Argentina - Brrr-uenos Aires

October 25-29

Hello everyone!

After a week with Hannah’s parents in El Salvador, we hopped on two flights to head south to see my mum and dad. Quite far south. In actual fact, to the southernmost point I have ever been on Earth…

Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires

Hola padres! They've been in Peru and Chile.

Bienvenidos a Argentina. The world’s eighth-largest country, one synonymous with sport and culture…and one that was surprisingly cold considering it is supposed to be heading towards summer here.

Blue and white are colours associated with patriots from the
1810 revolution, and was adopted by the new country of Argentina in 1816

We flew via Bogotá. Two flights, over 10 hours total, and no food provided. Cheers Avianca.

The notion of ‘cold’ is subjective, of course. It was colder in most of the UK than it was for the week we spent in the country’s enormous capital city: Buenos Aires. However, 12°C is comfortably the coldest temperature I have experienced in 2025. Time to dust off the gilet!

Don't get fooled by that blue sky!

Floraris Generica, an installation of a metallic
flower that opens and closes each day 

The name of Argentina’s biggest and grandest city translates as ‘fair winds’. There was a fair amount of wind, particularly in the first couple of days. However, it only rained briefly on the first day, allowing the opportunity to explore. 

El Ataneo Grand Splendid, often voted one of the most
beautiful bookshops in the world, used to be a palatial theatre

Probably a cool - but not so safe - way of traversing the capital

And boy is there a lot to explore here. We were spending a week based in the capital, with occasional day trips getting us out of the sprawl of people in the Greater BA area. They number almost 16 million, with many more commuting in and out daily from even further afield. With that in mind, it was a pleasant surprise that traffic didn’t seem…well, as bad as El Salvador, for one.

Many large adverts were dotted around the city

Aside from a couple of screams of joy on Sunday evening,
we wouldn't have known an election had finished.
Google did. Well done, Google.

Traffic did build up later in the week -
imagine if there were only 2 or 3 lanes...

Part of this is due to having very wide roads. Avenida 9 de julio, for example, is commonly said to be the widest avenue in the world. 140 metres wide. Within that - and many other wide roads around the city - are dedicated bus lanes. Though we didn’t use it as there weren’t any major bus stops or subway stations nearby, public transport here seems decent and regular. Arguably more regular than a hop-on, hop-off bus…

Avenida 9 de julio

Yellow buses were more frequent. We needed
red. Red seemed to be less punctual.

Within that 140 metre expanse are something else that make the city quite pleasant: trees. Lots and lots of trees and little green-tinged plazas. Though I’m sure there are many areas of Buenos Aires that make the city resemble a concrete jungle, I was impressed by the amount of greenery around the city. It makes everything seem that much friendlier and more beautiful.

Lots of greenery, particularly in the north of the city

There is a distinctly European vibe to many buildings

The buildings add to the beauty, as well as nod to the heavy European influence on one of Latin America’s historically important cities. Along Avenida 9 de julio you will find the Colón Theatre, said to be one of the most spectacular in the world. A little bit further inland is the Barolo Palace, a Gaudi-esque concoction that is said to tell parts of the famous Inferno by Dante Alighieri. 

The present theatre opened in 1908

When completed in 1923, Palacio Barolo was
the tallest building in South America

The most famous buildings here are around Plaza de Mayo. One of these is the Metropolitan Cathedral. Its outside boasts a facade which seems more Greek than Christian. One famous inhabitant, José de San Martín, rests here permanently in a mausoleum. Another man, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, worked here for a while before moving to another job and changing his name. You'll probably know him better as Pope Francis.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Buenos Aires was
the second largest Catholic city in the world

San Martín is seen as one of the liberators
of South America - his mausoleum is
always protected by two guards

The first Latin American Pope was Archbishop
of Buenos Aires from 1998 until 2013

Another iconic building is the Casa Rosada: the Pink Palace. The location has been important for centuries, being close to the spot where Buenos Aires established itself as a fort soon after the Spanish did the conquistador thing in the 16th century. Some of this history is available in a small museum behind the Casa Rosada. With no internet and any English descriptions being hidden behind QR codes, it was a test of my Spanish.

