January 20th 2026

Flew into Buenos Aries at 7:30am. We pre-arranged a driver with WelcomePickups. Sandy had used this company world wide and always had good experiences. Today was no different. Our driver, Pablo Menendez, gave us a mini tour of Buenos Aries as we drove from the airport to our hotel. He sent us a bunch of ideas of things to do on WhatsApp. Very friendly and personable. We arranged a ride for our flight to Igwazo on Thursday.

Our Hotel is amazing. We are staying at the Alvear Palace Hotel in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aries. It is an older hotel built in 1932 for wealthy Europeans. There is gold leaf and crystal chandeliers everywhere! We got a great deal with our Platinum American Express and they even gave us a free upgrade!

We had time for quick nap. I did sleep pretty well on the plane, but it felt great to sprawl out on a bed! We have a tour scheduled at 2:30 with Airbnb to see the Recoleta Cemetery. Plenty of time for a nap!

Our hotel is close to the cemetery, so we walked to the area and had time for a quick cup of coffee at Nane Resto Bar Cafe. We were lucky enough get a free Tango Show right in front of us. A couple walked up, put some music on a speaker and started to Tango. They were so smooth and elegant. Now I am really feeling the Argentina vibes!

Next we met our guide for the Recoleta Cemetery Tour. I booked him through Airbnb. Esteban gave a great tour. He explained that the cemetery was a status symbol for the wealthy in Buenos Aries. Most of the mausoleums were hand crafted in Italy and shipped over and reassembled here in Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aries was in its hay days between 1890 and 1930. That is when many of these mausoleums were made. The details on these marble carvings is amazing. He showed us the modest ones built before 1890, the opulent one made between 189- and 1930, as well as the more recent ones made with granite.

We could see into most of the mausoleums. They as set up that way intentionally to allow people to see how much wealth they had (even in death). He showed us the trap doors used to slide the coffins in. All the coffins have a sealed metal lining that is inserted into beautiful wooden coffins. (This is mandatory to keep the smell away).

He showed us the mausoleum for Eva Peron and told us her story. I had no idea that her body was hidden in Italy for 14 years before she was returned to be buried.

We also heard the story of Rufina Cambareres. She collapsed at age 19 and thought dead. She was sealed in her coffin and was not dead, just a neurological disease that gave the appearance of death. Her mother found her coffin had moved the next day when visiting the mosuleum, opened her coffin and found her dead body covered in scratched from trying to get out. He also told us the urban legend of a boy that asked a girl to dance, eventually got her name and gave her his jacket to go home as it was cold. When he knocked on the door if her house, her mother answered and told him to go to the cemetery. There he found a statue of the girl he danced with and his jacket. Spooky!

Next, we took a taxi to the Palermo neighborhood for a Local Foodie Adventure. We used GetYourGuide to book this tour with Sherpa Food Tours.

Our Guide, Denis, took us on a walking tour of Palermo and provided interesting facts on the neighborhood as well as the food tour.

**Alto Chori Papa**

Our first stop was at a place called Alto Chori Papa. This is a local “street food” counter restaurant specializing in sausage sandwiches called Chori.

Denis started us out with pitchers of Gin and Tonics made with an Argentinian gin called Apostoles. Lemons, oranges and grapefruit were added to give the drinks a fresh taste.

Apostoles Gin and Tonics

Denis started us out with pitchers of Gin and Tonics made with an Argentinian gin called Apostoles. Lemons, oranges and grapefruit were added to give the drinks a fresh taste.

There are two types of sausage to choose from, beef or pork. The sausages are on display at the counter. Sausages with red strings are beef, yellow indicated pork.

The Chori sandwich is considered a barbecue staple and is served on a crusty bread roll and covered with chimichurri sauce and salsa criolla (a chunky relish of diced onions, tomatoes and bell peppers in a vinegar dressing). Since we are on a tasting tour, we only got half a sandwich, but it was delicious !

Next Denis walked us through some alleyways to see some of the street art painted on the walls. After years of military rule, people were able to express themselves with art on the walls. This walk led us to another restaurant called Cilia’s.