Buenos Aires City Tour

January 18, 2023

The day to board the ship for our cruise has finally arrived, but first!  A city tour of Buenos Aires.  Here are a few of the highlights…

St. Martin House – a replica of the home of the gentleman responsible for negotiating the independence of Argentina, Brazil, and Peru from Spain.

Next, A visit to the Cemetery de la Recoleta.  This cemetery was established in 1822 as a mass grave site for slaves who had nowhere else to be buried.  During that time individuals were buried in the grounds of the church they attended.  Slaves were not allowed to be members of the churches, so there was no designated place to bury them.  The cemetery was closed for a period due to the spread of Yellow Fever.  It re-opened under the authority of the city manager.  Since then individuals may lease a grave site for up to 99 years. 

There is no limit to the number of individuals who can be buried at a single site – some sites have five floors to them – on the above ground and four below.  There are 4,780 individual burial sites; it is unknown how many bodies are buried here. 

If a site becomes abandoned, the city exhausts all avenues tracing family blood lines until they find someone related to the person whose name is attached to the grave.  That individual can renew the lease or let it go.  There are several sites like this around the cemetery.

Below, Eva Peron is buried here.  Peron’s relationship with Argentinians seems to be one of extremes.  People either love her or hate her – many love what she did but not how she achieved it.  She died from cervical cancer at the age of 33.  Her funeral lasted ELEVEN DAYS!  Hers is the only grave that always has flowers on it – every day of the year.  On memorial holidays hers is the only site individuals line up to place flowers on.

Below, This incredible tree was brought to the city in 1823 as a sapling from Africa by a group of monks

This obelisk represents Argentina’s independence. 

This pink building is the Presidential House, where the President works, but does not live.  The house’s pink color is a nod to the past when the river ran where the town square has since been built.  During those times Argentinians painted the buildings with the blood of animal to preserve the stone from eroding from the effects of being so close to the water.

Eva Peron made her famous “Don’t cry for me, Argentina!” speech from the last balcony on the left.

Of course, you can’t do a city tour without visiting a church, right?  This is the Metropolitan Cathedral, headquarters of the Archbishop.  St. Martin (remember the guy who brokered Argentina’s independence?) is buried here.  His tomb is manned by two royal guards.  Twice a day there is a changing of the guard, where two guards from the palace switch places with the two guards at the tomb.

And last but not least, what tour would be complete without shopping?!  We visited the La Bocca neighborhood, famous for its colorful houses made of wood and tin (with characters leaning out of balconies and windows – who knows why?).  It has tons of character and tons of shopping!