Feb 17 - Buenos Aires, Argentina (end of 1st Leg)

SANDY SHORE : I am writing this several days after leaving the port of Buenos Aires… and after recovering from this beautiful city and all that it has to offer passer-bys. We came to put a dent in South America, and I believe that we did just that here! We ventured out three different times… the first for a bus tour of the city with a stop at their downtown cemetery where Eva Perone (Evita!) is buried. The cemetery is above ground with new and old mausoleums… intricate and simple. Some with statues of sad or introspective angels with expressions on their faces that made me want to cry.

We also did a little shopping on Avenida Caminito in a very colorful part of town called La Boca. Street painters captured the soul of their city on canvas and shops sold little trinkets while restaurant servers tangoed on patios.

We made it back to the ship in time to quickly shower and dress for dinner and a Tango show downtown. We arrived at an old teatro with a very impressive, large TANGO marquee and elegant lobby… we made our way down to our dining table in the grand old building… where Argentinean wines flowed and local cuisine was served including their world famous meats. The show that followed was truly spectacular! Buenos Aires is the birthplace of this sensual dance of passion featuring fast movements of the hip and sudden snaps of the knee that appear both awkward and fluid at the same time. The band was elevated above the stage, high on a platform offering added drama. Instruments consisted of a baby grand, strings, bass, and accordions (Bandonion). We left the experience exhilarated.

After getting caught up on a little work back home, we changed for a third time and made our way out at midnight… this was the only port of call with an overnight and there was no way we were going to waste a drop of it. We hired a cab to drop us off in the Ricoletta district, which is known for it’s upscale restaurants and clubs. Unfortunately, we were too early and nothing was really underway except for some late night dining and a “gentleman’s” club. The striking girl in front of this venue, named Gabriela, directed us in her best English to some nightspots… and wrote down the name of the “BEST” dancing club in South America, she said that it also is a club where we would be invited to “share ourselves” with others. While the dancing sounded great, the sharing sounded like a little more than we were up for on this particular evening. Just the way she described her city made me understand how much the locals value their lifestyle… money or no money, they are free and mostly very happy.

We ended up at a place where we only had to share our beer… in the artisan part of the city called Palermo Soho. When we arrived at Plaza Serrano, young people were sitting at outdoor street cafes, drinking local brew from very large bottles and eating pizzas and empanadas. We joined in for a late night snack and Brahma beer and shortly after 1am very loud music began to pour out of the bar, and right in front of our eyes it transformed into a disco with locals and visitors moving and grooving to some killer Latin dance music with the DJ bartending and grabbing the mic on occasion to encourage us dancers to enjoy ourselves. We danced until the wee hours… until our clothes were soaking wet and our hair was drenched as we collapsed into a cab with a couple of our new Carnival Crew friends from the ship… heading back to the Puerto as it was time for these “gauchalitas” to retire.

I had heard how wonderful this city is, but to really know it is to experience it first hand. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when we will return to the city of "fair winds". ~ss

DONNA KAY PHILLIPS : We were warned as to the beauty and vibrancy of Buenas Aires... it far exceeded our expectations. I fell in love with the soul of the city and understand why there are many ex-patriots living here comfortably from Europe and the U.S. This is a rare two day stop and Carnival Cruise Lines picked the BEST city for this. As of this writing, we, along with the entire ship's crew, are still recovering from our time in this amazing city.

The first part of today was spent touring the city's beautiful centro park, National Cemetery, the quaint artisan street of Caminito and Downtown. Then a $5 taxi back to the ship for a quick shower to prepare of the Dinner Theater & Tango Show. Then a bus ride back to the ship for a 2 hr nap and to coordinate with some of the crew as to where to meet in town for dancing. It was a 4am night for most, we fortunately could sleep in, they all started work at 6am - yikes - what troopers these ship people are.

THE TOUR : The mix of French, Spanish and Italian architecture with modern designs is beautifully executed. There is a lot of new construction being done right now as real estate is booming here. Beautiful 2-4 bedroom apartments range from $150,000 to $1,000,000 USD. Entire buildings have sold every unit at an average price of $450,000 each even before any construction begins.

We walked through the park to the National Cemetary where Eva (Duarte) Perón lays at rest. This is by far, the most orante Cemetary I have ever seen. Family mausoleums line up like tightly packed minature city blocks, each uniquely designed with decorative metal, stone and glass work as well as beautiful sculptures. I was very happy that Sandy insisted that I brave the crowds to see the Duarte Family's mausoleum - it amazes me how she still garners all of this attention beyond death, when it was her husband who was the govener of Buenos Aires - a woman of the people, revered and hated both, but never forgotten.

We drove on through the working side of town to the quaint village of Camanito. A small Euro-hybrid version of New Orleans and the Old West. We fell in love with two new versions of our favorite drinks in Camanito - Yerba Mate tea (a uniquely Argentinian drink shared amongst friends and loved ones), and Quilmes Stout beer ( very tasty dark beer brewed in the nearby city of Quilmes (pr. Kill-moss). We now have our own leather Mate vessel complete with the oranate silver filter straw and bags of Yerba Mate. Aw we were called back to the bus, we discoverd some great artwork here along the small windy cobbelstone streets, but found ourselves out of time and pesos.

We departed the bus tour back in town in order to search for additional supplies and Quilmes which we procured at the Super Mercado for $1 each. The ship now allows each passenger to bring on 12 beers or 2 bottles of wine each. Thank goodness for the hidden drawers under our stateroom couch, now stuffed with an arrate of local beers and various other booty.

THE TANGO SHOW at the downtown deco-styled theater was a throw back to the Dinner Show days. Seated at long family-style tables, white-gloved waiters served us a variety of local fare and the wine flowed generously while we awaited the show. Tango is a highly passionate dance and I found the show very emotionally charged and effective utilizing old film clips with a live orchestra seated like angels above the dancers performing an array of scenes conveying the history of Tango - it was a fantastic experience.

THE PARTY : After catching another shower and a few hours of sleep it was back into town (Palermo Soho District) in search of a place to blow off some stream on a Tuesday night. It took a bit of searching and a couple of cab rides to find Plaza Serrano, an Italian style Piazza with outdoor cafes around a central fountain. As one of the locals promised, the music ignited at 1am just as we found our friends in the ship's crew. The music was loud and Latin making it very easy to blow it out, dancing until 4am. We consumed grande bottles of cerveza as we danced in the sticky nightime temps, sweating out the remainder of the nasty virus that had gripped us since Day 1.

Fully wilted and spent, we found another friendly $5 taxi back to our ship, all the while falling even more in love with Buenos Aires. It is no wonder that movie stars and directors are building homes here - it is a world away from our world and it feels so good. -dkp