Evita

As one of the reasons my interest in Buenos Aires was piqued all those years ago was Evita the musical, we decided to pay a visit to the Evita museum. I realised as I entered, that my knowledge of one of Argentina's most famous figures was based almost entirely on the musical - a portrait which, during the two hours I spent in the museum, I came to understand was neither that accurate nor did it do her justice.

The museum is located in a spectacular building on Lafinur, just on the edge of the upmarket Recoleta district. Originally a hotel dating from the turn of the 20th century, the building was taken over by the María Eva Duarte de Perón Social Aid Foundation in 1948 as a temporary home for women and children. The entrance hall boasts parquet flooring, a grand sweeping staircase and huge chandeliers. I felt like a princess when I descended the stairs to leave the building.

The exhibition is organised into moments of Eva Perón's life; which in a way was our over-riding criticism, as it was difficult to get a full idea of the pattern of events without a chronology. But for me, a minor point.

Starting with an introduction to the myths surrounding Evita - the rather predictable saintly mother figure versus power-hungry strumpet - the first stop was her death: a wall-sized projection of the scenes from her wake and funeral, with the abundant throwing of flowers and outpouring of public grief somewhat reminiscent of Princess Diana.

Next, we started to unlock her past: a look at her childhood brought up out of wedlock, her move to the city with her mother and subsequent minor success as an actress, before an earthquake relief event crossed her path with Perón's.

Upstairs focused on her relationship and marriage to the future president as well as her political career. The room of her good will tour immediately caught my attention. Here's why:

Throughout the museum were numerous outfits, many accompanied by photographs of them in use. Exquisite 1940s tailoring and design and a very interesting spotlight on the era's fashion.

The next rooms were what really took me by surprise: Eva Perón's political career. I had (wrongly) assumed that she was simply famous for being the wife of an important man - albeit she from very low birth who rose to one of the most powerful positions in the country. What I didn't know was how active she had been in social issues in her country. Her charitable foundation built schools, housing for workers, holiday camps for poor children and health clinics. It ran temporary shelters for women and children, orphanages, homes for senior citizens, nursing schools and a plan for agrarian reform. Need I go on? Well yes, she was a leading voice in the campaign for suffrage, helping to secure the vote for women in Argentina.

To me this was a perfect testimony; that aside from the myths, the speculations around her death and the slurs on her character, she was a woman who achieved, and who used her new found position and power to help other women, and those most in need in her society. Stripping everything else away, for this, Eva Perón deserves to be recognised and applauded.

"I seize this opportunity to tell all Peronist fellow workers ("compañeros") that in the women's party we are organizing there are no divisions, we are trying to collaborate [...] I want you to see in General Perón's wife not an old-style feminist, but a modern, constructive one aware of men's importance and women's potential. We are not struggling for group domination. We are struggling to leave a greater, fairer and merrier Motherland than the one we encountered in the past." Eva Perón, 'The Reason for my Life' (Chap. 53)

My 7 links

A slight digression from my usual posting topics as I appear to have joined the world of the bloggersphere by being tagged in this '7 links' thing that's doing the rounds.

Thanks to Rob W of the South America Blog (this is the chap who runs Woodward language school which brought me up to a passable level of Spanish, Chilenismos and all) I have to rifle through the archives of my blog for 7 posts that are the most beautiful, popular, controversial, helpful, surprisingly successful, lacking the attention they deserved and that I am most proud of.

This actually turned out to be quite a fun task, as I got to rediscover stories I'd forgotten about and I enjoyed feeling incredibly proud of my blog and realising what an interesting historical record it is for me. So without further ado, onto the 7 links.

My most beautiful post

Difficult to define a beautiful blog post. Although on the whole I am pleased with how I write, I'm not sure any of the posts are exquisitely crafted literary masterpieces. So if we take beautiful to mean photography and subject matter, it doesn't get more perfect than A sprinkle of magic - the story of Frutillar and one volcano that made a last minute appearance to give us the most phenomenal setting for a pastel coloured sunset.

My most popular post

Judging by stats alone, this award goes to The most beautiful place on earth about our visit to Bariloche in Argentina, before it got covered in ash from Volcan Puyehue. A worthy winner. That said, I never tire of this view has been hanging around at the top of my most visited list since I wrote it way back on 20th October, so I think it deserves a mention too.

My most controversial post

I don't really do controversy on this blog, but I guess that Civil unrest is the closest I've come to any kind of political statement, or for that matter, to writing anything negative about my experiences here. 

