Days 15-17: Back to Buenos Aires

Now I got to take the ferry back to Buenos Aires, this time at night:

I was accompanied by the lovely Rocio, Naty, & Gaby, we had mate (of course), and I tried my first alfajores. They said that you're supposed to have a sweet snack before dinner, so of course I was happy to oblige, the alfajor was amazing, it is a layer of dulce de leche sandwiched by two cookies, and then the whole thing covered in chocolate. Delicious! Havanna is supposed to be the best brand.

The hand signal they are doing there is Argentinian for "copado," which means "cool."

Buenos Aires from the ferry at night:

There was a ridiculous musical act on the ship of one guy singing to pre-recorded background music. The passengers politely clapped and some children danced a little:

Next I would spend a couple days waiting to take the plane to Iguazu. I pretty much took it easy and took so time to do laundry etc.
On my first night back I was in San Telmo and went to a huge bar which was a lot of fun. It had just opened, and every night they highlighted the music of a 90's artist and played their music and videos all night. This night's highlights were Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, and it was fun to see all their old videos and music again, and also to see the Portenos rocking out to 90's music.
I also took some long walks and saw the Buenos Aires Museum of Fine Arts and the Buenos Aires Museum of Decorative arts:

Buenos Aires Botanical Garden:

Next day, off to Iguazu!

Day 3: Buenos Aires; The racist barber, downpour in Palermo

To start my day, I went for a haircut, and met an incredibly racist barber. He  was very friendly to me, but as we talked he casually told me about how black people are not to be trusted and are degenerates. He said Barack Obama was part of the 10% of black people who "might be worth dealing with." I waited until his razor was off my neck until I told him my thoughts on the matter. He also didn't have too high an opinion of white people, so I hope that didn't effect the quality of my cut. I think it looks pretty good. The funny thing about it was the friendly, casual manner in which he discussed it with me, and again, the knife he had on my neck.
After my haircut, I went to see the neighborhood called Palermo,which is regarded in the same way as Polanco in Mexico City. In other words, Palermo is where the money is. Seeing this incredible neighborhood convinced me to stay at least one more day in Buenos Aires, it reminds of of the West Village in New York City. (Okay, apparently in this blog I will compare every place to an American city or NYC neighborhood.) Unfortunately, shortly after I arrived an incredible downpour of South American proportions ensued. I found shelter in a restaurant and ordered a delicious coffee (the coffee in Buenos Aires is quite good.) I thought this type of storm was the norm for this city, but apparently not because it was all over the news like it was a big deal. Here's a video of the people at the restaurant dealing with the storm:

Once the rain stopped I got to take a look around, and the neighborhood was so cool! I found a nice hotel for the next day, and am looking forward to seeing more of the area.
Here are some pictures from Palermo:

These are some pictures from the day in San Telmo and El Centro:

Day 2: Buenos Aires; San Telmo, La Boca, Recoleta

On my second day I moved to a new hotel in the neighborhood San Telmo. San Telmo is a cool bohemian-type neighborhood, a little rough around the edges. It has cobblestone streets and on Sunday there were crafts vendors everywhere you looked. I stayed in the only hotel I could find which was both a reasonable price and had available rooms. Here is the place I found, and some pictures of San Telmo:

For lunch, I had an amazing squash and goat cheese sandwich, with all-natural purple dressing, and ginger lemonade:

From San Telmo, I visited other points of interest using the public bus and subway (which is called Subte in Buenos Aires). This is what they look like:

Every major city has a former port which is now a horrible tourist attraction, and Buenos Aires is no exception. Doing my duty as a tourist, I headed over to La Boca. The place has an interesting history, but fits into the standard former port turned tourist site mold:

Benito Quinquela Martín is an amazing painter who was born and raised in La Boca. After he achieved great success, he gave back to his community and built schools and art institutions to try and raise La Boca out of poverty:

Next I hopped on the bus to La Recoleta, an incredible neighborhood, ritzy compared to the other places I had been, seemed a little like Chicago to me perhaps. First stop was the famous cemetery, which was filled to the brim with interesting and elaborate graves, it was quite pleasant for a place filled with dead people:

When I left the cemetery I was shocked to find a lawn filled with a young hip crowd. A reggae band was playing. I bought a beer from a pedestrian vendor and mingled with the locals for hours while the sun set. The main group of people I spoke to gave me "mate" (ma-tay) to try. It is a metal or clay cup filled with herbs and hot water, and then drank through a straw which is part of the cup. Essentially, it is a cool way to drink tea, and it is very popular here in Buenos Aires. It was the perfect way to cap off a tiring day:

After a rest at home, I went out near my hotel to Plaza Dorrego, where folks were enjoying a fun time. Drums beating loudly, a throng of people dancing, jugglers juggling, people chatting on the periphery, a scene that kept going until the wee hours of the morn, and the likes of which would certainly not be permitted in the States. Noise violation would be an understatement. Since no one cares if you drink in public here, groups would make frequent trips to the local bodega to buy liters of beer. Bring your empty and you don't have to pay recycling deposit.

It was a sketchy, diverse, exuberant, very fun scene.

Here are some more pictures from the day: