in shops).

So back at the hotel I mourned the loss of my camera, which has accompanied me to 5 continents.  It was a great loss and I was feeling down the rest of the day.  Inquiries into how to handle it and whether or not to make a police report resulted in us chalking it up to experience.  We would have wasted half a day making the report and I would not have gotten the camera back.  I would advise anyone planning on touring the city of Buenos Aires to leave their large camera in the room, and walk around with a point and shoot that you can slip into a pocket.  I wish I had done just that.

My sister took this photo of me and my NIkon in the Teatro Colon, the last picture of me and my camera

The photos on this blog were all from my iPhone, which my sister was using as backup while I used the Nikon.  For the remainder of this trip to Argentina and Chile I will be using my sister’s Olympus SP-600UZ.