Buenos Aires - Recoleta

Arrived back in Buenos Aires, public bus to the hostel and wander around the city for a couple hours in the evening. Lots of people around and things happening. Walked past Teatro Colon, the big famous opera house, and a tango show next to it. Big obelisk that every city seems to have for some reason. Amazing empanadas here that cost 160 pesos (about 30 cents USD)! So good and cheap.

Next morning walking tour of Recoleta and the surrounding neighbourhood.
Facts:
- Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world in the end of the 19th century because of beef exports (Pampas region excellent for agriculture)
- 100% inflation right now
- Buenos Aires nice areas mostly French style city planning and architecture, was popular when the city grew
- Argentina independence/reorganisation after chaos in Spanish empire 1810,
- General San Martin national hero, conquered Lima from Argentina, liberated Chile from Spanish. Also hero in Chile and Peru! Similar to Simon Bolivar in Colombia/Ecuador/Bolivia
- after independence civil war in Argentina for 70 years
- Avenida 9 Julio is the widest street in the world (120 metres)
- falklands war is an weird bit of history and interesting to think about how to decide who should control different territories based on all the factors

Then a little wander alone through some parks, and a weird mist/dog/smoke/smog all around. Decided to tour Recoleta Cemetery in the afternoon, a big and beautiful cemetery full of mausoleums of rich/famous people.
Cemetery facts:
- a grave of politician Carril and his wife, who hated each other. Then he died first and she designed the grave so that when she died they would have statues facing away from each other 😂
- first president after the dictatorship ended in 1983
- Evita (Eva Perón) grave was pretty plain. She was very popular wife of president (think Princess Diana), and died young. Then her body was stolen and hidden in someone’s office for years and then brought to Italy and buried without telling anyone. Some people kidnapped another politician to make him tell them where her body was. 24 years after her death, she was finally buried in Recoleta cemetery.
- bizarre number of abandoned graves falling apart/coffins kind of half open. Really creepy and strange. They are privately owned so the managers can’t really do anything about it.Read more