OUR TRIP TO BUENOS AIRES

MARCH 16, 2006
I finally am about to realize my dream of going to South America. First stop is Buenos Aires! Then on to Iguassu Falls, and finally to Rio.




My friend and travelling companion John, a Filipino-Chinese doctor who lives in beautiful, bucolic Spring Glen in upstate New York, came to my apartment at 2 o'clock with his luggage. We promptly went to my favorite neighborhood Japanese restaurant, Isohama, for some sushi and sashimi.

After taking a short taxi ride to La Guardia Airport, and a short wait for the first leg of our flight, we were finally off the ground and arrived in Washington D.C. to catch the plane to Buenos Aires. The plane was full and as luck would have it, I was seated next to an Argentinian lawyer, Christian, who lives in D.C. He's flying back for his brother's wedding.
We had an enjoyable and enlightening conversation about Buenos Aires. He pointed out the places we have to see. So, I was already almost familiar with the city by the time we alighted almost eleven hours later.

MARCH 17, 2006
It was drizzling when we landed in Buenos Aires. A little disappointed but it was warm, so still much better than being in cold wintry New York. We checked in at Americas Tower in the Recoleta area and were quite pleased with our accomodations. After a quick refreshing Scotch-on-the-rocks, we were ready to start our first real view of Buenos Aires. Even though it was drizzly (we bought a couple of umbrellas), I instantly liked the city. It had a cosmopolitan air to it, quite European and old-world. The people at the airport and the ones who picked us up for the transfer to our hotel all seemed very nice and pleasant. The bellman who took our luggage to our room was extremely pleasant, too. So far, so good.

We went out and headed towards the Teatro Colon, where originally we wanted to see La Boheme on March 25. The travel agent had to change our itinerary because they couldn't find a flight for us to Rio on our date of departure but the flight to Buenos Aires was available. Unfortunately, La Boheme was not being performed yet on the days that we were in B.A. So, we had to contend to just looking at the facade of the famous opera house. We continued walking on Avenida 9 de Julio toward the Obelisco and browsed at windows.

Dinner that night, around 10 pm, was at Cafe Tortoni on the Avenida de Mayo. Cafe Tortoni is famous for being the place to see and be seen. King Juan Carlos of Spain and even Hillary Clinton visited the place. Cafe Tortoni even had a Tango Show in the basement club. We had Campari-Soda, tapas, and a very nice bottle of Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mendoza region.

MARCH 18, 2006
This morning, Saturday, we took a city tour to get a general overview of the city. We drove past the Teatro Colon and the Obelisco. Our first stop was at the Plaza de Mayo where we strolled through the park and went into the Catedral Metropolitana. We took pictures of the government building (the Cabildo), and the Casa Rosada which used to be the President's residence. It was at Casa Rosada's balcony where Evita sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." Next, we were shown La Bombonera, the Junior Boca Soccer Stadium. The Argentines are mad about their home team!

Then we stopped next at the Caminito, an area where immigrants used to live. This area is defined by its very colorfully painted tenements. There were also a lot of street vendors and souvenir shops. I bought a couple of beautifully crafted glass ashtrays, gifts to a couple of my smoker friends. Then I found a wonderful Venetian-inspired mardi-gras mascara de cuero from a very nice handicraftsman, Nicolas. I also bought a few handpainted bookmarks and some interesting matches with collages on the covers.

The tour bus took us next to the Palermo area, their Embassy Row. It was also a very nice residential area. Our final stop on the tour was the Recoleta area which is the ritziest part of town. The Cementerio de la Recoleta where Evita was laid to rest, the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar, and a nice handicrafts fair were pointed out to us. We decided to be brought back to our hotel to freshen up before we check out Recoleta later in the afternoon.

We had lunch back at the Recoleta, in one of the outdoor restaurants across from the basilica. Very pleasant alfresco lunch, Argentine beer and seafood salad. Then we checked out the church, the fair, the huge metallic "flower" that opens up in the morning and slowly closes toward the end of the day, and the famous cemetery where we saw Eva Peron's final resting place.


On our way back to the hotel, we met an old friend of mine, Alejandro, a Military School cadet. We invited him for a drink, and then he was off to school.

Back at the hotel, I checked my e-mail, had a glass of scotch, and had a little rest before dinner. About 10 o'clock that night, we were ambling up Libertad Street to go to a concierge-recommended seafood restaurant when we passed by a very nice white building, recessed from the sidewalk, a nice semi-circular driveway, and a few steps up to the building. It was an Italian community club house and there was a restaurant inside so we went in and checked out the menu. It turned out to be a very nice restaurant with very fresh seafood and home-made pasta. It was a great dinner!

