Well, I’ve arrived in Buenos Aires. Here is my first view coming in on the plane.
As you can see, the weather isn’t exactly cooperating. Overcast yesterday afternoon when I took this photos. Today is something out of Noah – flashes of lightning, huge crashes of thunder, and rain that fluctuates between steady light and demonstrable deluge.
From yesterday, a monument in Plaza de Mayo.
So far the city is more European than South American. First it seemed like Greece or Rome.
The Casa Rosada (Pink House) is where Evita made her famous song (or was that Madonna).
A cool bridge that is supposed to capture the sweeping arms and legs of tango dancers. You have to have a good imagination here.
Other locations had an obelisk that looked like the Washington monument in an intersection that looked like a mini Times Square. Then a pedestrian shopping street with people constantly hawking “cambrio,” which reminded me so much of Nanjing East Road in Shanghai I wanted to reply Bu Yao.
More when I can get access.
Argentina has come a long way since the days of Eva Peron (aka, Evita), though in which direction is perhaps up for debate. The silverless country whose name is derived from the Latin word for silver is an enigma. And I’m headed there.
This trip is long overdue. In fact, an Argentinian friend from college has been inviting me to visit for the last, well, ahem, um, a long time. I was all set to go several years ago but then my (now former) company sent me to Brussels for three years. I know, it was a tough assignment, but someone had to do it. In any case, I’m finally going to Argentina.
I’ll have a lot more information after the trip, but the basic plan is to fly to Buenos Aires, then two days later fly to Bariloche. A small city of about 100,000, Bariloche sits comfortably between beautiful Nahuel Huapi Lake and the Andes mountains.
From there we’ll head south on the eastern side of the Andes, stopping in some of the most pristine and beautiful parts of Patagonia (the pinkish part in the map above). There will be plenty of stops for hiking, kayaking, and, depending on my friend’s patience, maybe I’ll even learn to fly fish. At this point it looks like the southern terminus will be just below Argentina’s Glaciers National Park, though there is still a slight chance of making it to Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia. Then back to Bariloche where I will likely join in some field sampling fun (the hazards of having a host who is a fisheries biologist and university professor).
Not much chance of me learning how to tango. But, who knows.
It’s summer down there so I expect Buenos Aires to top out in the mid 90s F. Bariloche will be more like 60 F. I’m not even going to guess the temperature by the time we reach the glaciers (which is roughly the equivalent of southern Canada in reverse latitude). During the trip I’ll write as much as I can. There may even be another book in the works by the time I return.
I have another week before I leave, so don’t count me gone yet. Much more before that happens.
More travel related posts here.
David J. Kent is an avid traveler and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.
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