El Ateneo Book Store

 The Ateneo book store is in an old opera house. It is a beautiful book store! 

 

 

It was busy and not just with tourists. Many were purchasing books. It was a wonderful way to cap off learning about Buenos Aires. 

The Tango and othes Argentinian Dances

The Tango is the dance of Argentina. We were privileged to see professional dancers perform for us. They also showed us other dances. These short videos will give you a taste of the this experience.

Exploring Buenos Aires

We started the day at the Recoleta Cemetary It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and military commanders such as Julio Argentino Roca. Some grave sites were in disrepair. Families have the site for 99 years and then payment must be made to keep the site or the site can be resold and the bodies buried there must be moved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some burial vaults were quite elaborate.  We learned quite a bit about Argentinian history from our guide. Did you know that three years after Eva Peron's death in 1952 years ago, her embalmed corpse disappeared, removed by the Argentinian military in the wake of a coup that deposed her husband, President Juan Peron. It then went on a global odyssey for nearly two decades. In October 1976 her body was finally placed in her family's mausoleum in Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw the Colon Opera House. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. It was complete in 1908 and was refurbished from October 2006 to May 2010.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Casa Rosada, the pink house, is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace.

The Obelisco de Buenos Aires is a 67.5-meter-high iconic monument located at the intersection of Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Corrientes. Inaugurated in 1936 to mark the 400th anniversary of the city's first foundation, it is a premier landmark for protests, celebrations, and tourist photos, representing the heart of the city. 
 

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. When you enter the cathedral there is a screen that displays a slide show of Pope Francis. He was born and raised in Buenos Aires. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was became a cardinal in 2001. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop on our official tour was in the area the is called La Boca, the mouth. It has murals about events, protests,  politics and sports. Soccer players Maradona and Messi are very much adored in Argentina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "

desaparecidos" (disappeared) refers to an estimated 22,000 to 30,000 people kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the Argentine military dictatorship during the "Dirty War" (1976–1983). Primarily targeting left-wing activists, students, and workers, the regime utilized clandestine detention centers, leaving thousands with unknown fates, creating a profound, enduring national trauma. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo were the first major group to organize against the Argentina regime's human rights violations. They organized to learn what happened to their children and grandchildren. 

 

 

 

 

Arrival in Buenos Aires

Today was mostly a travel day. We flew out of Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport in the city of Puerto Iguazú. It was a small, new and very clean airport. The flight was from there to the Jorge Newbery Airfield. It is an international airport very close to downtown Buenos Aires. We started the day at our hotel near Iguazu Falls. It has beautiful grounds and a lovely swimming pool. 

After settling into our hotel in Buenos Aires our tour leader, Aline, took us on a walk around the area by the hotel. Jo Ellen and I skipped out from the group when we arrived at an Italian gelato shop. It reminded me of  Italy. Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of South America due to cultural influence from 19th and early 20th century immigration. Our hotel is in the Recoleta neighborhood which features French-style buildings. The city's cafe culture, and fashion are heavily inspired by Paris, Madrid, and Italy. 

Overseas Adventure Travel arranges dinners in the homes of local residents. Nine of our group were hosted by Maria, a kindergarten teacher, and her mother who is also named Maria. We had a delicious meal in their home. The goal is to learn about life where they live. We had an interesting discussion about health care, education, inflation and national politics in Argentina. 

Here are a picture of the dining table and one of Maria and her mother. 

Day two at Iguazu Falls

 

 

 

Once again we had an early start to the day. The goal was to beat the heat and the crowds.  Yesterday we hiked on the Brazil side of the falls and today we hiked on the Argentina side. Both are spectacular but you get much closer to the falls on the Argentina side. There are series of raised walkways and you can walk to the top of the main falls. The mist from the falls got me nice and wet.

 

After lunch most of the tour group went on a boat ride, some went back to our hotel, and I wanted to hike the lower trail on the Argentina side. Since I was the only person doing this I had the local tour guide all to myself. It was 96 degrees but there was enough shade that it didn't seem unbearable. the views were wonderful and it was truly a "picture perfect" day. 

We were in the rain forest and we saw a Coati, a lizard, monkeys, a large fish, and a large bird, and other birds. I needed my grandson, Eli along since he is becoming an avid bird watcher. 

My bucket list to see Iguazu Falls has been fulfilled. Seeing the falls brought me great joy. 

 

Iguazu Falls is spectacular!

Visiting Iguazu Falls has been on my bucket list of places I wanted to see for a long time. Getting here today was a bit of a travel hassle. Our flight from Rio de Janeiro left early and we arrived in Sao Paulo in plenty of time to board our next flight to Iguazu. We boarded a bus to take us to the plane and then we were told to get off because the flight would be delayed for an hour.  We departed about 90 minutes later than scheduled and the flight was going well. We were approaching to land and the pilot made an announcement in Portuguese. I didn't know what he said but then we started circling so it was evident that there was some problem. I think we circled for about 20 minutes and then we had a very fine landing. Many passengers on the plane clapped when we landed. We learned later that the pilot had attempted a landing but there was a storm and high winds so the air traffic controller had him abort the landing. Then the pilot had to be cleared to land after the some time had passed. All of this meant that our planned activities were delayed. We finally arrived at the National Park and hiked a trail that was about 1.5 miles along the rim of the falls. The first view is breathtaking. There is so much water and the sound is a low roar. The pictures below don't do the sights justice. I posted one video in order to share a bit more of the experience. 

 

 

 

       It was raining pretty hard on the first part of our hike.  

 

Sugarloaf Mountain

Our final outing in Rio de Janeiro was to Sugarloaf Mountain. It is known worldwide for its cable car and panoramic views of the city and beyond. The original cable car line was built in 1912, rebuilt around 1972–73, and rebuilt again in 2008. The name comes from the sugar trade that Portuguese started in the 16th century. Blocks of sugar were placed in conical molds made of clay to be transported on ships. The form of the peak reminded the traders that the peak had the same shape as the sugar molds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the top of Sugarloaf Mountain one gets an idea of how large the city is. We got to enjoy a sunset and the city lights.