Friday I went to the Museo Nacional De Arte Decorativo or National Museum of Decorative Art. First an update of what’s happening here. The peso was propped up Thursday by the Central Bank and state run banks as they heavily intervened in the market to stop the peso from further weakening. The US gained two cents on the peso Friday, its highest value since 2002. When the banks offered $100 million dollars of its reserves, the peso settled at 3.622 pesos to one dollar. It’s the pesos lowest level since November of last year.
If you think that your credit card interest rate is high, how about the interest rate for commercial construction in Argentina?Argentine President Christina Ferandez complained about “the usurious interest rates” banks are charging private companies for infrastructure works. “Local banks have offered rates of up to 40 or 41 percent” she blasted.Of course Argentina is presently having a 20 percent inflationrate andreal estate in Argentina is bought for cash, no low down payment and 30 year mortgage.
Back to the museum, the original structure was built by Mr. Matias Erazyriz and his wife Mrs. Josefina De Alvear. They resided in this huge palace with their two children.The palace was the hub of many major social events until Mrs. Alvear passed away in 1935.The remaining family sold the palace along with the art collection to the Argentine Government shortly thereafter.
The museum is huge, with four floors and a basement that was used for servants, boilers and garage. The museum holds over 4,000 exhibits, some dating back to the 15th century.It is well worth going to this museum if you happen to be in Buenos Aires. Just the workmanship of the building itself is worth the trip. The museum is located at Av. Del Libertador 1902 in Buenos Aires. Their website is Nacional De Arte Decorativo
So I called the bank again, after paying to rent a computer to get all the information the previous agent wanted. I gave a new agent my card number, social security number and said, now do you want my mother’s name, my address and she cut me off and said “Oh, no you’ve given me enough information.” (Grrr!) She got off the phone for a few minutes, came back and said they were upgrading my card, which was the problem, they were taking care of the problem now and I should be able to use my card in a few hours.So today, I was able to use my card, its fun dealing with a bank, NOT!
Professional Dog Walkers, There are many of Them in Buenos Aires
National Library
Prior to traveling abroad, I advised my bank that I was traveling to Buenos Aires. What a surprise when I went to draw out some money and my card was rejected!Calling the international toll free number listed on the back of my card, (which does not work here in Buenos Aires),I was asked for my card number,my social security number, my address, my mother’s name, and then what was the last deposit or what was the last expenditure or my account number.After 10 minutes, having none of that information, I gave up, went on line and got all the information that the agent for the bank requested.
I’m starting in the middle of our journey to Argentina this time, about a new area we visited. I wrote quite a bit of about the City of Buenos Aires on our last trip to Argentina in January, February, 2008.
We arrived in Buenos Aires on November 8,2008 and our trip out of town was on November 15 to the northwest of Argentina, bordered by Bolivia to the north and Chile to the west. We arrived in the city of Salta by overnight bus. The bus we took was luxurious with seats that flatten into a bed with blankets and pillows. Provided on these buses are a snack, dinner with wine, an after dinner drink, and breakfast in the morning.
Salta is both a province and a city. The providence of Salta has an extraordinary range of landscape from puma (high desert) populated only by llamas and a few other creatures, to the cloud forest and from hill sides of pink rock where cactus thrive, to valleys irrigated by the Incas of the past to produce scarlet fields of red peppers. The irrigation system developed by the Incas are still in use.
Street scene City of Salta
The City of Salta is at the heart of this province in the broad Lerma Valley with a background of dark green hills. Salta was founded in 1582 and became a strong hold for the Spanish which conquered the native and Inca population.
Over looking City of Salta
There is an active night life and the architectural is from the colonial period. Things are much cheaper here than Buenos Aires. We spent the first few days walking to the multiple museums which contain much of the history of the area. We took a tour of the city but learned much more of the city by just going out on our own, which seems to be the case in most city bus tours that we have taken.
One of the things that we liked the most was a gondola ride to a top of a mountain to a place called Cerro San Bernardino from which you can see most of the city. The cost was ten pesos (about $3 US) and is well worth the ride. One of the nicest museums was the Museo Antropologico which contains relics from the pre-hispanic cultures of the area. It was at one time considered by the natives that to have a flatten head front and back was a sign of higher intelligence. So in order to achieve that, they tied boards to the front and back of their heads to flatten the the skull as the children grew. Several of those skulls are on display along with a well preserved mummy.
By the way, people drive here like there is no tomorrow. Cars come to intersections and it seems like whoever gets there first wins. As in most parts of Argentina, stop signs are suggestions to slow down, double yellow lines means you can pass anytime you want or to drive in either lane. Pedestrians are someone to avoid hitting but not stopping for.
La Boca, meaning in Spanish, the mouth, is the area of Buenos Aires that Italians migrating to Buenos Aires in the 19th and 20th century settled into. The area was named La Boca because of the natural shape of the harbor formed by the River Rio Riachuelo bending and flowing into the Rio de la Plata creating what appears to be a mouth.
The area is difficult to get to using the Subte, so John and I bought a guide to the collective; the huge city bus system that criss-crosses the city. (Getting there was easy, getting back a little more difficult as we were standing on the wrong street for the return buses to our area. But here are almost no bus signs (let alone street signs), you just have to go stand where other people are standing; if they look like they are waiting for a bus!!)
Street Scene
The vendors have painted the area to recreate the early days of the area.
The first thing you see is the huge stadium for the Boca Juniors. And the people in the area have a fervent; most would say fanatical; identification with the team. Soccer memorabilia and T-shirts are everywhere.
Soccer stadium in background
Anyway, the first Italian and French immigrants built boarding houses haphazardly with metal sheeting called “conventillos”. These were decorated with whatever paint was left over on the docks, creating a mish-mash of colors on each building. The colors can be inviting, but the poorly insulated buildings can be unbearably hot in the summer and frigid in the winter. It was fine the day we were there, even though it is summer here, maybe mid-80’s.
On of many beautiful doors in Buenos Aires
On a Saturday (when we went) it is very busy and touristy. We saw a lot of interesting things, and spent a couple of hours in an on street cafe, enjoying the dancing and singing of a local tango troupe. Lots of little stores, artists, and street vendors we did a good bit of shopping there.
