Blogs from Argentina, South America

Into the twilight zone. Dusk and dawn, the bookends of dreamworld. Where desires and destinies might dance and duel. Where you can't go, unless you have gone. And it is still only 50° south of the equator. The same parallel, on the Arctic side, as London, Kiev, Vancouver, with Moscow, Berlin and Stockholm etc even further north. Yet this is already 1,776km further south than Cape Town (34°), and 444km beyond Invercargill (46°), New Zealand's southern tip. A reminder that the globe is somewhat top land-heavy. Would not physics prescribe the ball folllowed gravity and rolled over so the continental chunks of Asia, Europe and North America could play ballast to the sphere? Fickle cartographers, indeed. Comandante Luis Piedrabuena, a little village, population 6,000, named after an Argentinian nautical pioneer of the Patagonian regions, lies 50° ... read more

City of Rich Cultural Heritage, Stunning Architecture, Abundant Artistry, Warm, Passionate People, and Turbulent History Once we began exploring, we were out for several hours every day. But to simply list our activities, without sharing what we learned about the city, and the country, would be too shallow an offering. Hence, this blog entry is a long one, as the intent is to provide some historical and political context, as well as information about the places visited. We often take the hop on hop off city bus tour to get introduced to large cities, as their vastness can be intimidating, and Buenos Aires, with its population of over fifteen million certainly fits that description. The bus tours give us perspective and help us identify the places we want most to return to later. There were so ... read more

There is peace in the valley. It is as if all the rogues and ruffians, grifters and lifters, shovers, shouters, looters, corrupters and flouters of social norms had been redirected at an earlier junction. As if diablo's little imps and thieves and torturers and bandits had been lured to greener pickings, to richer spoils; leaving a few near-heavenly acres of remote urban existence to play out a parallel-style universe (at least to the casual eye) of quietude and gentle calmness, tucked up along the banks of a currently seething, flooding 3km-wide Parana River. The little Argentine town of Goya (Godja, to the tongue) plies its slow trade alongside the 4,880km-long waterway that in turn divides Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, harbouring the Iguazu Falls halfway along its stretch for good measure. A flat river-plain town, almost ... read more

A Remembrance Day Flight to Forget This was an adventure that Stan and I have never before experienced. Currently traveling in Argentina, we arrived at the Puerto Iguazu airport at 5 pm Friday evening to catch our 90 minute flight to Buenos Aires at 7 pm. We did not know that Buenos Aires was experiencing heavy rain storms: the very same storms that caused Taylor Swift to cancel her November 10th concert in Buenos Aires that evening, and that caused the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to be temporarily closed. As a result, our flight was repeatedly delayed, until finally, six hours later - at 1 am Saturday morning - we boarded the plane that would take us, along with close two hundred plus other very tired passengers, to Buenos Aires. But it did not - ... read more

(Day 355 on the road) Third time in my life in Buenos Aires, and I seem to like the city more every time I re-visit. When travelling, I subconsciously keep asking myself "Could I live here?". I always admire people who have traveled and then - at one point - simply fell in love with a place. And stayed. So far, I haven't found that one special place for me. Maybe one day. Having said that , and looking specifically at South America, Buenos Aires would certainly be my preferred place, where I could see myself living for a while. It has lots of things that I value in a big city: Amazing cultural offerings, efficient public transport, a great food scene, lots of nice parks, plus security is not much of an issue. Or to ... read more