Buenos Aires by bike

In the last days, I have been cycling around Buenos Aires a bit. Buenos Aires is a pretty big city, with huge streets - six lanes on the major streets does happen, and then it's not fun to cycle. Some "ciclovias" help to get around more or less safely, but they are not necessarily in the best shape - especially when it comes to crossing roads. Nevertheless, I was lucky enough that there is a major ciclovia very close to where I'm staying, all the way along Avenida del Libertador to the Retiro train and bus station. On my second day in Buenos Aires, I used the ciclovia to get to the centre of the city, or more correctly first to the Buquebus ferry terminal to buy my ferry ticket to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, and then to the neighbourhood of San Telmo (via the Puerto Madero).

I cycled or pushed my bike a bit through the streets of San Telmo, and then went to the Pride Cafe in San Telmo for some salad and a beer (again!). I remembered the cafe from my last visit to Buenos Aires in January 2012 (a year ago) - without bicycle - and I actually managed to find it again, because I did not have any directions... It is at a pretty quiet street corner, a bit off the beaten track in San Telmo, which was nice to rest and relax a bit.

I then went back home via the Casa Rosada - the official seat of the Argentinian President - and the Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida del Libertador (the ciclovia).

Today, I went out on foot first, to try to sort out problems with my Argentinian SIM card - without success. Later, I went out - by bike - to the barrio of Palermo. I managed to get there not on ciclovias, but on mostly quiet side streets, and I wanted to go to the Libreria Otras Letras, a lgbtiq bookshop in Buenos Aires, to stock up on some literature (not that I am not already carrying enough weight on my bike). Unfortunately, the bookshop was closed until 10 January, so I will leave Buenos Aires with less weight and less stuff to read. I then went for some lunch - not salad this time, but again beer - in Palermo, and later in the afternoon I met with an old-time WRI activist from Buenos Aires.

I got back home again via mostly quiet side streets. Now I'm up for a more quiet evening - I'm still struggling with jetlag and the heat of Buenos Aires.