Puerto Madero and Catalina's, Buenos Aires

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This is a district of Buenos Aires which occupies a significant part of Rio de La Plata riverbank. I visited this area with a friend and was very surprised by the brand new buildings all around, she told me most of them were made by washed money and corruption. I have no idea if her theory is true or not but this is definitily the area which is developing faster at the moment in the city. Streets in Puerto Madero area are all named after women and the Puente de la Mujeres(women bridge) by the spanish architect Calatrava is the prove that the popular architect can do better bridges than the orrible one in Venice.

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When in Puerto Madero, you can’t miss this unique bridge and you would want to cross it! I did.
Connecting the waterfronts at Dique 3, the bridge resembles a sharp fishhook or some say a "harp", and some even go further to say that it is a couple dancing the Tango! Stretch your imagination and you will feel the sway of the bridge.
It is 160 meters long and is said to have been built mostly in Spain using the design of Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, then shipped to Argentina. It cost the city US$6M and it also moves, rotating 90 degrees for water traffic to pass. I did get to see it work, allowing a boat to pass underneath it!
At the end of the bridge, you get a feel of how religious the Argentinians when you find the image of the Madonna in a glass case at the end of the bridge.

I made a video of my short trip to Buenos Aires on Youtube. Hope you like this:

JUMPING NORMAN IN BUENOS AIRES

If you walk along the famed riverbank piers of Puerto Madero, you will find a familiar structure (one that you can find in Australia???)...guess what....this is the Opera Bay in Puerto Madero! This structure was modeled after the Sydney Opera House and located at the north end of Dique 4. Although I did not see its interior, this place also apparently houses a nightclub.

Around the Opera Bay, you will encounter the very nice brick structures turned into nice restaurants and cafes. Sit and enjoy a snack in one of them, and you will also see businessmen finishing up their deals over a meal, looking over newspapers and laptops. The renovated waterfront area of Puerto Madero extends south toward San Telmo and has the most expensive real estates in Buenos Aires (the Opera Bay included). Perfect strolling area!

I made a video of my short trip to Buenos Aires on Youtube. Hope you like this:

JUMPING NORMAN IN BUENOS AIRES

Puerto Madero is the result of considerable foreign investment in Buenos Aires. Once a run-down neighborhood that had seen better days as a busy port, the area has flourished into life and has become a wonderful example of the changing architecture that this Latin American city has witnessed. Futuristic skyscrapers compete for attention with glorious 19th century rigged ships used as floating museums on the docks.

Puerto Madero is the newest and fastest growing neighborhood in Buenos Aires. At the end of the 19th century, Buenos Aires was a very busy harbor, from where ships loaded with grains departed to the rest of the world, and many other ships arrived with immigrants, mainly from pre-war European countries. It was then necessary the construction of large silos, deposits and docks. Large four-storey red brick docks were built by the Wayss & Freytag company, that were used as deposits for grains before they were loaded onto the ships
Places to eat abound in Puerto Madero, so once you have finished crossing the Puente de la Mujer or simply enjoying the impressive skyline at dusk, you might want to indulge in a stomach bursting Argentine barbecue, or asado

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Puerto Madero's signature monument is the majestic Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge), a masterpiece of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, famed for his unusual approach to public architecture. Some of his major projects and most beautiful works of art are Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies in Valencia, Milwaukee Art Museum, Estaçao do Oriente in Lisbon, Montjuic Communications Tower in Barcelona and Turning Torso in Malmo.

The elegant Puente de la Mujer is the first work that the architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava built in Latin America. It was opened in 2001. This footbridge is 160 m long, 5 m wide and the metallic arm is 39 m high, and it is prepared to move up whenever a ship has to get through. Calatrava is said to have listened to tango music while designing the bridge and intended it to be an abstraction of a couple dancing, where the white mast represents the man and the curved profile of the bridge is the woman.

The name of the bridge also refers to the naming pattern of Puerto Madero, where all the streets are named for important women. It's the only major city in the world with such a neighbourhood.

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In Buenos Aires' prime waterfront location, Puerto Madero represents the latest architectural trend in Buenos Aires. It consists of old docks where the cargo brought by the ships was stored. The docks were restored during the 1990s with the idea of integrating the port to the city extending the downtown area.

This neighbourhood now flourish with modern and most expensive residential and business lofts and offices, sofisticated restaurants (some of which are rather upscale), bars, discoteques and cinemas while retaining the old English style architecture. In December 2007 still under construction, a brand new shopping centre called Puerto Madero Shops was about to open.

Two museum ships from Argentine Armada, the Corbeta Uruguay (built around 1877 in England) and the Fragata Sarmiento (this elegant former naval ship sailed around the world 40 times between 1899 and 1938) are parked at the docks. Declared a National Historic Monument, they are open to visitors. There is also an architecturally interesting footbridge Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge) and El Sueño de la Esfera (The Dream of the Sphere), first luminous sculpture installed in Buenos Aires. You can enjoy the promenade along the waterfront and take a break at one of the numerous outdoor cafes and restaurants.

It is an old war ship of the Argentinean navy that stays in Dársena Norte, close to the peer number 4 of Puerto Madero. From May to November it travels around the world as a school vessel for marine rookies. The rest of the year hosts a musem and the entrance is free.

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Puerto Madero is situated in the east of the city centre where there are the 19th Century Docks. The docks have been redeveloped and regenerated to a residential area along with expensive restaurants and hotels. A lot of the former warehouses and dockyards have been restored. There are a couple of attractions of interest, Fragata Presidente Sarmiento, a museum, and the Reserva Ecologica. You can able to cross the Puente del la Mujer from the barrio to the city centre.

The Corbeta Uruguay, bought from England in 1874 and still cared for by the Argentine Navy, is now a musuem docked at Puerto Madero. You can climb all over this important sailing ship, which has circled the globe several times and was used by Argentina in its Antarctic explorations.

Admission is on a contribution basis.

A similar ship, the Frigate Sarmiento, is located a litle further down near Dique 3.

Puerto Madero is a relatively quiet escape from noisy buses / narrow streets / large buildings / bumping into people scenario of B.A. because it is a Pedestrian Walkway.

I love it here as you get a sense of distance and horizon.

I also love it here because on a nice day you can chill out on a Picada and glass or two of Malbec - in the evening you have any choice of restauraunt at a reasonable price ( they are not all wallet-numbingly expensive ).
My favourite ( at the moment !! ) is Rodizio - great meat / buffet / wine etc

It is a real treat to walk here - I tend to find that my walking pace slows down as I am not " trying to get somewhere" - I'm just enjoying it for what it is.

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