February 15, 2009

One of the excellent speakers on the ship, Terry Breen, a cultural anthropologist, said that as much as she loved Rio, she loved Buenos Ares even more. After two days there, we can see why. The view of the city from the port is no where near as dramatic as Rio, and there are no beaches, but the city itself is a delight, with a definite European flavor. We arrived late on our first day but still took the ship shuttle into town and then walked for a several hours on a street called Florida, which is now a pedestrian mall, with lots of activity, including street mimes, tango dancers, and lots and lots of shops and side malls. We also went to the main square, Plaza de Mayo, with the “Pink Palace” where Eva Peron appeared from a balcony to address the Argentine people as seen in the movie Evita. We toured the Cathedral Metripolitana, a beautiful ornate cathedral with a guarded tomb of one of the liberators of Buenos Ares. We happened to be there at the time of the changing of guard, so we were privileged to witness the ceremonial marching and departure of the tomb guard, followed by the closing of the gates to the tomb area.

From Plaza de Mayo we could see in the distance the Obelisk, which looks like a somewhere smaller version of the Washington Monument. We actually walked to it the next day. Then we walked back again on Florida street and quickly discovered how much less expensive prices are in Argentina compared to Brazil. With an exchange rate of about 3.5 pesos to the dollar, our money goes much further. We purchased a version of the Mate, a gourd like container that the people of both Brazil and Argentina use to drink their tea. The tea is actually called Mate, and the container gets its name from the tea. You use a special straw for mate, made of metal, usually silver, which filters the tea so that you are not drinking in tea leaves. We saw people everywhere, in the shops and even on the streets drinking their mate. The making of the mate containers has become an art form, with much carving and ornamentation on the gourd. The straws can also be quite ornate and beautiful. I also purchased a shirt (as I did in Rio) as I have found that in my effort to pack lightly, I don’t really have enough shirts to wear. The shirt is a polo (with a pocket, of course) which cost about $9. Leather goods also are incredibly cheap in Argentina, and I bought a unique change purse, with different color leathers designed to look like a man’s sport coat for $1.50. Ronnie bought some costume jewelry gifts, and we were quite tired when we travelled back to the ship on the last shuttle at 6:30 p.m.

By this time Ronnie discovered that the ring I had bought her in Rio had lost a stone. We were both concerned, especially when we found out that the jeweler did not have a shop in Buenos Ares (one of the other jewelers on the ship did), but we did know that they had a store in Miami. As a last resort we figured we could send the ring back to Miami when we got back, but of course that is not until June! I emailed the representative of the company named Christian, who had been on the ship until Rio, and he emailed me right back. He apologized for the problem and said that his associate, Eduardo, who had been on our ship as well, would meet us the next day at the port in Buenos Ares. While there were a few snags, including Eduardo losing his wallet to a pick pocket, Eduardo flew in with a brand new identical ring in Ronnie’s size in exchange for the one with the missing stone. What customer service! We figured they lost money on the deal, but in any case we would highly recommend Amsterdam Sauer to any one who asked.

We decided to go into town on the first shuttle that morning because we wanted to see the opera house (largest in the world, they say) and La Boca, a unique community of brightly painted houses that still maintains some of the culture of the first Italian immigrants. The opera house was still under renovation so we could not see it, but the street is beautiful and wide similar to the Champs Elysee in Paris, and we did get close to the Obelisk for a few photos. From there we took a taxi to La Boca (cabs are cheap there: $7 for the whole ride including tip). We loved the ethnic character and bright colors of La Boca, and of course the artists. Yes, we couldn’t resist some of their art, again unique and colorful. One of the artists personally took me to the closest ATM that we couldn’t find on our own since it was at the back of a store with no clear signage. He was a delightful fellow, and the original watercolor we bought from him was only $10, but the interaction with him was worth a lot more.

The next day I unexpectedly was assigned to escort a tour which included a boat ride on the river Tigre and the Parana River delta, close to Buenos Ares. Ronnie could not go because she had to meet Eduardo, and it was not her ideal excursion anyway. The Parana Delta continues to expand because of the mass of silt deposited from rivers that come down from the Andes, and it is crisscrossed with hundreds of small channels, making much of the delta a collection of islands. The area has become a popular place for Portenos, as the citizens of Buenos Ares are called, to have a vacation home. I saw hundreds of mostly small homes on these islands, with some looking like shacks and others like mansions. The only way to get to them is by boat, so everything is brought in or taken out by boat. While homes in Buenos Ares are quite expensive, you can purchase one of the island homes for as little as $50,000 according to our guide. Ronnie did more shopping that afternoon, and we both got back to the ship in time for a Tango and Gaucho dancing show. Quite something (I took a few short videos), and the theater was packed with new passengers who got on in Buenos Ares.

While a number of passengers got off in Buenos Ares, many more got on, so we now have 540 on board, about 200 more than before. It is a mixed blessing. We couldn’t get a washer in the laundry room, and the gym and just about everything is more crowded. However, on the positive side my church service this morning suddenly doubled in size to more than 20. This afternoon at our Trivia game Don Shula was at an adjoining table. He is one of the speakers on this segment, but he has not been on the docket yet.

Yesterday we had our one stop in Uruguay, at the port city of Montevideo. We had a beautiful sunny day there and walked into town about 9:30 a.m. when it was still pretty quiet. By the time we returned about 2:30 p.m. the places by the port were hopping. We went to several of the main squares, toured the cathedral which was much simpler than others we have seen but still quite beautiful. We went to two local craft markets and purchased a few small items and one painting. There were a few stalls along the streets and in the squares selling crafts as well, along with antiques. The entertainment last night was Richard Shuman, who with his brother wrote the music to Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, and other Disney classics and has won numerous Academy Awards and Tonys for his music. We figured he is in his 70s, and he had some good stories to tell and he obviously enjoyed performing some of his songs for us.

Still trying to figure out if I can shrink some of the photos enough so it won’t take forever to upload them. I know a number of you have asked for photos, and I am still working on it.

I am closing with a short excerpt from my sermon this morning as it is relavant to our experience:

“As I was putting the finishing touches on this sermon, I was sitting on our balcony as we were sailing out from Montevideo. You may remember that it was one of those beautiful early evenings, with the temperature just right, a nice breeze, with birds flying by, other ships sailing past, and the sun approaching the Western horizon. We had just finished an amazing day and a half in Buenos Ares and a marvelous day in Montevideo. My heart was overflowing with thankfulness to God for the opportunity simply to be on this ship, for the wonder of his creation, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea. And on that Valentine’s Day, for the gift of love between my wife and me. You see, I proposed to my wife on Valentine’s Day 36 years ago yesterday. For me it was truly a holy moment.”