Kevin’s turn to choose an outing today, so our first stop was the Museo del Agua y de la Historia Sanitaria, or the Museum of Water and Health History.
This was actually a lot more interesting than it sounds. A short walk from our hotel (no rain today, mid-twenties, very nice) we came upon an incredibly ornate and imposing Victorian building dating from 1887 - it reminded me of the Natural History Museum in London.
And no wonder - it turned out that not only were the engineers for this, the original water pumping station for Buenos Aires, English, but the architect and even the 300,000 terracotta tiles on the outside were too - Royal Doulton no less, shipped across with specific numbers on them so they could be pieced together in situ like a jigsaw.
There were beautiful architectural drawings, and amazing fixtures and fittings, from tiles to pipes to taps, and you could walk through tall chambers crisscrossed with huge steel pipes, which ran alongside the enormous tanks.
The museum was on the top floor of a building still being used by the local water board - people were queuing to be seen like in a local council office, but with stained glass windows and a beautiful tiled floor. We walked around the perimeter admiring it, then got in an Uber to our next stop: the district of San Telmo.
This is of of the oldest parts of Buenos Aires, with smaller buildings lining cobbled streets. After a coffee we went to the famous market, which felt very similar to one in Palma de Mallorca that we visit often - high ceilings, walkways with rows of incredible fruit, or meat. (You can see why people say Buenos Aires looks like a European city - some of the streets could easily be transported to Spain.) The only difference was the food on offer: parillas with steak, or choripán, a chorizo sausage sandwich (I wasn’t hungry but I’m definitely planning to try one of those before we leave…).
Our next stop was intended to be more urban architecture - underground tunnels - but sadly it was closed, so instead (after a visit to one of the many Dulce de Leche emporiums in the area so Jemima could get an ice cream - people were buying giant bags full of it), we headed to Tourist Central: El Camineto.
This “outdoor museum” is a cross between Covent Garden and Leicester Square - tacky, full of street performers, but a must-visit for tourists. It’s in La Boca, a run-down area of BA home to Boca Juniors, one of the most famous and successful Argentine football clubs, where Maradona used to play. We drove past the bright blue and yellow stadium, and soon we could see Boca football shirts everywhere - in shops, and on entire families.
La Camineta was fun - very brightly-coloured buildings with terrible life size statues of Maradona, Evita and Messi waving from the balconies - although, by numbers, Maradona is clearly the favourite. We had a wander past tango dancers and flamenco singers, had a drink, and managed to escape being ambushed for a photo with some people in tango outfits (“photo only lady, no dancing” - little did he know I’d prefer the dancing).
Another Uber back to the hotel, and I then went out to find an empanada - Kevin and Jemima weren’t hungry after an enormous hotel breakfast, but I rarely miss a meal, and I’ve become hooked on their pastry deliciousness.
I found a little kiosk with a wide selection (I tried chicken this time), and walked back to the park opposite our hotel to eat it on a bench in the sun, with people walking their dogs, and various police strolling past.
We’d heard all sorts of stories about BA being dodgy - hence my snazzy front-facing rucksack. But we haven’t felt unsafe anywhere - no more than any large city. We are careful, of course - this has been a good lesson for Jemima, who has grown up in a small, peaceful town. And there are significant numbers of police around, just standing around on street corners, or walking about, as in the park. So we’ll keep being careful…
Royal Doulton tiles:
The beautiful Water Ministry office:
San Telmo market (just like Palma):
Jemima making the most of the Dulce de Leche shop:
Old houses on El Caminito:
Street tango (Jemima took this):
Maradona and Messi on balconies:
Empanada!:
Sunset:
We were not the only ones with this idea:
In fancy places they have bag holders to keep expensive bags off the floor - I’m always amused they get them out for my scrappy theft-proof rucksack:
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