Frazier Blog

Late start. Oops. Took care of some planning and blogging

I biked around the Porto madero area, part of the river, that runs though the city. Not a very wide river. Very nice area to bike through. Modern architecture lots of people.

Traffic is interesting, for all the rules they break (or better said, rules of safety) they are sticklers on lights. They won’t run a red one even there is no one around. Surprising.

Fun yet starting to feel like I’m am in a game of crazy taxi, city crazier than the port area.

Last thing I wanted was the bike to get stolen so asked the guard outside museum to watched my locked my bike and he would. Perfect.

Huge museum, very modern. Liked the art lots of Argentinean landscapes and portraits.

Really liked this piece. Reminded me off the last supper. Saw another person staring at it. Ended up talking to her about the piece and what she was doing in Buenos Aires. We ended up talking for about an hour. Heard about her experience studying abroad. I filled her on current events on the US and we talked about the similarities and differences between the two places. Also talked about the problems each faces. Interesting conversation.

Took off towards the ecological reserve. It’s located just outside of the city and is a wildlife area. Awesome to be in nature while looking back towards the city. I intentionally took the long route and did the whole thing. While near the river banks I ran into a familiar face, the guide from the bike tour yesterday. Great time in the reserve.

Headed for the rose gardens. Got a little lost/disoriented near train station. Insane amount of people and vehicles. Bikes, buses, cars, people, motos all converging on one spot. As I found my way I was looking forward to getting on the bike path. Found it.

Buenos Aires built a great system of bike lanes, they run in the main streets or on the sidewalks just off the street and are separated by physical barriers from motorized traffic (out of necessity). I quite enjoyed passing all the sites that I had walked by or seen from the bus in previous days.

Stopped briefly to capture a photo of this flower, it opens and closes with the sun.

Made it to the rose gardens but it was only an hour until the bike shop closed, so I only spent 15 minutes is the garden. Stunning gardens. Very dense. A tranquil spot in the middle of craziness.

With 45 minutes left I started to battle my way through the city. Now I truly was in a game of crazy taxi! Consulting my map I had a route picked. The map makes crossing 8 lanes of traffic much easier than it actually is. I followed the lead of other bikers and made it happen. After some brief street confusion I was back on my way. Soon I was intense center of the city and knew the way the grid worked. I ended up on a prediction and bike street and despite not having rot contested with busses and cars, it was slower. Cars move in generally one direction the people were all over the place, back to the normal street. I continued racing and made it ack at 6:59. Phew. Lost an argument about getting a 1 phr free because I could not find the card, still would not give me the discount even though she knew that’s how I found out about the place and knew which card I was talking about. O well. Great day riding a bike though the city. Really enjoyed how much ground you can cover. Quite fun

Went to dinner with two guys from the hostel. Always interesting to hear others travels stories. The place we went to was alright. Kinda touristic spot.

Next stop was an English bar. Locals and other travelers. Met some people who are tour guides, currently taking a break by taking a trip of their own. Comical to hear the stories of them leaving people behind when they are not ready to get on the bus and don’t pickup the phone.

Walked back to hostel and as usual was very ready to go to be…….