Buenos Aires, Again

in the Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens
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Matt and I took another overnight bus from Iguazu back to Buenos Aires and checked in at the same hostel we had been staying at in the neighborhood of Palermo Hollywood.

The next morning, a glorious sunny and warm Sunday, we met up with Berto again to explore more of the city.  We tried to visit the Teatro Colon, supposedly an example of grandiose Buenos Aires architecture, but it was closed and gutted for renovation.

we walked to the San Telmo neighborhood where I had heard there was a Sunday market. It turned out to be one of the coolest markets I´ve ever seen.

Matt in a quirky little antiques shop off the San Telmo market
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Instead we walked to the San Telmo neighborhood where I had heard there was a Sunday market.  It turned out to be one of the coolest markets I´ve ever seen.  the crowd seemed to center on the Plaza Dorrega but in certain streets coming off the small square the market seemed to extend to the horizon.  Everybody in the entire neighborhood seemed to be in the streets, but because of the lazy sprawl of the market it was not too crowded.  Vendors sold all sorts of trinkets, art work, leather, clothing, collectibles including a great deal of old german/Nazi stuff...it was colorful and entertaining in every direction.  Street performers did magic tricks, danced tango, and we saw several large musical groups which performed so beautifully that they must have been local conservatory students out for fun or extra cash on the weekend.

Berto and Matt in the market
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After lunch we walked to Puerto Madero neighborhood, down by the water.  It looks much different from the rest of B.A., with much more modern architecture, including a foot bridge by Santiago Calatrava.  I think this area was heavily featured in the film Nine Queens.

After our day hanging out with Berto it was off to the bus station again, this time heading to Mendoza.   12 hours of restless sleep later we arrived at the foot of the Andes.  Matt discovered when we got to our hostel that his bag had been rifled through and his leather toiletries kit was missing, including expensive contact lenses and glasses.  We went back to the bus station to look for it but it was fruitless.  For anybody traveling in South America, I highly advise you to avoid buses by Cata Internacional.  They provided uniformly shitty service.  The on board attendant was surely and obnoxious, Matt´s checked bag was robbed, and the customer service rep we spoke to was arrogant, belligerent and dismissive.  Two thumbs down for Cata!