Buenos Aires

After an overnight flight from Miami we landed in Buenos Aires at  6:15am local time. We were shocked by the immigration process-- no lines, done in under 10 minutes.  After meeting some of our tour members and settling into the hotel, we went on a guided walk in the neighborhood around the hotel. We learned some interesting things.  Buenos Aires is very European in architecture and in culture.  Many of the public buildings, and even the layout of the formal parts of the city look very Parisian, but contain an eclectic mix of modern and many eras of French styles. There are squares or plazas every 4-5 blocks.  Even the Argentinian language isn't exactly Spanish but a mix of Castilian with lots of Italian and Portuguese words and much waving of the hands.  Buenos Aires was not originally a spanish colony but only a port, and gained its independence between 1810 and 1816. Our tour guide credited Napoleon's capture of the king of Spain in 1808 as creating the opportunity for the South American colonies and territories to revolt, including Buenos Aires.  The city is also very flat, the entire city is between 0 and 16 meters above sea level.  In the afternoon we took a bus and walking tour of larger parts of the city, including the pink government building famous for the Eva Peron balcony.  The older parts of the city, particularly near the original port on the LaPlata river (called La Boca or "the head") suffered from flooding whenever the winds blew in from Antarctica.  La Boca is now a very colorful area with brightly painted corrugated tin houses and outdoor artwork.  La Boca silted up years ago, as did the second port; they are now on the third.