Recoleta Cemetary Tour

(Katherine) Today we woke up early (for us!) to take the 11:00 free tour in English of the Recoleta Cemetery. However, apparently the web on the info for incorrect and the tours are on Mondays (and Thursdays) instead of Tuesdays. Luckily, a tour group from Atlanta had made the same mistake, and a local woman had volunteered to take them around so we were able to tag along. We saw Evita Peron's tomb again, and learned the stories of 2 other tombs.

One is the tale of a Rufina Cambaceres, The Girl Who Died Twice. She was thought dead after suffering a cataleptic attack, and was entombed on her 19th birthday. She awoke inside her casket and crawled her way to the top, but she suffered a heart attack before she could be rescued – the scratches on her face told the story of her anguish. An inventor named Alfredo Gath heard of the story, and build a coffin with a mechanical opening device and an alarm (this is also where the term “saved by the bell” was derived). He successfully tested the coffin 12 times, but on the 13th try it failed and he died inside.

The other tale (not in the guidebooks) was of a young girl who died on her honeymoon. The couple was staying in a winter resort when an avalanche tore through the window of their room and she was killed instantly. Coincidentally, her husband survived because he was laying down in bed – she was standing up. When the family laid her to rest, they created a tomb with a statue of her likeness in her wedding gown, and standing by the family dog she had known since childhood. It is a fascinating statue that looks a bit like the female lead character, Sally, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Our next plan was to head back to Plaza San Martín to watch the Argentina game. We arrived about 30 minutes before the start, which wasn't NEARLY enough time to get a seat on the lawn. There were probably already at least a few thousand people there, and as we watched, hundreds kept pouring into the plaza. We secured a place along the side of the stairs, but everyone was standing (including us) and it was impossible to see the screen. At half-time, we decided to return to the comfort of home so we could actually watch the game. It was still quite entertaining because each time Argentina scored a goal, all of our neighbors went out on their balcony and cheered. The kids across the street threw confetti up into the air while they screamed at the top of their lungs – very cute.

Later that evening, we decided to go to our favorite local pizzeria, Piola, in the hopes of seeing our friend Esteban. He wasn't there, but we got a chance to chat with our bartender, Tito, and watch the MTV Unplugged Nirvana concert on DVD. We have really enjoyed being taken down memory lane with the old American music that BA tends to play at their venues!