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Published: February 3rd 2009
The sun comes out
Totally tropical (taste)After crossing the border and saying goodbye to our friend, Brazil, we entered Argentina via the town of Puerto Iguaçu. This is the stop-go spot all tourists will spend at least one night in before seeing the national park´s famous waterfalls. The falls border both Argentina and Brazil but from what we heard the Argentine side was the one to see if you could only see one side. We don´t know whether this is true or not as we only saw one side but either way it was fantastic. When we arrived into the town the first thing to hit us was the heat. It was sweltering and we were delighted to find that our room had air conditioning. This is a luxury that we haven´t always been lucky enough to enjoy. One afternoon, Conor was lucky enough to get the end of a footy match on tv and was offered some 'mate' by an Argentinian lass. This herbal tea, consumed from a variety of elaborately decorated cups with a type of metal straw and a practise that is literally everywhere in Argentina. Not knowing what it was and fearful of sharing spit, he said no. Having told Victoria about this
Ahoy there!
Waiting to depart for our tour of Iguacu gesture he was informed that this offer is a sign of friendship and to refuse is considered an insult. Another ignorant fumbling by one more tourist! That evening we were treated to a spectacular lightning display and the storm knocked out the town´s electricity, leaving all shops, restaurants and what not in darkness. Puerto Iguaçu was also the beginning of our steak and wine fetish but looking back on it it wasn´t the best place to start. After two poor steak dinners, one of which we sent back, Vicki was just about to give up on eating the red meat for which Argentina is renowned. On a more positive note the Malbec was fantastic and a wine that we have drank copious amounts of since our first introduction. The day after arriving we hopped on the bus and headed to the Puerto Iguaçu´s national park. There is a huge variety of wildlife in the park but we didn´t see too many critters. After a small trek we hopped on a boat and headed down some rapids and a very strong river to get a close look at the waterfalls. We were taken to different views of the falls and swimming
Hmmm interesting!
Conor examines a puddle trying to get into learning mode gear was the order of the day because yet again we got wet. We went in under a waterfall to the joy and terror of all on board. There are a number of small waterfalls in the park but the main one that everyone wants to see and get soaked by is called the Garganta del Diablo or "Devil´s throat". This is a monster and we were lucky to get any photos because the slightest breeze brings the spray and we certainly got wet. The noise here was deafening and the power of the falls was immense. It was a great spectacle and another great experience
We didn´t spend too long in Puerto Iguaçu and after 2 nights we hopped on a bus headed for Buenos Aires. This was our first experience with the famous Argentinian buses. Big comfortable seats, a 3 course meal, bickies and tea, wine (a bottle we may add) and champagne before bedtime. You haven´t lived until you´ve seen Will Smith in Hancock from the comfort of a cama or bed bus! The 16 hours just flew by!
What can we say about Buenos Aires? A lot! We stayed in one of the oldest
areas of the city called San Telmo an area full of cobbled streets and the home of BA´s main tango area. Our hostel was a huge old colonial mansion which was converted and each room individually designed by a local artist. The day we arrived we went shopping and that night we had the first of many delicious steak dinners, accompanied by the local Malbec of course. El Desnivel was an efficiently run steak house that throws out the meat quicker than you can order it. It was a busy restaurant with both tourists and locals queueing out the door for a table. After dinner we took a drink in one of the city´s many Irish bars and watched a local band work their magic. The following day we went to Plaza Dorrego for the famous antique´s fair. This was an amazing market and probably the biggest we´ve been to on our travels. Covered in vintage wares, antiques, shoe-makers and other specialists in leather goods and crafts, street performers, makeshift eateries and everything you need to keep you occupied for an entire day. This it did! Many of the street performers were tango dancers and this was very popular with
Iguacu falls
View from our vessel the tourists who gathered in their droves to get a taste of what it was all about. Later that afternoon we even managed to fit in a museum full of old toys from the start of the 20th Century. It was like a step back in time. All the walking around and haggling had built up a good appetite for us so we tried another famous restaurant in San Telmo called La Brigada. The steak melted in our mouths, the wine washed it down delightfully and the flan was a pleasant ending for it´s number one fan in the form of a certain Victoria
The following day we met up with Joe, a friend from our time learning Spanish in Guatemala. There was more walking to be done and before we had time to settle back in the hostel we were out the door again to witness La Bomba de Tiempo. This is an open air percussion show on the grounds of what looked like an old warehouse and with around two thousand people there the evening was full of energy. Not one for beer Vicki acquired a bottle of white wine, the entire contents of which they poured
Headin for the falls
That was to be us going under the falls into one massive cup. Bigger than her head it was! After the gig we went back to Joe´s place and we were all in convulsions playing music and singing nonsense. Then it was home to get some sleep and prepare for the next day
The following morning involved a cycle tour around the southern district of the city. There were 4 of us with bright orange bikes with lovely non-camp baskets, tearing up the city and no doubt we were a spectacle ourselves. Because the season is over we didn´t manage to get to see a game with the famous Boca Juniors but we made our way down to the stadium for a look. Next stop was a famous little area of Boca called Caminito. It is a vibrant area in comparison to the rest of Boca with all of its streets and buildings painted in different colours dating from when the Italian immigrants couldn´t afford to buy paint so they took the disregarded paint used on the boats in the port, a few yards away. The area bustled with tourists, shops and restaurants during the day but at night the streets are deserted because it is an unsafe
Ferocious!
Vicki vs the Falls area. We then cycled through the city´s ecological reserve and then to the shores of the widest river in the world, which was nice. By now we had built up another good appetite so we made a visit down to the local supermercado or supermarket for those of the non-Spanish persuasion. We bought a lump of bife de lomo which was enough to feed 4 and bottle of Malbec, the equivalent of 2 Euro. Without blowing our own horn this was a good meal and could rival Shanahan´s on the Green, or so we assume! For dessert we bought a slice of cake each but could only manage half. A little coronary event waiting to happen but man it was worth it!
The following day we made our way to an area known as Young Hollywood. We came across a film being shot and hung around to see if they could recognise some talent. Unfortunately after half an hour we realised that we wouldn´t be spotted that day so on we marched to the zoo. It was full of old architecture and had a good variety of animals but they weren´t all kept in the most humane of conditions
Ah water!
It can bash you plus it tastes good and Conor soon realised why his boycott of zoos had been, up to this point, so well adhered to. We spent the day walking around and sweating under the BA sun. Later that evening we went to a well known restaurant called Siga la vaca or "follow the cow" for an all-you-can-eat BBQ dinner. The grill´s chef was less than impressed with our blatant disregard for modest portions as we frequented his grill on the regular
We got a great impression of Argentina from its capital and simply had a great time in Buenos Aires, another bustling but cultured city with nothing but friendly and helpful people from our experience. We boarded another night bus and headed to the city of Cordoba for a short stay by recent standards
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