Remembering the dead

Today was the day for doing some sightseeing in Buenos Aires. The girls were feeling up to a walk, so we walked from our hostel to Recoleta, which is the neighboring district from where we are staying. In order to get there, you must cross the Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest avenues in the world with something like 20 lanes of traffic which is separated by wide grass boarders and lined with beautiful trees. In the middle is the obelisk I’ve previously mentioned. It truly is massive.

The photo also shows one of the differences we have noticed in road rules. You will see what appear to be zebra crossings on the road. These certainly do mark where pedestrians are meant to walk, but you do not have right of way. It is tricky to remember that when we are so used to it being the other way around. The cars also drive very fast and close together, however if there is a slight gap between them, a motor bike or scooter will whiz through.

We were on our way to the Cemetery of Recoleta, which is filled with fantastic family mausoleums and where Eva Peron is interred. On the way however we took a slight detour caused by me missing that the street names are very similar but not the same. It proved to be a really nice detour however as the Recoleta area is just lovely. It is residential mostly, but wealthy residential. In the bottom of the gorgeous apartment blocks are little shops selling everything from fruit, pastries and meat, to clothes, antiques and books. On almost every block there is a little freestanding flower shop, everyone must have fresh flowers all the time and with things like freesias for 6 pesos ($A2) I would as well!

Everyone has dogs. Dachshunds seem particularly popular but we saw all sorts of obviously loved dogs being walked by owners or on mass by professional dog walkers.

We found our way to the cemetery and it was well worth the walk. The architecture is just stunning. The cemetery is made up of wide tree lined avenues with narrow lanes off it. Obviously your family wealth and prominence is denoted by how large your mausoleum is, the quality of the sculpture and the location in the cemetery. Most are very well kept, and in fact there was a team of workers repairing and cleaning them throughout the cemetery, however there are also some in disrepair.


Many have glass doors, which allow you to see in to the coffins. From what we could tell, generally (although it depends on the size) the recent dead’s coffins are in the top bit on show and the rest of the family are in the basement section which is at least a story below ground. You could look down and in some case count dozens. Some tombs are quite small and modest, others are massive with a whole little chapel in there. But it really is the sculpture throughout that makes it a must to visit. I would say if you are coming to Buenos Aires you must visit.


Eventually we made our way to Eva Peron (Evita) family crypt. It is quite modest to the standards of the cemetery in general but certainly attracts the crowds.

While outside the walls it is a dog’s world, inside is filled with cats. They are everywhere. Families, you will be pleased to know we all resisted the urge to pat!

We made our way back out into Recoleta and found a small café to eat in. It seemed to be a real local place and everything was beautiful. We ordered sandwiches, which were really delicious, definitely the best we have had over here, but before they arrived they gave us each a small slice of pate and some bread. It was really yummy – well I thought so, Anna and Amy weren’t too keen on pate so I got heaps! They also had some stunning looking cakes but we had to leave in order to get to the Plaza de Mayo by 3.30pm.

The reason we had to be there at that time, is that each Thursday, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo march around the central monument in remembrance of their children who disappeared during the ‘dirty war’ of the 1970s. Our taxi dropped us at the opposite end from where we needed to be due to the traffic but we made it in time to see it. It was unbelievably sad. They quietly walk around, wearing white headscarves which are their symbol (I don’t know if you can see it but they are also painted on the ground). The numbers are quite low, we saw a photo of what it was like in the early years when they started the march and there were hundreds, but 30 years on and no answers later there are just a handful left. It was an intensely moving thing to witness.

We are going to have a quiet evening before our very early flight tomorrow. I have really loved Buneos Aires, I would definitely like to come back and spend a week sometime, but tomorrow, it is off to Neuquen!