Vagabond Life

For many travelers getting in their daily exercise is critical when on trips or living abroad.  But exercising in Latin American cities can sometimes be difficult to do, because unlike some places in Europe or the U.S., Latin American cities have notoriously few running trails, gyms, and exercise facilities.  Going jogging outdoors is usually problematic, because of traffic, bad air quality, and crime, but Buenos Aires has a number of places to exercise without those issues.

Exercise in Buenos Aires

I have to admit I haven’t even tried to find a gym in Buenos Aires.  At this time, I cannot really tell you where to go or how to find them.  There was simply no need to where I lived during my last trip.  My apartment was in the northern part of Buenos Aires close to “Bosques de Palermo” towards the Rio de la Plata, just south of the Jorge Newberry airport.  There are a number of neighborhoods that border this patchwork of parks: Palermo Chico, Palermo Botanico, Recoleta, and Retiro.

Running in Buenos Aires

I don’t mind short passages through side streets until I reached the park area, so running in the Bosques de Palermo was an adequate solution for my exercise needs.  Wedged inside the gigantic Av. La Libertador and Av. Pres. Figeroa Alcorta, you will find more or less conveniently connected parks and exercise paths.  Around the ‘Rosedal’, a beautifully landscaped rose garden surrounded by an artificial lake, is a paved 1 ½ kilometer long exercise path, where you can run, inline skate, or bike around.

If you are inclined to run for more than an hour, you can pass under the train tracks at the far side of the Rosedal, cut north until the next train bridge and pass over the pedestrian bridge to get to the Parque Republica del Ecuador.  Follow the many trails of the park to the Lago de Regattas where you even have the option to round the Campo de Golf de la Ciudad before returning more or less the same way you came.

Quality of the run

Most of that run is in park areas which allow detours and little “excursions” to mix it up a bit.  During the day it’s save to run there, but there are a couple issues with outdoor running in Buenos Aires.  First, contrary to its name, Buenos Aires does not have all that much “good air”.  The parks absorb a lot of the car exhaust, but emission standards are not enforced so air quality is not great.  Second, the sticky issue for me is the dog poo.  Citizens of Buenos Aires love their large dogs and have them taken care of by dog walkers everyday.  The dog walkers take them to the park and tie them up with long leashes.  So you have look out and navigate tied up packs of dogs, who are always in the way and plant impressive amounts of poo on sidewalks and park trails.  It’s like a minefield in some places.  It took me a little bit to get used to having to pay attention to where I was stepping, so not to trip over a leash and fall face down into Bubba’s droppings.

Summary

Although, running in Buenos Aires is less than perfect, I ran in much less convenient environments throughout Latin America.  Since the weather is good for running most of the year and the above-mentioned adversities are easily manageable, jogging outdoors in Buenos Aires is a viable alternative to exercising in gyms.

Note: readers, if you have comments, advice, or even other routes and trials in Buenos Aires to share, please feel free to contact me under info@vagabond-life.com and maybe we can set up a guess post.