Argentina 2006

This page has links to many of the photos & movies I took while in Argentina, South America. I was sent there on a business trip (which lasted one week) that started in the last week of October 2006. Fortunately, I was able to stay for one week of vacation.

I arrived in Buenos Aires on a Saturday morning, with one coworker, Denise. Since my first week was on government funding, I had a nice hotel, as you may surmise from this view from my hotel room. Fortunately, Denise had done some planning and had ideas for what to do over the weekend before our business began. So, that afternoon we took a bus tour through various districts of the city. Side note: one the first day there, there was a 4-hour time difference between Pacific Time & Buenos Aires (for the remaining day, the time difference was 5 hours, so the times shown in the photos should be adjusted accordingly). The first tour stop on Saturday afternoon was in the Recoleta district, and I wandered through this street fair (instead of visiting the tomb of Eva Peron). The second tour stop was in Plaza de Mayo, from which I saw the Cabildo (old seat of government), and the Casa Rosada (present home of the President). There was also an interesting plaque in the plaza which had recent excitement (for those who can translate!). The third tour stop was in Caminito, in the poor La Boca district (as evidenced by this dog scrounging through the trash for food). We climbed some stairs and got a view from above street-level. The colorful buildings are historical in that the people who lived there were so poor they used whatever paint they could get their hands on. There were also dancers in the Caminito area.

On Sunday, Denise had arranged for a tour to a famous city outside of Buenos Aires (about 110 km/60 miles) called San Antonio de Areco, which is known for promoting the gaucho culture. We went to a traditional ranch (known as an “estancia”, http://www.lacinacina.com.ar) and saw this reproduction of a typical gaucho house (gaucho culture thrived in Argentina in the 1600s & 1700s, and has now been romanticized). There was also a simulated well. Another typical building from the gaucho era was the pulperia, like a saloon. There was an out-building on the property, basically the estancia kitchen. The musicians played before lunch (here is a movie of them too), and for a few of the songs this couple danced. Lunch was inside the dining hall, with many courses, and dancing demonstrations (this movie is with bolos). After lunch, the gauchos demonstrated their horse-riding skills by ‘spearing’ a finger-sized ring that hung above the ground (in traditional gaucho fashion).

After a week of business meetings, I was able to wander through Buenos Aires again, and one of the tour guides informed me that these sculptures had been decorated by various artists and were to be sold to raise money for a heart foundation (I wish I had a link for that!). Before the other JPLers returned home, we toured the San Telmo district and saw this open-air market, and dancing in the square.

I went back to San Antonio de Areco for the gaucho festival, but my camera’s battery died after I took just one picture of traditional dancing before the parade started. I got many other pictures using my camera phone, so I hope to post those here some day.

After that, I bought a ticket to fly to another city in Argentina. I left from the domestic airport, but got a view of Rio de la Plata from that airport. It was a smooth takeoff (heading to Bariloche), and then I saw Buenos Aires from above (some major features of the city like Puerto Madero and Avenida Nueve de Julio are quite evident in that picture)!

Bariloche was a beautiful city, as can be seen at some civic center buildings. It’s a shame to see a sculpture in the main plaza has been spray-painted. But the main church in town looks incredible with Lake Nahuel Huapi in the background. I rented a bike that day, and pedaled a well-known route called “Circuito Chico” (about a 60 km loop). I saw many great sights along the way, like this fisherman, and this hotel (called Nest of the Condor). It was springtime, so there were many trees & flowers in bloom. There are several lakes in the region, so from Lago Moreno one can look west or east. Even on the return flight to Buenos Aires, Bariloche was an interesting sight from the plane.

After I was back in Buenos Aires, I took this photo of the statue of General San Martin in San Martin Plaza. Also, there were more hearts near that statue. I went on another organized tour, this time to El Tigre, a river delta near Buenos Aires. After the boat dock, we passed many houses in the delta, passed a waterfront market, and captured this movie too. I had a short train ride to this train station, then went back into the main part of the city. I visited the botanical gardens named after Carlos Thays. A building was being renovated there, and there were many statues in the gardens, along with blossoms, and spring growth. I saw more statues in the gardens on my way to the sector cactaceas. Since redwoods are native to California, I took this photo. I also liked the heliconia and a nearby statue of el despertar de la naturaleza.

After the gardens, I went next door to the zoo (you can see some flamingos in the background!) I saw a peacock, a polar bear, and wild animals in a cage. I also was close to a white tiger. And on my last day in Buenos Aires, I saw more hearts (this time just off Plaza San Martin, on Florida Avenue), and my parting photo was of a typical Argentine afternoon.

PS, the business I was there for was for the Aquarius project (JPL is building an instrument), a cooperative mission with the Argentine space agency (CONAE provides the SAC-D spacecraft).