The city finally opened up today (Monday) after the holiday weekend, and we decided to take a day trip up to Tigre, an upscale suburb on the Plata River delta. The trip was a good opportunity to see more of the city as well, taking a train from the city center to the outskirts.
Public transportation is always entertainment in itself in South America. Salesmen, musicians and political activists revel in the opportunity to have a bored and captive audience. You can actually learn a lot about a country by what these people say. In a more ‘indigenous’ region of Peru, there was a guy ranting on for nearly an hour about Peruvian nationalism, Che Guevara and the political pressures of Westernization. It was interesting how he tried to stir up local pride by playing up outside cultural and political threats. In the end, for all his effort, he went around the bus and tried to sell us chocolate covered marshmallows for 25 cents.
In Argentina, the shows had a different flavor. We first had a disabled man try to sell calendars, playing on sympathy for his amputated legs. Then there was a man advertising great family fun and entertainment with packets of water balloons. Finally, a group moved in with guitars, microphones and a soundsystem and played a very unique and catchy blend of acoustic guitar sounds and hip-hop lyrics. They rapped about ‘real life’, living in the very poor districts, and hope of making it out to something better. They struck a chord with the audience, and a surprising number of people donated or bought their CD. In contrast to Peru, where salesmen related to the audience through sensitive political issues, Porteño salesmen focused on family, the challenges of life in the metropolis and the capitalist dream of moving up in society.
We took the train to the end of the line in Tigre, which has been described as Little Venice in Argentina. German and Austrian architecture lined the waterways of the river delta as wooden boats and catamarans floated by. We jumped on one of the larger boats and headed up the river towards the island of Tres Bocas. The delta area is a giant maze of dotted islands connected by marshland and streams. Defying expectations, there were very few bugs, and altogether the islands were more like tropical paradise than wetland mess. In recent years, wealthier Argentines began building small vacation and retirement homes there. I certainly wouldn’t mind taking a week or two and relaxing on a hammock amidst bamboo trees and a warm tropical breeze!
Aside from all that, I’m taking a bit of a break today (Tuesday) to relax and maybe walk around later on. This is actually going to be my last night in Buenos Aires. After talking to a number of people, I charted a tentative course down the spine of the Andes; through Mendoza, then Bariloche and the Lake district, and finally to the very south of Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia. I’m taking a bus to Mendoza tomorrow overnight. Leroy is excited to climb a mountain or two in the heart of the Andes, and it’s his turn to pick activities for the next few days. I hope we can find some gear that fits him alright.
Side note: Never get too excited about your travels. There is always someone who will put you to shame. Yesterday I met a traveller who had trekked through Egypt, northern Iraq, Kashmir and most of the –stan countries in a single go. Alone. And she is a woman!
Quote of the Day: ‘My favorite moment in Iraq was discovering this little ice cream parlor on the corner; there were a bunch of women sitting there outside and laughing their heads off. It’s nice to know women everywhere in the world enjoy ice cream’
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