Blog Post Number 18: San Isidro & Tigre

March 27 – 30

The weather is still great…sunny with daytime temps around 75. And even though the days are getting shorter (gets dark around 7:00) the evenings are still warm enough to walk around in shorts.

With less than 2 weeks to go, we’re thinking we will have to do a “practice” pack soon to see if all the stuff we’ve bought over the last 2+ months fits in our 3 small suitcases and 2 knapsacks. David, who usually insists we only travel with carry-on luggage, has resigned himself to the fact that, due to airlines weight restrictions (baggage, not people), there’s no way we could have avoided the check-in process…so we might as well make it easy on ourselves and check it all.

Our weekend is quiet, but we have plans to see our friend Jorge on Tuesday. We met Jorge on last year’s cruise; we kept in touch with him after we returned to the States and have looked forward to reconnecting with him in person.

March 31

Jorge picks us up at 11:00. He has offered to show us some of BA’s northern suburbs and our 1^st stop is San Isidro…just 20 kilometers outside of the city and you’re in another world. San Isidro lies along the Rio de la Plata and was once a weekend destination for BA’s wealthier families. Today you can still stroll along the original tree-lined cobblestone streets,

past large homes,

the occasional eye-catching store front,

through San Isidro Cathedral, which dates back to 1898,

and into Mitre Square, where an artisans’ fair is held every Sunday.

The original San Isidro train station dates back to the late 1890s; it was remodeled in 1995 but its original style was preserved.

From San Isidro, we make a brief photo stop at one of the riverside restaurants

and then drive to the Puerto de Frutos (Fruits’ Port) in Tigre. Situated on the Rio Lujan, it’s the gateway to the canals, islands and waterways that comprise the Delta area.

Shops and stalls line the river bank,

but we think the coolest things are the transport boats loading and unloading wood to be used for docks and pilings.

All this touring makes us hungry so we head over to Kansas, our favorite "rib joint" for lunch.

After lunch, we drive past elegant boathouses built at the end of the 19^th/beginning of the 20^th century and still in use today.

We follow the Victoria Walkway, a promenade on the banks of the river, toward the historic El Tigre Club, a fabulous building once used for Gatsby-like dances but now the site of the Tigre art museum.

Closed today, we promise ourselves we’ll visit it next year with Jorge and then take one of the motorboats for a cruise through the Delta inlets and waterways.

It’s getting late, so we say goodbye to Jorge and board the train that takes us back to the city. After a leisurely day…quiet sun-drenched streets, waterways, palm trees…it’s a shock when we get off the train during rush hour...hoards of people everywhere! We walk the 20 minutes to our neighborhood, where the pace is slower and we have time to reflect on a wonderful day.

Thanks Jorge.