I’m officially back home, and believe me when I say this is my first minute of free time since the plane touched down at KCI on Friday. In the past four days, my life has been filled with rambunctious nieces and nephews, lost dogs, family birthdays, dented car bumpers (sorry, Bubby!), broken air conditioners, and all-around craziness. The insanity that has filled my life has made Buenos Aires look like a spa getaway.
So I’m going to take a mental escape and return to our final day in Buenos Aires, and let me tell you, we made the most of it.
After sitting on my suitcase to zip it and checking out of the hotel, Nico took us to a part of the city that we had yet to visit. We passed Río de la Plata, which is a river so huge that it looks like an ocean. We also passed Buenos Aires’ shanty towns, which was an eye-opening sight. We have poorer neighborhoods in the states, but I have yet to see any that compare to these. What was left of the buildings was painted bright colors (much like La Boca), but the structures were barely standing. The majority of them were missing roofs, and they were literally falling apart. It was such a devastating and shocking vision, especially since most of us had never been exposed to something like that.
Later that day, we went sailing on a river along the neighborhood of El Tigre. It was absolutely freezing outside, so I was thankful when I found out that we would be on the covered deck of the boat. The water was extremely murky, but we passed people canoeing and other boats. Houses sat along the shore, and many of them had boat docks at the end of their yards. There was an amusement park and country clubs. But littered between the luxurious homes were run-down houses that showed us the wide range of citizens living in El Tigre.
After returning to dry land, we went to the Colón Theater for our final tour. The theater, named after Christopher Columbus is a famous and, might I add, gorgeous theater that hosts dozens of opera and ballet performances. In fact, that night, they were preparing for a performance of Sleeping Beauty. The theater was filled with gifts sent from European countries: busts and sculptures as well as furniture and chandeliers. We glimpsed inside the theater and were able to see the orchestra pit. We also went inside a private balcony reserved for the president (and we saw where Eva Perón used to sit!).
When our tour was over, we grabbed some lunch and had an hour or two to say goodbye to the city we had come to love. After a sad farewell to Nico, we boarded the plane and headed home. I was thrilled when I boarded the overnight plane because I learned that I didn’t have anyone sitting next to me, so I had the whole row to myself (I even watched Never Say Never without fear of judgment).
So now, here I am, sitting in my bedroom, writing this final blog post. It feels good to be at home and back to the familiar, but at the same time, I find myself missing South America.
I’m happy to return to free drink refills at restaurants. I’m glad that I will no longer have to question whether or not a restroom has toilet paper or if I'll have to pay to pee. I’m thrilled to see my family, including my aforementioned rambunctious nieces and nephew. But I’ll miss the rich culture of the Argentineans. I’ll miss having a glass of wine with every meal. I’ll miss knowing that the snow-covered Andes Mountains are only a swivel of my head away. I’ll miss the laid-back people and their appreciation of spending time with loved ones instead of sticking to a set schedule. I’ll miss the over-salted McDonald’s french fries. I’ll miss the abundance of food at the asadas. I’ll miss sledding in the mountains. I’ll miss learning to make empanadas. I’ll miss watching (and attempting) the tango. I’ll miss visiting indigenous towns. I’ll miss Argentina. That is, until I can return again.
