DAY-07: Final Day in Buenos Aires
DAY-07: Final Day in Buenos Aires
Day – 07: Monday, February 24, 2020
Starting Location: Hotel Emperador, Buenos Aires, AR
Ending Location: At Sea Aboard the M.S. Marina
Well today is the last day in Buenos Aires before heading to sea to begin the cruise.
We had a relatively easy morning with checkout planned for 10 AM followed by a city tour of Buenos Aires. As with other events the meet up in the hotel lobby provided more time for chatting and all that goes with that.
The tour was for about four hours including several stops at prominent Argentine memorials, public buildings, the Recoleta Cemetery and finally the Palermo district of the city.
We passed the French and British monuments all in support of the Argentine independence from Spain in the early 19th century. One piece of art work, a large metallic flower as designed would have been quite interesting as it features the flower bud opening and ultimately closing through the day from sunrise to sunset. Unfortunately the flower bud had a mechanical malfunction and was not opening today.
So it goes with South America, they make neat and cool things but have little ability to maintain them.
Our guide Diego gave us a running commentary on life in Argentina, the good and bad.
Currently new tax levies have been introduced to refill the treasury coffers following much social spending. One of the new taxes is a 30% tax on travel out of of Argentina and on currency exchange. The tax only applies to Argentinians so we as tourists are not affected.
We saw a range of housing options from the immigrant shanty towns to the multimillion dollar homes of the wealthy including many of which that had been sold by wealthy families to foreign countries for use as embassies. Downtown condo type homes with a couple of bedrooms and baths and about 16oo SqFt went for $400,000 and up, actually not a bad price for a downtown capital city location.
Here are some pictures from our tour of Buenos Aires:
We stopped in the park in front of the Pink Palace, the office of the president of Argentina. This is the location from which Eva Peron historically spoke to her loyal supporting crowds and where in the movie Madonna sings "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Didn't really happen as the song was composed long after Eva Peron had passed on to history but it made for good theater.
The crypt of General Jose de San Martin is in a cathedral in Buenos Aires. His life is celebrated throughout South America as a leader for independence from the European oppressors.
The visit to and walking tour of the cemetery at Recoleta was primarily to continue the story of Eva Peron. Today the crowds were much larger than during my Friday visit. Today there was a line of tour groups waiting to pass by the Duarte crypt for the fleeting glance of "Evita's" final resting place.
Again the life and post life of Eva Peron was amazing, seems the poor woman would not be left to rest in peace, having been shuttled around Argentina, then hidden in or exiled to Italy for many years and finally returned to the current resting spot at Recoleta.
As an interesting aside, those of Irish heritage buried at Recoleta typically had green markers.
Finally our tour passed into what was at one time the Italian section of Buenos Aires, an area referred to as the Palermo district. Here we had about an hour to wander through the artsy district, marvel at the colorful shops, stores and cafes and of course buy stuff. Sheila and I stopped at a Cafe and had a beer and Coke before our departure for the ship terminal. And yes, we did buy "stuff". Here are some photos of the formerly Italian Palermo district:
So ended our time in Buenos Aires a city not so different than many around the world a city of haves and have nots with a large working class trying to make ends meet. This is a country wracked by the pull from left to right and back again, socialist ideals followed by swings to the right followed by rebounds to the left. The country has a history of both violent and non-violent revolution and if present conditions continue the history will continue as well.
Around two o'clock we arrived ar the ship terminal and proceeded through checkin and security. after immigration and carryon baggage screening we were ready to board the Marina. Our checked luggage, for us six pieces, had been taken from the hotel directly to the ship and ultimately delivered to our stateroom.
The final checkin procedure was at the gangway where everyone was checked for body temperature. Each of us received a forehead scan; one of the two of us had to be rechecked. Supposedly if a passenger registered a body temperature above 100.4, they would not be allowed to board. This was the third level of screening aimed at prevention of novel-coronavirus exposure. During the earlier checkin we had completed health questionnaires with an emphasis on possible exposures and symptoms related to the ongoing influenza virus; additionally our passports were reviewed page by page for recent trips to China and other countries deemed as high risk.
With all of the screening and checking behind us we finally boarded about 2:30 PM and found our way to our stateroom #10048, port side, midships on the 10th deck. Will be a little tight for the next three weeks:
Our baggage had been delivere as promised. We took time to unload, and put things away to establish somewhat normal living conditions for the next three weeks. We met our room butler, "Call me Ishmael", actually Ismial and the room steward Sudipto or "Call me Sudi".
To get ourselves aligned with shipboard dieting we then headed for food. Here we saw another change aimed at the current virus scare. No longer is the buffet a serve-yourself style. The ship had covered the open reaching type serving areas with Saran Wrap type materials which required ships food service personnel to serve your plates as you pointed at the desired food. Actually this is not a bad change as I've often thought that 1,000 people breathing, wheezing and coughing over the food line was problematic.
Having finished a light lunch we were approached by a food service manager offering a table at one of the specialty restaurants for the night, so without having had time to digest my slice of pizza and salad, we now had to think about dinner; the time was about 4:00 PM so why not eat again in about four hours. Here's a bit of "Ship Art":
Think I might take a shot or two at Augusta while on the cruise.
And so we dined tonight at The Polo Grill, one of four specialty restaurants in addition to the nightly general feeding in the main dining room. I had steak and Sheila had salmon with appetizers and salads all washed down with a nice wine; and of course there was dessert. So let's count, in the first eight hours on the ship we had likely consumed 8,000 calories, okay maybe I exaggerate.
The ship departed Buenos Aires around 8:30 PM for what would be an overnight slow cruise to Montevideo.
