My second visit to Buenos Aires and actually this time was my farewell to South America. After over four-month backpacking, I felt a little bit exhausted and found the excitement gain from traveling was diminishing at that point. So I decided to take a break from backpacking and return to my sweet home in Phoenix. But still I had couple of days to explore Buenos Aires’ passion for Tango!
More Walking Tours in Buenos Aires
Yes, I mentioned TANGO as the keyword for my last several days in Buenos Aires. But they were for the nights. So I took the opportunities to explore the city.
A Day Walk in BA’s Parks
Buenos Aires is known for its wealth of beautiful green spaces. This South American city has a huge French influence when it comes to urban planning and landscape design, and this can be felt in the city’s charming outdoors. On any sunny day, you will find people lounging while sipping the national drink mate, sunbathing, biking, or walking their dog through one of the city’s 250 parks within city limits.
My hostel Selina at Palermo Soho happens to be near some of the most beautiful parks in Buenos Aires, including Jardin Botanico, Eco Parque, Bosques de Palermo and Jardin Japones.
Among those, my personal favorites are Eco Park and Bosques de Palermo.
Eco Park
Once a zoo, this park is being transformed to an educational, animal-friendly eco-park. In June 2016, the Buenos Aires City Government took the decision to close the 140-year-old Buenos Aires Zoo and release about 2,500 animals (the majority of the zoo’s population) into the wild because it believed that nowadays it was no longer acceptable for animals to be kept captive. The work is ongoing, but several areas are already open to public.
You will find ducks, maras, peacocks and other species that wander freely in an area that recreates a natural habitat of ponds and pasture.
These are cute maras. It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare, or dillaby. This herbivorou, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open and semiopen habitats in Argentian, including large parts of Patagonia.
And a peacock on the side-walks.
Another somehow semi-caged beautiful animal, Guanaco. I had seen those creatures in Patagonia. However, they were very far in distance and I could not take a good photo of them. But finally, I had this one.
South American Camelids In A Nutshell
By now I have collected all mysterious species in South America, llama, alpaca, vincuna and guanaco. It would be a perfect time to give you some information on those animals.
Long story in short, llamas are the domesticated form of the guanaco and alpacas are domesticated form of vicuna.
Two Photos Reference from Internet
Vicuña has the finest animal fiber in the world and they only produce about a pound of wool every year making it the most expensive fiber in the world! Because of the quest for its highly coveted luxurious fiber, the Vicuña was driven nearly to extinction by the 1960s. Various conservation programs have ensured survival of the Vicuña, and this wonderful fiber is once again available to the textile industry. There are now approximately 150,000 Vicuñas in South America, about 80% of which inhabit Peru.
While Vicuña are charming and delicate Andean animals, my personal favorite is alpacas for their silly faces and cute rounded body shapes covered by their fur. Actually, their fur is the second finest animal fiber in the world. By the way, I also tasted very tender and delicious alpaca meat. Sorry, I should not have eaten those cute animals… I won’t do it again!
The guanaco is an extremely versatile animal, and its territory ranges from Ecuador and Colombia in the North to Patagonia and even Tierra del Fuego in the South. Guanacos can live at extremely high altitudes, and they can also survive on very little water, as is evidenced by the populations in the Atacama desert. Guanaco wool is better than llama wool (especially the soft undercoat) but is considered inferior to alpaca or vicuña wool.
Ever since their domestication about 5000 years ago, llamas have been used predominantly as pack animals, and in many parts of the Andes they are still the only form of transportation. They are also used for their meat and their wool. Sorry to say that llama both the taste of their meat and quality of their wools are inferior to those of alpacas!
In summary, the value and quality of fiber ranking is the following (best to worst): Vicuña - Alpaca - Guanaco - Llama.
Bosques de Palermo
Bosques de Palermo or simply “Palermo Parks” is one of the largest and most stunning parks in the city. With a lake, plenty of trees, walking trails and classical gardens, it is a local favorite for families, fitness fanatics and couples on a romantic date.
