Tuesday in Buenos Aries

A beautiful sunny day here with an expected high around 30 degrees.

After a wonderful sleep (at least for me) we were out the door at 9:00 ish looking for a bank with a cash machine. It took some doing but we eventually found one. We took out the maximum amount (or so we were told) and then waited for our walking tour to start at 10:30 at the Theatre Colon (the Opera house that we toured when we first got to Buenos Aires three weeks ago)

This tour turned out to be a very long one and was filled with great stories of the rich and famous. The tour guide was fascinating to listen to and I am very happy with the four hours and seven kilometres we walked on this tour ( we had walked over three kilometres before the tour even started!).

The first photo is one taken at plaza San Martin. He ranks right up there with Simon Bolivar as a liberator of South America from the Spanish.

Across from this statue are palaces of extremely rich Argentinians from days past. Lots of interesting stories of family weddings and fights between ultra rich families.

After a quick lunch break we walked across the street to the Falklands/Malivinas war memorial. The guide tried to be diplomatic but he saw the Argentinian side only (as would be expected).

From there we walked past more palaces to the world famous Ricoleta cemetery and outside the gates the tour ended. We took the opportunity to spend about 45 minutes wandering around inside. The first photo is the mausoleum of Eva Peron. Not too fancy considering how famous she is!

This cemetery has fantastic memorials to the rich and famous. The only way to be buried there now is to be part of a family with a place there already. These are two photos I took. I could have easier taken dozens more. I would add that some of the mausoleums are in very poor condition. In one I could have reached in and taken the lid off a child's coffin! Yuck-no way


After deciding to get more cash because we have heard it is better to get it here rather than in Puerto Iguazu we tried several banks (all closed for mid afternoon lunch break) before we found one that was open. We tried getting more money than what we were told was possible and luckily we were able to (for an equal amount of commission as before, so-Bonus!). We have only been able to use my debit card once on this trip; every other time is a cash advance on my Mastercard.

We are scheduled to be picked up tonight between 8 and 8:30 for a supper/tango show that Fernando had recommended to us. I anticipate a late night.

Tomorrow we will be going to the airport for our Puerto Iguazu flight which leaves at 9:15 A.M.