My most helpful post

My very first posts, First impressions and A day of small victories stand out for me simply because various friends I have met here have told me that they felt reassured reading about my rather wobbly experiences in Chile at the beginning. So I'm nominating these for helping people know that they weren't alone in feeling adrift in this strange new place.

A post whose success surprised me

New heroes was the first time I received feedback from Chileans about my blog, with many of them in agreement with my admiration for Michele Bachelet. This was a turning point for me, where I discovered that my blog was being read as much by my new friends here as by my old friends back home. The amount of attention my Food post got was also a genuine surprise - it seems eating is what my readers are really interested in!

A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved

Looking through my archives I found it difficult to find a post that didn't get attention, but eventually I opted for Museum of Memory and Human Rights because I don't remember getting much direct feedback on it. Maybe the subject matter was too painful for some, or maybe the history is too distant for others. Either way, I thought this post would get more of a reaction than it did.

The post that I'm most proud of

Trying not to sound too cheesy, I can honestly say that I am incredibly proud of my entire blog. I only started writing it because I fancied having a go at blogging and a couple of people had suggested it might be an interesting thing to do. But as I said at the beginning, it's turned into fascinating record of my time here; I love reading it and I hope others do too. Selecting one post, therefore, is pretty hard, but I think I'm going to plump for Immigration. Partly because it made me and a lot of other people laugh, partly because I enjoyed writing it and working on getting the humour across, and partly because I'm really proud of what I achieved that morning!

So now I have to pass on the tag to five other bloggers. So 7 links on their way to:

1. Callie Mills - Ruffle Your Feathers
2. Carolina Leseigneur - GoodCatt's Random Musings
3. Pepe's Chile Adoration Page
   
   Next was going to be fellow Chile blogger Angie Clifford with Angie's life, but she's already been tagged so instead we change topic to...
   
   
4. Ruth Lund - Cherry Coloured Twist
5. Emma Fassio - Emma Fassio Knitting

Tango

Buenos Aires. City of my dreams. You did not disappoint me.

I don't remember when it was exactly, but at some point during my childhood/adolescence I got the idea into my head that I wanted to experience tango in Buenos Aires. Somewhere between seeing the musical Evita and watching the original 'Come Dancing' I imagine it happened. A little seed lodged deep in my brain that as I grew-up I guess I never really thought would grow to fruition.

But this is a time in my life where childhood dreams come true and I finally had the opportunity to visit the Argentine capital. And oh what a magnificent city you are.

Tango 'graffiti'

Tango is simply everywhere in Buenos Aires. It oozes out of window panes, is splashed across walls and sparkles in shop windows adorned with shoes. The city is tango. A red and black sultry haze that burns into life as night descends.

We spent an evening at one of the many tango show and dinner places that litter the city. Taconeando was our bar of choice, located in San Telmo, one of the oldest and most historic barrios or neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires. We entered a small, dimly lit room, furnished with plush antique rose fabrics and tables for dining surrounding a low central stage.

Dining came first. An entrada (starter) of very tasty pate, followed by, of course, a massive steak and chips. Dessert of a choc-ice filled with chocolate, caramel and vanilla ice cream had just been served as the lights went down and the show began.

Tango at Taconeando

The show covered the history of the tango, beginning with two men dancing in a rutting stag-like stand-off, followed by moves through romantic, fun and flirty and seriously sexy moods. The dancing was interspersed with singers performing tango classics (including audience participation) and backed by a brilliant quartet of piano, violin, double-bass and bandoneon - the accordion-like instrument that gives tango its signature sound.

It was an electrifying hour and a half of tango, where we were so close to the action that at times we had to duck to avoid being kicked in the head! A marvellous display of a beautiful dance that was simply a joy to behold.

More tango

But our tango experience did not stop there. Oh no! The next day, I was rather overexcited to discover that the world tango museum, which was on my list of things to do, was actually located within the national tango academy of Argentina! You can imagine my squealing.

We entered the 150 year old building, with its art nouveau style architecture, and found the museum on the first floor. It tells the chronological history of the tango, with various artefacts - from manuscripts, to records, to dancing shoes - to illustrate the different periods in the dance's life. It also demonstrated that tango is very much alive today, with the academy itself offering lessons at 30 Argentine pesos a go (that's about 4 quid) to anyone who wants them. Something for my next visit I think.

