Blog 13 - Don't Cry for me Argentina....

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Our first nights in Argentina were to be spent at Puerto Iguazu, with the main purpose of visiting the massive Iguazu Falls. The falls themselves help form the border between Brazil and Argentina, and both countries conducting their own tours on each side of the Rio Paraguay, the river system that feeds the falls. We had booked a full day tour to see both sides of the Falls, which should have required crossing into Brazil for a few hours and then back into Argentina to check out its side.



Iguazu Falls themselves contain the widest waterfall in the world in the Garganta del Diablo, and many drops of up to 100m with other sections. At its lowest level of water, approximately 1400 cubic metres of water is flowing over its edges every second, and in October it peaks at about 6700 cubic metres every second.



So upon the beginning of our tour, we were taken to the Brazilian side, and we got to experience what a really big waterfall really looks like. The sheer size of what we were seeing was stunning, and when we finally moved along the path to what they call 'The Devils Throat', we were saturated from the spray coming from the powerful water flow. We then moved to have lunch at a Brazilian Churrascaria aka a Brazilian buffet, which is an experience in itself. Think Sizzler (for the Australians), multiply the number of available dishes by 5, and then add in 5 different types of skewered meat which is cut for you as you require it. We then thought we were being taken to the Argentinean side of the falls, but something was not communicated very well between our booking company and the tour company, and we were dropped back to our hotel, 6 hours before the tour was supposed to have finished. After a small tantrum and minor breakdown in frustration from us both on the side of the road, we resolved to see the Argentinean side, regardless of the rush it would cause us the next day. So once we decided we would have more time the next morning before we flew out to do this quick adventure, we went to check out Guira Oga, an animal refuge centre in Puerto Iguazu.



Due to our late arrival at the centre, we had to do the tour totally in Spanish, so we couldn't understand a lot of what was being said, but at least we knew our entrance fees were going towards a good cause. While there, we were able to see many more toucans, very quickly becoming our favourite bird to look at, armadillos (an animal we hadn't seen yet on our tour) and many more birds and animals that are being rehabilitated or used to assist in breeding if they cannot return to the wild. That night, we found a wine restaurant, the Vinosophie Bar de Vinos. We needed a bit of a 'pick me up' after our frustrating afternoon, and this restaurant provided it. We were suggested an excellent bottle of red, a Malbec from Patagonia, Pete indulged in his greatest piece of steak and Renee enjoyed a shrimp and squid risotto.



The next morning, our last in Puerto Iguazu, we got up early and rushed off to the Argentinean side of Iguazu Falls, thinking and expecting big crowds of people at the front gate for opening at 8am. We were pleasantly surprised that not everyone had the keenness that we had and we were able to experience Iguazu Falls with very few crowds. And wow. The reports that this side was better was definitely not an exaggeration, and viewing Garganta del Diablo from above was not only deafening but surreal as the sheer size and amount of water flowing over the edge just blew us away. As Renee said at the time as an introduction to an amateur video 'This is nature at its absolute finest. Prepare yourself'... We were then able to get down close to the bottom of another waterfall and looking up at such a massive wall of water was great to see. And much to our delight, and a little relief, we arrived back to our hotel without having to rush to the airport to make our flight to Buenos Aires. We had completed what some reviews said should take 4-5 hours in less than 3 hours and we weren't disappointed at the experience we received.



After 3 flights in Argentina, we also noticed a weird thing they do here, everyone on the plane claps when we land. Along with the random clapping people do in Brazil when the sun sets, I am starting to wonder how much trust these people put into activities we take for granted. We just expect the plane to land, yet they break into applause when it does. And apparently, the sun setting is something we expect should just happen, yet in Brazil it’s an unexpected occurrence. Very strange indeed.



So we successfully landed in Buenos Aires for a week of exploration and good food. Buenos Aires is a city of 13 million people, and as we found out early on, will only celebrate its 200 year anniversary of independence in 2016. It has a very strong Spanish and Italian influence, with many of the indigenous killed in the southern states of Argentina in the Spanish invasion more than 400 years ago. The tango was also 'born' here, firstly as a way of preventing boredom, then as a way to impress women and finally as a more seductive male/female dance.



We had made the decision about a week earlier that we would attempt to relive our 'younger, less mature years' while here and planned to stay in a hostel. Our thinking was that we would engage with a lot more travelers and involve ourselves in the evening activities conducted there. What we didn't count on was poor weather, it being tourist low season in Buenos Aires and individual travelers who lived on their mobiles and tablets. And that we may have made the decision to ‘immerse’ ourselves after a few too many drinks one night in Rio. But despite the inclement weather, that seemed to be following us a bit now around the continent, we started our week here with our walking tour of the city, and found a great restaurant for even better pasta.