Following dinner we settled into the stateroom and were soon asleep for a needed good night's rest.
Ending Location: At Sea Aboard the M.S. Marina
Well today is the last day in Buenos Aires before heading to sea to begin the cruise.
We had a relatively easy morning with checkout planned for 10 AM followed by a city tour of Buenos Aires. As with other events the meet up in the hotel lobby provided more time for chatting and all that goes with that.
The tour was for about four hours including several stops at prominent Argentine memorials, public buildings, the Recoleta Cemetery and finally the Palermo district of the city.
We passed the French and British monuments all in support of the Argentine independence from Spain in the early 19th century. One piece of art work, a large metallic flower as designed would have been quite interesting as it features the flower bud opening and ultimately closing through the day from sunrise to sunset. Unfortunately the flower bud had a mechanical malfunction and was not opening today.
So it goes with South America, they make neat and cool things but have little ability to maintain them.
Our guide Diego gave us a running commentary on life in Argentina, the good and bad.
Currently new tax levies have been introduced to refill the treasury coffers following much social spending. One of the new taxes is a 30% tax on travel out of of Argentina and on currency exchange. The tax only applies to Argentinians so we as tourists are not affected.
We saw a range of housing options from the immigrant shanty towns to the multimillion dollar homes of the wealthy including many of which that had been sold by wealthy families to foreign countries for use as embassies. Downtown condo type homes with a couple of bedrooms and baths and about 16oo SqFt went for $400,000 and up, actually not a bad price for a downtown capital city location.
Here are some pictures from our tour of Buenos Aires:
 |
| Ford Built Falcons in Argentina for Years |
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| Evita's Balcony |
 |
| Russian Presence in Buenos Aires |
 |
| Eva Peron Memorial |
 |
| Taxi Driver Union Memorial |
The crypt of General Jose de San Martin is in a cathedral in Buenos Aires. His life is celebrated throughout South America as a leader for independence from the European oppressors.
The visit to and walking tour of the cemetery at Recoleta was primarily to continue the story of Eva Peron. Today the crowds were much larger than during my Friday visit. Today there was a line of tour groups waiting to pass by the Duarte crypt for the fleeting glance of "Evita's" final resting place.
Again the life and post life of Eva Peron was amazing, seems the poor woman would not be left to rest in peace, having been shuttled around Argentina, then hidden in or exiled to Italy for many years and finally returned to the current resting spot at Recoleta.
As an interesting aside, those of Irish heritage buried at Recoleta typically had green markers.
Finally our tour passed into what was at one time the Italian section of Buenos Aires, an area referred to as the Palermo district. Here we had about an hour to wander through the artsy district, marvel at the colorful shops, stores and cafes and of course buy stuff. Sheila and I stopped at a Cafe and had a beer and Coke before our departure for the ship terminal. And yes, we did buy "stuff". Here are some photos of the formerly Italian Palermo district:
So ended our time in Buenos Aires a city not so different than many around the world a city of haves and have nots with a large working class trying to make ends meet. This is a country wracked by the pull from left to right and back again, socialist ideals followed by swings to the right followed by rebounds to the left. The country has a history of both violent and non-violent revolution and if present conditions continue the history will continue as well.
Around two o'clock we arrived ar the ship terminal and proceeded through checkin and security. after immigration and carryon baggage screening we were ready to board the Marina. Our checked luggage, for us six pieces, had been taken from the hotel directly to the ship and ultimately delivered to our stateroom.
The final checkin procedure was at the gangway where everyone was checked for body temperature. Each of us received a forehead scan; one of the two of us had to be rechecked. Supposedly if a passenger registered a body temperature above 100.4, they would not be allowed to board. This was the third level of screening aimed at prevention of novel-coronavirus exposure. During the earlier checkin we had completed health questionnaires with an emphasis on possible exposures and symptoms related to the ongoing influenza virus; additionally our passports were reviewed page by page for recent trips to China and other countries deemed as high risk.
With all of the screening and checking behind us we finally boarded about 2:30 PM and found our way to our stateroom #10048, port side, midships on the 10th deck. Will be a little tight for the next three weeks:
Our baggage had been delivere as promised. We took time to unload, and put things away to establish somewhat normal living conditions for the next three weeks. We met our room butler, "Call me Ishmael", actually Ismial and the room steward Sudipto or "Call me Sudi".
To get ourselves aligned with shipboard dieting we then headed for food. Here we saw another change aimed at the current virus scare. No longer is the buffet a serve-yourself style. The ship had covered the open reaching type serving areas with Saran Wrap type materials which required ships food service personnel to serve your plates as you pointed at the desired food. Actually this is not a bad change as I've often thought that 1,000 people breathing, wheezing and coughing over the food line was problematic.
Having finished a light lunch we were approached by a food service manager offering a table at one of the specialty restaurants for the night, so without having had time to digest my slice of pizza and salad, we now had to think about dinner; the time was about 4:00 PM so why not eat again in about four hours. Here's a bit of "Ship Art":
Think I might take a shot or two at Augusta while on the cruise.
And so we dined tonight at The Polo Grill, one of four specialty restaurants in addition to the nightly general feeding in the main dining room. I had steak and Sheila had salmon with appetizers and salads all washed down with a nice wine; and of course there was dessert. So let's count, in the first eight hours on the ship we had likely consumed 8,000 calories, okay maybe I exaggerate.
The ship departed Buenos Aires around 8:30 PM for what would be an overnight slow cruise to Montevideo.
 |
| Captain: "Chief Engineer to the Bridge!" |
Following dinner we settled into the stateroom and were soon asleep for a needed good night's rest.
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