Side Trips

If the heat and traffic of the city are becoming a nuisance than book a sailboat tour of Rio de la Plata.  We booked the tour through the Argentinean travel agency Argentina Go, and the total cost of the tour was $30 USD.   The tour does not include transportation to or from the port of San Isidro, which is a $26 USD taxi ride from Palermo round trip.

I was a little skeptical of the tour when we arrived at our meeting point, a deserted parking lot in front of a few closed shops.  The captain of our sailboat looked like a bum, in old ratty clothes and surrounded by feral dogs.  We could hardly understand him when he spoke; his voice was raspy and faint.  We followed him to a modest looking sailboat tied to the end of the dock, and boarded for a four hour tour.  We thought the tour was going to take us along the coast of the city of Buenos Aires.  We were excited to get some great, close-up photos of the city, but we didn’t even come close to Buenos Aires.  We stayed in the waters of Rio de la Delta, near the marshy, uninhabited islands.

Sailboat on Rio de la Plata

The weather was perfect for a boat ride.  It was in the high 70’s or low 80’s and partly cloudy.  The wind from the water cooled you off, but it wasn’t chilly.  We spent four relaxing hours just enjoying nature, there were no sounds of traffic, drums in the park or people hollering at each other as we experience in our Palermo apartment.

After our tour we took a stroll around the city of San Isidro.  We went to the train station of Tren de la Costa.  Tren de la Costa runs along the coast to offer beautiful views for the tourist.  The station at San Isidro is the oldest station on the tracks.  They have built it up to include restaurants, ice cream shops and a small shopping market.  It is said that leather goods and the pink national stone of Argentina are less expensive in these markets than in Buenos Aires.

Outside of the train station is a cute park that makes the perfect location for a picnic.  There are a few venders in the park selling mate gourds and handmade crafts.  To find a taxi back to Buenos Aires walk up the steps away from the San Isidro Train Station to the street 25 de Mayo.  It is just a block or two pass Ave. Libatador.  Take a right on 25 de Mayo and a block before the street ends you will find a Remis office on the right side of the street.

  Side Trips