The bandoleon

After the museum, we headed on to another of the oldest tango buildings in Buenos Aires - Confiteria Ideal. Dating from 1912, the cafe / ballroom boasts more luscious art nouveau architecture, and judging by its website, seems to have been used for the film version of Evita starring Madonna. We supped a cafecito in the historic surroundings, while the sound of the afternoon milonga drifted downstairs.

More Taconeando tango

And more Taconeando tango

Addendum: Volcán Puyehue

When I moved to Chile, I was aware that there were certain risks involved. Earthquakes for example. And so, I was prepared. I read up on what we needed to do, I made sure we had a stock cupboard full of emergency supplies, and I practised running under the table to make sure I'd fit. With time, I've become accustomed to feeling the ground shake and to hearing our apartment building go bang now and again.

What I wasn't prepared for, was volcanoes. Volcanoes to me are the stuff of legend. They happen in Pompeii, in ancient times, or in Iceland, where the whole landscape is volcanic. Of course I know that Chile is located on the Pacific ring of fire. That's why it has earthquakes, right? But duh, it also means it has volcanoes. Active ones.

So there we are, happily living the high life in Termas de Puyehue. From our balcony window we can see the snow-covered Volcán Puyehue, sitting in the Caulle volcanic range. It hasn't erupted in more than five decades. Carlos casually tells me that he saw a puff of smoke from the range during his cabalgata. This, he was told, is quite normal, especially in winter, where obviously the difference between the air temperature and that of the volcanic crater means more steam gets produced. It's when there's smoke in the heat of summer, or no smoke for days, that the locals start to worry.

 Volcán Puyehue, before it erupted

A couple of days later in Valdivia, we see on the morning news predictions of a seismic swarm for Puyehue - a series of smallish earthquakes in close succession. How exciting we think, and how funny that we were there just a few days before.

In Pucón, we giggle at a volcano warning system, joking to ourselves that we wouldn't be hanging around to watch the light change to red if there was smoke billowing from the crater of Volcán Villarrica. I lament that I've spent the whole week around volcanoes and have yet to see any smoke, annoyed but in good humour that Carlos has and I haven't.

Happily we return home from our holiday, go to sleep for a few hours before hooking ourselves back up to the internet to see what we've missed during the previous 9 days. It's then that I see the messages on Facebook. Where are you? Have you left Puyehue? Are you stuck waiting for a flight? It's then that I discover that as we were sitting in Pucón bus terminal, that volcano that from the hot volcanic springs of Puyehue we'd watch turn pink with the sunset, had exploded.

Over the coming days, as I return to my day job and start writing news stories about it, we discover that large parts of the region we had been staying in days before had been evacuated. The pass over the mountains to Argentina is closed. And the most beautiful place on earth is covered with ash, Bariloche's crystal blue waters grey with sediment.

It's then that I realise we've had a lucky escape, and that with a landscape of such great beauty, must come respect for the earth that created it.

Some of my stories about the Puyehue volcano:

• Volcán Puyehue: the latest outlook, I Love Chile (08/06/11)
• Satellite images of volcanic ash plume made available by authorities, I Love Chile (08/06/11)
• Life in the shelter: evacuees from Volcán Puyehue try to regain normality, I Love Chile (08/06/11)
• Puyehue volcano: latest, I Love Chile (14/06/11)
• Volcanic ash reaches Chile, I Love Chile (17/06/11)
• Puyehue evacuees return home, I Love Chile (20/06/11)

The most beautiful place on earth

West coast of Scotland: I'm sorry. You've reigned for a while, but I'm afraid you have finally been pipped to the title of 'the most beautiful place in the world I have ever been (so far)'. If it eases the blow, you were only beaten by a bigger version of yourself. I hope you won't mind too much.

Muscling the Isle of Eigg and the Scottish Inner Hebrides down to the number two position was their Argentine heavyweight cousin, San Carlos de Bariloche. Quite simply the most spectacular place I have ever seen; an enormous lake surrounded by mountain peaks. Oh, and it has some of the best chocolate around too. You can see why it stole my affections.

Bariloche was the first stop on our trip to the Chilean/Argentine lake district, located around 500 miles south of the capital Santiago and at the start of the heavenly wilderness that is Patagonia. We arrived there via an overnight bus trip (around 10 hours) to Osorno. It's not as bad as it sounds - travellers are provided with blankets, pillows, dinner and breakfast (sandwiches, biscuits and juice), the seats recline with a foot rest, the lights go out and people sleep. Then it was another 5-6 hours across the border to Bariloche. As you can probably imagine, I had a stinking headache by the time I arrived at the hostel so it was straight to bed for me.

