Rio de la Plata | Nix Travels

Remembering Argentina’s Violent Past

Something not listed in many tour guides is the Parque de la Memoria (Memory Park) in Buenos Aires. Between the local airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newberry and the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), looking out onto the Río de la Plata estuary, this park is a memorial to the victims of the military regime.

The 1976-83 military regime was and is a very dark patch in Argentina’s history. The scars of which can still be seen today in society, such as in the continued existence of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. The military government called this time the National Reorganization Period, an all too sanitary name for this extremely violent spell during Argentina’s Dirty War. In this time, it is estimated that 30,000 people went missing, most of them young men or boys. Bodies were flown from a military airport close to where the memorial is today, and dumped in the river.

Hence Parque de la Memoria’s strategic position on the banks of the river, a reminder of the chilling acts of this regime. There is one particularly moving sculpture which stands in the river itself and becomes obscured when the water level rises. The park is fairly sparse, with scattered monuments and sculptures, and two large walls of names of victims. There is a big hall in the centre of the park which contains exhibitions and serves a cultural centre as well. It is fittingly quiet here, despite a fair amount of locals and kids playing on the ramps leading past the wall of names, and its proximity to the airport.

Parque de la Memoria is unpretentious, undecorated, sombre and haunting, even in the light of a beautiful winter’s day. I feel it is a fitting memorial to pay homage to such a terrible scar on Argentina’s history, and provided an insightful and sobering visit.

The promenade along the river bank.

“Pensar es un hecho revolucionario” – To think is a revolutionary act.

“To think is a revolutionary act / Pensar as un hecho revolucionario”

Generally when a foreigner who lives in Buenos Aires goes to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay it’s because they need to renew their 90 day tourist visa or get some dollars (there are so many restrictions in Argentina when it comes to buying foreign currency because of the countries depleting reserves of US dollars). In my case, I made use of the Easter long weekend to pop across the Río de la Plata for lunch.

After giving up on the elusive Colectivo 93, I opted for a taxi and was treated to Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing at 6:30am. Things luckily got a bit classier when I arrived at the port terminal. This place is organised pretty much like an airport. Buquebus, the ferry company, has a really impressive terminal, complete with money exchange, duty free shopping and over-priced food and drink (just like airports. They know once you’re in the building you have no choice and just have to cough up your hard-earned dough). Immigration here is quick and painless, especially since they have Uruguayan officials on the Argentinian side, so you get your exit and entry stamps in one go, saving you time when you disembark on the other side.

I was worried about my history of motion-sickness (i.e. flashbacks to a train ride in Switzerland spent puking my guts out in the train’s tiny toilet, using the time in-between to cry. Frankly if you’d given me a choice between death and throwing up again, I would have chosen death. It was literally so bad that the train driver stopped the train to let me get out for some fresh air, but even that didn’t help), so I took an anti-nausea tablet just to be safe. No need here, the ferry ride was super smooth along the glassy river, the ferry rather fancy and full of entertainment in the form of restaurants and a duty-free shop, and the ride very short, taking only one hour and fifteen minutes to arrive.

The trip over was short but the difference between the two cities (or big city and tiny town) couldn’t be more stark. Whilst disembarking, an American tourist behind me asked “Wait, is this part of Argentina?” Besides the sheer geographical error of this, she couldn’t have been more wrong in terms of the change. Buenos Aires is a bustling metropolis, big, chaotic, always on the move. Colonia is a tiny river-side town, one of the oldest towns in Uruguay. Founded by the Portuguese, it has passed hands between the Portuguese and the Spaniards many times. The historic quarter (Barrio Histórico) retains the architectural flair (or rather quiet understatement) of it’s Portuguese heritage.

Stepping into the beautiful sunshine, walking down the quiet streets with my friends who had met me at the port, I had the immediate feeling of peace and calm that comes with the start of a lazy holiday alongside the sea. After a particularly long week, Colonia was definitely food for my soul.

The old fort’s stone wall and drawbridge mark the entrance to the historic quarter. It’s not a huge area to walk, but it’s so beautiful that one could walk it countless time. Old cobbled streets lead past colourful houses, with wooden shutters and charming gardens. Next to the river, we stood watching the ferries and yachts traverse the river, whilst classical music blared from a speaker in a short impromptu music show. From there we walked to the yacht club, alongside a small beach and to a handicrafts fair. We stopped for cold empanadas for me to refuel for our walk around town. After perusing the menus of nearly every place near the harbour, we settled on a good restaurant for seafood and had a long and lazy lunch, with beer and wine and a great view. This was followed of course by a quest for ice cream, and a fair amount of time spent lying on the grass watching the river, followed by sitting on the harbour wall people watching and enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Besides it’s beauty and peaceful atmosphere, two things really struck me about Uruguay:

1. You know the saying everything is bigger in the USA? Well in Uruguay, everything is smaller. The cars are pretty much all tiny, the houses small, everything is understated. It doesn’t surprise me at all anymore that their president drives an old beetle.

2. Everything is more expensive in Uruguay. I’m not sure whether this is just because Colonia is quite touristy, but I was quite surprised at how much more expensive it was in comparison to Buenos Aires. It was definitely my most expensive day out thus far.

It really was the most perfect day spent in good company, with great food, perfect weather, in a beautiful setting and with a peaceful atmosphere. I left on the evening ferry in high spirits (buoyed by the sugar rush of a slab of Lindt chocolate I bought from the duty-free shop on board).