Day 20 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Drink of the Day – Orient Bay

News at 11…..Yes we were greeted at the port with news teams and helicopters doing interviews and taking pictures of Mariner as it arrived in port. They have never had such a large vessel in this port. Not at all surprising when you consider that it took us over an hour to navigate the narrow and shallow passages to our parking space. Kudos to Captain Johnny for getting us into port safely, albeit late. Seems like the port was extremely crowed and string winds during the night put us behind schedule. It was fascinating to watch the entire process as we copmpleted a three point turn and then ‘backed’ in. And yes…the three lovelies were interviewed as we disembarked. Questions were…”What did we like best about traveling on a ship this size? How have we found our travels in South America? What were we expecting of Buenos Aires? “

Spent our first day in Buenos Aires in a private car tour of the ‘Highlights of Buenos Aires” We found the city to be delightful …not as small and friendly as Montevideo and certainly not as big and ‘seedy’ as Rio. Our guides, 2 young BA natives, demonstrated pride in their city and shared the best parts with us. We were impressed with what we saw and experienced. Lots of big, architecturally interesting buildings, parks and green spaces, wide boulevards and monuments. The following photo is the Pink House where the president of Argentina lives. This is similar to our White House.

The photos below were taken at a park featuring a beautiful rose garden

What we found the most interesting was the Recolleta District or cemetery…yes you read that correct…cemetery. The large area was filled with rows and rows of family ‘mausoleums’ that have been in place since the 1800’s. The crypts were mostly designated by family and ‘added to’ as the need arose. The cemetery included the ‘grave’ of Eva Peron, a simnple crypt where she in interned with her family, ‘The Duarte’s’.

We saw many different neighborhoods and finished with the La Boca district where most of the colorful homes were constructed of ‘recycled’ materials from ships and other structures. We hope to visit this area again tomorrow on our own to sample the local foods, experience the native dances and shop with the local artisans.

We returned to the ship mid afternoon for lunch and to catch our breath. Back out after lunch for a brief trip to the pier and some minor shopping. Cocktails and showers in our room and off we go again.