UPDATE: Argentina #9

Buenos Aires was founded on the shore of the Río de la Plata, the estuary where the Uruguay and Paraná rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean, though Argentinians consider it a river, the widest in the world. The people of this port city, porteños, used to have to unload the ships far offshore, because the river is too shallow for large ships to dock. So a large scale project was undertaken by Eduardo Madero to build a port that could accommodate cargo ships, But timing is everything, and by the time it was finished, cargo ships had become too massive. Over many decades, the Puerto Madero district succumbed to neglect, but in the 1990s was repurposed and developed into an upscale neighborhood with luxury high rises, the tallest in the city. Guess where we went today. Interestingly all the streets in Puerto Madero are named for women, the richest woman in Argentina built an art museum here, and a unique and beautiful cantilever suspension footbridge is called the Puente de la Mujer (the Women’s Bridge). Obviously the lesson in feminism hasn’t yet reached the little boy who whistled at Liz as we crossed the Women’s Bridge.

A breakfast of tea, fruit and confections fueled our walk through Puerto Madero, and with only two days left in Argentina, another steak dinner seemed in order.

Photo of the Day