The Promised Land - Steak, Malbec and Mullets

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Argentina is the country that started our entire Latin America adventure. Not only is it where we got engaged, but also it´s where we were awed by Euro-style cities, 300-foot waterfalls, and our first trek through the mountains of Patagonia. We knew we had to come back some day to explore the rest of the country and the rest of Latin America. We just didn´t know that ¨some day¨ would come so soon.

We´re back in Argentina and it is glorious. The amount of meat in the country alone makes it a Trevor´s paradise, and the fact that it´s always time for ice cream makes it mine. The Argentinians enjoy sweets at all hours - morning, noon and late, late-night, and the streets are often one big baked sale of cakes and cookies on every other corner. (Val, this is our kind of place!).

You can tell we were hungry in Bolivia (more to come about that country soon). We left the lack of amenities behind, and sprinted to the Argentinian border. As we sped south through the country, we were surprised to see the trash thin out, the land turn lush and green, and the llamas and vicuñas replaced by spotted cows. We kicked off our exploration in the northwest city of Salta, a popular vacation destination for local Argentinians known as ¨Salta Linda¨ or beautiful Salta.

It took some dedication to meal times, but we were able to complete the quadrafecta of gastronomical requirements upon our arrival: we tasted empanadas, the local cerveza, malbec vino and tenderloin steak all in the first day. We also explored the city to see the 18th century plaza and the cathedral, whose pink facade and corner location reminded us of Casa Bonita in Colorado.

The only downside to this favorite country is... brace yourselves... the mullet mania. Every guy between 10 and 35 has a mullet, rat tail, faux-hawk or a combination of the three. We spotted mullets and sang Galloway´s famous ¨Kid with the Rat Tail¨ song for the first week here. Most of the male population spends plenty of time and product on their ´dos, and those in Salta even stop at what we named the ¨hair fountain¨ in the main plaza to wet and re-style mid-day to ensure maximum style.

Trevor is pondering joining the masses and donning a fashion-forward mullet himself. Might as well seize the day, we say. As Mark Twain has said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your rat tails...I mean, sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." That goes for mullets, world exploration, and anything in between.

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Photos

A summer Salta afternoon
Emps and cerveza!

We made it!!
but looking at the sign, Ushaia (the bottom of Arg) is still a long way to go.

South American Casa Bonita!??
Oh no, its just a church

Doing as the Arg´s do
Beer and espresso at dinner time (6 or 7) and then wait to eat until 10.

Our first dinner in Argentina!
I will let you guess what we ate. PS. That bottle of wine was $4

The hair salon
The local water fountain where all the youngsters come to wet their mullets and get that just right greasy look back in their hair.

A flower stand
with Christmas trees in the summer!!