Without a Trace
Day 209
Fried eggs, homefries, toast and orange juice. Making our own breakfast in our own kitchen was a very nice luxury. Eating breakfast while in my boxers and a t-shirt made it even better, this apartment thing was looking to be a great idea. After breakfast we decided we should head into the city centre to check out what was going on down there. The plan was to be at the Plaza de Mayo at 3:30pm to see the “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo”. A group of mothers who have marched every Thursday at 3:30pm since the ’70’s in remembrance of their children who disappeared in the “dirty war”.
Buenos Aires is a huge city, over 13 million people and vast. When you hear that they have 6 subway lines it would seem that might be a good way of getting around the city. The problem is all the lines start from the centre and travel south like a fork. Hardly any of the lines criss cross, meaning a lot of walking or lengthy trips to change lines. We were in a very busy and central neighbourhood but still had to walk 20 minutes to the nearest line. Then it was a 15 minute trip to the centre of Buenos Aires.
We exited the subte (subway) and climbed the steps to Ave 9 de Julio. This is one of the widest avenues in the world. Three different sets of roadway with over 20 lanes of traffic, all separated by green spaces. In the centre where we exited is the Plaza de la Republica and a 67 meter obelisk that commemorates the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding. The surrounding buildings were grand and elegant except for the few ugly 70’s buildings that had snuck in. If you looked in the right direction it almost looked like Paris.
As we attempted to cross the street a large group of protesters made their way in the plaza followed by a group of police. It seems that there is a large protest of some sort in this city everyday. We couldn’t quite make out what this one was about but by the large presence of riot police and their arsenal of water cannons they were taking it serious. Over at the Plaza de Mayo was another protest, but this one was much less sinister looking. A group of ladies aged 70-80 had gathered. A few older gentleman were also there. The ladies are known as the mothers of the plaza de mayo. There were over a hundred of them all with pictures of their loved ones pinned to their chests and white hankerchiefs in there hair. They march counterclockwise around the square in front of the government house. In the ’70’s and 80’s the Argentine government waged a “dirty war”. Anyone who was seen as speaking out against the regime disappeared mysteriously in Ford Falcons. Its said 9,000 people disappeared, however human right agencies say that at least double that number is the truth.
The march began slowly around the monument. It was a sad scene seeing all these mothers with photos of their young children whom they never have found out the truth about. It was also pretty powerful, I mean these woman have been doing this for over 30 years now. Their strength to stick with their fight was inspirational.
From the march we walked along the front entrance of the government house or casa rosa. So named because its pink, back in the day they coloured the building using ox blood. Very nice.
On our way back to the apartment we stopped by Toroni cafe for a coffee. The cafe has been going for 150 years and was the haunt of some great writers. Inside the cafes high ceilings and elegant finishings give it real character. Today the atmosphere is still present but tourists have replaced the writers. Still it was a grand stop for an afternoon coffee, actually I had a beer.
Back at our apartment Jordana whipped up a fabulous curry dinner. I went around the corner to a small family run supermarket for beer and wine. The staff here already know me from my few visits and their hilarious attempts of explaining the beer bottle deposit system here. I almost felt like we’ve lived in this neighbourhood for years. We emailed Eli and Bronwen that night a couple we had met in Puerto Madryn who were also looking at getting an apartment here. We had hoped to meet up with them in the morning.
Tags: Argentina, Buenos Aires, Protests, Riot Police
Michael Coroneos
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