Cementerio de la Recoleta

On a nice hot day in BA, when the temperature is 31 and the humidex rating is 40, what better thing could there be to do, but visit a cemetery!

But first, how about a song and dance with the first clown we can find....

The origins of Recoleta Cemetery go back to monks arriving in this part of Buenos Aires in the 1700s. At that time, this area was on the outskirts of the city. The order disbanded in the 1800s and the convent garden was turned into BA's first cemetery.

On its 5.5 hectares there are over 4700 vaults, all above ground. Almost 100 of these have been declared National Historical Monuments and are cared for by the state. Some have fallen into disrepair.

The cemetery is arranged in city blocks. With all that concrete and marble, and not many trees, it is a hot, humid place indeed.

The place is full of the rich and famous and mainly powerful. There are many presidents and generals. Eva Peron is here in the family vault. It is largely unassuming among its neighbours and it took a while to find the thing.

 

Amidst the 4700+ permanent residents of the cemetery, there are also 80 scrawny cats roaming the place. They are strays and apparently fed by women who visit on a regular basis. They don't always show themselves but here we find two resting in the all to infrequent shade. That would be the cats, not the women.

A beautiful bookstore ~ El Ateneo Gran Splendid

Along busy avenida de Santa Fe in Barrio Norte is a large, Indigo-Chapters type bookstore called El Ateneo Gran Splendid. This is a beautiful store.

Originally built as a theatre named Teatro Gran Splendid in 1919, the building was leased to a major business conglomerate in 2000. When renovations were completed it became the flagship store for El Ateneo.

The store now boasts over one million visitors each year, and it's easy to see why, at least from the beauty of the place. In 2008 The Guardian named it the second best bookstore in the world and that sealed its fate as a destination.




As for being a great bookstore I cannot say. While various guide books and travel videos on the web suggest a significant English language section of books, the reality is a selection of mass market titles that would make any bookseller from Canada cringe. The display of books is only just routine, though the setting cries out for slightly more somehow. On the selling floor there aren't all that many chairs for customers to relax and review their purchases, though there is a mediocre cafe on the former stage where you can relax with a cafe, or a glass of wine.




Customer service appears to be lacking, as seems the case throughout much of the retail trade in Buenos Aires. Store staff are often indifferent towards customers at best, and sometimes blissfully ignorant of them altogether. What a difference from another magnificent bookstore, Munro Books in Victoria, Canada, where the setting is great and the service is exceptional.




All that being said, El Ateneo Gran Splendid is worth the visit for the visual feast alone.

"Can I get you a taxi?"

A few nights ago we walked to Las Canitas, an area near our apartment. It is a small neighbourhood that is one of the current hot spots for portenos, with many restaurants, bars and clubs, all side by side along a few blocks. We enjoyed having a great meal at a parrilla, outdoors, at 10 pm, watching the people go by, on foot and by car. It was hectic, alive and charming.





Today we returned for some shopping and a late afternoon lunch. It was quiet and peaceful. The crowds of the night before were gone and the cafe and bar staff were only just beginning to get ready for the coming evening.


For lunch we stopped along the popular Baez strip. We had some ceviche, a Peruvian dish of raw fish cooked in lime juices. It is wonderfully tasty.

When we finished our meal, our friendly wait person asked where we were from, to which we answered, "Canada." I'm always happy to correct any impression we might be American. Our waiter smiled appreciatively and we then elaborated as best we could en espanol.

"We are from Vancouver. On the west side of Canada. On the Pacific. 

He smiled again. "Oh yes. Pacific. Yes. Yes. It is beautiful, no?

"Yes, it is, and so is Buenos Aires," we answered.

Our nice wait person came back with "Would you like a taxi?"

"To Canada?" we asked.

"Yes. To Pacifica in Canada."

"Ahhh.... No, that's okay. Hmmm... We will walk."

Sometimes it's just too difficult to explain.