The lake shore, Bariloche

The next morning, the sun shone gloriously and I felt rejuvenated. We hot-footed it to the lake shore to see the waters sparkling in the sunlight. After ambling around the strangely gothic but modern cathedral and the Swiss-influenced main square, we took the teleferico (cable car) to the summit of one of the surrounding hills, for what was reputed to be one of the best views in the area. This was nothing short of an achievement, as I'm scared of cable cars and Carlos doesn't like heights!

The view from Cerro Otto in Bariloche

Once at the top, we were not disappointed. The scenery was simply stunning, with mountains and lakes as far as the eye could see. We enjoyed a guided tour around the sight by a very humorous guide, who pointed out the nearby landmarks, filled us in on the history of the area and made us act out a scene from some film or other (this was all in Spanish - I got a little lost).

Bariloche chocolates

Safely back down in the town, we treated ourselves to some of the unmissable local chocolate, which we devoured during a romantic moment watching the sunset on the lake shore. The sun turned golden, the mountains turned pink and the sky and sea changed from blue to orange to rosy to red, before finally darkness fell and it was time to bid this magnificent place goodbye.

Sunset at the lake shore, Bariloche

More Bariloche photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Bariloche photoset

It's been a while readers...

I must apologise for my tardiness with writing. But you see, I've been away. Not once, but twice. I'm a very lucky girl. During my travels in the south of Chile I have:

• had one of the most amazing experiences of my life;
• been to the most beautiful place in the world I have (so far) ever seen;
• stayed in the most luxurious place I have ever stayed; 
• completed my longest ever journey by bus; and,
• witnessed one of the most astonishing views I have ever set eyes on.

Oh, and narrowly missed a volcano erupting.

I'll be filling you in over the coming days, but for now, here's a tantalising taster...

Nevados de Chillan

Bariloche, Argentina

Volcan Puyehue

Lago Llanquihue and Volcan Osorno

Valdivia waterfront

Parque Huerquehue near Pucon

Mendoza

Forgive the delay in writing for a while; it has been a pretty crazy couple of weeks here, in between being extremely ill with my first taste of Chilean flu, finding myself in charge of a 24 hour news service and needing to make a trip to Argentina.

So Mendoza, as this post is titled, is the first city across the border from Santiago in Argentina. It is reached by the most spectacular mountain pass - which heads straight up and over the Andes. Vehicles have to snake around a twisting road that traverses what feels like a sheer drop. While the border, along with immigration control and customs, can be found at a height of around 3200 metres.

Mendoza mountain pass

We made the journey by coach, a sizeable journey that took 9 hours on the way there due to late night roadworks (just 6.5 on the way back). Thankfully, it wasn't as tortuous as I had imagined. The semi-cama or semi-bed service had comfortable seats which reclined into a sleeping position. We were served a sandwich and a cold drink upon departure, which was followed up after the border crossing by a cup of tea or coffee (yes, tea!) and a biscuit (this is a Chilean style biscuit - with lashings of dulce de leche or manjar and chocolate, yum). On the return journey, we were also treated to a film. I guess in a country as big as Chile, it's expected that long-distance coach journeys should be bearable a experience. Thankfully, they are.

So having travelled overnight, we reached Mendoza in the early hours of Saturday morning. It's a beautiful city; small, quiet, calm, very green with lots of trees and not a lot of traffic. A complete contrast to the hurly-burly of car horns and pollution that is Santiago. The city is structured around five main squares - Plazas de Independencia, Chile, Italia, España and San Martin - all beautifully landscaped and lovely places to sit and watch the world go by. We took in them all over the course of the weekend.

To start us off on Saturday morning, we had a very interesting guided tour at a panoramic viewpoint run by the tourist information centre. It provided a 360 degree view of greater Mendoza, extending to the Andes in the west, with sweeps of green city boulevards giving way to swathes of vineyards. Then in the afternoon, we visited a magnificent park, home to Cerro Gloria which we climbed to enjoy more great views.

11th December was the national day of tango in Argentina, so after eating a very filling meal of veal in breadcrumbs with chips, we rounded off the day by heading to the heart of the city to see some fine tango.

Sundays are quiet in Mendoza, so we decided to step back in time by hitching a ride on a trolley bus (yes, really). Then it was time for us to head back to Chile, travelling back over the mountains only this time in daylight. Truly, one of the most spellbinding journeys I have ever had the chance to enjoy.
See my Mendoza photos on Flickr

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Mendoza photoset