In Search of Chinatown Wednesday 8/15/07

Last night it poured rain and we thought we would have a limited chance to explore today, however the morning was clear and sunny and not very cold so we decided to see if we could find the small Chinatown in the barrio Belgrano. We decided to walk and explore yet another area of the city.

We took off northwest on Sante Fe Avenue and then followed the north leading street of Av. Luis MArie Campos as it meets Liberadore Ave. at a distance. During this walk we discovered more shops with more usual items and included a place to buy bulk provoletta cheese. It sells for about 20 pesos/kilo and I had the man weigh it and it was close to 4.5 kilos or 90 pesos. I didn't want to carry it so I told him I would return in about 5 days to retrieve it.

We then passed places with interesting architecture mixed in with square concrete and brick buildings. There are several magnificant government buildings along the path we chose and one was the military school of war. When we reached the junction of Liberadore Avenue, we found the street called Juramento and turned right for one block, crossing the train tracks. If you now turn left on Arribenos, you are in a several block region of the Buenos Aires China Town. It is not very impressive but does have the requisite chicken feet and gizzards and dried mushrooms and strange medicine shops. None of the restaurants even remotely looked like they serve hot and spicy foods.

I bought Earline some essential oils for 2 pesos each and an electronic sparker to light gas grills. I have not seen one of these in the USA and they are superior to the dollar store butane lighters which break after 10 clicks. Interesting is that the stores sell imported Chinese goods at prices higher than we can buy the same stuff for in the USA.

We walked up Juramento and found the D subte line and took it back home for an afternoon nap. Chinatown is not one of those "must-see" tourist stops in Buenos Aires. :)