MARCH 19, 2006









Sunday morning after breakfast, on our way to the subway to go to the San Telmo flea market we passed by a movie crew shooting a commercial for dog food. One of the crew members, Julio, asked us where we were from, so we had a nice chat with him for a few minutes.

After a few stops on the subway, we got off and walked in San Telmo till we found the flea market. Very interesting shops, reminds me of Porte de Clignancourt in Paris and Portobello Road in London. Not to forget W. 25th Street and Avenue of the Americas in New York.

After checking out all the stalls, booths, and shops, we rested our weary feet at a corner bistro, the Plaza Dorrego Bar, and had Argentine beer, peanuts and some toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, watching the Sunday flea market vendors and buyers or browsers. Later on, we decided to go back to the Caminito and after a short taxi ride we were back in the festive atmosphere of the Caminito.


We saw Nicolas at his booth and I bought another carnival leather mask while John bought two. A couple from England who have been travelling the world bought a few of the well-crafted masks. They're planning on a Las Vegas wedding and the bride-to-be said she might wear one at her wedding!


That evening, we met up with a friend from San Francisco, who we met at the airport, for dinner. David told us about a nice restaurant with great steaks and fabulous selection of wines. Las Nazarenas was at Reconquista Street, a few minutes walk from the hotel. David knew the sommeliere so he took us down to the wine cellar and we had a capsule lesson about Argentine wines. John and David had steaks and I had lamb which unfortunately was overcooked. The wines we tasted were excellent, however, again from the Mendoza region in Argentina.

MARCH 20, 2006
Woke up early this morning, my birthday, had a nice breakfast at the hotel, finished packing for our trip to Iguassu Falls. Our transport to the airport came on time and we were at the domestic airport in no time considering there was an accident in the highway which caused a few minutes delay. Our flight was delayed a couple of hours but we were warned that domestic flights were usually rescheduled especially if the plane has few passengers. Finally arrived in Iguassu Falls, Argentina, but our pick-up was nowhere in sight. Ended up hiring a cab to take us to the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls where our hotel Das Cataratas is located.

IGUASSU FALLS

MARCH 20, 2006
We landed at the airport on the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls after about 45 minutes of flight time. After a few exasperating minutes trying to locate the person picking us up at the airport to take us to the Tropical Das Cataratas on the Brazilian side, we realized that he was not there. The person at the information window advised us to take a taxi and just get a refund from the transfer company. We jumped into a cab and was told that it will take about an hour to get to our hotel and we found out why. We had to cross the border and so it took about 30 minutes to go through customs.

A few miles from the Argentine airport we kept seeing signs to the falls and we were getting kind of excited to get a glimpse of the famed falls, made famous by the 1986 movie The Mission starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Aidan Quinn, and then little-known Liam Neeson. In some areas we could faintly hear some rumbling which we surmised came from the falls. We finally entered the national park and a few kilometers later we arrived at our hotel. We could hear the rumbling falls and from the front of the hotel we could see the fantastic Iguassu Falls.

Das Cataratas is the only hotel right inside the national park on the Brazilian side, only a few hundred meters from the famous falls. It is a large, elegant colonial-style hotel, and I found out that it was formerly a 19th century palace. The hotel is set in attractive grounds within the surrounding rain forest.

Our taxi drove up the semi-circular driveway and dropped us off right at the entrance of the hotel. The lobby with its plush red carpet was attractive and inviting. After we checked in, we found our room to be nice and comfortable with a view of the rain forest and several flowering trees. We didn't even bother to unpack, and we went right away to the tower for a first view of the falls and even from that distance the views were spectacular and the surrounding terrain was lush, largely pristine, rain forest. We went back down to the lobby, made a reservation for dinner at the Ipé Bar and Grill for that night's barbeque, my birthday dinner.

Waiting for us in the lobby was the representative of the transfer company who was supposed to pick us up at the airport. She explained that she was instructed to go the Brazilian airport, when in fact our plane landed at the Argentine airport. In any case, she was very pleasant and apologetic and she told us that we will be refunded the cab fare and the entrance fee to the national park, so all was well and good.

