The last few days in Buenos Aires have been incredibly exciting. As we begin to settle in, it seems like there is always something new to discover in the city. Today we took bus to San Telmo to see the Zanjon de Granados and the Casa Minima. The Zanjon de Grandos is a museum that is based on the reconstruction of an 1830s house. Zanjon, which means creek, is located where some historians place the first settlement of Buenos Aires. The house was initially bought to be turned into a restaurant, but the owner discovered that there was much more to his new purchase than he anticipated.  He stumbled upon underground tunnels which were believed to be part of colonial water systems. The tunnels linked various neighboring houses together. By stumbling upon this hidden aspect of the land, a lot was learned about the history of Buenos Aires. It was interesting to think about if the owner didn’t find the tunnels. That would mean a lot of history of the city would never have been uncovered. Zanjon used to be under a creek that ran in the tunnels. When the owner of the house decided on restoring his purchase, it became a beautiful house. It was a home for the wealthy. One key part of that was that the house had its own water system. It would drain rain water and it would be held in a big storage unit. Inside the unit there were turtles that would keep the water clean from algae.  Another interesting part of the house was that it was still under the process of restoration. It’s possible that by continuing to restore the area, even more history can be uncovered. The museum is owned and funded by one man, and he is who led the restoration. He is still alive today. 

The second part of the tour was of the Casa Minima, which translates to small house. This was across the street from the Zanjon de Granados. Casa Minima was the narrowest house in Buenos Aires. It was considered a slave house. It’s connected to a large mansion and once slavery was abolished the freed slaves moved to this narrow home. This was to keep the former slaves close. The home is one bedroom and still has the original door attached to it.

Both the Zanjon de Grandos and Casa Minima were historically rich and were cool to see. Buenos Aires is a city that was influenced by various cultures and that was definitely seen today.

After enjoying a lunch at Cafe San Juan la Cantina, our group walked around in Puerto Madero. This port is one of three ports in Buenos Aires. We strolled the area and saw various statues and fountains. We had some free time to wander around a bird reservation park. It was by lake and had various birds. There was one tree filled with parrots! Among the trees you can see the skyline from where we have previously walked through (Puerto Madero). It was cool to see the contrasting environments.  This was the last thing we did as a group, besides walk and take the bus back to the hotel.

Today was a really exciting day and although there was a lot of walking and some rain involved, the knowledge and experience was worth it!

Basement of Zanjon.

One of three outdoor sections of Zanjon

Tunnels of Zanjon

Casa Minima

Today we arrived in Buenos Aires! After a long plane ride with not too many setbacks, my group was picked up at the airport and driven to the hotel, NH Crillon Buenos Aires. The hotel feels relatively Americanized and it is right across from a large park and next to a pharmacy and a few restaurants. When I got to the hotel, I had about an hour to get myself settled until we got on our bus with our guide, Adriana, and drove to an Argentinian “street festival” by the Tigre River and Rio de la Plata. On the drive to the river, we went through Buenos Aires and Adriana pointed out many points of interest. I noticed that the city seemed very centered around art and sculptures and can’t wait to go get a closer look at them. We also drove by the law school, which is completely free for students!

When we got off the bus, we had about 40 minutes to buy food before our boat tour. My group found a cute little street shop where we got “choripan,” a type of sandwich with a sliced sausage and vegetables inside. We then made our way back onto the bus and towards the river. At the river, we boarded a boat and began sailing. Near the main boat center, there were a few large buildings backing up to the water and lots of palm trees. We also sailed past a roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and water park. One thing I found really interesting about the river was the color. Because the water comes from a waterfall, it contains a lot of sediment, so it is a light brown color. It almost looks like chocolate milk. Our boat started from an inlet and when you got to where the inlet met the river, you could actually see a line where the water went from normal-looking to brown.

As we made our way down the river, we saw many people (natives and tourists) enjoying it. There were many people on boats and kayaks. Farther down the river, there were a lot of houses with docks on the river. There are no roads that go to these houses, so the residents have to work their lives completely around the river. For example, there are schools and churches along the river that residents can get to by boat. They also have specific boats to bring them services, such as doctor boats, supermarket boats, and kiosk boats. One surprising thing about this lifestyle is that they do not have running water. Residents get their water from the river and purify it themselves and use it to bathe and for other reasons. However, they cannot drink this water. They must buy bottled water to drink and cook with. I also was surprised by the fact that many of these houses had dogs as pets and I saw hardly any strays.

When we got back to the hotel, we had time to get ready and then went to dinner at an Argentinian buffet. There were many foods that I had never seen before and a ton of meat. Everything was very good! My favorite thing that I ate was the fruit dipped in the chocolate fountain. After dinner, we walked back to the bus stop and made our way back to the hotel. From the hotel, a smaller group of us went and walked to a nearby Irish pub to try some Argentinian beer and talk to each other more. When we finished, we came back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep.

 (Where the water in the river changes color)  (Our boat)

 (The free law school)

After a laborious and at times uncomfortable flight, I (as well as all my fellow Buckeye classmates) arrived in Buenos Aires on a beautiful day. Our first adventure in Argentina’s capital? A boat tour of the Tigre Delta and Rio de la Plata. Although exhausted, I enjoyed the bus ride to the Delta, learning about the city and being able to see different parts of it. We also had our first immersive experience at the Puerto de Frutos, exploring the market and attempting to communicate with locals. Suffice to say it was a success because no one got lost, so we made our way to the boat tour. Once on board the lofty barco we cast off, searching the horizon for information regarding this place. Well, to start it was iterated time and time again that the water of the Delta was not polluted. It is brown because of the sediment brought in from the Iguazu falls and other sources that feed the river. Many people rowed down the river and it was shared that the Delta is Argentina’s rowing capital! The river was lined with a plethora of diverse and historical buildings. One such building a replica one of Domingo Sarmiento’s three houses on the “islands”. Further down the river interestingly enough was a child’s amusement park (Parque de la Costa), serving as a form of entertainment to draw crowds to el Tigre. We passed many houses on the banks of the islands, however these houses don’t have running water! They take water from the river and treat it themselves with chlorine or bleach to use. But for drinking and cooking, bottled water is used. For residents of the islands to get basic societal needs, boats bring doctors, dentists, groceries, there’s even an ice cream boat! El Rio de la Plata is integral for Argentina, but despite its functionality, there exists a wide variety of activities and lifestyles along its banks. Although all of us were drained from our travels, gaining this insight into Argentina and Buenos Aires was well worth the weariness.