Argentina

Mendoza has more trees than people, so feeling at one with nature is odd in the middle of a city. There isn’t a whole lot of stuff to do in the city, but with saying that a day or two to explore all it has to offer is still needed along with spending an afternoon lazing around in Lago Del Parque General San Martin.

 

Of course we joined the free walking tour and learned some cool things about the city and also about Argentina history. We got taken up to a hotel which gave us a cool view of the city, or as we thought a cool view of all the trees instead of skyscraper buildings..

The activities you can do in the outskirts of the city is what also draws people to spend time here. There is everything on offer from horseback riding to hiking, however we did not try out those. We were in Mendoza for the most important thing – tasting great Argentinian wine!

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There is a region called Maipu which is a bus ride from the city centre. When you get off the bus you are greeted with Maipu Bikes, where you can rent a bike for the day and then head off cycling around the many vineyards. We were given a map from the rental shop and we ticked off most of the vineyards on our 2 trips to Maipu..yes we had so much fun that 1 day of wine tasting was not enough! Each winery has different things they offer, you can get a tour, taste wine, buy a glass or a bottle or even have a bite to eat. They are all lovely with brilliant views of the Andes mountain ranges as well..

 

After a day of touring the wineries, there is nothing better than treating your stomach to an Argentinian steak. We tried out La Florencia and La Lucia steak restaurants and we couldn’t fault either of them. They were sooo tasty and they know how to cook steak exactly how you want it, my mouth is watering at the memory!

 

We hadn’t originally planned to come to Cordoba, but we found a flight to El Calafate from here for a good price so we made the journey. I loved when unexpected things like this happened because we really enjoyed our time in this city and now I would recommend it as a place to visit. The is the joy of travelling and being flexible when things do not quite go as you planned.

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This city is lovely to walk around with a nice park, lots of chapels to see and museums to explore. It is also home to the oldest university in South America which you can take a tour to learn about. There is a lights show every evening at the fountains; it doesn’t compare to the lights show at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, but it is still a nice thing to see. If you are here on a Sunday, there is a cool handicrafts market which is worth the visit.

You can take a few day trips from Cordoba to other nice places and towns. We took the bus out to a little German town; La Cumbrecita.

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It was a great way to spend a day and it was interesting to see a German town in Argentina – a different sort of culture to experience.

 

We walked about the town and then walked the trail which took us to a waterfall and nice watering holes where we sat and ate some lunch.

 

These 3 places are down in the Patagonia region. To save this post from being too long and also because Patagonia deserves it, I will post a separate page to describe our travels through this region. Read on and stay tuned for how two inexperienced hikers survived the Patagonian ways.

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This is the capital of Argentina so you know that this city isn’t going to disappoint. Not only is the city centre big, there are also lots of different districts to explore so you could spend an endless amount of time here and not get bored. Our hostel was in Microcenter which was a really good location for exploring everywhere – we walked all around the place and got on public transport just in the evening to go out for dinner in a different district.

Recoleta is a district that has a market every Saturday and Sunday. It is a nice place to be at the weekend to walk around the market and then explore the other things the area has to offer.

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San Telmo hosts a Sunday market which is the best market in Buenos Aires, it may even be one of the best markets in South America. The stalls line the streets for many blocks and they sell just about anything you can think of. We spent the whole day just walking up and down seeing all the stalls and then bartering with the sellers to get what we thought was the best deal..

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Puerto Madero is a nice area by the port where you can stroll around and relax on a nice day. I could imagine myself going there for after work drinks on a Friday if I was lucky enough to live and work in Buenos Aires.

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La Boca is the district where the football stadium, La Bombonera is. We were told that this are was dodgey, but all the time we spent there we didn’t feel uneasy or unwanted – like all places in South America and even the world, you just have to have your wits about you and not flaunt any expensive items you may be carrying..

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We went on a free tour which took us to La Boca, I really liked this tour because the guide was very friendly and told us cool facts about the area that I would’ve never learned about having just went there on my own. We were planning on doing a stadium tour the day we went to La Boca, but of course we went on the one day of the year they do not offer tours; 12/12. Since La Boca sees their fans as their 12^th player, on the 12^th December every year they hold a fan day, so the stadium is closed until 6pm when they let all fans in until they reach capacity and then they celebrate!

 

It is a cool tradition they have, but that meant we had to come back to La Boca a different day to partake in the tour. It was worth it though to see the only stadium in the world that has a flat stand and also it kept my boyfriend happy!

 

You cannot go to Argentina and not experience a tango show. We went to one in Café Tortoni which we really enjoyed and we are not avid tango lovers. It was a great show and the dancers were very impressive, making it all look effortless. What I loved about Buenos Aires was how traditional it was, even at the weekend markets there was an area for anyone to get up and tango dance – I was happy just to watch and applaude.

 

Another Argentinian city means more excuses to try out the steak restaurants on offer. Palermo is a lovely district where you can find some amazing restaurants. La Cabrera is not only unbelievable but what also draws you there is their crazy happy hour – everyday from 6:30pm-8:00pm, everything is 40% off! When I say everything I mean everything and they do not skimp on quality either..queues form every day for this offer so I would recommend going at about 6pm to not miss out!

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Don Julio is amazing as well, so good we had to revisit on our last night in Buenos Aires. The staff are very friendly and give advice on what food to try and what wine suits with it. I would definitely go back for a 3^rd time if I had the chance.

I decided it was more beneficial to dedicate a post to Iguazu Falls rather than include it within both the Argentina and Brazil posts – also as it is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World it deserves its own post. Read on and stay tuned for our journey to this wonder of the world!

We went from Buenos Aires to Montevideo in Uruguay, which involved getting the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay and then hopping on a bus to Montevideo. The border control is at the port before you board the ferry and it is a simple process – it is similar to going through border control in an airport before boarding a plane. As Argentina and Uruguay are very close, it is only an hour on the ferry until you reach land.