Saturday Walk

Yesterday I thought I'd take a walk. Buenos Aires is mainly built on a grid system and many road go from one side of the city to the other. On looking at the map I realised that one of the roads perpendicular to mine goes all the way to the water front and there was green stuff near the end.

Ripe for exploration, I thought. There isn't a lot of green stuff in BsAs although there are several parks (unfortunately generally surrounded and bisected by roads - the car is king here) so any small amount is worth finding. Also I needed to get out of the flat and get to know the area a little better.

Off I went, camera in hand, past the railway tracks, through a posh area then through a less posh area. Despite the walk there was very little to photograph, BsAs is very urban and the pavements tend to be broken up and covered with dog debris. After about half an hour I reached the green stuff. Hmmmm not so much a park as a strip of grass and some trees between two roads. However, it was shady (lovely trees) and relatively quiet.


As you can see from the photo, the ground was a mixture of green and yellow - blossom from the trees which, funnily enough, you can't see from under the trees but here's a close up. While walking I saw a lot of birds including several of the local pigeons. These are a dun brown colour and apart half the size of the the usual city pigeon. I tried to take some photos of them but they blend into the background much too well for my camera.

I also saw a red crested cardinal - very vivid. Go to Alex Earnshaw's Website for a picture, it's a fair way down the page but the whole site is worth looking at.

At the end of my walk I found a children's playground with all the usual things (slide, swings etc.) a little merry-go-round and three ponies. I couldn't go as far as the water as it's part of the docks and closed to the public. However there are some interesting fountains and several posh looking restaurants.

By then, I was hot, sweaty and hungry but I didn't want a sit-down meal, I wanted tea and medialunas. Going across one block and starting the walk home, looking for a cafe I was amazed at the difference. The road I had walked down was lined with expensive, sometimes gated, tower block communities while the road I walked up was lined with older properties, some of which were actually houses. The pavements were, at times, in even worse condition and there were several cars 'in need of attention' along the way. Yet, somehow, it seemed much friendlier. People were talking on street corners, leaning out of windows and gathered at the local parrilla for lunch. On the way, I saw several cats (unusual here in the city of dogs) including these three sunning themselves.

Finally I found a cafe and buzzed for entry - that's another aspect of life here, often you have to be buzzed into cafes and shops, due to the fear of crime. When I went in I was hit immediately by the ice-cold air-conditioning which was a little frightening but at the same time a bit of a relief after the heat outside. Half an hour and a pot of tea later I was ready to go back out there.

The walk home was uneventful and I was glad to be back indoors. I realised I'd been out in the sun for too long - a buzzy headache and feeling of weakness - so an early night followed. Today I've stayed indoors listening to the radio.

It was interesting to see how much the quality of the city changed over a few blocks, from wealthy to average - none of the areas I walked through were particularly poor but there are few original buildings left. Whenever one comes up for sale it's snapped up by a property developer, torn down and a block of flats built on the land. Maybe in a few decades time Portenos will look back with regret but, for now, this is the way of things.

Next weekend - another road, another direction. BTW more photos on Flickr.