Recoleta Cementary
Every city has its “can’t miss” spots. Some are obvious, like visiting the Coliseum in Rome; others are less known, like having dinner on The Bund in Shanghai. One of my favorite spots in Buenos Aires probably sits between the two in terms of familiarity. The “Cementerio de la Recoleta” (Recoleta Cementary) is a place that could easily be overlooked, but I can tell you that it qualifies as one of those “can’t miss” spots. From the outside, the cemetery looks like a small medieval town enclosed by a protective outer wall of red brick. Inside lies a gorgeous maze of mausoleums – each more beautiful and interesting than the next. If it weren’t such a solemn place, it would almost be fun to run around its narrow corridors in some sort of game of tag. It’s like a small city of carved marble and stone. Some of the mausoleums are as elaborate and complex as you imagine the lives were of the politicians, Generals, writers, and other prominent Argentineans entombed there. Others are surprisingly modest. The only feature that all the tombs share in common is a date signifying the death of its inhabitant. It’s been said that all plots lead to death. I found myself imagining the plot lines of the lives these ornate monuments memorialize, and naturally, the trajectory of my own plot. It’s hard not to. I strolled around obsessing over the relentlessness of time – the time I’ve already used, and the time I still have. It feels otherworldly inside the walls, slower than real life, as if walking waist deep in water, even if you try to move fast you can’t. This place grabs hold of the mind… all the magic of life, every win, every loss, every smile, tear, thrill, and moment of fear in a decorative box to be photographed by a curious American. It’s almost ridiculous. In the end, I was so relaxed, and still so curious that I didn’t want to leave.