Hey there everyone I hope things are going well. For today, I had asked Beatriz if she would like to go to Tigre with me. Tigre is a nearby satellite city that a lot of people like to visit.
Surprisingly (for me anyways) when I woke up at 7:22 AM, it was completely dark out. I mean I know it’s Winter here, but it was still a surprise. Unfortunately, it was also drizzling a bit, so Beatriz thought it might be better to not go to Tigre today. However, she said that she would check the weather, and get back to me a bit later.
Fortunately, at 9:00 AM she sent me a message indicating that it had cleared up a bit and that the forecast was favorable. As such, at 9:15 AM I left the apartment searching for a place to add money to my SUBE card. At 9:20 AM, I found a national lottery place near the bus stop that would add money, but the system was down. It drew my attention that the worker in the shop appeared to be at least 70 years old, and I wondered if these jobs might be reserved for older citizens who didn’t have adequate pensions; something similar happens with lottery jobs in many Latin American countries. Finally at 9:28 AM the system came back up and I was able to add 3000 to my card. Perhaps I should have added more, but public transport cards tend to be a bit of a money suck for tourists, since we never know how much is good to put on, and we usually end up at the end of the trip with a worthless card which still has credit on it.
Anyways, at 9:30 I was waiting for bus 130 headed to Barrancas de Belgrano (most tourists who make their way here will be going to Chinatown), and I was able to get on at 9:35 AM. The bus ride was fine, and at 10:15 AM I arrived, and sat waiting for Beatriz on a bench in front of the tourism office. This seemed to be a middle class residential and commercial area, not too fancy, but also definitely not depressed.
At 10:40 AM Beatriz arrived, and I happily relinquished control of the day to her.
Nearby, we took a train (also using the SUBE card), with departure at 10:53 AM. The train was very nice and not crowded at all; Beatriz acknowledged this but also said that this was probably the nicest train line which departed from the city of Buenos Aires, so I should keep that in mind should I consider visiting other nearby cities. As we traveled on the train, at around 11:20 AM I clearly noticed when the scenery seemed to be changing from “city” to suburbia. I didn’t take pictures since they would not have come out well through the window. I was feeling extremely happy that I had made this trip, and even happier that my dear friend Beatriz was also able to accompany me once again.
At 11:45 AM we were off the train and started walking what Beatriz described as the standard tourist walk. Honestly, it was incredibly beautiful. It had cleared up completely and the scenery itself was amazing. While Buenos Aires is great, I suspect that if I were to live there, I would be making frequent day trips to Tigre.
At 1:44 PM we finished the standard circuit and we decided to have a coffee in McCafe. Our two cappuccinos and a piece of “decent” cheesecake had a total cost of 6350 ARS ($5.29 USD) cash. We stayed there chatting until 2:43 PM.
From there we headed towards the Puerto de Frutas (Fruit port) which these days is more of a kind of fancy tourist area. No, there didn’t appear to be either an active port or a particular abundance of fruit. However, it was certainly a pleasant place to walk around with plenty of nice things to buy.
At 3:57 PM I saw some very fancy pastries. Evidently these are typically made for national holidays, and as tomorrow is some sort of holiday, they had a good selection. Primarily on the basis of their appearance I bought two. I think it was either 2000 or 2500 ARS total for both, but I forgot to make a note of the cost.
Then at 4:04 PM we decided to eat in a shop that Beatriz likes, el Tandillero. I also thought it looked like a very picturesque place to have lunch and chat. We ordered two local beers, a matambre sandwich and a jamón de ciervo sandwich. I suggested that we split the sandwiches, to which Beatriz readily agreed. They were both very good, as was the beer, but if I had to choose only one, I think I preferred the matambre. I forgot to note down the amount in ARS, but I paid 1946 INR with my Indian credit card, which was roughly $23.30 USD. Considering the ambiance and the quality of the food and beer, that was a bargain.
At 5:34 we left, and Beatriz asked if I would like to try a different train route back, the coastal train. As that stop was closer and she also said the stains were a bit more picturesque, I agreed. By 5:55 PM we were on our way in this two car train, having used our SUBE cards to gain entry. Again, this train was not at all crowded, and the train stations really were quite beautiful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take many photos since I thought they would not come out well through the window.
At 6:10 PM I could see the San Isidro cathedral in the distance. At least from the train, it looked very fancy. Maybe I will try to get out there to see it before I leave. Our train ride came to an end at 6:27 PM when we got off at Avenida Maipú. I decided to stick with Beatriz a bit longer since so far I had not seen a proper supermarket in Buenos Aires, and she was headed towards one to do a bit of shopping before returning home. As such, at 6:42 PM we got on bus 59, then getting off at 7:15 PM at the Luis M Campos 300 stop.
From there we walked to Jumbo supermarket, arriving at 7:29 PM This supermarket definitely lived up to its name! Not only did this place have everything, but it was also very clean with a good layout. We were there just until 7:52 PM and then we went to another bus.
This final ride with Beatriz was only from 8:03 to 8:11 PM. She then walked down with me to Barrio Chino (Chinatown) where we parted ways since I wanted to explore a bit.
While it was nice, at 8:48 I was ready to head out to find my bus back to San Telmo. As I was walking, at 9:00 PM I bought 4 empanadas in Costumbres Argentina (This appears to be a “commercial” cheaper bakery chain) for just 3600 ARS cash, and then at 9:08 PM I was in the mostly empty bus 130, arriving near the apartment at 9:45 PM, finishing my final walk back to the apartment at 9:51 PM.
I had a couple of the empanadas, not near as good as the ones that I had bought near my house, but still an okay evening snack, and then headed to bed.
So what did you think of Tigre? I thought it was an incredible, easy day trip from Buenos Aires, but you might not think the same. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Travels with Jay 