Buenos Aires' barrios - each with its own flavor - Buenos Aires, Argentina

It had been about five years since I took my first courier trip and I thought that perhaps I should return to Buenos Aires to see old friends, enjoy a big steak and sample the wonderful red wine.

I typed in "courier.org" on my computer keyboard and the IAATC last-minute flights were brought up on the monitor. There was a trip leaving the following Tuesday from New York with a one-week stay in one of my favorite cities.

Setting the wheels in motion

I phoned Marisa, the courier coordinator at Air Facility, and she kindly faxed me the courier contract which I duly signed and mailed back to her along with a money order for $300. Now all I needed was my passport! I invited my lovely wife of 38 wonderful years out to dinner in a nice restaurant, ordered a bottle of good wine and then was able to get her to divulge where she had hidden my passport! Now I was all set!

Tuesday morning, I flew from my home in Maryland to Newark International Airport using my Continental Airlines Senior Flying Passport, then I took the Olympic bus to 42nd Street in Manhattan, buying a senior ticket for $5 instead of paying the adult fare of $14. I did the same with the bus run by New York Airport Service, which took me out to JFK International Airport, paying $5 for their senior ticket instead of $13 regular fare. I guess being 72 years young has its advantages!

The representative for Air Facility was right on time and I didn't have to wait for him as is usual when one flies as a courier. He checked me in and I was delighted to see that the plane was only half full. This enabled me to commandeer four seats right after takeoff and stretch out for a fitful nap for part of the 10-hour trip.

Getting settled in B.A.

Arriving at Ezeiza International Airport, which is about 35 kilometers from downtown, I purchased a round-trip bus ticket for $28 from the firm of Manuel Tienda Leon, which has a booth in the air terminal.

Being known as "the cheapskate traveler" by many of my friends, I headed for the Hotel Maipu (Maipu 735) and obtained a room for $20 with bath down the hall. The temperature for the whole week I was in Buenos Aires was around 90 [degrees] F, and this room had only a tiny fan.

I had not slept well on the plane, so after a few hours of sightseeing I headed back to the Maipu to take a nap. When I lay down on the lumpy mattress in the stifling little room, scores of houseflies, which had been waiting for this moment, settled on me with a contented buzz. I was so exhausted, if they had been vultures they could not have kept me awake. I did, however, resolve to move to better quarters the following morning.

Being a member of the USNA Officers and Faculty Club in Annapolis, I was able to obtain a room at the Hotel Ushuaia, Avenida Cordoba 350. It is run by the Argentine Navy for their personnel and friends. My air-conditioned room, complete with cable TV, included breakfast for $43 and I was delighted to be back in civilization!

City with flair

Buenos Aires is a wonderful city with wide boulevards, green parks complete with many statues and fountains, and interesting neighborhoods, each with its own flavor.

The Colon opera house is world renowned. I was able to take the one-hour tour, which gave me the chance to visit the workshops where the costumes, shoes and wigs as well as the stage scenery are made and also watch the ballet dancers practice.

The fine arts museum is excellent and there are many other museums throughout the city. I spent time wandering around the city where there are cafes and restaurants on almost every block. Like in Paris, the locals enjoy sitting at an outdoor table and lingering over a coffee while they watch the world go by.

B.A.'s colorful barrios

Everyone has heard of tango. Well, it got its start in the section of the city called La Boca, where Italian immigrants settled at the turn of the century. Tango started as a song then evolved into a dance, which is fascinating to watch if the participants are good.

La Boca's wooden and corrugated metal buildings are painted in vivid colors, one wall a fire-engine red and the window frames an electric blue or orange. On weekends the place is alive with tourists.

The old area called San Telmo is a barrio of small shops and antique stores that are museums in themselves. I enjoy sitting in Plaza Dorrego and watching the life in the small park. On Sunday morning there is a flea market that should not be missed. In summer months you will find couples dancing tango in the evening - a wonderful free show.!

One afternoon I went to the area in the Barrio Norte where the Cementerio de la Recoleta is situated, an astonishing necropolis where the Argentine elite have been buried since 1822 - one tomb or mausoleum more ornate than the next. I wandered up and down the rows until I found the one where Evita Duarte Peron permanently rests. Below the bronze plaque on the wall were numerous bouquets of flowers, some new, some old.

Buenos Aires has always been a port and in the last few years the old, run-down warehouses which line the Avenida Ing Huergo along the waterfront have been rehabilitated. The area is now called Puerto Madero. The spruced-up buildings now house restaurant after restaurant and the whole area has given birth to a new vibrant life.

Portenos, as the locals call themselves, usually eat their dinner meal at anywhere from 10 p.m. to past midnight - and they go to work the next morning at 8 or 9 like the rest of the world - so if you're invited out to dinner, be prepared for a late one!

Across to Uruguay

When I was last in Buenos Aires five years ago I took a hydrofoil over to Montevideo, Uruguay. This time I went across the wide Rio de la Plate to the city of Colonia in that neighbor country.

I had heard that it was an old colonial city and found that it lived up to its name. The city fathers have been wise and have kept the older parts of Colonia as they were when the first settlers populated the place a couple of centuries ago.

First, the bad news...

As I was walking across the wide Avenida Cordoba to get back to my hotel, I felt something wet on my forearm. It looked like "bird droppings"! Reaching the sidewalk on the far side, I stopped to clean it off my arm.

A man and woman who had been a few steps behind me also stopped, the man cleaning something off his pant leg. The woman offered me a Kleenex. She put it in my right hand and then, babbling in Spanish, put her hand on the back of my right hand, directed it to my left rear shoulder and proceeded to push it back and forth as if to clean whatever was there.

Lightning struck me!!! At the same time she was offering her help, her associate was rubbing my right hip. My right hand darted to my right rear pants pocket. My wallet was gone!

I grabbed the fellow by his neck and shouted, "You (expletive), give me my wallet!"

The woman pointed to the ground by my left foot, and just to the rear was my wallet. She bent down, picked it up and as she was handing it to me appeared to try to slip a few bills out. I snatched my wallet from her and the two of them took off while I stood there thinking how stupid I was to fall for the old "mustard scam."

I walked half a block to my hotel and changed my clothes, still burned up about what had happened.

To add to my self esteem, two days later I was in a store and the owner came over to me and told me that I had what looked like chocolate on the back of my shirt and pants legs.

By then I had gotten a bit smarter and was wearing my money belt. I guess that the latest thief had noticed there was no wallet in my rear pocket after he sprayed me with chocolate.

I am beginning to think there must be a sign on my back saying, "Pick my pocket."

Now the good news

Even with these incidents, I still am in love with Buenos Aires. My local friends invited me to an asado, or, as we call it, a "cookout." Of course, no one can do it like a gaucho and I had a wonderful time enjoying the steaks, sausage and all the excellent food along with - of course - a bottle of great Argentine wine!

For potential couriers

To learn more about being a courier, you can contact the International Association of Air Travel Couriers, P.O. Box 1349, Lake Worth, FL 33460-33742; phone 561/582-8320.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Martin Publications, Inc.
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