We then crossed the street to get right to the edge of the falls. We were told that there are up to 275 separate falls (depending on the time of year) that plunge 200 feet or more over a two-and-a-half mile crescent. It was so exciting to hear the thundering roar of the falls, about which I read somewhere that Eleanor Roosevelt quipped upon seeing them: " This makes Niagara look like a water faucet."

There was a kiosk at the beginning of the trail where one can buy tickets to go rappelling from a metal platform on the edge to the ground below. No, we didn't do that but wished I did. We walked all the way to the end of the trail along the falls, seeing different species of flora and fauna, when we could get our eyes off the raging falls. We even saw a huge tarantula along the way! At the end of the trail there was a long metal rail walkway over the water and we got sprayed and had to protect our cameras from getting wet. The sight of the falls was truly spectacular.

John and I were amazed at the beauty of nature in this national park. After lingering and enjoying for quite a while what nature had to offer, we started our walk back on the main road to the hotel to check out the hotel and its grounds, which we found to be dotted with palms and tropical flowering shrubs and trees.

There were two restaurants in the hotel. The main restaurant was on the ground floor of the main building and served a blend of Brazilian and international cuisine. Beside the pool was the Ipé Bar and Grill which serves barbecued meat dishes and had live music. There was also a bar with terrace, a reading room with open fireplace, a billiards room, tennis courts, and a large swimming pool in the garden.

That evening we had our dinner at the Ipé Bar and Grill. It was a smorgasbord of meats and a beautiful array of appetizers, side dishes, and desserts. A live band played Brazilian music. After the leisurely dinner or shall I shall after a few trips to the buffet table, we went and listened to a nature talk by one of the hotel's rain forest specialists. The slide show proved to be very educational and interesting.

MARCH 21, 2006
The next morning after breakfast we went on our Macuco Safari trip. Our tour guide, Joan, took us on a ride in the rain forest and gave us information along the way about the flora and fauna of the area. Our vehicle had to slow down and completely stop to let a family of coatis, about 15 of them, cross the narrow road. Juan told us that there were jaguars in the rain forest but of course rarely seen in the tourist areas.


After a couple of kilometers we went for a walk and stopped to look at a small waterfall before we proceeded to the dock where they gave us some plastic bags for our cameras and valuables, a life jacket, and a short talk about safety while on the boat. Then we got on the speedboat to experience Iguassu Falls.

It was so exciting to cruise along the Iguassu River, going upstream against the raging river, then going sort of under some of the bigger falls. We felt the splashing of the falling water and we felt exhilirated by it. The boat went upstream some more and we saw the metal walkway near the Devil's Throat where we were the day before. On the way back, the skipper did some fancy speedboat driving that made the ride more exciting but before you know it, the trip was over. With wet shorts we started back on our ride to the starting point and back to the hotel.

After hanging up our wet clothes in our room, we went to the swimming pool and enjoyed a few laps in the nice, warm water of the pool. We ordered our lunch by the poolside. I had a very tasty and healthy order of hearts of palm with shrimp and a beer, and John had a mouth-watering burger and a glass of wine. We played in the water some more, then it started to drizzle but not hard enough, so we stayed on. I got quite a bit of sun that afternoon, and I suffered for it back in New York for some time.

Later that early evening, we went back across the street and walked along the trail again to see more of the falls. This time we saw several toucans, those beautiful birds with big, red and green and yellow beaks. Besides the toucans, parrots, lizards, butterflies, tarantulas, and coatimundis - a type of racoon - are often seen in the vicinity. At the end of the trail was a souvenir shop where we bought a few souvenir T-shirts.

Dinner that night was at the main restaurant, and later on, we went back to the swimming pool area and laid on the lounge chairs to watch the sky filled with twinking stars. We also saw something that I've never seen before. A bat kept diving on the swimming pool as if to take a quick dip!

MARCH 22, 2006
We had another artery-clogging breakfast the next morning. Then we went back to our room to pack. After we checked out, we had a few hours to kill since our pick up is not till 3 pm for our flight to Rio. We went on a nature walk behind the hotel grounds where we saw a family of coatis playing and, I imagine, looking for food. We walked all the way to the edge of the Iguassu River. Then we had a nice lunch by the pool, again. After that we decided to try our archery skills, and we found out we were no Robin Hoods; maybe closer to Friar Tuck, physically by this time after eating rich foods for several days now, and there's still Rio coming.

Our pick up came and took us to the Brazilian airport for our trip to Rio. The flight was uneventful except I was seated next to two giggly Frenchwomen. I practiced my French with them, and they understood me enough that they even asked me for an answer to their French crossword puzzle which I was able to answer. Then I taught them how to solve su doku puzzles, which they liked a lot. We arrived in Rio and thank God our hotel transfer was there waiting.

