Argentina part 1.

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After our short stay in Santiago, we headed towards Argentina. The land of steak and wine... we expected great things. Still with inappropriate clothing we were forced to wait in the freezing early morning temperatures for an hour and a half. Mainly as we couldn't understand the announcements informing us of the delay. So, with numb toes we headed across the Andes on one of the most beautiful journeys ever. The route winds through the snow-capped peaks of the worlds second highest mountain range. Until you get to Argentinian border control, whereupon you must wait while the rest of the world passes into Argentina ahead of you! We did get to play in the snow at 2800m above sea level. Pretty cool!

The journey continued smoothly from there, and we arrived into Mendoza just a few hours late. It's a really nice city, with a really chilled out atmosphere. We spent a little longer than planned there simply because it was so relaxed and we spent most of our time trying to recover from jet-lag (meaning Dan slept a lot!!) Our first steak experience was pretty spectacular, literally the biggest steak you've ever seen, cooked to perfection (lots of blood, mopped up with chips!) All for 4 pounds. Awesome.

You'll notice a severe lack of photos from Mendoza, this is mainly due to us forgetting the camera on our main day of activity, which was a tour of the bodegas (wineries.) We visited 2, the first being Lopez. A large more industrialised winery. It was cold, unfriendly, and the wine they gave us at the end was cheap, tasteless and shit! Note to all; do not buy Lopez wine. Then on to a smaller, family run winery (can't remember the name.) This really redeemed the day, the guide was friendly, the tour was interesting and most importantly, the wine was good and plentiful. And they gave us tasting tips so we can be poncy about our wine when we return...

Before we left we spent a nice relaxed day in the biggest park of all time..! Drinking wine and eating salami and oreos in the sun! A nice way to end our time in Mendoza.

On to Buenos Aires. When we arrived, it could well have been the smoggiest city on earth. Or so we thought, a few days later we found out that it had actually been fog, and only in the sunshine does the city's stunning architecture show. Colonial buildings, with intricate details line even the most humble of streets.

We did the majority of our sightseeing in just 2 days... which sandwiched together 7 days of drinking and sleeping. (Our drinking habits return with avengeance!) 4 bottles of wine (the cheapest stuff) is no longer a heavy session, merely a quiet night at the local bar...

But back to the sightseeing, there was a big pink palace. Evita lived there or something... we're not entirely sure. On the same square there's a rather understated Cathedral, which to some extent is overshadowed by the surrounding buildings. Just across town in Plaza San Martin, stands a huge clock tower donated by the British which strangely sits beside the touching Falklands war memorial. It's a simple monument, but it has armed guards and an eternal flame to commemorate the lives lost in the war.

Insert 7 days of drinking here.

One last day of sightseeing, which we spent in Recoleta. First stop Evita's grave. It sits in a huge cemetery which is filled with crypts reminiscent of small churches. All of the rich and famous from Argentinian history are buried here down the streets and avenues into which it's divided. Alongside old and splendid chapels, are uncared for, crumbling ruins with broken windows and in some cases even rotting coffins. The cemetery is clearly still welcoming new guests... several of the new crypts have marble fronts and air conditioning!

Our walk from there brought us a nice suprise, in the form of a huge flower sculpture. Made entirely from steel, it sits in the centre of an infinity pool and apparently closes up after dark. On the way home we visited the city's focal point. Sitting in the centre of a 90m wide avenue, the Obelisk. It's nice, looks a bit like the one where all the tramps sit in Southport (although far more impressive, and devoid of tramps.)

That's all for now... we're back in Buenos Aires after a month in and around Brazil, we'll update you on that soon. Off out for a few bottles of wine...

Ciao xxx

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Comments

[Robynskidooda]

Hmmmm
Why don't either of you have a tan? x