Buenos Aires – our first leg.

So we started our trip to Argentina first in Buenos Aires. We went to see Plaza de Mayo where all the government buildings are.

We really didn’t do too much at Buenos Aires before flying out to Iguazu Falls. We did pass by demonstrators on the streets of Buenos Aires. It turns out, President Bush was flying into Argentina the day after we arrived. I don’t know how big the news was in the US, but President Bush coming to Argentina was a big news. And it was also clear that he was not very welcomed. There were posters everywhere telling him to go back home.

We also got to tour the Recoleta Cemetery. Recoleta is a rich part of Buenos Aires. The cemetery is quite large – encompassing what is equivalent of 4 city blocks. It was first created in 1822. The cemetery is composed of varying styles of mausoleums and vaults. The family that buys a site there must maintain the vault and also pay a certain amount of monthly fee (an exorbitant amount according to our tour guide). Important figures such as Argentine presidents, musicians, writers, political figures, and other people are buried here. Including Eva Peron. Our guide also explained that there are still two camps of folks in Argentina – those who love Peron (Peronistas) and those who do hate Peron.

In all it was an interesting tour, and we learned more about Argentina history as we toured the cemetery.