RIO DE JANEIRO

MARCH 22, 2006
The flight from Iguassu Falls was enjoyable because of the two French ladies next to me. As I said, they were giggly and talkative so the flight time seemed to zoom by pretty quickly. The sight from the plane of Rio was spectacular. The lights and the incomparable landscape of the city and its environs were just breathtaking.


We were lucky to be picked up by our scheduled transfer from the airport to the hotel without any hassles this time. The driver gave us our first insight of the city as he pointed out the different areas as we drove by them. We reached our hotel, the Le Meridien Copacabana, which is ideally located of course just across from the world-famous Copacabana Beach, and we checked in and found our room on the 23rd floor very well-appointed with views of the beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açucar). We refreshed ourselves and got ready to go to dinner. The concierge recommended a Japanese restaurant nearby, only a few minutes walk. It was crowded, we had to wait for a few minutes, the room was windowless, the waiter didn't speak English, screwed up our order, obviously wasn't the kind of restaurant we would have enjoyed.

Since it was such a nice evening, we walked along Copacabana beach on the way back to the hotel. We passed by several little makeshift shops along the beach selling refreshments (beer, sodas, drinks, coconuts) and souvenirs. We sat down and had a couple of coconuts (just the liquid, not the meat) and enjoyed the seabreeze. After a while we went back to the hotel and made reservations for dinner at the Le Saint Honoré for the next night. We also made reservations for our trip to Sugar Loaf and Corcovado for the day after. Then we went up to our room and had a night cap before we dozed off to dreamland.

MARCH 23, 2006
This morning we had a very nice sumptuous breakfast at the Café Fleuri Restaurant at the hotel. Great choices of breakfast treats, including crepes and omelettes, and juices (guava, etc.) besides the usual, and we had a nice view of the beach from our table on the terrace. Breakfast can also be had by the swimming pool which also overlooks the famous Copacabana Beach.

We took the local bus to go to Centro, or downtown, passing parks and the Guanabara bay. We looked for the tram that goes to Santa Teresa, a quaint neighborhood with a convent, museum, little shops and restaurants, and beautiful sights. Chief among these is the bonde, the old-fashioned streetcar that whisks passengers from downtown over the Arcos da Lapa into Santa Teresa.

The tram station was not easy to find. After a few miscues, we finally found the tram station. It was behind the big "hanging gardens" Petrobras building, on Rua Prof. Lélio Gama, a little street that runs off Rua Senador Dantas. To our dismay it was closed due to a strike by the tram workers. So, off again we went and took another bus and finally we were on our way to the hilltop neighborhood of Santa Teresa. We saw the Roman-style aqueduct named Arcos da Lapa. I later found out that most hilltop neighborhoods in Rio are favelas -- unsanctioned shantytowns.

Santa Teresa is anything but -- it's a respectable, slightly bohemian neighborhood with a number of sights to lure visitors. We got off when we thought we were in the middle of the Santa Teresa district and decided to just walk around. We had some refreshments at a small local restaurant.

Saw the garage where they filmed the movie "Black Orpheus", a Brazilian-French-Italian retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Then we looked in at some shops, and John found a nice set of pottery figures of a quail mother and her brood. Next we saw a very nice little restaurant with a beautiful terrace in the back with beautiful views of the city so we made a reservation for our last night dinner in Rio.

We walked on, following the tram tracks back toward the city. We passed by the Museu Chácara do Céu and the Ruin Park. Side by side on a tall hilltop, both are worth a visit. We wandered through the neighborhood enjoying the fabulous views, and the mix of modern, colonial, and Art Deco architecture. The next site that we wanted to see was the Convent with its famous multicolored-tiled steps put together by the artist Selaron, but it proved "elusive" and after going up and down the hilly streets, we decided to just go back to the city proper.

We went down the hill and under the Arcos da Lapa and took the bus back toward our hotel. While enjoying the view we rode on and on until we passed our hotel and ended up going to the last stop in Leblon. We just stayed on the bus until it went back and got off near our hotel. We finally decided to go back to the hotel to take our siesta.

