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Two weeks flew by on the cruise that before I noticed, mom and I were leaving the ship in the "Paris of the South"- Buenos Aires for good. We booked a day tour to La Recoleta Cemetery in the metropolitan center and the Argentine Estancia in the countryside.

As driving through Palermo, the largest neighborhood with a lovely district of parks, gardens, mansions, and embassies lined up in front of us. However, most of our tour today was based on La Recoleta Cemetery. It looked like little architecture in a small world with a collection of over 6,400 beautifully crafted mausoleums and made us for an intriguing stroll around Baroque, Neoclassical, Neogothic, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco styles with each crypt. The grand graves made the cemetery amazing and large. If I walked in by myself, I probably would never walk out the same entrance again! In 2013, CNN listed it as one of the top 10 most beautiful cemeteries on earth.

There were many Argentine most notable personages in La Recoleta Cemetery. Maria Eva Duarte de Peron was one of them as the Argentine used to call her Evita. Evita became the first lady after her husband Juan Peron was elected as the Argentine President. She advocated for women to win the right to vote and helped the working-class people to have a better life. When Evita died of cancer at the age of 33, her body was initially kept in the President's Residence. But some opponents hated her husband after he lost his power and tried to destroy her body. So her coffin was moved to Italy. Not until years later, Evita was brought back to her motherland and buried in a black marble tomb here. As a matter of fact, I did not know anything about Evita before. However, a sweeping melody sounded influential to me that Madonna sang "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" about her passion.

Once out of the city, we stepped in the dustiest place across Pampas I had ever been in my life. The bus drove over an unpaved dirt road and cast specks of dust into the fresh air. We came to an Estancia or ranch where the timeless traditions of the Argentine gaucho are lovingly preserved. The gauchos originally came from vagabonds or orphanages and were used to roam the Pampas and work cattle for life. In general, they dressed in a woolen poncho, neck fastened bandana, pleated trousers, and long leather boots and had no home or belongings other than what they carried on horseback. A couple of artists danced in popular folkloric music and looked like twisting the heels until broken. Unlike tango, the lead and follow kept all movements in distance and never had a close embrace to connect chest-to-chest in such folkloric dance.

There was a nice horsemanship racing competition among the gauchos. The object was to catch a ring on horseback with a little stick. I couldn't believe that a gaucho caught the ring three times straight. Prior to noon, I practiced riding a horse. It wasn't really hard after I got used to it. By the time when a traditional Asado al Asador or the gaucho-style country barbecue was served for lunch featuring famous Argentine beef, I had no stomach for anything but computer games. The folkloric dancers performed one last time after everyone else was stuffed to the top with food.

Finally, we had to say farewell and went back to the bus. Instead of returning to the cruise ship, we were sent to the hotels. I was pretty sure that this would add to my memorable cruise experience.

【红霞译文】

两个星期游轮上的良辰美景不觉已近尾声，我和妈妈将在“南美巴黎”布宜诺斯艾利斯(意指“好空气”)下船，并于今天安排了一日游，打算前往位于市中心的安息公墓和郊区阿根廷农庄游览观光。

旅游大巴从首都宽湾区穿过，公园、花坛、别墅、大使馆簇拥排列在道路两旁，我们此行主要为了参观名扬全球的安息公墓，那里有巴洛克式、新古典式、新哥特式、新艺术流派、新装饰风格等大大小小的陵园超过6,400，建筑设计独具匠心，墓地本身很大，假如我独自一人进来转悠，恐怕连回去的路也找不到，2013年美国有线电视新闻网将此地列为世上十大最漂亮的“永久家园”。

阿根廷许多名门望族都长眠于安息公墓，玛丽亚•伊娃•杜阿尔特•德•庇隆即阿根廷人心目中象征生命的艾薇塔就是其中一位，艾薇塔因丈夫胡安•庇隆出任国家总统而成为阿根廷第一夫人，不仅积极为妇女赢得选举权力，而且还帮助劳动阶层改变生活状况，33岁那年死于癌症，其遗体曾一度保留在总统官邸，后因庇隆政府被推翻、反对党试图清除残余势力而不得不“移居”意大利，直到数年后才重返家园并安葬在眼前这个黑色大理石墓地之中。此前我并不了解艾薇塔，但对反映艾薇塔心声、由麦当娜悲情演唱的《阿根廷别为我哭泣》印象深刻。

离开安息公墓后，我们长驱直入好空气城郊外，盛夏之际，素有“粮仓肉库”美誉的彭巴斯大草原“黄云翠浪千千亩”。大巴行驶在广阔天地，身后掀起层层尘土，几乎遮住了半个天空，我们造访的阿根廷农庄至今仍保留雇用南美草原牛仔──高楚人的传统习俗，这些牛仔多来自被遗弃的孤儿，流浪于草原各地，靠放牛谋生，别看他们身着羊毛披风，颈套手帕，灯笼裤外加长皮靴，实际上除马背上丁点盘缠之外其它一无所有。与此同时，农庄请来两位艺人为我们表演民族舞蹈，他们的脚后跟好像一直不停地旋转，直到转不动为止，与探戈不同，领舞与伴舞之间始终保持距离，两人从不胸对胸紧密贴在一起。

高楚人马术比赛令我激动，每一位参赛者坐在马背上，快速疾驰将吊挂的指环套在手上拿的小木棒上，我简直不敢相信，有一位竟能连中三次，接下来轮到我骑马溜弯，好不逍遥。午餐时大家开始享用高楚人敞开式牛肉烧烤，可我一点胃口也没有，只好靠玩计算机游戏充饥；酒足饭饱之后，舞蹈家再度登台献艺。

终于到了告别时刻，大家依依不舍，直至乘车返回酒店住地才逐渐正视现实，这下真的要各奔东西，我们只能把游轮留下的美好记忆铭刻心中。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2011: 报复心理(Revenge)