The highlight of this park is the Rosedal (Rose Garden), a little piece of heaven with a diverse collection of roses surrounded by pretty bridges, galleries and statues.
And the row of cafes and restaurants just outside the park!
San Telmo Market
If you happen to be in Buenos Aires on a Sunday, you should not miss the San Telmo market! This market opens every Sunday from about 10 am to 4 pm and nested in one of the oldest neighborhoods (San Telmo) in Buenos Aires. Besides all types of antiques and handicrafts that represent the traditions of Argentina, the cobblestone streets and bohemian historic cafes also make a perfect frame to spend your time there. Also a good place to grab some last minute souvenir, you would find handmade mate sets, leather products, paints, arts, painted t-shirts and much more! Come and explore!
Recoleta Cemetery
I have no idea why cemeteries can become popular tourist attractions in South America. Remember my visit to the General Cemetery in Sucre, Bolivia? I was in Buenos Aries, and Recoleta cemetery is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world and a must see site in the city. This final resting place of many of Argentina’s wealthiest and most famous families contains no less than 6,400 graves. Each one is unique, constructed in homage to a wide assortment of architectural styles
For those who are interested to learn more about Argentina’s history and the cemetery, you may consider to join a ‘free’ walking tour. Or you can do your homework online before you go.
If you are like me, not a big fan of history, you can just go on your own. The cemetery is very easy to locate and free to enter. Just take Line H and get off at metro station Plaza Francia.
The Capital of Tango
Tango is a partner dance, and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. It was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries, with enslaved African populations. The tango is the result of a combination of African Candombe, Spanish-Cuban Habanera, and Argentinian Milonga.
The tango is improvised, aggressive and erotic. Every move symbolizes el amor y la passion – love and passion.
Buenos Aires is the birthplace and capital of tango. The city is full of tango as you will find dancers on the street of La Boca, San Telmo, city center and many more. Honestly, I was not gifted in dancing and singing at all. My mom once said I have the ‘Zombie Dancing Style’…
But I was in Buenos Aires, you can feel the city’s passion and love for Tango. To enjoy the dance, one have several options to choose from elaborate stage shows to neighborhood milongas (dancing halls) or even sign up for tango lessons. Well, I did not want to embarrass myself with my zombie movements so tango lessons was obviously not my choice.
Tango Porteño
Buenos Aires offers many opportunities to see impressive theatrical tango shows, often with live orchestras and a luxury dinner and show combination. It would be really difficult to choose which tango show to go since there are hundreds of them in BA. I was given dozens of tango show fliers as I walked along Florida Avenue. But one day, I was came across Tango Porteño (a theater) next to Teatro Colón. I asked the box office for the price and show time and finally picked this one as my Tango Show in BA.
The location is a tourist attraction in itself. It used to be a well-know theater of Buenos Aires and still conserves the precious details of that time of splendor. And below is a description of the show from the website:
Tango Porteño brings us to the golden era of tango: the 40s in Buenos, where everything was tango. The great orchestras competed to be in vogue, the dancers spent tracks with new steps, and everyone spoke of fierce tango sounded by these latitudes. Tango Porteño magically recreates all this with the deployment of a Broadway musical comedy style. 30 artists on stage, live orchestra, 8 dance couples and 2 singers, with luxurious costumes and the unique setting of a vintage movie theater that today becomes the big stage of this unforgettable show.
Depends your seat location and whether dinner is included, the price can go up to 100+ USD per person. For me, I had the cheapest option, show only for 1380 ARS (~ 24 USD) and entering time was 10 p.m.
So I arrived at busy downtown at night and entered the theater. Embarrassingly, I found myself an outlier inside it…Most people were well dressed, men in suits and ladies in dresses with makeups and high heels.
So how I looked? I had hiking pants, T-shirt and outdoor Northface long sleeve shirt with clumsy hiking shoes. What’s even worse? I was wearing a pair of sunglasses at night and ready for theatrical tango show?! The sunglasses was not my fault. I lost my prescription glasses in Paine and since then I had the sunglasses on me. Oh my, I even did star-gazing with sunglasses in El Calafate and found the Southern Cross (Crux). I had to order something to drink to numb my embarrassment!