Our big dinner at the Le St. Honoré Restaurant on the 37th floor of the hotel was that evening so at about nine o'clock we took our time getting ready, wore our jackets and ties, and went up to the top of the building. The restaurant was beautifully decorated, oozing with French elegance, beautiful bouquets of flowers, nice large floor-to-ceiling windows to enjoy the spectacular views of Copacabana and the city. We were seated at a very nice table by the window and the view alone was worth it. We started with Kir Royales and then looked at the menu organized imaginatively by Paul Bocuse and prepared under the command of chef Pierre Landry, so I had great expectations. The dining experience started out with great potential, the appetizers were great, the French wine with dinner was terrific, the first piece of the carre d'agneau I ordered was heavenly but unfortunately the rest was below par. John ordered magret de canard, and he probably had better luck. Luckily, there was the after-dinner drink for me to look forward to. Coffee and dessert were not bad but my glass of Delamaine Vespers really helped me get over my disappointment with dinner!

It was past midnight by the time we left the restaurant. We returned to our hotel room and changed to more casual outfits and then went for a walk on the beach. Avenida Atlantica is broad and beautifully landscaped and runs alongside Copacabana. There were still a lot of people walking or having drinks at the little snack bars that dotted the beach. It was so nice and relaxing with the cool breeze and the sand under our feet.

MARCH 24, 2006
After another sumptuous breakfast, we went down and strolled on the beach before our day trip to Corcovado and Sugar Loaf. The beach had very nice white sand. Then we boarded our tour bus, picking up other tourists at a couple of other hotels before arriving at the depot where we took a narrow-gauge train, winding upwards past hillside shacks, through trees and tangled rainforest creepers, up the mountaintop, which I found out was 2,329 feet above sea level. We went up an escalator and then boarded an elevator and emerged at the stylish art deco statue of Jesus Christ, which was 98 feet tall. The view from here was definitely worth the visit. The mountains, the bay, and the city were viewed panoramically. It's enough to give you a feeling of elation. The statue was originally intended to mark the 100th anniversary of Brazilian independence in 1922, but due to a funding shortfall, it didn't open until 1931. Sugar Loaf Mountain can be seen from the Corcovado.

Lunch was next on the agenda for those who took the whole-day tour so after dropping off the others at their hotels, our tour guide took the rest of us to Ipanema to have lunch at a nice local restaurant. We had a leisurely lunch and among the people in our group was a Colombian lady, a Korean tour operator, and a couple from the United States. There were others but they were in a separate table so I never really got to talk to any of them.

We boarded our bus after lunch and drove down Avenida Atlantico, passing Ipanema Beach, famous stretch of beach immortalized in Tom Jobim's song "The Girl from Ipanema," which is nestled between Copacabana and Leblon. Our first stop was the very modern Cathedral.
Then we were on our way to Sugar Loaf Mountain or Pão de Açucar. The cable car took us up to a breathtaking view of much of Zona Sul and the center, and also the neighboring city of Niteroi, just across Guanabara Bay. The ascent takes two steps, the first from the ground station in Urca to the Morro de Urca (721-ft.), the second up to the Sugarloaf itself (1,299-ft). Trams are timed so it's next to impossible to make both trips without spending transition time on the Morro which offers excellent views, as well as a cafe, snack bar, restaurant, and of course, souvenir stands. The ride on the cable cars was quite exciting and exhilirating that after we got up to the top I got John to join me into taking the cable car ride down to the Morro and then back up to Sugar Loaf again. We later found out we were not supposed to do that.

Back at the hotel, we decided to call up and cancel our dinner reservation at that nice little restaurant at Santa Teresa since it was our last night in Rio and we hadn't really seen much of the city life. We had a little Chivas before we went to dinner. We searched for a Brazilian restaurant and found a nice one and enjoyed a Brazilian pork dish with Brazilian beer. After dinner we took the subway to go downtown exploring, and it turned out to be a very nice evening and an extremely enjoyable one!

MARCH 25, 2006
We had our usual diet-go-to-the-devil breakfast, walked on the beach again before we went back to the hotel to finish packing. We checked out, left our luggage with the hotel porter, then went to lunch at the same Brazilian restaurant we ate at the night before. Then we walked around and found a bunch of shops along Avenida Atlantica and just browsed around before we went back to the hotel to catch our ride to the airport.

We flew to Sao Paolo first, shopped at the duty-free there, had a quick snack, then boarded the plane to take us back home. Took an Ambien and slept all the way to Washington, DC.

MARCH 26, 2006
The whole trip was a very enjoyable one. John was such a nice traveling companion. There was not one instance of disagreement between us. I certainly hope we can travel together again soon!

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