Docked for the first of two days in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We docked at 7:00 am and told we had to take a shuttle bus to the port authority because of security and the size of the port which is mainly used for shipping. Told the port is 18 acres in size and I believe it. All you see are stacks and stacks and more stacks of shipping containers. This shipping port reportedly handles between 1.15 to 1.67 million containers annually. Today we are doing the “Highlights of Buenos Aires including the Evita Museum”. I was concerned because we heard that this museum was closed on Mondays, but apparently due to our numbers, they opened for our tours. This guide was also very good at giving us information. She even used an amplification device when out of the bus. This helped to hear her over the city noises. Unfortunately, due to the bouncing bus driving on cobblestone streets many of the pictures turned out blurry. We were warned to be weary of pickpockets on the crowded streets.
We drove to Plaza de Mayo and stopped for pictures of the Presidents office building, Casa Rosada or pink house. It is pink to symbolize the unification of Argentina’s historically feuding red affiliated Federalists and white affiliated Unitarians by President Domingo Faustino in the late 19th century. Also have photos of the Parliament building and Cathedral where Pope Frances served while in Argentina. Next we walked through a cemetery (La Recoleta) established in 1822 containing over 4600 ornate and artistic marble vaults for Presidents, Nobel laureates, and Eva “Evita” Peron. At the Evita museum we learned about her history as a human rights activist, especially for poor children and women. She only lived 33 years but had and continues to have a profound effect on this country. She came from humble beginnings and became the First Lady of the country, giving powerful speeches up until just prior to her untimely death from ovarian cancer in 1952.
Great info, I learned a few things.
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