Escapisms

Dear All,

            Oh my god you would have been SO proud of me, I actually ventured outside today, rather begrudgingly I have to say, but all the same, I made it outside!!  We went to see the mass cemetery in a part of town called Recoleta.  It is where Eva Doarte’s tomb is and the rest of her families.  The cemetery is full of mausoleums for all families and it is like walking around a mini town.  The smell in some areas, it has to be said is fairly unpleasant and of course it took a while to find the actual thing.)  I t was all pretty moving in general.  (Cementerio de la Recoleta was started in 1822 and holds many families of the upper class in Buenos Aires and it was not the first place that Eva Peron’s body lay after her death.  It first lay in an obscure cemetery in Milan then moved to her exiled husband’s house in Madrid before returning to Buenos Aires in 1974.  Juan Peron does not lie in this cemetery but instead across town which is far less exclusive called Chacarita which was openined in the 1870’s to accommodate the yellow fever victims of San Telmo and La Boca.)

In the afternoon we went ot a place called Plaza de Mayo where bloody vicious pidgeons attacked me, this one in particular kept following me around.  I have to say that I got really freaked out by it.  I can now see where my friend Caroline from Uni has her fear of birds!  We went to this square as it is here at 3:30pm every Thursday that the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo campaign for a full account of the Dirty War atrocities.  You will all need more info on that as I doubt many of you are aware of what happened in this city from 1976-1982.  Many females at the time were thrown in jail and their husbands were thrown into the sea.  Many of these women gave birth in prison or had small children and they all mysteriously disappeared and it is thought that some of the children were given to military families and so on.  So there are many confused children and desperate parents in this part of the world.  That is a rubbish explanation I know, but I am not too sure about the finer details either and I am going to try and get a book and read more about it on my return, so in time I am sure that I will be able to tell you all more about it!  (In the centre of the Plaza lies the Piramide de Mayo, which is a small obelisk that covers an earlier monument.  At the east end of the Plaza is the Casa Rosada which is the Presidential Palace and it is from this balcony that Juan and Eva Peron (and many other politicians) made speeches to try and rally public support.)

Chloe and I then did some window – shopping and I got a couple of English books as I have already finished the five that I brought out ages ago!  And now, I am en route to the hostel.  Ed has the key unfortunately and so I wont be able to get to all of my stuff for a while.  Darn I keep forgetting about it.  I can write my postcards for a while though and that will keep me busy and occupied!  There is a bbq going on that everyone is organising at the hostel this evening.  I am going to have the pasta that I brought last night and then join them as it should be a good laugh.   

I am meeting a random relative tomorrow afternoon and I am quite looking forward to that I have to say.  We are going to get her to take us to a good place for presie shopping and Chloe and I quite want to look into getting a gold charm and we hope that she will be able to help us out with that too.

That’s all for now.  Hope all is well with all of you.

            Loads of love to one and all,

            Em

            Xxx

HELEN – sorry have not had any emails, I managed to put your address in with an a!

ILEANA – Where the bloody hell are you?  I am still worried.

MUM AND DAD – Love you!

ELENA – Happy birthday for tomorrow!