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Published: December 29th 2019
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After roughing it out in Patagonia, we flew back into the cities and spent a good 10 days in Bueno Aires, Iguazu and Colonia (Uruguay). Finally a real Honeymoon begins!
Our impression of Bueno Aires is that its such a colourful capital city with many diverse neighbourhoods that are distinctly different from each other. There is the La Boca, Caminito neighbourhood which was so colourful yet with a rich immigrant history behind it. Taking a walking tour, which we did, was probably the best part to understanding this neighbourhood and its deep cultural roots. I particularly loved the colours on the buildings and how it all intertwined with other aspects of the lives of the Argentines, in culture, political, football and livelihoods. Then there is the Recoleta and Retiro, which are slightly more upscale with lots of European style buildings. This was also where we stayed for the nights we were here and watched tango at a milonga. We even managed to catch the local team supporters of Racing Club celebrating their championship win by setting fireworks into the sky! Palermo was slightly more uptown, a bit like Singapore's Orchard road with fancy cafe and shops. The street market differs
starkly from that in San Telmo, where one sells fancy artsy stuff, the other peddles more on bargain buys coupled with antiques. We managed to experience the different facades of these neighbourhoods too by riding on a bike tour around the neighbourhoods and getting to know their history.
Of course we wouldn't miss out on the natural wonders of Iguazú Falls by staying in the city, even on a Honeymoon :p, so we set out on a 2D/1N visit to the famed waterfalls, so we can have both the Argentine and Brazilian perspective. On the Brazilian side, the view was just crazy massive water in your face where you could see the panoramic view of the falls from below. Constant spray of mist from the falls never fail to cool the air (and ourselves!). There were LOTS OF animals who would ‘hunt’ for food. They even grabbed my lower leg when i was trying to buy a drink! As fans of exciting rides, we took the speedboat ride which went underneath the falls and it was exhilarating to say the least. The best part was that the speedboat allowed us to go real close to the smaller falls, and
going underneath it just got us completely soaked! On the other hand, on the Argentina side, we got ourselves massively WET when getting up so close to the devil’s throat. (The periodic rain contributed too). The water was just so massively powerful that all that was in front of us was just mist. We couldn’t even see the Brazil side! Just being there in front of the falls made the entire experience just breathtaking. The best “WOW” moment was still after lunch, when we walked on the upper trail. The first lookout just took our breaths away as we could see endless panoramic views of the waterfalls. Sweeping from the right to left, we literally lost count of the number of MASSIVE falls throwing water down to the endless pool. It’s just crazy! And the first thought was to cue the Jurassic Park theme song!
3 weeks seem like a very long time, and yet our varied yet unforgettable experience in Argentina passed by in a flash. Given a choice, i would choose to return back to this beautiful country all over again 😊 Below are some of the other random memories and moments we remembered:
• We
met so many incredibly friendly locals, yes even in the cities. Most memorable being the local who helped us changed our punctured car tire in Bariloche 😊
• People here can totally eat beef. And beef here is just heavenly delicious (and in super big portions)
• Roads are right-hand drive but direction of the underground Metro in Bueno Aires is opposite that of roads above it. Fascinating huh
• In conversations, somehow the Americans are the only ones we met who didn’t know where Singapore is (no offence there!)
• Cambio(s) exchange are everywhere. They will just keep soliciting by chanting "cambio, cambio cambio..." on the streets
• Is cheaper to pay in cash then credit card (10%) since inflation here is crazy high!
• It’s so much cheaper to travel here in Argentina than in most places. On ave meals are $6 in a decent restaurant
• Yet it felt so safe to travel here! Not a single incident of touting, scams, or pushy seller.
• Most argentine are very proud of their own country. Most of the time they will recommend other places within the country to travel to, especially taxi Drivers
• Stray dogs were everywhere!
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
What an amazing honeymoon...
You have inspired me to see more of South America. As for where Singapore is, most Americans probably can't find the USA on a map of the world.