Buenos Aires (6 nights)

WE FLEW SALTA to Buenos Aires with LAN, booked in England a couple of weeks earlier for £125 each, inc taxes. This turned out to be a good move for two reasons: 1, we didn’t have to worry about having more than 15kg in our hold luggage, and 2, we could watch smugly as the Aerolineas Argentinas flight due to leave before ours was delayed by two hours. The (only) restaurant in Salta airport, meanwhile, was a disgraceful rip-off and should be avoided at all costs.

At Aeroparque, we booked a remise - an upmarket taxi - to Palermo at the Manuel Tienda Leon desk. It cost 43 pesos. In hindsight, we should have taken a yellow Radio Cab from outside, I think that would have been significantly cheaper.

It was my second time to BA, so I had a fair idea of what I wanted to do. The first time, I’d been on my own, and found the Hotel Frossard on Tucuman, near Florida in the Microcentro, to be perfect for my needs – clean, secure, helpful staff, good breakfasts and surprisingly quiet(2010 price US$60 double room). But this time, with a wife in tow, I wanted to be a bit nearer the restaurants, bars and shops of Palermo, so we settled for a great little place run by a lovely Mexican woman called Lorena, called Casa Palermitano(see right). A 20-minute stroll from the heart of Palermo, it was safe, quiet and welcoming. Lorena also booked us a taxi to Ezeiza for our flight home for 95 pesos(allow an hour to 90 mins depending on time of day).
We had five full days in BA. Already ticked off from my previous visit were Puerto Madero(just like any renovated dockside area in any other big city), the Evita Museum(excellent), a tango dinner-show(great dancing, average food, very overpriced), the Sunday market in San Telmo(tourist-infested tat), a neighbourhood milonga(somewhere in Palermo, very entertaining), El Caminito in La Boca(wow, a short street with colourfully-painted houses and overpriced tourist traps!) and football at both Boca and River(mind-blowing). The only thing I definitely wanted to repeat was the football. Here’s how we spent our time….

SIGHTS

PRETENTIOUS TRAVELLER ALERT! Ever since I spent a month in Cuba tracking down the birthplace and mountain hideout of Fidel, I’ve believed in “organic tourism”, where the attractions and sights you seek are woven into the fabric and history of the place you’re visiting. In Buenos Aires, that means football, tango, Evita and Las Madres de los Desaparecidos…
The “Mothers of the Disappeared” meet every Thursday afternoon at 3.30 in the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Presidential Palace. They have become one of the strangest – and saddest – tourist attractions in the whole of South America. Their numbers dwindle year by year, but they remain a living monument to the 30,000 Argentines who were “disappeared” by the country’s military junta during the Dirty War of the early 1970s. If you go to take photos of this poignant ceremony, have the decency to buy something from their little stall.
The ghost of Evita meanwhile – thanks to the Peronist posturings of Argentina’s current President, Cristina Kirchner – is alive and well, her support of Fascist causes conveniently forgotten as Ms Kirchner, like Eva Duarte Peron 70 years before, tries to win the support of the working-class. (In Evita’s case, the issue was worker exploitation. Kirchner is using two disparate issues to distract the population from its current economic woes: the Falklands/Malvinas row and a bizarre campaign called Futbol Para Todos which will see public money being used to buy back football TV rights from the cable channels!)
The Evita museum includes some stunning film footage of her funeral and the aftermath. Even if you didn’t agree with her politics, you can’t fail to be impressed/moved by the degree of her popularity. So it was me and The Wife decided to pay our respects at her tomb in the Recoleta Cemetery.
You’ve got no chance of finding it in this mini-city of sarcophagus skyscrapers unless you’re prepared to buy a map from one of the Friends of the Cemetery for a few pesos. There are no signs, and Evita’s tomb – she’s housed in the Duarte mausoleum – certainly isn’t the biggest or brashest in what is probably one of the most exclusive cemeteries in the world. A clue: follow that group of badly-dressed, camera-toting Italians and you’re probably getting warm…..