It was a totally random pick but turned out to be a wonderful experience! A bonus of this show is for its location! Even after midnight, I was still able to find a bus back to my hostel! You know as a stingy backpacker, getting a taxi was always to be avoided and reserved to be the last-resort!
Milonga::Parakultural
To experience true spirit of tango, one has to visit one milonga!
The milonga is a very special thing. The simple description is an organized event where people can dance tango. The word milonga also is a type of tango music and a style of dance that is performed to that music.
But remember tango is a late night sport. Most milongas don’t really get going until after 12 midnight. And the best dancers don’t rock up until 2-3 am when they put on some spectacular live performances to show the crowd how it’s really done.
I did not even know the word milonga and that was not on my to-do list. So I ran into several street dancers while wandering in Buenos Aires during my first stay. I stopped to watch them dancing and one lady approached me asking if I were interested in tango lessons and customized local tango tours. My personal traveling rule number one was not never book anything from random people on the street. So I politely told her that I was not planning to have tango tour anytime soon but maybe later after my Iguazu visit. So the lady, Melisa, gave me her WhatsApp contact.
After the tango show, I really liked what I saw. Plus my flight back to U.S. was at 6 a.m. I thought it would be a perfect last night event in BA which meant taxi to airport directly upon return from milonga. I told you tango is a late night sport and people keep dancing until 4-5 am?!
So Melisa and her dancing partner took me to Milonga Parakultural. Friends, it is considered to be one of the best milonga in general and definitely best wooden dance floor in Buenos Aires. For the latter, I will leave it to those who can dance tango. Check out the lady in black dress in the photo, she was in her seventies and still came here frequently to dance from start to the end! No wonder locals say tango is not a hobby but a lifestyle!
Live orchestra and singing performance started at around 1 a.m.
The live tango performance started at around 2:15 a.m. Really, that late!
The cost for this milonga tour was 45 USD for one person and 30 USD each for two or more people, including hotel pickup and drop off. I think you may go to milongas without a guide. And Milonga Parakultural is a tourist-friendly tango club which welcomes spectators. But the benefits of having guides are they will explain the culture, the rules, the codes in milongas and of course, if you want you can dance with them!
Don Julio for My Farewell
For most of my stay in BA, I either went to Asian restaurants or cooked at hostel’s common kitchen. No matter how I like it, I really had too much Argentinean grill.
But before my return to the states, I decided to have my farewell party at an Argentinean steak house . Where did I choose?
Drum roll please!
The famous Don Julio! It is considered not only the best steak house in Buenos Aires, but ranking the World’s 50 Best restaurants, Nº34.
Side note, my hostel Selina is just half block away from this famous restaurant. Again, I only knew Don Julio is famous but did not know it ranks the World’s best restaurants at that time…
So it is famous and it is great! Therefore, no matter when you go, you will probably find a long queue outside the restaurant. But they serve free champagne for waiting customer!
After an hour, I was able to get a space at the bar, which was not too bad. But if you can, wait for a real table.
The busy grilling station.
So I was ready for ordering my steak! Don Julio has a long list of meat cuts from the grill. I was a little confused on what to order. So the waiter took me the the other side of the bar and asked this from the grill station.
On the pan of meat, there are rib eye, thin sirloin, thick sirloin, butterfly sirloin, thin flank, tenderloin, T-bone, short ribs and entrecote!
Great, I went for a challenge of 1kg of meat, the entrecote!
A huge piece of steak with bones grilled to perfection! I was very satisfied for this plate. And it costed 1950 ARS (~ 33 USD). Money well spent and I was ready for my flight back to U.S.
Log
Buenos Aires last stay from December 20 to December 24, 2019.
Return HOME: Phoenix, AZ, U.S. (Flight to Phoenix 06:00, Dec. 24, 2019).
This post was published at Phoenix on August 6, 2020.