A new walking route crossing five Buenos Aires neighborhoods: Saavedra, Coghlan, Belgrano, Colegiales, and Palermo.
Kit Collection and First Steps There were about 10 minutes left until 1:00 PM when I collected my kit. The Argentina vs. Egypt World Cup match hadn't started yet, but as expected, the area was clear: only two people collecting ahead of me and a couple more approaching behind. Everything was super fast. I picked up the kit and immediately started walking. I headed back through the park grounds to formally exit via the Av. Balbín entrance.
• Sign indicating Comuna 12.Saavedra in Silence and a Tango Tribute During this first stretch, the urban landscape was almost surreal: I was walking virtually alone through the streets, without a soul in sight. With everyone glued to their screens watching the match, the quiet brought back inevitable memories of the 2020 quarantine. You would only see an occasional car, almost empty buses, and very few pedestrians. Accompanied by that solitude, I began taking photos of the Argentine flags hanging from the balconies.
• Entrance to Parque Sarmiento.
• Gym A at Parque Sarmiento.
Along the way, I passed Boulevard Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, officially named as such in 1991. This central median and green space located in Saavedra pays tribute to the remembered Uruguayan musician, creator of the famous tango La Cumparsita.
The Uncertainty of the Walk As I kept moving forward, something caught my attention: there were no chants, no shouts, and certainly no goals being cheered. The city was a flat murmur. I decided to pause for a second in front of a couple of shops with televisions to see what was happening: Argentina was losing 1-0. I resumed my walk in absolute silence.
I passed through the Goyeneche Gatica Tunnel, over the Zabala Bridge, the Av. Jorge Newbery Bridge (also known as the vehicular bridge over the Mitre Railway tracks, Councilman Dr. Pedro Bustos Vehicular and Pedestrian Bridge), and the Ciudad de la Paz Bridge (also known as the Soler Bridge or Colegiales Bridge), all of them completely empty due to the light traffic caused by the soccer match.
When I was reaching the intersection of Godoy Cruz and Av. Santa Fe, right outside a Chinese supermarket, I heard two people experiencing homelessness discussing the game. One said to the other: "Come on, let's go, don't you see it's 2-0? That's it, let's go."
Were we losing 2-0? The doubt lingered in my mind during the final meters of the route.
Ending with a Comeback I finally arrived home, turned on the TV, and indeed, the scoreboard confirmed the two-goal deficit. However, less than two minutes after settling in, Argentina pulled one back. In the remaining minutes, two more goals were scored to seal a spectacular comeback.
In the end, this walk not only added miles across the city, but it also saved me from the stress of agonizing over the game step by step, allowing me to arrive just in time to enjoy the goals and the last-gasp victory.
Categories / Tags: Urban hiking | Urban trek | Urban walk | City walk | CABA
Wikiloc Route: https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderismo/walk-through-saavedra-coghlan-belgrano-colegiales-and-palermo-caba-281938527
