A Day in Buenos Aires

 4th December 2024

Well rested after a good nights sleep, we were ready to get out after breakfast, and explore the area around us. On a previous trip to Buenos Aires we had taken in most of the tourist attractions, so today we just want to stay local, as there is plenty to see where the hotel is located in the downtown district.

First priority though was to catch up with the Viking representative at the hotel to get instructions on tomorrows program to travel to Ushuaia to board the ship for our Antarctic cruise. The dedicated Viking desk was set up early, and I suspect we may have been one of the first to contact them. We were given a pink ribbon to tie on our check in bags, told to attach our cabin number tags, and have the bags outside our room by 9 pm this evening.

Our charter flight (one of 3 Viking have booked) requires us to catch a bus at 6.20 am for transfer to the airport. Our baggage will be handled by Viking. It is expected we will be on the ship by 12.30 pm.

Now that all of that is clear, we had a quick talk to the concierge to get a restaurant recommendation for dinner, and then headed out onto the streets. It is a nice sunny day with the temperature expected to hit 25 C this afternoon.

We walked through a great little neighbourhood, with some nice local cafes, on our way through El Centro on our way down to Puerto Madero

The cobblestone streets reflect the European history of the city, and much of the architecture is heavily influenced by the French.

Finally we reach the Puerto Madero precinct, reportedly the most expensive real estate in Buenos Aires. It is no longer a functioning port, but the reminders that it once was are still there. Loading cranes have been left along the waterfront, the many locks that controlled the levels in this canal are in a dilapidated state but remnants of the old wooden gates remain.

The waterside is now lined with old converted warehouses that are now flash restaurants, pretty much in the style of renovating these old docks all around the World.

A large tract of the shorefront is occupied by the campus of the Catholic University.

This old warship is now a floating museum, now pretty much a permanent feature at this site,  access  to the sea, in and out has requires a number of swing bridges to open

The Puente de la Mujer, "Woman's Bridge" is a futuristic cantilever cable stayed pedestrian bridge that is also a swing bridge allowing boating traffic to pass.

 There is also a large marina filled with mainly sailing boats, which is run by the Buenos Aires Yacht Club

Buenos Aires Yacht Club

There are a countless number of magnificent old buildings in the area, below are just a few.

Ministry of Defence

By the time we got back to our hotel at around midday we had walked about 11 km. We found a sandwich shop not far from the hotel where we bought a light lunch and went back to the hotel for a rest before venturing out later.

A few more km's away was a major shopping area that was recommended as worth a visit. Calle Florida is a pedestrian mall that goes for 1.3 km, with shops, gallerias and arcades either side and market stalls along the centre. It is also home for the black market money changers, who are everywhere hoping to make a dollar out of the very high inflation still prevalent here.

Galleria Pacifico, the largest shopping centre along the mall

Inside Galleria Pacifico

By the time we got back to our hotel we only had an hour to get organised to walk to the restaurant the concierge had recommended for dinner. It is about 6 blocks away. Along the way we noticed some electric buses getting charged by a diesel generator, perhaps our mate Blackout Bowen is providing consulting services to Argentina.

Locals in Argentina are late diners, so when we turned up at the restaurant, only a few tables were occupied and all by tourists.

Our Restaurant " Grandes Carniceraias del Plata"

The restaurant is definitely not for vegetarians, as in true Argentinian trading, it is for carnivores only. The minimum sized steak is 500gm, so we decide to share a steak and a plate of grilled vegetables as a side dish. A Mendoza Malbec seemed an appropriate way to wash it down.

Not very busy at 7 pm.

The steak is so tender the waiter cuts it with a spoon

The plate of vegetables was a bit more than expected

We had a great meal, excellent service and at a reasonable price.

Tomorrow we have an early start to fly to Ushuaia, and have walked over 15 km today, so we are ready for a rest before rising at 5.30 am, for our transfer to the airport and flight to Ushuaia.