Buenos Aires, Argentina: Cambio, Cambio …

Saturday, 3 January 2015
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Temps: 87F (31C) / Lo 64F (18C)
Distance to the Next Port of Call: 0 NM — we have arrived @ our Disembarkation point

Darn … seems like most of my photos from today have gone into a black hole somewhere.
Luckily I have photos from our visit in January 2007 to supplement the few images I still have from today.

Overnight, Infinity slowly made its way up the Rio de la Plata [River Plate] to dock at the commercial port in Buenos Aires, Argentina — nicknamed the “Paris of the South.”  I’ll just refer to it as BsAs.

The ship was already at its berth when we woke up at 6:30a — gained an hour as the ship’s time was put back to UTC-3 last night to synchronize with BsAs time.  The port was quiet, but that didn’t last long.  An hour later, the giant cranes were unloading containers from the cargo ships to the flatbeds lined up and waiting to take them to staging areas where they were being moved about like parts of a Rubik’s cube.

Having visited the city eight years ago, setting today aside to take care of logistics matters was an easy decision for us.  Off the ship around 8:30a, we headed off on foot after the port shuttle dropped us off at the passenger terminal.  With the sun already shining bright, the day was quickly warming up.  Seeking spots of shade, we walked to the Retiro Train Station, and then cut across Plaza General San Martin to make our way to Avenida Florida, the city’s pedestrian-only shopping district.

We put quite a few miles on our feet today!

Our goal was to take care of the errands we had to postpone when our visit to Ushuaia fell on a Saturday.  Yes, today was Saturday as well, but this time in a big city where most of the stores were open — or about to open — when we showed up shortly before 9:30a.

Can’t say that we got everything taken care of — but whatever remained incomplete, we at least had answers for … no, there are no data-cards for mi-fi devices; no, there are no battery chargers for the latest GoPro model; no, there are no free changes to an earlier flight to Ushuaia — we weren’t willing to pay the $300/person difference in the air fare.  But we did get some USD exchanged for Argentinean pesos from one of the many ‘cambio hawkers’ we were told we would find on Avenida Florida.

Argentina’s economy, never stable, is in dire straits currently.  We had read, and received advice from Argentinean friends, that exchanging currency at the bank — where the rate is AR$7 to USD$1 at the moment — is not the way to go.  Rather, everyone takes advantage of the “blue market” — the government is aware of it, and looks the other way.  So that’s what we did, too.

We talked to several hawkers and were quoted rates ranging from AR$12 to AR$13.50 — about twice the official rate.  Once we agreed to a rate, the hawker escorted us to his ‘office’, which turned out to be a small shop, the windows covered with brown paper.  Nope, no thank you.  Not the kind of place where we want to conduct a financial transaction.  The second hawker was a woman, and she handed us over to the ‘money guy’ at a newsstand.  More like it — out in the open; obviously not a fly-by-night operation.  Five minutes later, we were on our way again — dollar poor, peso rich ;-)

With our errands completed, we decided to aimlessly stroll around town.  Plaza de Mayo — the main square, which is overlooked by Casa Rosada [pink house] … famous for the balcony from which Evita addressed the people of Argentina — was blocked off for a bicycle race.  So we headed to Puerto Madero instead.

Situated along the Rio de la Plata, Puerto Madero was built in 1897 as the city’s commercial port.  But ten years after its completion the larger cargo ships that started going into service made the port obsolete, and the area eventually fell into ruin.  In the 1990s, a major rehabilitation effort was undertaken to convert the port into one of the most prominent barrios [neighborhoods] of BsAs.

Puente de la Mujer [Women’s Bridge] links the east and west docks of Puerto Madero,
a neighborhood where every street is named after women.

We spent quite a bit of time here in 2007, so there was a strong sense of deja vu to this part of our day.  We slowly strolled the promenade along the old port channel, stopped to take a couple of ‘postcard’ shots for the blog, and checked out the various eateries along the riverfront.

Alex, our driver on the El Pedral Safari in Puerto Madryn (post here), had recommended several restaurants popular with the locals.  From those, we chose Bice.  Our terrace seating overlooking the channel, afforded great people-watching as we enjoyed a meal that included strips of pizza — compliments of the chef; a filet mignon served with a mushroom sauce, and a side of grilled potatoes and artichokes (Mui); and a cappelletti (ravioli look-alike) with a delicious filling of pumpkin, corn, and mozzarella.  We washed it all down with a Quilmes beer for me, and a glass of Argentinean cabernet for Mui.  The pièce de résistance was dessert.  Billed as a Symphony of Sweets, we were expecting to receive a sampler plate of three desserts, but got all six instead — tiramisu, cheesecake, hot chocolate lava cake, cinnamon ice cream, apple pie drizzled with dulce de leche, and fresh fruits.

Pasta and steak; preceded by pizza strips … compliments of the chef.  Followed by …

… a symphony of sweets: tiramisu, cheesecake, hot chocolate lava cake,
cinnamon ice cream, apple pie drizzled with dulce de leche, and fresh fruits.

