Since we didn’t get a chance to see the Recoleta cemetery the day before on the tour, we decided to head back there and do a quick walk around. After a mixup with the metro, which costs AR$3.50 each trip, and a quick stop at Starbucks, we finally found ourselves at the cemetery around lunch time. The entrance is free and they even do free tours in different languages but only at certain times during the week (check the website) and Saturday afternoon was not one of those days so we just went on our own.
The cemetery is humongous and very regal! I’ve been to above-ground cemeteries before but this was completely different! The tombs are like small houses made of marble and granite, and housing very old families of Buenos Aires. Some were broken into and in disarray, because only the families can take care of the tombs not the staff, but most of them were intact and very beautiful. As far as we know, no new tombs are allowed to be built because the place is packed and very large already; it’s like a little city inside the walls! Of course the most famous tomb is the one of Evita Peron, under the name Eva Maria Duarte, but it is a bit hidden and completely underrated. We expected this huge, beautiful tomb in the center of the cemetery for Argentina’s most beloved figure, but it’s a basic looking tomb hidden down one of the “streets,” we would have missed it if we hadn’t asked the guard. There were a few flowers on the tomb but nothing compared to the many extravagant tombs around her.
After walking around, we went to the train station to go to Tigre, a cute little city on the delta about an hour from B.A. by train. It’s AR$7.50 round trip from B.A. but we found out later that there is a more “touristy” train that is more scenic for AR$20 round trip (ask at the station where it leaves from). The tourist train goes along the coast and direct to Tigre versus going stopping at other stops along the way. Tigre is a nice city to walk around the port and eat or do some shopping. There is an amusement park there too, but it is very overpriced, and a casino. The main attraction is the delta where you can take a boat ride and look at the floating houses. All of the boat companies offer the same tour which is an hour or so and AR$60 per person. I figured the boat would have some information about that places but you literally just sit on the boat for an hour getting splashed by gross delta water, it’s really not worth the money. It’s better to walk around the city and enjoy a waffle and see some of the city attractions like the fine arts museum. The houses around Tigre aren’t very fancy and you can only access them by boat but the city is very cute.
After Tigre, we went back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit before going out for the night. We found out about this pub crawl in the San Telmo area and decided to check it out because it was free. We called up our two new Aussie friends, Sin and Colm, and met at the meeting point. The way it works is that the pub crawl is free if you just want to hang around or you can pay AR$90 and get some free drinks and specials at the bars. You go to 3 bars for roughly an hour each and get a free drink at each one and then special discounts on more drinks. Then at the end you go to a club in the area and get free entrance. The pub crawl we chose was quite new and not very organized and the bars we went to were not very good but we still had a good time and didn’t spend a lot of money. The other pub crawl in the area, that we found out about later, is a mandatory AR$150 but I think it is more established. We had no regrets about our choice and got to meet some fun, new people! I suggest doing something like this or something organized by the hostel to meet new people and get to know the city.
###Numbers:
- AR$7.40 = Water
- AR$7 = Metro (AR$3.50/ride)
- AR$64 = Starbucks fraps
- AR$3.50 = band-aid
- AR$25 = Taxi
- AR$15 = Train to Tigre (AR$7.50 each)
- AR$120 = Boat ride around Tigre Delta
- AR$40 = Sandwiches
- AR$22 = snacks
- AR$36 = Taxi
- AR$180 = Pub Crawl
- AR$50 = Drinks
- Total = AR$570