Wednesday, November 13, 2024
On such a lovely day for adventure, we started our latest exploits by taking a cab ride across town to Buenos Aires' gritty La Boca district and its famed street known as El Caminito.
If you had to pick one word to
describe El Caminito, it would be
COLORFUL
See what I mean?
The story of this neighborhood's identity dates back to a time when only poor people lived here. They would work at whatever jobs they could find at the time. Those jobs included painting.
At the end of the day, if there was paint left over when the job was finished, these workers brought the remaining home to paint their homes in a hodgepodge of bright colors.
Once a necessity, this bright colors are now a source of great pride for the residents of the La Boca district.
Hodgepodge is the right word, no?
Argentinians never miss a
chance to laud a military leader
We had not had breakfast
so we dashed into Bar La Perla for
the mandatory cafe con leches and
media lunas, a.k.a., croissants
Tributes to Diego Maradona and . . .
. . . Lionel Messi at the entryway
I had a long discussion with our greeter about these two giants of Argentine soccer. He gave the nod to Maradona in large part to his famed "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. It led to a huge Quarterfinal win made even sweeter on the heels of the fiasco for Argentina that was the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War against the Brits..
As expected, eclectic decor
Beloved Buenos Aires
Damn good looking hat!
Our bar is a Site of Cultural Interest
The Argentine Holy Trinity
Che Guevara, Evita Perón and
Diego Maradona
Now fully fueled, we headed to the nearby wharf to board a boat for a short river cruise.
Statue to an esteemed
Argentine Painter
As stated, COLORFUL
Wildlife in La Boca
Our Vessel
Our Route
Our Surroundings
Ciao, La Boca
We literally had the entire
boat to ourselves
We were off, sailing under
this Erector Set of a bridge
COLORFUL
A small part of the
Buenos Aires skyline
Boat on a boat
More skyscrapers
Our cruise lasted about 45 minutes and, while not earthshaking, I'll never say no to spending time lazing down a river on a boat.
Once back on terra ferma, we boarded a taxi for the ride back to El Caminito for further exploration.
COLORFUL
But of course . . .
. . . they were dancing . . .
. . . flamboyant Tango
Damn, it was closed!
El Caminito was coming alive
Who are those people?
And what about these?
Diego Maradona
1960 - Infinity
I LOVE IT!
Emblematic of Argentine
Soccer Supremacy
Why is this trophy replica here, you ask?
Because the Boca Juniors play
in nearby Stadio La Bombonera
Since joining Argentina's top league in 1913, the Boca Juniors are the only club to never be relegated. Quite the feat if you ask me.
As to their dominance in the Argentine League, they have won the trophy an astounding SIXTY times!
That's a LOT of Championships
La Bombonera is a
MASSIVE structure
The Team Not Me slogan
Who is hitting this defenseless Sun?
It was this mean looking woman
Such a visual treat of an area
I really need to learn to Tango
Multi-stories means more
multi-colors
Waiting for the ships to return
A Tribute to Firefighters
A Frosty Tribute to Patagonia
We boarded the Grey Line Hop-On,
Hop-Off tour bus for a tour of the
BEAUTIFUL city of Buenos Aires
The Ecological Park
Trying to get artsy on the bus
Buenos Días, Señor!
Clothing Optional Park
Some sort of elite citizen's
clubhouse
Location, location, location . . .
Laurie liked seeing these stables
An obelisk is a MUST for any
self-respecting capital city
The Architecture that helped get
Buenos Aires get the sobriquet,
"The Paris of South America"
More of the same
We were now at Buenos Aires' all-important Plaza de Mayo, the heartbeat of Argentine cultural life.
The Catedral Metropolitana
de Buenos Aires
The lighting inside the Cathedral
was absolutely PERFECT!
The Archangel Michael
slaying a demon
Church and State coexisting
in the Cathedral
Laurie said, "Take a photo
of the floor."
So, I took a photo of the floor.
Really good lighting
Praying Padre
Jesus of the Poor
The Cupola
The Casa Rosada
This is Argentina's most famous government building which houses the Presidential offices and is Ground Zero for any and all Argentine political demonstrations and protests.
The original pink hue was achieved by using white paint mixed with bovine and/or pig's blood.
They don't do that anymore.
I think.
Of course, there is a statue of
General José de San Martín who
created the Argentine flag in front
of the Casa Rosada
Eva Perón famously spoke to
the assembled multitudes from
this balcony
The Sun setting on another
glorious day in South America
Another good dining
experience . . .
. . . was enjoyed by all of us.
A solid day of exercise when
one considers the time we
spent at sea and on the bus
Stay tuned, the Adventure continues . . .
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