Vuelta y vuelta: an adventure through Argentina

We spent 18 days in Argentina, getting a healthy dose of urban Argentine life by stopping in Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Cordoba and finally Salta on our way north to Bolivia.

We were surprised to learn that 90 per cent of Argentina’s population is European (only three per cent of which is half European, half indigenous). If we were dressed appropriately, we could pretty much blend in with the locals as we walked the busy pedestrian area on Florida Ave in downtown Buenos Aires. As we moved to the smaller cities, though, we stuck out like sore thumbs. More than our casual attire, our minimal Spanish was the clincher.

Hardly anyone speaks English, even people working at our hostels or in the service industry. But the majority of people we talked to were very patient and encouraging when we would make an effort, especially waiters, which we interacted with a lot. Going out for dinner was our favourite activity in Argentina, which we tried to do as much as we could afford because the food and the service were excellent, (even waiters in the bus station were consummate professionals, wearing bow ties and taking great pride in their work).

Considering the European influence, its no surprise that pizza, pasta and grilled meats lined the pages of most menus. Argentina has the highest consumption of red meat in the world, so Marc quickly perfected the phrase vuelta y vuelta to explain how he would like his steak. We found the majority of the food to be tasty, reasonably priced (about half the cost of at home) and in large portions (the meat servings larger than home). There were a few local snacks that we also enjoyed, like empanadas (doughy pockets of cheese and meat). Argentina also has the largest wine industry outside of Europe, so we (ahem) drank a lot for really cheap ($3-5 bottles at the grocery store).

There were two aspects of the Argentine diet we couldn’t handle. First was the amount of bread they consumed. An overflowing basket of assorted buns, biscuits, bread sticks, etc. was essentially free for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everyone starts the day with mate (a kind of herbal tea) or coffee and medialunas (small, sweet croissants). The other thing we found difficult to adapt to was the eating schedule. Dinner is not consumed until late in the evening, between 9 p.m. and midnight. It took us a while to get used to eating late and more than once found ourselves starving in the face of a continuous line of closed restaurants, cafes and even grocery stores in the late afternoon and early evening.

Despite the aforementioned diet, on the whole, Argentines appear quite healthy and fit, something that I especially noticed in Buenos Aires. Women of all ages looked good sporting tight white pants and sleeveless tops that bared toned shoulders. We discovered that physical appearance is such an important aspect of Argentine life that people are willing to do a lot to look good. A statistic from 2004 stated that since 1970, one in every 30 Argentines had opted for cosmetic surgery (including soccer legend Diego Maradona). A statistic from the same year claims that Argentina also had a higher incident per capita of anorexia and bulimia than the U.S. or Europe. Crazy.

In addition to looking physically fit, Argentines always look fashionable, too. They love to shop. Each city we visited had a maze of pedestrian streets, usually near a square that included a church, a monument and a massive shopping area. Almost every day of the week it was packed with people. While it may be that the political and economic turmoil of Argentina’s past inspires people to carry a “live for today” attitude, this kind of consumerism - and obsession with appearance - was a significant side of the culture that didn’t seem that much different than home. It kind of left us wishing we had chosen a more rural route through the country.

This became clearer to us on one of our many 12-hour bus rides, where we got to see some of the wonderous landscapes of Argentina - sights our city-to-city travels could not offer, like vast deserts, dry valleys, majestic mountains, and cactus-filled hillsides.

By the time we crossed the border to Bolivia, we realized our time in Argentina was similar to how Marc likes his steak: underdone. We didn’t have nearly enough time to head south to Patagonia as hoped, and we opted to skip Iguazu Falls to save on time and money (and with expectations that we will one day return).

The thrill of travel, for us, is about the landscapes, the interaction with the locals and the feeling that we’re seeing something we won’t find at home. It wasn’t until our last stop in Salta, the smallest of the four cities, that we got what we were looking for.

We visited the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montaña, which housed a fascinating display of indigenous artifacts and the mummified and frozen remains of sacrificed Inca children found on Llullailaco volcano (6700m). We saw stunning scenery around Parque Nacional Los Cardones and got to breathe in some clean mountain air. And maybe most memorably, we also got to spend the day with two genuinely kind and interesting Argentines, learning about the culture and gaining a new perspective on the people.

With our renewed focus on the kind of travel that makes us tick, we’re excitedly moving on to Bolivia. Until then, enjoy the pics.
The Smiths

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