The final couple of days

Dead centre

After all this time in Recoleta, today is the day to visit the cemetery.  For those not in the know, this is a *very* different cemetery.  It is actually more like a little town, with tree-lined avenues and miniature buildings which are actually vaults or tombs for the rich & famous.   There are 4,591 such vaults (all above ground), some extremely opulent while others have lacked recent maintenance. 

We spent quite some time wandering around, in particular looking for Eva Peron's tomb.  After a bit of a guide to the general direction, it was just a  matter of  "follow the crowd". There are no specific  directions or anything special about her resting place, which is part of her family's vault.

Satisfied, we left and visited the church next door, which was the reason the cemetry was established.  The church was an 18th Century Jesuit church and we were intrigued to see the translation of "Friars" to be "Friers" - time for a  cook up perhaps.  We once again found some lovely parks and concluded our exploration at the National Museum of Fine Arts, where we toured around for an hour or so.

By now it was fast approaching 3.00 and Vivian was feeling the heat etc. so we went back to the Mall adjacent to the cemetery and had a substantial meal (& beer) at an Irish Pub - what else would you expect in the centre of Buenos Aires. 

We did the usual pizza thing (just one small pizza to share), again we were the first customers of the evening,  but by the  time we left, just after 9.00, it was filling up quickly.  Big day tomorrow. 


Out to the countryside 

On the recommendation of our friends Sue & Brian while on the ship, we booked an all day tour to an estancia (ranch), 120 odd km out west of BA.  We were picked up from the hotel around 9.00 - our van had 2 Portuguese, 5 from California (different parts) and us.  Our guide, Laura,  was excellent and gave a non stop commentary on the whole of Argentina during our journey out.

We drove for over an hour and a half, with a comfort stop along the way to the historic village of San Antonio de Areco to visit the museum & (of course) the Church.  It was all pretty and typical of the many small villages around this fertile farming area.  

Having done this, it is time to continue our journey to Estancia El Ombu de Areco.  It is only at this time, as we turn off the main road heading to the ranch that Laura informs us that due to extreme rain over the last couple of days we will have to change vehicles.  So....., we swapped our  comfortable air conditioned van for a "farm" 4x4 for the last 4 or 5 km.  Rough. Yes, very rough.

On arrival at the beautiful estancia we were served empanadas along with Malbec & water.  After some time enjoying the coolness, it was time for the highlight - giddy up & on to the horses.  Well, 6 of us did the horse riding, the others did a cart ride.

The horses were extremely placid (although Vivian had an issue with hers)  and we proceeded out and around the pampas for around half an hour.  Good fun.  Lunch was next on the menu, so it was BBQ Argentine style (which is slowly BBQed), once again washed down with Malbec.  It was what could be  described as a leisurely long lunch.

3.00 was entertainment time, with some of the farm hands (call them Gauchos) and I think their wives, doing traditional dancing & then audience participation.  

The main character (well the one with the guitar) had his 2.5 year old son, who also had an ukelele and was a remarkable showman, having us all in fits of laughter.  Later he approached Vivian and swapped his hat for her red one!

The final performance was amazing.  It was a horse whispering demonstration.  The girl was from Vienna and she had been with this horse for just 3 months, yet the  horse trusted her and allowed her to roll it over, lie on it etc.  Quite remarkable indeed.  Sadly this was the finale and we knew we had the bumpy ride back to our van.

Our 4x4 was filled up with some extra guests from a private tour as well as 2 of the entertainers & the little boy.  He sat up in the corner of the vehicle between one the American men and me.  He was so tired, he started to nod off, but his father would bring him to, with the traditional gaucho call.  Still, I reckon that as soon as they got to their own vehicle he would have been out like a light.

In the end we got back to our hotel at 6.00, still buzzing from the day.  Exactly a repeat of last night's meal, only an hour earlier.   Not sure if it is Argentine inflation or NZD fluctuation, but tonight's meal cost NZD 0.04 more!


Final Day

We have had a great time in Argentina and are pleased to have spread out the activities.  Today has been one of packing, updating this blog and generally relaxing as we know we have a long night/day ahead of us. 

Our flight home is at midnight and we get into Auckland at 5.30 am on Wednesday.  I booked our room for the night,  so we can shower and change before heading out to the airport. 

We went out to the Recoleta Mall just before lunchtime and yes, all Malls throughout the world are the same - and they all have sales!  We found a lovely restaurant and enjoyed our final meal in BA.  The weather is hot (33°) and very humid, so after lunch we ambled back to the comfort of the air conditioning.  

It has been a great holiday and we were just commenting that we have seen and done more in the last 3 weeks than we did on the 3 month cruise last year.  We know that we are very fortunate.  

Once again, I hope that any readers have enjoyed tagging along with us (at least you don't have to worry about jet-lag).