Strange, I am awake at noon, and cannot fall asleep again. For the day, I planned to explore Puerto Madero, the barrio that hugs oceanside. It's only 5 minutes walk, a beautiful day.
I get to Puerto Madero, and I am amazed by the serenity and tranquility of the neighborhood. Granted, there is a lot of new construction going on. Granted, the restaurants that overlook the river seem overpriced and directed towards rich, clueless vacationers. It is absolutely serene. It is at this point that I finally fall in love with Buenos Aires. I've been in various barrios-- San Telmo, Palermo, Congreso, etc. All of them overwhelm my senses, with the typical problems of overpopulation. This is not the case with Puerto Madero. The buildings are old, but they have all been renovated and are rather quite contemporary. I've decided. If I ever move to Buenos Aires, then Puerto Madero is where I will live.
I keep walking towards the ocean. I imagine that BA, being a port city, should have a dock for people to peer at the ocean. I walk around for 3 hours, but cannot seem to find it. Finally, I stumble upon a map, and it seems that the "ecological reserve" seems to prevent people from actually seeing the ocean. I don't go into the reserve itself. Perhaps I should have rented a bicycle.
As I walk along the edge of the reserve, the street is lined with street vender parilladas. Finally, this is where the street venders are! I am hungry, so order a bondiola (see pic above). It is seared, tender pork, in a french baguette. They have a lot of toppings to go with it, and I load up on chili peppers and tomatoes. Yum. And only AR$8. Afterwards, I find a juice stand and order a fresh squeezed orange juice. It is huge, and costs only AR$4. Not a bad lunch for just over US$3.
A couple pictures of Puerto Madero.
On the way back, I take a different route, and pass by a car that's been completely burnt. I guess there's no tow truck service in Buenos Aires.
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