An earlier post had a single photo of the Palacio de Aguas Corrientes (Palace of Running Water), but with a brief break for lunch from work one day I was able to go check out the small museum, and the most amazing collection of toilets you will ever see (not something I thought I would ever note in this blog) shown on the feature photo for this posting.
Completed in 1894, it is an amazing building on the outside, hiding the basic functions of water pumping and filtration on the inside. A small museum details the history of plumbing in Argentina 🙂
The outside of the building is amazing from any angle. Amazing architecture and a huge toilet collection, what else could you ask for.
It was a great 10 days in Buenos Aires. I am not certain what I was expecting but whatever it was, BA exceeded it!
The Nueve de Julio Avenue is the center of the city. Created in the 1930s by wiping out an entire city block wide, and nearly 3 miles long, it is an impressive sight.
The city exists because of the huge estuary of the Rio de La Plata, creating one of the world’s great ports.
The city is full of great architecture starting with the Retiro Train Station.
The Torre Monument is in the plaza in front of Retiro. The tower was completed in 1916 by the same architect who built Big Ben.
Just down the street is the Kavanagh Building, an Art Deco masterpiece.
One of the highlights of the city is the number of ‘Palacios’ remaining from the early 1900s. While there were once more than 100, less than 40 remain, but those that still stand are magnificent.
In addition to the Palacios there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of impressive buildings.
The city was the first city in South America to have a subway, starting over 100 years ago.
As with any city, not all are enjoying the good life. Buenos Aires has some ‘Villa’s, basically shantytowns for the very poor. The city says they have a plan to help improve the lives of the people living in the Villas, but only time will tell.
No visit to Buenos Aires is complete without a stop at the Obelisk.
For now it is time to fly, but not before joining the crowd to watch a soccer game while waiting on the plane. True Buenos Aires!
Day 10 started out with a Zodiac Boat tour down the coast to another snorkel location. A Zodiac boat is a rigid hull, inflatable boat that can go very fast across the water, as Captain Bill demonstrated.
Assisted by Chris, the first mate.
As we made our way down the coast we stopped by some sea caves.
Despite being formed by lava, they were very colorful.
We arrived at the bay where the snorkeling occurred. It is the bay where Captain Cook met his demise.
The snorkeling was great.
On our return trip we passed more sea cliffs
Along the way we encountered a group of ‘Spinning’ Dolphins, as this series of photos illustrate.
After returning to the boat, we made our way back to Kona one more time for a historic tour.
We toured the Queens summer palace.
Finally it was time to return to our home for the week.
Our final day in Honolulu started out with the obligatory tourist trek up Diamond Head.
For those who don’t know Diamond Head is the most famous landmark in Honolulu. The mountain is the remains of a volcano approximately 500,000 years old.
Once you make it to the top of the 750′ mountain, the cauldron is apparent.
Situated in the east side of Honolulu, it is surrounded by nice neighborhoods.
Because it is at the east end of the island, the Diamond Head lighthouse is located at the base to warn ships.
Our hike complete, we headed downtown to check out the historic buildings, including the post office.
Easily the most famous is Iolani Palace, and the statue of King Kamehameha.
Across the street was the royal residence
Inside the Palace
A secondary building on the property.
Nearby is the Hawaii State Capital
There are numerous other historic buildings downtown.
Our architecture tour complete, we headed for the last part of the island we had yet to see, the South Shore.
After returning to our hotel, I spent some time doing close ups of the Waikiki Hotels.
RDZ Photography 