Buenos Aires – Part 2 – A Night at the Tango!!

27th and 28th February, 2023

I am not sure I will be able to post this in time for our next port of call tomorrow (it is currently 3rd March), which is why I have split the Buenos Aires posts. And anyway, the evening of our day in BA was a fantastic one and deserves a bit of space for itself.

We were dropped back at the port terminal by our coach and then took the shuttle back to the ship (union demarcation – coaches are not allowed to operate in the port area!). It was then a quick change and then back on the shuttle to our next coach and our evening of entertainment.

This involved a meal and a tango show. OK, it was undoubtedly touristy, but it was still impressive and great entertainment. I would add that our meal at 8pm was very early by Argentine standards as they don’t tend to eat before 10pm, but I was glad they broke with convention as it would have been a very late night otherwise.

First up was our meal. We were pretty crammed into the restaurant part of the establishment, with a choice of steak or chicken and, I think, something vegetarian. First up was an empanada, which Val found very salty, but which I enjoyed. Of course, when in Argentina, we had to go with the steak and boy, was there plenty of it. I think I was the only one on our table of 8 to finish theirs.

There was copious wine available, so most of us were well in the mood for the main entertainment. This consisted of some tango demonstrations along with some local songs (detailing, I can only surmise, some terrible events), some drumming and sort of dancing with those ropes with weights on the end that I think you use to catch cows by hobbling them. I could put in a LOT of photos, but will restrain myself to the best ones. It was not always easy to get really good photos as it was a bit dark, they were moving quickly and there were a few people in the audience with big heads! Still, I hope this gives you a good feel for some of it.

All in all an excellent evening though poor Val suffered from a very warm room. The show was wonderfully vibrant and exciting. I am glad I didn’t have to do it on top of an enormous steak!

The next day we decided to make our own way into the city and had planned to go to see the market (we do love a good market) in the Telmo district, but were told there was a big demonstration nearby and that it would be better to avoid it. So instead we went to a pedestrianised street called Florida to have a look at the shops with the idea of maybe visiting the opera house and the cemetery. Unfortunately we forgot to bring Val’s replacement pump for her medication, so we had to head back to the ship earlier than hoped for. Mind you we were a bit exhausted after the day before, so no great harm done.

There is a lot more to explore in Buenos Aries and it would be nice to return one day and do it properly. All in all, highly recommended!!