Valles Calchaquies

In the back of a pickup truck - there are no buses between Angastaco and Molinos. Andi's forced smile is due to the very windy road.

Quebrada de las Conchas, Cafayate

Cachi

Las Pailas with Nevado de Cachi

Trains

I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to take the train to Cordoba. At about $15 for a '1st Class' ticket the price was right so on a Monday evening I headed to Estación Retiro, Buenos Aires' largest train station. The train was full and we left right on time heading north past the train yards full of rusting locomotives, the shanty town beside the tracks, and then the well off suburbs of north Buenos Aires. Traveling by train you get a 'backyard' type view into how people live. With windows and doors open, you get glimpses of kitchens, back patios, workshops and tiny parks all alive with people ignoring the passing train. Some views stay with me - a fat kid with a grubby shirt leaning on the wall of a patio filled with tires, several pairs of feet resting on a table visible by the flicker of a tv, three teens on motorbikes patiently waiting for the train to pass. An hour later the visual sights began to fade into darkness of the night and smells took over my senses. First the pungent smell of a river in the city, then the sweet smell of empanadas coming from the train's food vendor. Not long after the smoke of garbage burning by the tracks mixed with the moist smell of rain on hot earth. Then the storm came. Now all I could focus on was the thunder almost drowned out by the loud clanking of the train on old tracks. The lightning was surreal over the pampas. The rain poured down and in.

Apart from the rough rash from the sweat plus vinyl seats combination and wet feet I felt somewhat refreshed the next morning. I soon found out why - the train had been stopped most of the night. I looked outside. We were moving slowly and there was water everywhere. Some people were frustrated, others looked uninterested - like if this happens all the time (maybe it does). The many kids around me were starting to get restless. There was a steady stream of thermos laden passengers (heading for the dining car to get hot water for their mate) passing back and forth. The flooding receded, we picked up speed passing through Rosario and Villa Maria. Just before Cordoba I suddenly noticed that I was the only person with my window open in my car. The old man across the aisle whispered that I close it. As I slammed down the metal grill I saw the kids hurling rocks. At 4PM we arrived in Cordoba's Estación Mitre, 20 hours after leaving Buenos Aires. The trip took exactly double the time the bus takes, but was worth the experience for so many reasons.

Buenos Aires

Here are a few highlights of the many fascinating buildings, plazas and landmarks of this city. As interesting as they may be on their own, the best part about this city are the things you find by accident - the beautiful buildings hidden around every corner reminding you of what this city once was...

Downtown B.A. looking towards Plaza de Mayo

Plaza de Mayo

The main square of Buenos Aires celebrates it´s independence from Spain on May 25, 1810. The temporary fence has been in place to control protests since about 2001 when the country was hit with a serious economic crisis.

San Telmo is a neighbourhood where wealthy residents built homes in a colonial style. After a serious epidemic most moved to higher land in Buenos Aires´northern area and San Telmo mansions were converted into tenements by the thousands of immigrants arriving from Europe.


Recoleta Cementary - the most prestigious place to be buried

El Ateneo Bookstore - previously a cinema

Microcentro street scene. Corner building designed by Antoní Bonet in 1939.

Banco de Londres by Clorindo Testa, 1960

Puerto Madero was the old port district now converted into high end shops, restaurants and condos. The bridge is by Calatrava.

'Floralis Genérica' by architect Eduardo Catalano. The sculpture opens and closes based the light of the sun.


Riding Buenos Aires' Metro (SUBTE) can be a truly cultural experience. It was the first in South America when it opened in 1913 and sometimes it feels as if not all that much has changed. Riding the A line involves manually opening the doors of the vintage wood interior trains, enjoying the beautiful tiled murals in all stations and stopping at newspaper stands that sell books by Borges or Sábato alongside Playboy and the tabloids. That said, the trains are very slow, crowded and hot and the hallways are narrow and with my height you've got to watch out.

I have had the privilege to experience this spectacular city from an apartment with a view in Recoleta. Looking out towards the Rio de la Plata you see a fascinating linear progression of land uses. Directly below is Avenida del Libertador (an 11 lane avenue) with a park on the other side, then a string or soccer fields, next a large rail corridor, then an informal settlement of several thousands (villa miseria in spanish), then a elevated highway and finally the huge port of Buenos Aires. It is a captivating sight in the mornings. Now I am off to the Retiro station to catch the overnight train to Cordoba to meet my beautiful Andrea!