The official workplace of President Milei, though he lives elsewhere

Booklets promoting Perónism

The presidential palace itself was built in the second half of the 1800s. The reason for its distinctive colour has two theories: a sweet one (it unified warring ‘white’ and ‘red’ factions) and a practical one (paint was often mixed with animal blood to help it last in a humid environment). Its balcony has had many famous speakers, notably Eva Perón.

A monument and giant flag can be found in front of the Casa Rosada

A portrait of two people whose political
views have shaped Argentina since 1945

The First Lady and powerful figure behind her husband, Juan Perón, is buried in a large and ornate cemetery in an area in the north of the city called Recoleta. Owing to her popularity, both at the time and in subsequent generations due to the success of Evita, the cemetery is one of the most popular attractions to visit in the city, along with Casa Rosada. Many of Argentina's wealthy elite from the past are buried here, shown by the decadence and abundance of expensive stone on show.

Eva Perón was First Lady for six years
until her death from cancer in 1952

Eva's body went on a bit of a journey before settling here,
ending up in Milan and Madrid before returning to Argentina in 1974 

This is not the grave of a famous person but has an infamous
story - you can read about it here

Apparently Diego Maradona has also addressed adoring Argentinians from the Casa Rosada. Later in his career, after returning from wowing European crowds, one of the greatest football players in history returned to Buenos Aires to play for one of its two iconic teams: Boca Juniors. They play in an area of town called La Boca, a short way south of the Casa Rosada.

For balance, this is the stadium of the other team, River Plate.
The Monumental is the largest stadium in South America
and hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup Final.

Street art for the God-like figures of Maradona and Messi

Key elements of La Boca include its
port heritage and football team

The story behind their world-renowned colours is fun. Boca Juniors originally played in red and white, just like their rivals River Plate. They played a match, with the winner keeping the colours. River won 2-1, leaving Boca to ponder the makeup of their next kit. Those in charge decided that they would adopt the colours of the next boat to arrive at the nearby docks. Shortly after, a Swedish ship docked nearby, giving Boca Juniors their blue and yellow colours.

Other notable Boca players have included Carlos
Tevez, Juan Riquelme and Martin Palermo

Boca Juniors' stadium is called La Bombonera, or 'The Chocolate
Box', due to its unusual D shape and steep stands

La Boca itself is said to be a relatively poor neighbourhood, though it possesses some beautiful and vibrant areas. Buildings in its Caminito district in particular are a rainbow splash that, like the trees lining the avenues further north, make Buenos Aires seem more pleasant and liveable.

Caminito is named after a tango song from the 1920s

The area is famous for colourful buildings and street art

Living in a place is very different to experiencing its highlights as a tourist. We had snippets of traffic and wild driving. We saw people sleeping on the streets. We know that it would be even colder in its winter months of June and July. But Buenos Aires has generally been a beautiful, safe, surprisingly calm city in which to stay and explore for a week. 

Impressive artwork in La Boca

Stunning location for a bookshop

One of the many green spaces within Avenida 9 de julio

Vamos!

Love you all,

Matt

El Salvador - You said how many plates?

October 21

Hello everyone!

This blog is not an advert for the positives of beer. However, it did lead to this…

Museum of 1000 Plates and More

Some very different plates!

Allow me to explain. A regular social event for some of us is to meet at a nearby watering hole after school on Fridays. Part debrief on the week, part get-it-out-of-your-system, part…well, pretty much anything else goes, really. It is a fun and valued part of my social life in El Salvador.

For historical reasons, we call it Gauchos

Any excuse...

The particular Friday in question was the final one before a two-week holiday. Discussion about holidays led me to expand on my trip with Hannah and her parents, taking in Montecristo and Suchitoto.

This is a previous photo, but may reflect my reaction
upon hearing there is a museum dedicated to plates

This was a lovely viewpoint between Metapan and Suchitoto

I’ve been to Suchitoto a couple of times. It’s nice enough, though I do think it is too popular for what it is: the old capital that has cobbled streets and a manmade lake. We were going for one night, mainly for Hannah’s mum to get a coffee. A very good coffee, admittedly, yet not one that would inspire a blog.