Day 2, and we went back on our initial plan of hostel activities and spent the day visiting the Teatro Colon and then the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The Teatro Colon was, when initially built, the largest theatre in South America, holding 2,400 people and was, and at times still is now, the place to be seen in Buenos Aires. The inside of the theatre is everything you would expect an early 20th century theatre would look like; extravagant, strong European influences and a delight to walk through. The intricate artwork, marble and stone carvings throughout and lighting from the 1/2 tonne chandeliers were great to look at. Even without being great enjoyers of the theatre itself, after visiting we felt the urge to go to a show and see a performance. Unfortunately, the opera started after we left. We then continued our 'development of the fine arts' by visiting the Museo Nacional de Bella Artes. Not being able to read Spanish, and therefore really only being able to make our own interpretations of the paintings and sculptures, made for some interesting insights from each of us, but seeing how the art in South America has changed over the centuries was good. The evening gave us 2 choices, a pub crawl or a cooking class. We again went with the softer option, and went with the cooking class, this time learning how to cook empanadas, flan and the glorious dulce de leche, Argentina’s personal touch on what we would call caramel. Our guides for the evening, Veronica and Manuel, had a great knowledge of the food and wine of South America, and the pairing of wines we had with each course will only help us in our wine tour in Mendoza, as well as our future dinners. It's taken a few attempts, but we have definite come around on the Malbec wines of the Mendoza region.



Day 3, and a massive 7 hour bike tour was planned. Unplanned was the consistent rain that fell all morning, and despite maybe our better judgement we attempted to complete our tour. An hour into it, after being drenched from the rain and passing motorists, Pete's beard got wet and he called the tour off. We found an excellent local lunch spot with freshly made empanadas (our favourite being the carne picante aka beef with chilli) and lentil soup to warm us in the cold, gloomy weather, then ventured to a cafe for dessert (Renee claims no meal is complete without chocolate), and then hid from the rain in our hostel for the rest of the day. Strangely, we found people in the same positions in the hostel lounge as they were when we left hours left, so we found our own positions and read and chatted.



Our final full day in Buenos Aires, and we set out again to do our bike tour. This time, despite grey skies, the rain held off, and we were given not only a great view of various parts of city, but a great history of Argentina. To hear about the almost God-like way they hold the memory of Eva Peron, the military rule only 40 years ago where thousands disappeared and hundreds more were illegally adopted out and the financial ruin that the country experienced only 14 years earlier gave us a newfound respect for where the country, and in particular Buenos Aires, was now in. There are a couple of things we look forward to researching a little more. What we also discovered on this bike tour was through decisions and killings at settlements centuries ago, Southern Argentina and in particular Buenos Aires has very little indigenous blood in its population, and this has resulted in the people and planning for the city landscape all very European. Our tour guides took us too many places, but a highlight was definitely the metal flower, which opens and closes through the appearance of the sun and energy generated from the attached solar panels. This final night, we went to a dinner and tango show. We started with a short tango lesson, had a simple dinner and then watched a very touristy tango performance. Highly recommend, if anyone goes to Buenos Aires, to find a local club to watch the tango. This show was good, but you will enjoy yourself more at a club.



So the next morning, we boarded our final flight in South America and headed to Mendoza. What we were presented with was our first rays of sunshine in Buenos Aires as we headed to the airport. DOH! But thankfully, these blue skies continued in Mendoza, allowing us to explore and enjoy the much cooler, but sunny weather. And our other great sight as we flew into Mendoza, and away from the east coast of South America, was the amazingly scenic Andes Mountains. We pictured Mendoza as a small wine town, with just a few houses but large amounts of green vineyards. What we saw as we flew in was very little green, and a lot of housing. What we then found out over the next 2 days was that Mendoza has a population of almost a million, has a large migrant population, and that nothing is growing in this time of the year.



We came to Mendoza primarily to enjoy the wines, and do a wine tour. On our tour we visited 4 wineries, including one with a 5 course lunch. The first one was called Alta Vista, our favourite of the day, and had a great history, with French owners taking over the struggling winery in 1996 and developing boutique and table wines. Surprisingly, the white here and the chardonnay at the second winery, Kaiken Premium Wines were winederful. At this winery, they use a number of different methods to grow their grapes and are big believers in using Feng Shui and vibrations in assisting their wines to mature. Our lunch was at the Agostina winery, and we finally finished at the Carinae late in the afternoon. Despite the lack of reds that blew us away, the day was super and our guides were very helpful.



And so, after many great meals and wines, and great cultural and historical lessons, we boarded the bus to leave Argentina. For the first half of the journey, we were treated to spectacular views of the Andes as we drove through to Valparaiso in Chile, and our final stop on this amazing 3 month journey. The views were spectacular, and after passing about a dozen ski resorts, which we didn't know existed, we realised one last opportunity that we had missed. But with only one blog to go after this, till next time - Pete and Renee.

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