Boarding Pass: EZE
Photo map of Buenos Aires. Click image for interactive map.
Summer in North Carolina is oppressively hot. Like plan your day around it hot. By August, we needed a shot of cool air desperately. But it wasn’t summer everywhere; we were just on the wrong side of the equator. It was time to go south. Waaayyy south. Nine hours and change later, we stepped out into a brisk, sunny Sunday morning in Buenos Aires.
It would be a short trip; we only planned to stay until Tuesday evening. We crazy. Had the travel been east-west, jet lag would have been a factor and a potential time-sink. But when you go north-south, not to worry. Despite the distance, we were only one time zone away from home. Aside from a not-great night of sleep on the plane, it wasn’t anything like having to retime the old circadian rhythms. A taxi ride brought us to Meliá Recoleta Plaza hotel in the heart of the city. We dropped our bags and walked up the street to a cafe for an al fresco breakfast and a few espressos to power us through the afternoon.
Sunday in the park in Recoleta.
After checking into a gorgeous room, I packed up my camera gear and headed out to explore the Recoleta and Palermo neighborhoods. We were mere blocks from the famous Recoleta Cemetery, but I wanted to save that for a weekday with fewer crowds. Instead, we roamed the sidewalks, stumbling upon imposing brutalist buildings, heaps of statues of dudes on horses, and a Japanese garden. Most importantly, we soaked up a Sunday afternoon of metropolitan Buenos Aires life. The vibe was bustling but relaxed at the same time. There was a lot going on, but everyone was taking their time. It was a very nice way to ease into the trip.
A morning stroll downtown.
With a good night’s sleep in the tank, Monday was the day I would cover most of my target photography areas. The day was slightly overcast, but not too cold. Taking a generally southward route, I photographed the gigantic and beautiful Museo del Agua y de la Historia Sanitaria. I didn’t keep my wide-angle glued to my camera, though. I broke out my 70-300mm zoom lens to focus on some of the architectural details as well. Turning toward downtown, the iconic Obelisco directed us toward Casa Rosada. We then continued south (thanks to some helpful advice from a police officer outside the capitol) to La Boca. As we approached La Boca, things were a little sketch, and this was one of the very few times Jay requested I put my camera away in my bag. Things eased up as we passed the soccer stadium, and I was back in business. In between photographing the colorful buildings and street scenes, we had a beautiful lunch at El Gran Paraiso. On the cab ride back to Recoleta, I got a photo of the presidential helicopter (taken through the window as we sat in traffic), which we had seen landing earlier as we walked past Casa Rosada.
Lunching it up in La Boca.
Tuesday morning dawned clear, cool, and sunny. After yet another delicious breakfast at the hotel, we strolled over to the cemetery. I was concerned that I might be overwhelmed by shot after shot of kind of the same thing; I didn’t want that. Fortunately for me, the monuments of the cemetery are much more varied than I was expecting. The key was not to take a close-up of one thing, but to combine elements in a grouping that gave context. I started shooting around 10 am, usually not the ideal time of day for atmospheric photography. To my ecstatic surprise, the height of the mausoleums combined with the narrow walkways was the perfect recipe for backlighting and sun flares. There were shadows everywhere. Once again, my Rokinon 14mm was my go-to lens in these close quarters. I was very pleased with not only the number, but also the variety of my shots.
Recoleta Cemetery comes to life.
We had a relaxing outdoor lunch at a cafe across from the cemetery, and still had plenty of time before we needed to pack and head back to the airport. I knew there was a famous bookstore, El Ateneo Grand Splendid, not far from the hotel. I kept the wide-angle lens mounted and went inside. The place is nothing short of spectacular, and the curved balconies lined with lights provided endless framing options. The distortion of the wide angle lens was a big bonus here, as it lent a whimsical and almost dizzying effect to my shots. Although at the time it seemed like an afterthought, El Ateneo was one of the most interesting places I shot, and those photos are some of my favorites of the trip.
The wild wide angles of El Ateneo Grand Splendid.
We headed back to the airport and caught a plane back to summertime. The good news was that I was able to complete my Global Entry interview on arrival at ATL, having received my conditional approval right after we landed in Argentina. Timing is everything. It may seem like this was a whirlwind escapade, but there was plenty of downtime between excursions, and we didn’t set an alarm once the whole trip. Redeye flights + North-South travel = more sleep + more shooting.
