Over the City by Helicopter

At the airfield southern terminal (Sarmiento and Lugones Street), an experienced pilot was expecting us to get on board a 4-seat Robinson 44 helicopter. A soft and pleasant flight in the open blue sky led us to see the porteño roofs.

No sooner had it taken off, than the helicopter showed us around the airfield, with its hangars and parked planes. Afterwards, the Mitre railway line appeared to be tiny to our sight, like a large model with toy trains.

Orange tennis courts, gardens and the green waters of the lakes at the rose bushes promenade, the large plains of the racetrack and the polo fields, the round planetarium, the monument to the Spaniards dividing traffic at Libertador and Sarmiento Avenues, the paths of the Buenos Aires Zoo and the attractive little bridges in the Japanese Garden would make up an unusual sight of the Palermo woods.

Farther ahead and heading southwards, we were flying at about 200 kilometers per hour and at 150 meters of height. After passing above the Recoleta neighborhood, we arrived in 9 de Julio Avenue. Here, the pilot interrupted his route for a few seconds in order to appreciate the avenue and its particular obelisk in the distance.

We resumed our flight and the Retiro neighborhood was expecting us with its particular Englishmen’s Tower, surrounded by the railway stations and the Sheraton Hotel. Ahead, once above Puerto Madero, new and luxurious buildings decorated the same area that one decade ago was almost abandoned. The Woman’s Bridge and the Sarmiento Frigate stood out as some of the tourist attractions to be visited.

Raising our eyes, we watched the Río de la Plata bathing the harbor walls and the ecological reserve at Costanera Sur.

We continued flying and arrived in the popular La Boca neighborhood. The blue and yellow seats at the "Bombonera" stadium, the traditional El Caminito alley -with its pubs, its plastic artists and its colorful architecture- , the blackish Riachuelo and the bridges over it that join Greater Buenos Aires with the capital city are the farthest points in the tour.

Once here, the aircraft changed its course in order to head back towards the airfield. To our left, we could see the Pink House and the Mayo Square, the modern Catalinas buildings, San Martín Square and the monument to those who died in Malvinas. Before landing, the Recoleta neighborhood with its classical cemetery and its large parks showed us the curious Eduardo Catalano’s mobile metallic flower, "Floralis Genérica".

A soft gradual landing set us on the southern platform of the Metropolitan Airfield. This is one of the various helicopter tours visitors may hire in the City of Buenos Aires. A different and amazing way of seeing a city formed by impressive buildings, monuments, parks and such a large water mirror as the Río de la Plata.