By Patricia Arrigoni
For the sheer adventure of it, my husband and I booked a 17-day cruise in December to South America. Leaving from Los Angeles, we disembarked in Valparaiso, Chile, then caught a flight across the Andes to Buenos Aires, arriving on Dec. 23. He wanted to show me the elegant old hotel he had stayed in 25 years before on a fishing trip with his brother and some other buddies as well as to find a fabulous restaurant they had enjoyed where we could go for Christmas dinner. We succeeded in both quests.
When we left our hotel the first day, we experienced glorious warm summer weather. It is one thing to be told the seasons are reversed in South America but an entirely different experience to feel the soft breezes and smell the perfumes of flowering plants in December. While American Christmas carols blared from loudspeakers in the shops and hotels, people were dressed in mini-skirts and strapless dresses. Young girls wore shorts about the length of a bathing suit and ripped jeans so tight they looked to be splitting at the seams. Most men were dressed in knee-length shorts or tight jeans.
Our first entire day in the city was Dec. 24, so we battled mobs of frantic last-minute Christmas shoppers. We headed to the Galerias Pacifico, a multi-storied shopping center with a glass-domed ceiling, to exchange foreign currency.
Just like Macy's at home, a jolly costumed Santa, accompanied by a young woman in a red and white costume, welcomed children to sit on his lap and have their photos taken.
This particular shopping area featured a three-story artificial bright-red Christmas tree as well as shining bulbs, wreaths and glittering strings of lights. The American Christmas carols continued nonstop. It seemed strange to hear "Jingle Bells" and other old favorites being broadcast in their original English-language recordings.
We had met a young couple, Mario Diez and Patricia Reguera, while standing in line at the Santiago International Airport. They were both engineers and Reguera had just earned her master's degree in Santiago though they were both from Madrid. These two young people, of course, spoke fluent Spanish and came to our rescue when we were suddenly faced with paying large fees before we could board our plane for Argentina.
No one had advised us of this "reciprocity fee," which cost $160 each or $320 for the two of us. We had to pay this fee because we were from the United States. We were instructed to go find someplace that had a computer and pay online with a credit card. When we finally found the place with the computer, most was in Spanish, so without Diez's and Reguera's help, we might never have made our plane. To thank them we invited them to dinner on Christmas Eve.
We selected Las Nazarenas, which had an ambience of old Argentina with a huge barbeque pit roasting beef, pork, lamb and chickens. The dining area featured dark woods, a long bar and an abundance of wine racks. The black-tied waiters were smiling and helpful, and again our new young friends came to our rescue by helping us to order in Spanish. We decided to try the steaks as this was the house specialty, and it was a good decision. Our dinner started out with glasses of complimentary champagne followed by salads and our very large succulent entrees. Somehow we even managed to add desserts.
When we returned to our hotel on Christmas Eve, we were greeted by a live trio performing in the bar, so we ended up gravitating there for a nightcap. Our gorgeous hotel was a classic of bygone days with marble columns, high ceilings and a comfortable lounge that looked like a private men's club.
When we finally got to bed around midnight we had barely closed our eyes when we heard a loud crash, which turned out to be the beginning of hours' worth of fireworks. I looked out our windows trying to see them but could only catch a glimpse of red lights high in the sky in the far distance. It was not until we were on a tour the next day that I learned these fireworks were not government-sponsored but were set off independently, a local tradition by residents.
On Christmas Day we attended an 11 a.m. Catholic Mass at the Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento, a beautiful church a few blocks from our hotel. The inside, about four or five stories high, had vaulted ceilings and colorful tile floors. Stained-glass windows adorned the second and fourth floors on both sides. The magnificent altar was all white and decorated with candelabra lit up electrically plus nine bouquets of fresh flowers. Six more elaborate candelabra were situated three on each side next to tile arches. The service was conducted by two Spanish-speaking priests and a male vocalist accompanied by organ music.
On Dec. 26 we picked up two tours, one of the city proper in the morning and a second that included a long boat ride along the delta of the Parana River.
A 12-passenger minibus showed up at our hotel to pick us up for the "Discover Buenos Aires " tour. We were taken to see the president's pink palace (the "Casa Rosada"), an obelisk from 1936, a street with painted comic characters, the University of Buenos Aires and markets.
We visited a bohemian area to the south of the city called "La Boca" because it is near the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. We saw brightly painted houses, some made of tin panels, and a variety of artworks. Women adorned in revealing dresses were selling hats, and we could get our picture taken as a tango dancer or other characters by sticking our heads though holes in a cutout display.
Later we passed a lovely British clock tower nicknamed "Argentina's Big Ben", which was presented to the city by the British community of Buenos Aires.
At the famous Cementerio de la Recoleta we were shown where Evita Peron was buried along with other members of her family.
Our afternoon tour took us to the town of Tigre, where, after a rest stop, we boarded a motor boat, the "Ettore," and proceeded up the muddy Parana River and delta area that flows into the Rio de la Plata. People by the hundreds were out enjoying the Christmas week holiday by sunbathing and swimming in the river. We passed aqua boats, canoes, water-skiers, sailboats and yachts plus houses and hotels with long piers built out over the river. It was a splendid boating adventure and a memorable ending to our Christmas holiday in Buenos Aires.
WHEN YOU GO
The hotel that we enjoyed so much was the Marriott Plaza Hotel. It offered luxurious accommodations, comfortable beds and superb service: www.marriottplaza.com.ar.
Las Nazarenas is a famous steakhouse that I highly recommend: www.resermap.com.ar.
Florida Garden Cafe offers fabulous breakfasts: www.floridagarden.com.ar.
Patricia Arrigoni is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
A cheerful Christmas tree decorates the Galerias Pacifico shopping center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo courtesy of Patricia Arrigoni.
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