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South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires
December 24th 2015
Published: December 24th 2015
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Iguazu platformsIguazu platformsIguazu platforms

I couldn't believe that we were walking just above the raging torrent below us. And so close to the falls themselves.
And we are home safe and sound. But I have still got the last five days of our journey to tell you about. We start in El Calafate way down in the south of Argentina. From there we had booked two flights to get to Iguazu in the very north of the country. A two hour connection in Buenos Aires was cutting it fine and when the first flight took off late I had a bad feeling. The plane then sat on the tarmac in BA for half an hour before they opened the doors. And when they did, we stepped on to an over full bus to the terminal. When you are in a hurry you probably don’t read all of the signs that you are meant to, and that may be why it took us some time to find the departure gate for our second flight. At this point I was expecting to see our plane disappear into the distance, but we joined the end of the line to get onto another bus and were driven to the plane for our second flight. THE SAME PLANE!!!!! This made our frantic experience of the various services of Jorge Newbery Airport
Devil's ThroatDevil's ThroatDevil's Throat

The walk ways go right up to the edge.
even more frustrating, but at least we got to Iguazu on time. As we only had one day to see the falls before we flew back to BA.

Having experienced the natural wonder of Perito Moreno Glacier just days earlier, we were again wowed by the astonishing natural scenery in Argentina. The viewing platforms at Iguazu are almost as amazing as the falls themselves. We walked above the torrents of water gushing towards the precipice of the ‘Devil’s Throat’ or ‘Garganta del Diablo’ all the way up to the edge. I would not have wanted the job of building these platforms. There should have been some serious danger money involved. The view and sound of the falls is awesome. The video shows what it is like.



There are over a hundred different falls that can be seen from various platforms in the park and we spent over four hours looking at as many as we could. We had to catch another plane and missed out on catching a boat close to the base of the falls.

In Buenos Aires we stayed in the poshest hotel of our trip. A treat to finish the journey. We
Devil's Throat 2Devil's Throat 2Devil's Throat 2

They make a horse shoe shape. The other side of the river is Brazil. Many visitors spend an extra day here to see it from the Brazilian side too.
enjoyed a small pool on the seventh floor (just metres from our room), which was a prerequisite for this splurge. We ate a really nice meal too, which cost a bomb. As I’ve said before Argentina is very expensive. It is cheaper for people who bring US dollars with them. The reason for this is the unstable local currency. When we entered Argentina the exchange rate was 7 pesos to an AUD. When we left 11 days later it had changed by 20% to 9.5 pesos to an AUD. Hence locals like to save in other currencies. So if you travel to Argentina bring US dollars. You will save up to 30% on meals, hotels, buses, tours etcetera.

Not too far from our place was a famous cemetery with elaborate tombs, Recoleta Cemetery. The most famous one is not the biggest or most expensive. It is the Duarte tomb which contains Eva Peron’s coffin. Duarte was her maiden name. After her death her body was left on display in Argentina until her husband was overthrown and then her body was lost. It turned up in Italy decades later and was finally moved here.

Buenos Aires is famous for
IguazuIguazuIguazu

There are lots of other falls of massive proportion.
Tango and we searched for it in San Telmo one night. But most of the action happens late at night and we had to get our nino back to bed, so missed most of it. On our last day though, we walked through La Boca and found the restaurants had dancers performing at lunchtime.

One last observation of Buenos Aires is that there are lots of parks. But the parks don’t have any play equipment. Kids’ play equipment is found in the plazas throughout the suburbs.

And that is the end of our epic journey through Europe and South America. We are home for Christmas and very happy to be with our family at this time.

A final comment is a top ten for me. The best ten things, in no order, we or I did on this trip were …

The Bolivia high plains tour with salt flats, volcanoes and geysers

Machu Picchu and the sacred valley

Running the half marathon through the streets of Avila

Galapagos

Folegandros (my favourite Greek island now)

Perito Moreno Glacier

Puerto Maldonado Jungle and I loved the soccer match with the staff

Romanian Castles, especially Sinaia

Dinner beside the Panamericana highway in Mancora. A beautiful meal (that may have given Leanne gastro)

Kotor, Montenegro


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An old navy FrigateAn old navy Frigate
An old navy Frigate

Over 100 years old, this frigate went on dozens of significant voyages. It went around the world many times.
San Martin's tombSan Martin's tomb
San Martin's tomb

In the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Big ObeliskBig Obelisk
Big Obelisk

In the middle of a road that is about 450 feet wide. You are looking at a bus stop in the middle of the road. There are at least 8 lanes either side of the bus lanes.


26th December 2015

Welcome Home
Welcome home. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. (I think we had the last of our overseas travel earlier this year. Most unfortunate.) We hope all three of you had a wonderful Xmas reuniting with family, talking endlessly about the many terrific experiences you had etc and recognising the many difference that makes Australia so very special. We wish you a very positive and rewarding 2016.

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