Argentine Precious Stone

click images to enlarge

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition MnCO3. In its (rare) pure form, it is typically a rose-red color, but impure specimens can be shades of pink to pale brown. Rhodochrosite is Argentina's "national gemstone".

Famed for its banding, ranging from light pink to bright red, Argentinian Rhodochrosite is a truly unique gemstone. In ideal specimens of this stone, the banding crosses the surface of the stone in a zigzag pattern, with a sharp contrast between colors.

Inca Rose

Throughout our trip in South America we saw several merchants selling the local semi-precious gem.  These images were taken at Buenos Aires International Airport while waiting for our return flight.

As you can see the gem can be carved into many shapes, including my favorite (you guessed it) - Penguin.

As with any gem, expect to pay a premium based on the quality of the stone used for the setting.   A decent grade stone used in an earring will cost around $125 US at most jewelers.  If you are looking for something special for yourself or a gift, you'll want to check these gems out during your visit.

 

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Inca Rose Gems

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow Us On

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

La Boca Shopping

click images to enlarge

Caminito 

La Boca is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It retains a strong European flavour, with many of its early settlers being from the Italian city of Genoa. The colorful neighborhood sits at the mouth ("boca" in Spanish) of the Matanza-Riachuelo River. As one of Buenos Aires's 48 barrios, La Boca is located in the city's south-east near its old port. 

Camino literally means ‘way’ or ‘walkway’ in English, and the -ito or -ita ending tagged onto Spanish nouns means little or small. And so Caminito is often translated as either ‘little walkway’, ‘little road’, ‘little path’, or ‘little street’.

Shopping Stop

Before heading to the airport, we made a stop at a popular shop on Caminito Street. As in most places where a popular tourist attraction sits in the middle of an economically disadvantaged neighborhood, La Boca can be dangerous for visitors who stray off the tourist path.

The photos to the left show the interior of the shop where we would meet.  There wasn't any need to go anywhere else since the store had quite the variety of merchandise as well as a cafe. We just got a bottle of water at the cafe - we figured we'd have plenty of time at the airport.

 

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Debark Tour

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow Us On

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

La Recoleta Cemetery

click images to enlarge

Buenos Aires
Debark Tour

Until 1822, Buenos Aires residents who passed away were buried on church grounds. After a while, this practice became problematic for reasons of space and hygiene. Eventually, in November of that year, Governor Martin Rodriguez banned the traditional practice, and instituted the city’s first official cemetery on the grounds of a monastery. The cemetery fell into disrepair and was completely renovated in 1881. The name was changed to its present one, Cementerio de la Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetery) in 1949.

When Argentina’s wealthy and powerful rest for eternity, they do it in style. La Recoleta cemetery is one of the world’s most extraordinary graveyards, with over 6,400 grandiose mausoleums resembling Gothic chapels, Greek temples, fairytale grottoes and elegant little houses. The exclusive cemetery is the last stop for the country’s most celebrated (and controversial) presidents, intellectuals, army generals and entertainers, and a
popular attraction for visitors to Buenos Aires. This cemetery is perhaps BA's top attraction.

Eva Perón (1919 – 1952) 

No one goes to Recoleta cemetery without a visit to Evita’s grave. By Recoleta standards, however, it is quite nondescript. Three years after former First Lady Perón died of cancer in 1952, her body was removed by the Argentine military in the wake of a coup that deposed her husband, President Juan Perón. The body then went on a transatlantic odyssey for nearly twenty years before finally being returned to the Duarte family mausoleum in Recoleta Cemetery. She now lies in a crypt five meters underground, heavily fortified to ensure that no one can disturb the remains of Argentina’s most beloved and controversial First Lady.

 

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

La Recoleta Cemetery
Metropolitan Cathedral
Debark Tour

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow Us On

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral

Plaza de Mayo

click image to enlarge

The Plaza de Mayo (English: May Square) is the main square in the Monserrat barrio of central Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is flanked by Hipólito Yrigoyen, Balcarce, Rivadavia and Bolívar streets. This area of Buenos Aires is congested most of the time.  The tour description indicated that we might not be able to stop there.  Fortunately, we were able to stop and spend about 30 minutes there.  Our motor coach dropped us off and then returned to pick us up.  

Metropolitan Cathedral

The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets, in the San Nicolás neighbourhood. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and the primatial church of Argentina. Pope Francis had presided over this church as Cardinal.

In 1880, the remains of General José de San Martín were brought from France and placed in a mausoleum, reachable from the right aisle of the church.

 

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Metropolitan Cathedral
Debark Tour

Additional photos can be found on our South America Shutterfly page

View Our Other Shutterfly Share Pages

Follow Us On

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat