Below The Equator III: Getting Down to Business in the Big Garden

[Yes, I’m thirsty. A statue greets the park visitors, offering a drink. Photo is mine]

One touch of nature makes all the world kin.

~~John Muir

There should be no doubt, dear readers, that your host and blogger has had a few stressful days upon our arrival in Buenos Aires. You’ve read how painful the flight was (I’m still sore). But, you’ve yet to read about how I went into the kitchen of our apartment to fetch a glass of water at 4:45 AM and limped back to the bedroom with a wet sock.

It was our hot water heater. It went south, and we’re already pretty darn south as it is. That brings to mind just how south I am right now. Here is what you need to know:

The latitude of Buenos Aires is 34 degrees S. New York City is 41 degrees N. (I rounded up or down to make the complex calculation easier to perform. I can’t be bothered by a few minutes of latitude, really.) If you add the two numbers you will get 75 degrees. That is how far south we are. Seventy-five bleeding degrees from our place on W. 143rd St.

But, I digress.

So the water heater has become a bit of a problem. I did get a shower in yesterday so that was something of a good thing. The landlady has made several trips here to help work out the problem. We needed to get out of the way so we made a plan. We decided to visit the Botanical Gardens. It was a Sunday and we expected a lot of people to have the same idea. They did.

We made our way to Avenue Santa Fe but on the way, I had to have my early afternoon cup of Americano and chat with Gus, the part owner of Gusto Coffee. Arriving at the very busy Avenue, we found a safe place to cross and walk along until we found the entrance. At the corner I looked up Santa Fe and down another avenue. I could not find a gate. Mariam had the route on her Google map.

“It’s down this way,” I said.

“It shows the route the other way,” she said.

“It’s wrong, Google maps are always wrong. Trust me, I’m a former geography teacher,” I said.

We went my way. No gate. Lots of people but no gate. No way into the Botanical Garden. We stopped in the shade to study the incorrect map.

“We have to go on a little further,” I said.

“Let’s ask someone” she said.

“I don’t speak Spanish,” I said.

“Let me. I know a little,” she said. She approached a young woman and asked (in very good Spanish) which way did we have to go to find the gate.

“No luck, eh?” I said.

“She said it’s this way,” she said, pointing to the way Mariam wanted to go in the first place, about forty-five minutes ago.

“I think she’s wrong, but we’ll go your way just so I can make a point,” I said.

Seven minutes later we were strolling through the gate and into a beautiful park. Trees and shrubs from all the world’s biomes were spread out along the pathways. When Mariam asked me about the misdirection, I suddenly was seized by a terrible coughing fit. I couldn’t answer for another hour, by which time she pretended she forgot the whole thing.

We went into a large greenhouse to see a few special plants and I was greeting by this:

[Inside the greenhouse. I. didn’t think such a flower existed on earth. Venus perhaps, but not here. After a moment, however, I knew what it was. Heliconia metallica The Shining Bird of Paradise. Photo is mine]

We sat on the steps of a large elegant building. I needed to drink a cold water and re-hydrate. I looked up at the soaring trees. The sun glinted through the branches and sent dappled rays to the grassy yard in front of me. I pulled out my iPhone, attached it to a tripod and set the mode to Time Lapse. I sat for ten minutes to get fifteen seconds of usable video. Here it is. I hope you enjoy the few seconds of peaceful sunshine against a leafy sky.

[A peaceful Sunday afternoon in the park. The people stroll. Video is mine]

A day later, an evening later, Mariam and I enjoy a dinner on our balcony. A single candle flickers and my iPad is playing Sincerely by the McGuire Sisters. A quarter moon hangs over the apartment buildings to my right, out of view.

“We should be here to see the upcoming full moon,” I said.

The last full moon I saw was from the roof of our building in New York. I was trying to video the rising moon with my GoPro. I stood on the roof and nearly froze my…earlobes off. Not going to happen this time.

[Dinner. Photo is mine]