Jan. 27 Buenos Aires

 Sunrise 6:10 19C and cloudy, high forecast 26C

We have spent time in Buenos Aires twice before. We were there several days in 2008 when Lawrie had work in Cordoba and Oliveria. When we did the cruise in 2016, we walked 17 km, covering the main highlights. We decided this time that we would save our feet and take the hop on hop off bus that came right to the cruise terminal. 

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina with a population of 3.1 million. Its location on the Rio del Plata creates a very long city. The ship was docked in with the cargo ships, which necessitated a shuttle to the terminal. We were strongly discouraged from walking in this area as petty theft and muggings are common. We hadn’t felt at all unsafe when we walked from the terminal into the city 9 years earlier, but we did heed the advice. 

Shortly after the bus started the tour, the rain also started. I had checked the weather and had our rain gear in our back pack. We were sitting up top and no one else around us was prepared for the rain. The bus pulled over and the driver came up to extend the roof. There was a huge sigh of relief from the other passengers, until we turned a corner and the water came pouring off the roof into the outside seats. 

The rain continued for the better part of an hour. There were some interesting sites that we could have stopped to visit, but all were outside and not worth getting drenched for. 

We got off at the Teatro Colon as it was close to the area where we stayed in 2008. We wandered the area and along Florida, a pedestrian zone of shops and restaurants. 

After a stop for a drink, we retraced our steps and continued along the route. We stayed on the bus, enjoying the sites. The bus did a lot of crisscrossing areas we had already seen so that by the end of the 3 hour circuit, we were happy to head back to the ship. For someone who does not have much time in the city, it is a good way to see the main highlights, but only a few could be visited in a day. For us, it was a good way to put in the day. 

When we had stopped for a drink, we had ordered food but it never came. We paid for our drinks and left. The waiter told me the tip was not included but I just nodded and left. We had been totally ignored for 40 minutes. We had an early supper when we returned to the ship because we were hungry.

After we packed our bags and put them outside our door we went up to the top deck for a last drink and to watch the loading and unloading of the container ships. There was another glorious sunset to bid us farewell to the cruise.


Tomorrow, the adventure continues in Iguazu Falls.

Temperature at sunset 27C


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