Abuelas: home of good coffee and a massive tree

Suchitoto's cobbled streets, often populated by Qute cars

This is the point at which a friend in the pub told me about a museum. I’d not been to - or heard of - this museum before. He sold it as something…unique. The Museum of 1000 Plates…and More.

The man has been collecting them for over 40 years

He has visited 22 countries, with others being donated to the museum

Before heading east to Suchitoto, there were a couple of other places I wanted to visit in the Metapán area. There was arguably even less information about these two spots than there was for Parque el Limo: Lake Güija and San Diego Forest.

The lake has an area of 45 square kilometres

The lake and forest are part of the San Diego
and San Felipe Las Barras National Park

In the utopian plan, we would have found an easy access point on this lake, entered it with our kayak and paddleboard, and cruised around the Salvadorean side (the lake is shared with Guatemala). Even before arriving, that wasn’t going to happen; there wasn’t enough space in the car for the water toys. But finding an easy entrance to the water wasn’t particularly….easy.

Like many here, the lake was formed by a volcanic eruption 

This is the 'clean beach for tourists'

Away from the boat-laden entrance, the lake did look lovely and incredibly peaceful. That probably connects to the fact that not many people visit. A shame, and a lake I’d be tempted to return to in the future.

There apparently are Mayan rock carvings in the area

There are also many dogs - this one looks
identical to Hannah's family's dog

The forest was also a bit of a bust. Again with no information - the only reason I knew about it was because it had been mentioned in a talk received by my class in school a few days before - we tried two ‘entrances’. The first was likely the real entrance, a ramshackle wooden hut before a bumpy and increasingly muddy path. For fear of getting trapped, we didn’t venture too far into the thick vegetation.

We didn't find this sign. Looks like a more legit entrance...

I stopped exploring at this point

So on to Suchitoto, once the capital of the area and a place seemingly lost in time. Well, until the reverberations of drills filled the air of the main square. Modern renovations to keep it looking old.

The main square is under reconstruction

Suchitoto's imposing Santa Lucia church

Walking alongside the church, away from the square, is a small sign inviting you into a museum. After learning that it would be open until 6pm, I excused myself from dog duty and headed in to find…plates. So. Many. Plates.

Entrance is $2 for locals and $3 for foreigners

The 'main room' of the museum, with
separate sections back and to the right

Also a short, smiley man called José Ramos. Desperate to show off his collection, and with slightly more English capability than I have for Spanish, he took me and Hannah’s mum under his wing for a whistle-stop tour of almost every plate. Mainly by loudly and rapidly announcing where it was from.

Native American plates, many donated

A Pre-Hispanic plate

A mixture of 'sports' and clowns...

A vast and varied collection of plates is interesting in its own right; however, it is José’s enthusiasm that brings the museum to life. A collector of plates ‘and more’ for over 40 years, he seems the type of person whose charisma can fill a room. Almost as much as the bell and gong he randomly clanged in the middle of talking, causing me to jump out of my skin.

"These are from Africa." I didn't interrupt the monologue by
asking which of the 50+ African nations they came from...

The gong makes quite a noise!

Since 2012, Suchitoto has thus hosted one of the stranger museums in the country. José believes he actually has closer to 1500 plates, but that many of them are in storage and haven’t been organised yet. Whether they add to sections such as the UK Royal Family, American singers or depictions of ancient Greeks, is another question.

Star Wars figurines were one of the 'and more' collections

Jose also told us that Suchitoto also briefly had
its own 'currency', called UDIS, from 2008 to 2011

The coffee we came for was worth it. The Museum of 1000 Plates and More was a brilliantly bizarre bonus.

Well clothes need to dry somewhere...the socks
were on the spikes of a cactus plant!

Suchitoto's lake

I won't 'pier pressure' you to come to this museum, but it is a fun diversion

Love you all,

Matt