When we left the restaurant, we were pleasantly satiated.  A walk back to the ship was now in order.  Well rested, our feet did not complain when we set off in the direction of the port.  We had not made much headway when I felt something wet hit me.  Oh sh*t!  Literally — or so we thought at first when a couple of women who were behind us said, “palomas [pigeons]” as they came abreast.  One of them pulled out some tissue and water in an attempt to help us clean up.  That’s when the alarm bells went off!

We’ve heard of a gimmick where pickpockets squirt stuff on unsuspecting tourists to distract them and then steal bags and whatnot while you’re cleaning up.  They then hop into a waiting vehicle and off they go with your stuff, leaving you dazed from the experience.

We thanked the women and turned down their offer to help.  They were insistent, but we were firm and stood our ground — no gracias, we said, keeping them at arm’s length.  After a minute or two, they gave up.  Moments later, I saw them get into a waiting cab.  Suspicions confirmed!  We kept walking until we found a safe spot further down the road, used our own water and tissues to clean off the green goop splattered on the back of my white sweater, on the back of Mui’s daypack, our pants, and our hair.  What a mess!  No way did that quantity of goop come from palomas … not even a flock of birds with diarrhea!

They say that being bombarded with bird poop brings good luck.  Bird poop or not, we were lucky today.  It pays to be self-aware and vigilant when traveling!

Tomorrow we disembark Infinity and fly off to begin the next segment of our winter travels.

Postcards from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Saturday, 3 January 2015

Walk, walk, walk … have a wonderful lunch in Puerto Madero … walk, walk, walk … return to the ship for one last sleep before disembarking Infinity tomorrow morning.  Oh, and yes — get pooped on by pigeons … I guess you could say we’re going to be really, really, lucky in 2015 ;-)

Puente de Mujeres [Women’s Bridge] in Puerto Madero.

Argentinean beer and wine; and pizza strips … compliments of the chef …
the start of a wonderful lunch at Bice in Puerto Madero.

Tomorrow's flight to Ushuaia starts the next phase of our travels.

Montevideo, Uruguay: They are not Long, the Days of Wine & Sightseeing

Friday, 2 January 2015
At Sea On the River — Rio de la Plata
Temps: Hi 73F (23C) / Lo 61F (16C)
Distance to Buenos Aires, Argentina — 137 NM (158 miles / 254 km)

As dead and gloomy as Montevideo was yesterday, it was the exact opposite today.  As we anticipated, the city came alive as Uruguayans resumed their daily lives after taking a day off from ringing in the new year.  The sun came out; the skies were blue — we did indeed see things in a colorful, bright, and different light.

A pink anchor in an industrial port? Just seems so out of place ;-)

Since we had already done the city stroll planned originally for today (post here), we joined new-friends Debbie and Darby (from Austin, Texas; fellow-Phaetonites … same model and year as ours, no less) and a Canadian family of four on a tour D&D had organized.  The plan was to do a city tour through the neighborhoods of Montevideo, and eventually end up at a winery for lunch and wine tasting.

We probably didn’t follow the exact route depicted in the map, but close enough!

We joined our tour guide, Adriana, outside the port entrance, and with Gustavo at the helm of a spacious van that could have accommodated several more people easily, off we went to see what we could see.  Our timing at each stop was planned well, with our arrival in several places coinciding with the departure of the big tour busses.  A school teacher when she’s not guiding, Adriana was great — once again proving the impact a guide can have on the success or failure of a tour.  She regaled us with tidbits of information as we drove about the city.  She had a great sense of humor, joking with everyone throughout the day.

The only repeat stop of the tour was at Plaza Independencia — which separates the old city from the new.  But even here we learned something new from Adriana — who knew that the palm trees around the plaza number 33 to represent the 33 Orientales who completed the road to independence, which was started by the country’s national hero, José Artigas.

Plaza Independencia looks bright and cheerful on this sunny morning.

Left: Mausoleum of José Artigas, Father of Uruguayan Nationhood.
Top Right: Palacio Estévez, once the working palace of the President; now a museum.
Bottom Right: The Executive Tower is where the President’s office is now located.

I’ll intersperse some of the tidbits Adriana shared with us amongst the photos from the city portion of the tour.  Starting with the name of the country, which officially is: República Oriental del Uruguay.  It translates as the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, a reference to its location east of the Uruguay River.

Palacio Legislativo is where the Uruguayan parliament meets.  The building was inaugurated
in 1925 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the declaration of independence.

The national flag has nine stripes representing the original departments — states, if you will — at the time Uruguay gained its independence.  The blue represents the sky and sea; the white represents peace; and the “Sun of May” represents the revolution.

The blue, white, and red striped flag in front of the Legislative Palace (above photo) was used by José Artigas during the fight for independence.

La Carreta [The Cart] is a bronze José Berloni sculpture that is now recognized as
a national monument.  Depicting a cart pulled by yoked oxen, it was installed at
Parque Batlle in 1934.  The sculpture recalls the classic means of transport
used by the country people prior to the introduction of trains and cars.

At a park overlooking Rio de la Plata, with the name of the city as a prop for photos, Adriana told us the two theories about how the city came to be named Montevideo.

