Shady Summer

Walking in the park, originally uploaded by blmurch.

Buenos Aires is a walker's delight. The city is mostly flat, the public transportation is better than average and you can easily stroll from one plaza to the next. However, the trees are the best part. They are not just plentiful and beautiful, they also are really handy in the summer, providing much needed shade. Summers here are hot and humid. People walk slowly and wear very little. There is very little "striding" and much more "ambling". Also, in the heat of the day, people tend to walk on the shady side of the street to beat some of the summer heat. The Plane and Tipa trees arch over the streets and avenues, reminiscent of high cathedral ceilings. The branches, leaves and the thick trunks of the trees play with the light and shadows on the ground, not quite like stained glass windows, but close. As the sun falls to the west in the late afternoons, the temperatures drop ever so slightly and the shadows lengthen providing much needed respite from the heat and the sun's glare.