Tigre, The Rio Plata and San Telmo

We had a nice long weekend in BA, Thursday and Friday were holidays for a religious celebration, the Day of the Immaculate Conception.

Saturday we took a tour to the town of Tigre, about one hour from the city center by train. We took a public train to San Isidro and then we were to take the tourist train on to Tigre, but they had shut the tourist train down for the day. Seems someone had thrown a rock at it, broke a window and hit a tourist in the head. So back to the public system we hiked and pressed ourselves back onto the train. Only on trains in Japan have I been more crowded. There the train employees push you on after the train is full, here only the people keep crowding you in. It was easy to balance against the sway, extreme masses of people keep you upright.

A Canal in Tigre

Tigre is a combination Venice/Florida Everglades kind of place. It is situated on the confluence of three rivers in an area of islands, canals and tourist attractions. Originally started as an inland port town, it was surpassed by more available ports downstream and slipped into a bootlegger/smuggler town. The canals are endless and with numerous islands to hide amongst, the area prospered at this. Now it is a vast area of cottages on islands shored up by timber and concrete break walls to keep the soil erosion in control. The area is the most polluted waterway in Argentina and the banks of the larger canals are littered with ship wrecks. The pollution does not stop the use of the river for water sports. The area is like any ocean or lake town with cruise boats, and private craft of all shapes and sizes plying the water ways. Many people live here year round and are supplied with floating stores, markets, water taxis and water buses for the school children. The town of Tigre now has a large casino and amusement park and 1000's of Buenos Airians flock there on weekends.

On an Island in the Tigre Delta

The Rio Plata, into which the Tigre drains, is a wonder onto itself. The river is made up from drainage that runs from the highlands of Paraguay, northern Argentina and Uruguay. It becomes the widest river in the world where it enters the Atlantic Ocean, some 220 kms in width. The large basin seen from the air, some argue that it is a large bay not a river, goes inland for 290 kms before it starts to break into a delta area of many smaller water ways. Buenos Aires is upstream from the mouth of the river 115 kms and due to the amount of sediment in the river the channel has to be dredged constantly for the huge container and other ships that port here. The size of the city of Buenos Aires was fully realized on our boat trip back in from Tigre. You fly into large cities, but the enormity is minimized by the speed of travel and being in the air. When you are in a boat and you travel along the water front for half an hour just to get to the center your light bulb moment is kind of, whoa this place is huge.

The Rio Plata from the air

Buenos Aires is a contrast from rich to poor, from new to old and shows in many ways what can happen when the lofty fall. At one time Argentina was one of the richest nations in the world, but a combination of pride, the 1930s depression, a succession of military dictatorships and a debt load that no longer could be serviced has moved Argentina from a leading country to one that is working to regain a leading place in the world of culture and economics. Many barrios in Buenos Aires have new modern shopping plazas, high rise condos, and modern office complexes. But with an average yearly age of US $7,000 many areas of the city are still depressed with large ghetto like communities.

Typical San Telmo Architecture

San Telmo, the barrio we are staying in, was once the barrio of the rich and aristocratic of Buenos Aires. They built huge homes and estates here, similar in size and elegance to the plantation homes in the southern US. Many of the buildings we have been in, including the home we stay at, have marble floors in the foyers and marble stairs and as single family homes, I am guessing, they are in the neighborhood of 3,000 to 5,000 square feet. Today these homes are chopped up into apartments, stores and schools. A lot have deteriorated and are in need of TLC. The building structures are very sound, but the paint, plumbing and electrical could be upgraded. There is not enough income to upgrade at a pace equal to growth in other areas of the world.

Buenos Aires Traffic

Buenos Aires sees some seven million tourists a year and the areas for the tourists have certainly been brought up to a higher standard than some pure residential areas. There is no recycling program in BA, the result is an overwhelming amount of rubbish on the streets. By Sunday nights the streets become very cluttered and dirty, this includes heaps of dog excrement, as BA has an extremely high dog population with very little green space, so the job is completed on the sidewalks. About one in twenty dog owners is seen with a plastic pick up bag. By Monday morning the streets are quite clean as a massive effort in cleaning is completed sometime overnight Sunday.

All that said we are privileged to be able to be here and experience the warmth of the Argentinian people, the culture and the food. More about the food next blog.

Graduation! Classmate Amber, Teacher Cecilia, Loreen y Me