I know this is going to be a bit of a shock to you all, but we have become rather fond of Argentine wine! Mendoza is probably the most famous part of the country, but right on our doorstep is the lesser known Cafayate region. We thought we'd give it a go for the weekend and had such a good time, this blog is going to be spread over a few entries! To get there we had two options, one to take the bus, and the other to hire a remis or taxi from opposite the teleferico station. The cost for the former was around 50 pesos, whilst the latter, including pick-up from home, a running commentary and photo stops whenever we wanted, was 90 pesos. We decided to travel in Nelson's Peugeot rather then El ... read more

Martín Miguel de Güemes was a general in the Argentine civil war back in 1820. He was born in Salta and led an army of Gauchos which is commemorated in June here in the city. The house in which he received his fatal wounds is now a folkloric restaurant (peña). We decided to go for a meal there and, whilst the food and atmosphere were good, the promised espectacular was really nothing different or better to what we have seen in much cheaper places. It was good to see Bolivian president Evo Morales playing the panpipes though! The next day we took the bus 5km out from our house to the Quebrada de San Lorenzo. Now we always thought a quebrada was a dried up river bed, akin to an Arabic wadi but it would appear ... read more

Yes, yes, I know, we’ve only just moved in yet here we are taking a weekend away already. Well, you’ve got to take the chance when you can as who knows what the work situation will be in a few weeks time. 5 hours from Salta is the town of Cachi, known as the gateway to the Cactus National Park. Coming from Salta, you actually go through the park first, so in our eyes it’s more like the back door to the park! The bus laboured up to Piedra Del Molino to almost 10,000 ft above sea level before descending a couple of thousand feet through the spectacular cactus valleys and finally reaching Cachi. After no problems in La Paz or San Pedro de Atacama, we were a bit surprised to find the altitude taking its ... read more

5 weeks in Buenos Aires As most of you know by now, Trish had to have some eye surgery while we were here, so that meant 5 more weeks of Buenos Aires life for us. This time it was a little different because we chose what must have been the wettest 5 weeks in porteño history! It did give us a chance to catch up with friends and to say farewell to some of them. It also meant we could pay a final visit to some of our favourite restaurants!! As well as what has appeared on other blog entries, we caught up on our cinema viewing and went to one cultural event! There was a presentation at the British Arts Centre about The Mimosa which brought the early Welsh settlers to Patagonia. It was a ... read more

I went out to La Plata with Joseph, an American friend of mine, to watch Argentina champions Estudiantes play football (that's soccer to some of you!) against Rosario Central. Almost a year ago Joseph and I had been to watch Independiente lose 3-0 to Estudiantes and Joseph decided then to support la pinchas. Their nickname, according to wiki, is short for pincharratas meaning rat stabbers in English! Anyway, after a few hours looking around the city, we walked out to the new Estadio Ciudad de La Plata. It is on the very outskirts of town and we had to walk through those sorts of areas the guidebooks would probably always tell you to avoid walking through! The stadium looks like a UFO has landed on the edge of town and manifested itself into a football ground! ... read more