Avenida Corrientes - the Broadway of BA - is one of the great thoroughfares of the world. Walking from its junction with Florida, across 9 de Julio beneath the Obelisk, and up past its theatres and restaurants after the shows have just finished between 10 and 11 at night is a wonderful experience as you mingle with all levels of BA society. Popping in to one of its authentic little cafes, like Cafe La Giralda, for a nightcap of coffee and churros served by white tuxedeod waiters, is a simple yet ageless experience. (Just remember the subte stops running at 11 on weeknights......)
On our last day, a Sunday, we took the train to Tigre(4 pesos return from Retiro station. Or you can take the train to Maipu and cross platforms – via a shopping centre – to the Tren de la Costa which has its own separate line, complete with picturesque stations, and more comfortable carriages for 24 pesos return) to have a glimpse of the Delta islands. The journey takes an hour, but if you think you are leaving the chaos and madness of downtown BA behind you, you are very much mistaken….
Once at Tigre station(or Delta station if you take the Tren de la Costa), it’s a short walk to the river and the Estacion Fluvial. If you’ve ever been to Venice and marveled at all those gondolas, water taxis, water buses and tourist boats managing not to collide with each other on the Grand Canal, then you’ve got some idea of what to expect at Tigre. It’s an incredible scene. And this is just your introduction to the maze of waterways that criss-crosses the Delta. Just wait till you see the paddle steamers, cruise ships, jet-skis, kayaks, speedboats and rowing boats that lurk around the corner…..
At the Estacion Fluvial it may look chaotic(especially at weekends in summer when Tigre is a popular escape destination for portenos), but there is actually a system to all those lines of people waiting to board assorted vessels. You need to check out the ticket booths on the quayside. These are selling boat trips to restaurants and hotels hidden deep in the Delta, or just pleasure cruises. You can see detailed maps of the cruises, or menus and photographs for the restaurants.
We chose a return trip to the Alpenhaus hotel and restaurant, and were told which line of people to join. The boat is basically a colectivo – or bus – which calls at certain resorts or islands along a set route in the Delta. Our return ticket for the 45-minute journey to our stop cost 25 pesos each. The journey took us past palatial riverside mansions, private islands, family resorts, beaches, neatly tended lawns, swimming pools, terrace restaurants(El Gato Blanco looked particularly nice). As well as the aforementioned variety of nautical craft, our skipper also had to dodge the occasional swimmer and water-skier!
The stop for Alpenhaus is down a quiet canal, and then you have to walk a few hundred metres past beautiful holiday homes before arriving at the Austrian chalet-style restaurant and hotel. While our lunch was painfully expensive(see right), the journey to and setting for it were magical.
Afterwards, we joined the queue on the jetty for the return “bus”. Back in Tigre, before returning to the train station, we persuaded a member to escort us in to the sumptuous Buenos Aires Rowing Club building. For any rowers amongst you, this club’s narrow-gauge railway system for getting the boats down to the river, plus its antiquated training pool, is well worth checking out. The Victorian-age (I think) building is pretty stunning too…

TANGO

Keen to avoid an overpriced dinner show, we scanned the classifieds of El Nacion and Clarin and found shows at Café El Tortoni(nightly, one hour, two dancers, great singer and band, beautiful setting) for 70 pesos and the Centro Cultural Borges, at Viamonte and San Martin in the Microcentro(90 mins, eight dancers and singer, modern auditorium) for 50 pesos. Both delivered great music and plenty of thigh….

FOOTBALL

Last time I was in BA, I bought tickets for a league game between River and Independiente from the Tiketek ticket agency(branches at Viamonte 560 and at the Opera Theatre on Avenida Corrientes). So I headed off there in search of tickets for Boca v Estudiantes, but apparently it’s only River tickets they sell.
I telephoned Boca Juniors football club and was told all remaining tickets for Friday’s game would go on sale at the stadium ticket office from noon on the day.(The kick-off was 2110). Even though Boca are having a pretty miserable season, a home game against the champions of South America promised to be a sell-out. On the Friday, we took the subte to Constitution and jumped in a taxi from there direct to the stadium(12 pesos). We arrived just after midday, and the queue was already trailing around the corner. After just over an hour’s anxious wait among good-humoured, friendly Boca fans, we got to the ticket window to find the choice of remaining seats was limited. There were none left in the platea alta, and the only ones they had available in the more expensive platea baja were in different rows. They were 180 pesos each. Cheap by British standards, but a fortune by Argentine standards. We bought them.
La Bombonera – the chocolate box – is so-called because of its strange shape. While the ends behind each goal are the terracing familiar throughout the world, and the three-tiered main stand is nothing out of the ordinary, it’s the disproportionately thin stand opposite – housing only private boxes – which gives the stadium it’s peculiar shape(apparently down to a scarcity of space when they built it). The platea seats are in the main stand opposite the private boxes. We asked for seats in the seccion norte, to be near the home fans, who are amongst the most colourful and passionate in the world (And we weren’t to be disappointed, see the photos above). Secciones D, E, etc would have put us nearer the halfway line, apparently.
We now had several hours to kill before the kick-off. First we checked out the shops selling Boca shirts which surround the stadium. (Bizarrely, they also sold River memorabilia) These shops should be avoided at all costs. The genuine, replica shirts were at least 40 pesos more expensive than we’d seen them in the sports shops along Florida, eg Dexters, where the uniform price appeared to be 280 pesos. Also for sale were all kinds of “retro” shirts. These were even more expensive – upto 390 pesos! – and were DEFINITELY not authorized, i.e. closer inspection revealed pretty shoddy workmanship. Of the other stuff for sale – key-rings, hats, pens, T-shirts, ashtrays, etc – there was nothing you couldn’t get cheaper on Florida. So we left empty-handed and headed for lunch(after discovering the club’s museum was closed on match days!)
For lunch, we headed in the opposite direction to the tourist traps I remembered from El Caminito and down a nondescript residential street found the gem that is El Obrero(see right and photos).
Got back to the stadium in plenty of time for kick-off, which was just as well as the police set up a highly complicated barrier system from several blocks away to keep opposing fans separate(but there was never any sense of danger). Once through the ticket control, you get a free programme(imagine that in England?!) and there was a souvenir stall selling decent quality T-shirts for a bargain 40 pesos(worth bearing in mind before you buy something from one of the expensive shops outside the ground).
We found ourselves sat amidst a group of season ticket holders, including three grandmothers, who were only too accommodating when it came to letting me and The Wife sit together. Then we sat back and watched the home fans start their highly choreographed singing, chanting, flag-waving and jumping(which never relented for the duration of the game). The match itself was rubbish…..

