After visiting Sierra de La Ventana I headed to Las Flores. On the trip to Bahía I glanced at the Cemetery and made a note to come back some other time.

I took route 76 and then 3. Just a tad after the crossing with route 86 I picked up a guy that looked really beated. He lives on a recording studio in Buenos Aires (property of a friend) but is totally broke. A couple of times a year packs a sleeping bag and some other stuff and hitchhikes to General Lamadrid in order to see his daughter.

We chatted for a while but then he dropped and slept until we arrived at Las Flores. He didn’t like the idea of walking through the cemetery so I picked up the car keys and my backpack, leaving him with some food.

Of all the places I visited this is by far the most decadent. There’s a chapel by the entrance that looks like one of the few spots that had a bit of care.

In spite of that the architecture is impressive and evokes memories of a wealthy past.

I really like when the vegetation starts to take over buildings:

The day was perfect for walking, plenty of sun and a gentle breeze

Now comes the gruesome details. Some crypts were used as storage rooms (that’s actually quite common) but the masonry is almost at the point of collapse. Coffins open or out of place. Strangely enough, the ossuary was not locked. It also had a casserole among the bones. If you are in need of human remains to your anatomy lessons this place is perfect to gather supplies.

Today I packed everything and slowly started my trip back to Berisso.

I wanted to visit Sierra de la Ventana and so I took Ruta 72 instead. Before arriving there one must cross Saldungaray.

It’s quite a nice town signed by the works of Francisco Salamone, an architect surrounded by mystery.

His buildings, mostly on an art decó style, seem very alien to the towns. Notwithstanding that, they are designed with extreme consideration to details.

Entering the town at the side of the route flows the Arroyo Sauce Grande, a nice stream of water. The grass was handsomely arranged and it had a great view of the cemetery gate.

The front gate of the cemetery is an amazing display of beauty:

The day was quite windy and it made opening and closing the door a task more difficult than it should.
After that there was a room packed with dark blue birds. When they saw me all but a couple flew away

The gate from behind is equally big, the whole cemetery looks so out of place being on a lonely patch of land

Except for a small set of places the grass was very well tended, with flowers and cacti too.

Despite being smaller I like this one more than the Cemetery of Bahía Blanca. Some of the mausoleums are gorgeous and other parts of the cemetery look like there were undisturbed from 1800s, specially the grave fences.

I tried to get in other days but I never manged to arrive before it closed.
So today I was an early bird and got my reward.

The main gate is amazing:

The morning was lovely sunny and warm and it was overly quiet. Some sections were tended with exquisite detail but others were very neglected. Open graves, crypts and that. I got inside some but there wasn’t enough light to take a meaningful picture.

A couple of caretakers / gardeners looked at me funny when emerging from crypts but other than that they made no attempt to stop me.
Some of the crypts were really creepy:

On others the light through the stained glass windows made a spectacular display of beauty:

There’s a big building housing four floors of coffins and a couple of offices. Some sort of air duct runs all over it from the underground up to the roof. Most of the windows allow ample view of the cemetery:

On one of the walls there’s a painting of Jesus, just a tad grotesque:

After this fruitful morning I returned to the hotel for a bit of food and work.