In the morning we went up to Retiro and Recoleta in search for a present for a friend. We realised after trying a few closed shops that it was a bank holiday. Tough luck! We therefore walked further to Puerto Madero, where we stopped for lunch in a little cafe. We then headed to the Ecological Reserve Costanera Sur. There were plenty of people and it is obviously a popular place on the weekend (and holidays). After a quick look at the map, we decided to walk rather than cycle as it seemed that it would take only a couple of hours to walk around the Reserve. The marsh land comprising the Reserve originated from a 1970s project to reclaim land from the Rio de la Plata. This project was later abandoned but they continued pouring in land-fill and debris until 1984. From then on various plants took over the area, which later attracted birds and other animals. This area was later officially protected as a natural reserve.
View over Rio de la Plata from the edge of the reserve
We had only just entered the reserve and were strolling looking at the flora around us when a huge iguana stormed out of a bush just a metre or so from John and ran past us. A man had tried to warn us but we did not really understand what he was saying. Unfortunately, it ran off too quickly for us to be able to catch him on camera. After that, I was paying a bit more attention to the bushes, but we did not see any other giant lizards.
About 1 hour away from the entrance, we started feeling the first drops of rain. We had been hoping for some rain to cool down the heat, but we were not particularly happy about the moment it had chosen. We did not have any rain gear with us. We tried getting some shelter from a tree, but it was not particularly successful so we decided to keep on walking, slightly faster, towards the nearest exit. The rain was not too heavy, luckily, but it was not quite enough to defeat the heat. By the time we exited the park, the rain had stopped and we thus decided to walk back to San Telmo, which took us about more than an hour.
Parakeets were plentiful (and stayed still longer than the iguana)
Back at the flat, we were pretty exhausted but we found some energy to register for a tango class that evening. We had found a little club in the information booklet prepared by Angela, which was only about 10 blocks from the apartment and offered tango classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. We had dinner and dressed up before heading to the bendita milonga.
Stairs to the main room
View from our table across to the bar before the start of the class
The class started a bit after 9pm, which gave us time to buy a bottle of wine to help us relax. The teachers showed us a couple of moves, which were not that easy to replicate. We did our best and enjoyed it a lot but quickly realised that we were probably the worst dancers, or the only real beginners. We enquired about private classes, but unfortunately the teachers were booked up (and moreover, we had quite a busy schedule for the next couple of days) so we thought we might try in London instead.
Around 11pm, the orchestra El Afronte started playing and the dance floor filled up with good dancers. I don't know if it was the wine, the cheerful atmosphere or a combination of various elements (dim light, beautiful dresses, and the enthusiastic orchestra) but I really enjoyed watching the dancers and seriously considered learning tango.
The band El Afronte (video below)
About 1h30 later, a couple of professional dancers performed more acrobatic tango, and had the whole room very impressed. We left soon after that, as it was well past our bedtime.
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