Page 10 - june 16, 2016 - martensville messenger
Where in the World? The Beating Heart of South America
Submitted by Dean Johnston
A lot of people absolutely
love big cities. The bigger
the better. Hectic, exciting,
dynamic, intoxicating. Of
course, a lot of people also
love small dogs that bark
a lot, so popularity itself
only means so much. Me,
I tend to prefer scenery,
hiking and lakes where
we can swim and irritably
complain about the water
temperature. As a result,
we normally try to stick to
smaller centres, the kind of
cities, towns and villages
that can be managed on
foot and are more likely
to be found on a list of
underrated gems than a list
of best places to spend 48
hours eating sushi while
on ecstasy. Not that that
doesn’t sound like a top
notch weekend as well.
But some cities are just so
iconic and exude such an
alluring energy that even a
“quaint traditional village”
devotee can’t help but
fall under their spell. And
Buenos Aires is surely one
of those cities.
As one of the major hubs
of the continent, almost
every trip to Argentina will
eventually involve a stop
or two in Buenos Aires.
Justifiably one of the most
famous cities in the world,
a thorough list of the
attractions and activities
on offer in the tango and
futbol capital of the world
would take far more
space than we have here,
but suffice to say that one
word nobody ever uses to
describe this wonderfully
exotic and thoroughly
cosmopolitan city is
“dull”. Or “vegetarian”.
Our personal highlights
included an apartment
rental in the shabby fading
grandeur of San Telmo,
the strange mix of new
gastropubs and nature
trails of Puerto Madero,
the colourful houses and
dishevelled streets of
La Boca and, of course,
late night “parrilla” meat
overdoses. Also, I would
highly recommend taking
in a soccer game, the
Argentine equivalent to a
Catholic attending Mass
at the Vatican or a dairy
farmer renting a barn loft
in Wisconsin. The Boca
Juniors are one of the
most famous teams in
the world, and everyone
should try to see one
of their home games at
La Bombonera, with its
anciently steep bleachers
and incessantly jumping
fans. The name translates
to “The Chocolate Box”,
either because of its
general colour and shape,
or possibly due to a very
shaky
understanding
of basic architectural
practices.
While two or three days is
sufficient for many cities,
I would suggest at least a
week for “BA”, as local
“porteños” and pressedfor-time
backpackers
like to call it. We stayed
two weeks and managed
to tour most of the city’s
highlights including the
impressive
Recoleta
Cemetery (like a mini-city
for rich dead people) and
the Obelisk, a stunning
monument surrounded
by “the widest street
in the world”, rampant
capitalism and several
McDonald’s. And just to
make sure we had all our
bases covered we also
signed up for 48 hours of
unlimited hop-on / hopoff excitement on the
Buenos Aires Tourist Bus.
Although the brochure
didn’t mention it, I think
it is safe to say that if you
want to truly feel like
a clueless tourist in an
unfamiliar city there is
no better way than sitting
up top in a bright yellow
open-roofed bus wearing
huge headphones like you
are auditioning for the
part of crass tourist #5 in
the next Ashton Kutcher
romantic comedy. But,
my, the photo ops.
Undoubtedly the most
international city in
South America, with a
vibrant mix of European
ABOVE: La Bombonera
influences, plenty of
beautiful
architecture,
natural greenery and
affordable
empanadas,
Buenos Aires deserves to
be on any shortlist of the
world’s must-see cities.
Five Things
1.
In Buenos Aires
they call dog feces “dulce
de leche” (due to its
unpleasant resemblance
to a popular candy), and
there is so much lying
around that you shouldn’t
need to bring any of your
own from home.
2.
The La Boca
neighbourhood
is
famous for its art scene,
picturesque
multicoloured houses and
creeps in berets who
seem to think you should
pay them to draw weird
pictures of you.
3.
Palermo is a
gorgeous neighbourhood
full of trees, boulevards
and cafés yet, as far as
I could tell, just the one
Sicilian man.
4.
Glass
halfempty: they say nearly
50% of the people passing
through the Buenos Aires
bus station have something
stolen. Glass half-full: at
least some of those th ings
are probably selfie sticks.
5.
Puerto
Madero
is a rejuvenated up-andcoming neighbourhood with
trendy shops, nice parks,
good walking paths and is,
according to the local tourist
brochure, “an excellent
meeting point for gays”.
Dean Johnston is the author
of Random Acts of Travel:
Featuring
Trepidation,
Hammocks and Spitting
and Behind the Albergue
Door: Inspiration Agony
Adventure on the Camino
de Santiago. He is currently
finding he enjoys ketchup
less than he used to and
doesn’t really know why.
Http://routinelynomadic.
com.
ABOVE: La Boca
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