One theory is based on the words uttered by a Portuguese sailor of yore — essentially meaning “I saw a mountain.”  The other theory breaks down the name as a description of the area: monte [mountain] vi [six] deo [east to west] … the sixth mountain from east to west.

Now you see us at Letrero Montevideo [Montevideo signpost] …

… now you don’t see us … unless you look closely at the letters ;-)

The modern city of Montevideo is quite impressive with well-maintained neighborhoods.  The waterfront — lined with high rise buildings — reminded me of Alsancak, the neighborhood I grew up in İzmir, Turkey.  But with more public parks and green spaces everywhere.

At Plaza Virgilio, we find a monument to the men who died in the service of the country, and …

… a couple of Monk Parakeet [aka Quaker Parrot] feeding on the grass.

Anyone who has done an all day tour knows that a ‘comfort break’ is essential at some point.  Usually, the driver will stop at a gas station — hopefully one that has clean restrooms.  Adriana dismissed that idea, and took us to the Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco & Spa instead.  The restrooms were lovely, but I’ll share photos from the lobby instead ;-)

Gorgeous skylight in the center of the lobby ceiling!

Next came the food and wine portion of our tour.  Gustavo drove us to Canelones, about 30 miles [50 km] north of Montevideo.  Our destination was the Viña Varela Zarranz, a family owned winery that has been in business since its establishment 30 years after the country became independent.

[scanned from the business card we picked up at the winery]

We were greeted by Victoria, whose great grandfather founded the winery.  After brief introductions, she began the tour of the vineyard — they grow tannat grapes, which she described as being to Uruguay what malbec is to Argentina.  She talked about the wines they make — primarily table wines, with some fine wines as well — and took us through the facilities as she explained the wine-making process.  They export 20% of the wines — mostly to other South American countries; the bulk of it is sold in-country.

Victoria explains that the v-shaped trellises allow the grapes to
get sun from four sides, and improve the circulation of air as well.

After the grapes are crushed in the white tubs outside,
the product is pumped inside the building to be de-stemmed.

The wine produced at the winery is stored in vats and barrels.

The sparkling wine bottles are turned a fraction by hand — each day.  This serves to consolidate
the dead yeast cells — lees — in the neck of the bottle for eventual disgorgement.

The stability and health of the wine is tested in this lab before it is shipped for sale.

Vudu is the brand of jug (table) wine produced by the winery.  The name is the acronym for
a producers’ cooperative — Viticultores Unidos del Uruguay [United Vintners of Uruguay].

The tour continued with lunch and wine tasting, which was held in the cellar near the old manor house.  Entering the building, we went down a short flight of steps into a cozy room with thick-stone walls, the table set with cold cuts and crackers.

In addition to the cold cuts and cheeses, we were served tartas [pies] — ham and cheese or leek were our choices.  Dessert was Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches, drizzled with a very tasty wine reduction sauce.

The tasting included four varieties of wines — a white, not dissimilar to but drier than moscato (or so we were told … I wouldn’t know one from the other); two reds — one a blend of 50% tannat/30% cabernet/20% pinot, and one tannat-only; and finally, a bubbly — their version of champagne.  I’m not much of a wine drinker, but I enjoyed the white and the bubbly … and even sipped at the reds.  We had to take a pass on purchasing any bottles to take with us, however, as we still have a long trip ahead of us, and can’t afford the extra weight in our bags ;-)

Salud!

Having taken note of a conversation revolving around dulce de leche, Adriana asked Gustavo to take us to a convenience store on our way back to the city.  Dulce de leche roughly translates as milk jam — but it’s more like a sweet milk butter that has the consistency of peanut butter.  The opportunity to buy a jar of this sweet treat was too much of a temptation for Mui, so we ended up getting a small jar to tuck away in our luggage; he’ll enjoy it when we get back home … if he can hold off that long ;-)

Adriana dropped us off at the port entrance, but not before pointing out the Mercado del Puerto [the port market] across the street and suggesting we check out the asado [barbecue] places inside.  Too bad we were all full from our meal at the winery — the smoke-filled interior of the old building was redolent with the aroma of grilled meats and vegetables.  It was very tempting, but we had to take a pass.  Maybe next time.

Hmmm, hmmm, good!  But no thanks … this time.

We then did a quick wander through some of the same streets we walked yesterday.  Restaurants were doing brisk business, as were the shops.  Lively was the atmosphere with music and conversation spilling out all around us. And the clean-up of the new year’s eve celebration trash had begun, with considerable progress already made.

We returned to the ship shortly after 4:00p, an hour ahead of the scheduled sailaway.  Surprise, surprise … Infinity left its berth on time for the first time on this cruise ;-)  Could it be that the captain is anxious to get to our last port of call and disembarkation point?

P.S. The title of the post is a mangled version of a line from an Ernest Dowson poem that, in part, reads …

…  They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

Postcards from Montevideo, Uruguay … Day 2

Friday, 2 January 2015

Snippets from today’s city tour ...

Parliament of Uruguay

Monumento La Carreta [Monument to the Cart]

Plaza de la Armada
Monument to those who lost their lives at sea in service of Uruguay
with Rio de la Plata (River Plate) in the background.