Besides being soccer mad, Buenos Aires residents enjoy many sports activities. The city features facilities for hiking, biking, skiing, white water rafting, fishing, climbing and many other activities in beautiful surroundings. Argentina is also the home of tennis greats Gabriela Sabatini and Guillermo Vilas. Volleyball, basketball, hockey and rugby are also popular.
Pato is a special Argentinean sport,
first played by the Gauchos. Pato was
originally played by two teams on horseback using a
pato, or duck in a leather pouch with handles. Two players would
grab the handles and pull until one let go. The winning team would ride
away, while the opposing team tried to stop them and grab the pato.
The sport was banned in 1882 but revived with less dangerous rules in the
late 1930s. Now two teams of four men on horseback attempt to throw the
modern pato, a leather ball with six
handles, into one of two baskets at either end of a large field
Buenos Aires is also home to a number of picturesque parks.
Among the most popular is the natural park Costanera
Sur which features walking trails and special tours under
the full moon. Another park, 3 de Febrero
in Palermo is a green oasis in the city center. It was first developed
in 1890 and has grown into a huge park with big trees, beautiful sculptures
and magnificent flower gardens. You can also ride a mateo
(stagecoach) everyday here.
Near this park, the Jardín Zoológico (Buenos Aires Zoo) is a nice outing for children. Jardín Botánico (Botanical Gardens) is filled with a vast array of trees, plants and flowers, original sculptures and majestic fountains. Jardín Japonés (Japanese Gardens) features plants, flowers, waterfalls and little bridges in an Asian atmosphere. The Karpa fish were originally brought from Japan. Tierra Santa is the first religious theme park in the world. More than a million people have already discovered its distinctive architecture, learning about its history and customs focusing on the time of Jesus Christ.