Why do we travel? Why do we have that desire, that yearning, to visit far away places?

What is it about our lives that we seek to fulfill elsewhere? Perhaps, it’s as simple as a curiosity about the world.

We’re faced with the appealing belief that there is more to life than the everyday encounters in our hometown, no matter how large. Tourists view Buenos Aires as an exotic destination, though porteños may twitch their noses, wondering why so many foreigners come here. Likewise, the curious porteño fills pulled elsewhere, possibly the very humdrum towns that we’ve gladly left behind. We all want to go somewhere else.

If travel is not about curiosity, experiencing a different culture, learning more about the world (and possibly ourselves), then is it nothing more than checking off a list of accomplishments – been there, done that?

For some, (many, most?), travel may manifest itself in that competitive breed of list checkers. But I would like to think that we have a deeper sense of purpose, even if our actions don’t always reveal that core. Yet, why do most travelers learn so little about the places they visit? Are they just not that curious? Do they not know what questions to ask, how to learn?

International travel costs thousands of dollars. If we pay that much for an experience, should it not damn well be life enhancing?

How should we prepare ourselves for encountering a distant part of the globe? How do we learn about a culture, a society, a place that is not ours?

In our travels how do we best engage our curiosity about the world?

Following-up to the post about trendy stores coming into San Telmo is this photo of the words “This is not Palermo” scrawled on the wall of the new Puma store just off Defensa.

See a previous post about real estate in San Telmo for a stencil on the same topic.

Meanwhile, also spotted in San Telmo was this scribble on a wall along Defensa with the reminder: Let’s treat the tourists well.

This blog has been quiet for the last couple of weeks while my sister Karen and my 16 year-old twin nieces visited Buenos Aires. Here’s a photo of Kaitlyn and Kacie in Parque Lezama:

Even though they were here for 17 days we still didn’t have a chance to do a lot of the things I had planned. It reminded me of the superficial nature of tourism, that as a tourist you only scratch the surface of a city. Here’s a little summary of their visit:

Day 1: Arrive early morning in Buenos Aires on LAN flight from Miami. Spend day wandering around San Telmo, visiting several churches and Plaza de Mayo.

Day 2: Take the free city tour by bus around Buenos Aires. The tour wasn’t very good but it ended in Belgrano so we had we a good lunch in Barrio Chino. Actually, the bus trip back to San Telmo on the 29 was a much better tour of the city.

Day 3: A day of fog and walking…wandered around Puerto Madero, saw a good exhibition of Molina Campos works at UCA, walked around the microcentro. Since it was Thursday we headed to Plaza de Mayo to see the Madres. Then pizza for lunch followed by a stroll down Av de Mayo to Congreso. After that it was a hike over to Abasto where I left the girls on their own to do some shopping while I attended a book reading group. Afterwards we took the subte back to San Telmo. This was a long day.

Day 4: Recoleta cemetery, then over to Bellas Artes, then over to see the Flower, then the 17 bus home.

Day 5: I collapse with the flu! The girls spend the day in San Telmo.

Day 6: I stay in bed while everyone else heads out on Sunday to the Feria de Mataderos.

Day 7: I remain ill, so the girls explore La Boca then take a taxi over to do some shopping on Florida street and explore Plaza San Martín.

Day 8: This was a Tuesday and I have forgotten what happened this day, probably more shopping and exploring by the girls on their own. My flu is slowly getting better.

Day 9: The girls go to the zoo with Ceci’s mom. (I’m still under the weather). They really liked the zoo.

Day 10: I stay home resting while the girls go shopping in Once with Ceci. In the evening they go to a folclore concert with Ceci’s parents.

Day 11: The girls take the ferry to Colonia for a day trip. I stay home resting for the weekend.

Day 12: I’ve recovered from the flu and we board the bus to Iguazu Falls.

Day 13: Arrive in Iguazu, spend the afternoon exploring the Argentine side of the park.

Day 14: A full day in the Argentine side of the park at Iguazu Falls.

Day 15: Take a bus over to the Brazil side of the park, view the wonderful panorama of the falls from the Brazil side, then head back across the border, then board the bus for the overnight trip back to Buenos Aires.

Day 16: Arrive back in Buenos Aires, a rainy day so we just stay home resting. Late in the afternoon, while I’m sleeping, the girls head out and visit the national history museum next to Parque Lezama.

Day 17: The final day. It’s sunny, thankfully. We hop on the 39 and I take them to El Ateneo on Santa Fe, then we walk around Recoleta, wandering down Av Alvear seeing the fancy buildings, then cross over 9 de Julio. Visit the Isaac Fernandez Blanco museum, wander around Plaza San Martín, stroll down Florida street, cross Plaza de Mayo, then walk down Defensa back home. Have a late lunch at a restaurant next to Parque Lezama then it’s time to take the taxi to Ezeiza. Traffic to EZE is horrible but we make it on time and they fly off to the U.S.

It was a fun trip. It was the first time that my sister or the twins had ever been outside of the U.S. They seemed to have really enjoyed it. I wish I didn’t get sick but they managed fine on their own. Fortunately, I recovered enough to go to Iguazu with them. Their visit reminded me just how much there is to do in Buenos Aires.