After the match, we followed the crowds up to Ave Patricios in search of a taxi home. We fiinally got one about midnight. The drive across the city at that time of night, along the tree-lined expanses of 9 de Julio and beneath the illuminated Obelisk, was magical. From La Boca to Palermo by taxi - practically the width of BA - cost just 27 pesos.

For the rest of this season's fixtures, click here. Bear in mind that the precise date and time of games is determined by the TV channels, and could be anytime between the Friday and Monday nights(usually announced a week or two in advance).

SHOPPING

In the Microcentro, Florida, near Tucuman and Lavelle, is the place for all sports-related stuff, including genuine replica football shirts. Also check out the kiosks along this stretch of Florida, plus Corrientes from Florida to a couple of blocks beyond 9 de Julio, for unexpected football memorabilia ranging from keyrings to wristbands at the cheapest prices you’ll find anywhere.
Casa Lopez is a great chain for mainstream leather goods. I bought a wallet from there on my last visit and, six years later, the stitching is still perfectly intact. There are other good (but more expensive and exclusive) leather shops in the blocks between Plaza San Martin and Recoleta. Here, too, the corner kiosks can be great treasure troves of cheap and distinctive souvenirs.
The neighbourhood of Palermo is a great place to spend a Saturday shopping. As well as seeing well-heeled portenos at play, there’s no shortage of great shops and lunch destinations. On Saturdays, there’s an extensive handicrafts market around Plaza Campana del Desierto, and some of the bars around Plaza Cortazar are converted into clothes markets selling reasonably priced stuff. Elsewhere, the grid of streets bordered by Borges/Serrano, Cabrera, Scalabrini Ortiz and Guatemala are full of great leather, shoe, lingerie and clothes shops. Nearly all offer around 15 per discount for paying in cash, few give receipts. We picked up a beautiful document case – in butter-soft yellow leather – from a great stationary shop called Papelera Palermo, and a supple, satchel-type “manbag” from Florentina Murana on Borges, both at about a third of what you’d expect to pay in Britain. Cardon, which has shops in Gurruchaga and Honduras, is another great, reasonably-priced shop for leather jackets, bags, briefcases, etc(though appeared to have gone slighly more mainstream since my previous visit six years ago).

Bokura, Gurruchaga 1686, and Bensimon, Honduras 4876, do stylish, great-value mens clothing(including some great leather jackets at the latter). There's a brilliant stock of original and colourful casual wear at the Adidas shop on Malabia, and an extensive range of discounted men's and women's wear a few doors along near the corner with Costa Rica.
In San Telmo, the antique shops are uniformly disappointing, unless your airline baggage allowance allows for leather armchairs and bedside cabinets. In the Mercado San Telmo there are some more interesting junk stalls selling everything from old typewriters to faded sports magazines and street nameplates.

EATING OUT

From our first night sharing a tasty fugazza(onion pizza) outside a branch of Zapi Pizza – a ubiquitous delivery chain – to dressing up for a swanky three-course feast at Lo de Jesus in the heart of Palermo, we never had a disappointing meal(well, apart from being ripped off in the Delta, see right)
El Obrero in La Boca(see right) was probably the highlight – providing the perfect pre-match meal before we headed up the road to see Boca v Estudiantes at La Bombonera – but others stood out too, namely:
Lo de Jesus, Gurruchaga and Cabrera, Palermo, where we shared a plate of grilled achuras. Though it’s a taste I’ve yet to fully acquire – entrails, sweetbreads and bits of cow eyelid – it was beautifully grilled, and the superb desserts soon took the taste of blanched bull’s testicle away….
Don Julio, a few blocks further down Gurruchaga at Guatemala, does half-size steaks and a vast selection of wine. Great atmosphere inside, and the sommelier introduced us to a new(to us) Argentine grape variety, Bonarda, which complemented the meat perfectly.
Clarks, one of the many terrace café/restaurants opposite Recoleta Cemetery. The perfectly grilled meat on its lunchtime menu del dia (38 pesos) was a revelation for such an apparently touristy place.