Day 3 - Buenos Aires

After a really good sleep we woke this morning at 6:30 feeling very refreshed. First task of the day was to make a cup of tea and get back into bed for half an hour as we didn't need to meet our group until 9:30. Breakfast was excellent and with a couple of apples and bananas for later in the day we were on our way. 

Our city tour started with a stop to see a beautiful piece of artwork in a local park. It was a giant sculpture 23 metres high, which opens and closes with the sun. It is also illuminated at night and I'm sure it must look quite beautiful. 

Next stop was the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried. It was like no other cemetery that we have seen but almost a village for the dead. It covers 14 acres and houses 6,400 tombs and mausoleums amongst it's leafy avenues, narrow marble-walled streets and dark alleys. Basically you buy your plot, build your mausoleum and that's it, yours forever to house all your family members. Not everybody is necessarily above ground as the plot goes down 10 metres. I bet this has got you thinking mother, you could have yours shaped liked a greenhouse with staging to support your casket. You could leave dad in the barrel at the entrance and then have room for the rest of us!!!!! In the cemetery we visited you can no longer buy a plot as its full but those that fall into neglect or may be down to the family hiting hard times can be sold. 

The entrance to the cemetery 

Inside one of the tombs 

The tomb of Eva Peron who is buried in her family plot so it's not at all flashy. 

Next stop was the square where all protests take place and where the Presidents official residence is. The building was very pink and it was from one of these balconies that Eva Peron made her speeches. 

The balcony above the light is Peron's balcony. 

Before Argentina became a democracy, when the military was in charge, lots of people went missing. To this day women still stage a protest every Thursday by walking around the monument below in memory of their loved ones. The military also used to abduct pregnant women and after giving birth the women were killed and the babies sold. People can now have free DNA testing if they suspect their parents are not their own.  So far 190 people have been found to have been adopted in this way. Unbelievable. 

Whilst building a new motorway link through the city centre, a mass burial plot was found and it is thought that this is were a lot of those who were abducted were taken, tortured and then murdered. 

This afternoon we have relaxed, eaten a enormous ice cream having been told that the best you can buy is a Freddo. It was pretty good but I still think that Langage Farm in Devon wins outright. After the ice cream we had a swim and a sauna and are now showered and ready to go off and have dinner. 

Tomorrow we leave Buenos Aires and fly to Bariloche, which is the beginning of our Patagonia bit. Tomorrow is also our earliest day and we have to have our cases ready for 7am and be ready to leave at 7:40. Buenos Aires has been good and it has surprised us how European it is but tomorrow sees us start the bit of the holiday that we have looked forward to.