Blogs from Argentina, South America

Advertisement

South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz December 4th 2023

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
El Loco, the new president
Odd carousel
Lance's hand

South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz » El Calafate November 24th 2023

Our rest day started off with hotel breakfast (so I did have to set an alarm). We did a little exploring after, and found a cute park with very informational signs near the hotel. We couldn't have asked for better weather! Sunny and warm, about 70, with no wind. Part of our wandering included a typical part of travel for us: stop at an ATM to pull out some local currency for cash on hand. An odd thing happened-- every ATM at the bank looked like it would work, then said it couldn't fulfill our request. We even tried very low withdrawal amounts. Nothing. Everyone takes credit card, so we just moved on for now. After a little more wandering, it was about lunchtime. We stopped at a nice place for empanadas. Oh my gosh they ... read more
Enchilada lunch at La Tolderia
Lunchtime buddy
Yeti Ice Bar

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 19th 2023

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
El Quarandi Tango Show
Teatro Colon
Cafe Tortoni

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 16th 2023

Taking a Trip from Dismay to Delight It will be a challenge to share all we have experienced of Buenos Aires, as we have experienced so much in the past 18 days. But before I take on that challenge - which will be the subject of a subsequent post - I wish to reflect upon how I felt upon arrival into this new culture, in this new country, on this new continent where everything was unfamiliar, including the language in which everything is communicated, lest you get the impression that it has all been fun and games. Stan of course felt bewildered also, as it was all new to him too, and he speaks not a word of Spanish. But he was confident I would proficiently look after everything. As was I. And prior to departure ... read more
Our  Neighborhood Fruit & Vegetable Family Store
Our Daily Coffee Stop
Our Favorite Neighborhood Bakery

South America » Argentina » Corrientes » Esquina November 13th 2023

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
Downtown Hong Kong, on a Sunday
Mob do Iguazu
Flooded walkway

South America » Argentina » Misiones » Iguazú National Park November 12th 2023

Visually and Acoustically Stunning Natural Wonder of the World Every day I try to consciously practice reverence for nature, appreciating it more and more as I age and realize how small and insignificant we are, and yet also how connected we are to this great life energy. But I prefer to believe that we are only insignificant if we perceive of ourselves as separate from nature, and much prefer to believe that we are part of this life system called nature, that is also known by other terms - creation, the universe, cosmic energy, God. Well, for one whose respect and reverence for nature grows every day, a visit to Iguazu Falls is a year’s worth of growth - or perhaps a lifetime’s. Witness energy in movement. Power. Force. Abundance. Flow. Symmetry. Symbiosis. Tenacity. But words ... read more
Tenacity
Ingenuity
Adventure

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 11th 2023

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

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 4th 2023

Soccer, Tango and Vibrant Street Culture On our first four days in Buenos Aires we laid pretty low. The twenty five hour flight left us jet lagged and in need of rest, as the pre trip preparations had us exhausted even before we departed. But on day five we began our explorations. And this city is so beautiful, the people so kind and accommodating, and the culture and history so rich, that we soon compiled a long list of things to do while here, and immediately started the process of checking the boxes. Our first venture out of the apartment and into the big city of two million plus was to La Boca, an area of the city known for its large and colorful murals, tango street culture, and most significantly, its being home to one ... read more
La Boca Soccer Club Stadium
The heart of Caminita, La Boca
Street Mural, La Boca

South America » Argentina » Corrientes » Corrientes June 20th 2023

(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
Cruising in the Tigre delta
Horseriding in San Atonio de Areco
Boat captain in the Ibera Provincial Park

South America » Argentina » Mendoza » Mendoza June 4th 2023

(Day 339 on the road)I have the feeling that this is going to be a tough blog entry to write. Put simply, nothing extraordinary happened in the last four weeks in Argentina. No Machu Pichu to stare at in awe. No lost city to discover in the remote jungle. No 6.000m-high mountain to climb. No death road to bike down. No multi-day camping trips high in the Andes. No vast salt desert to drive through. No volcano to scale. No close encounters with tame wildlife. Put simply, no major highlights to write about - compared to virtually all my last entries. Instead, I discovered a northern Argentina full of pretty landscapes, with appealing and (fairly) orderly cities, and with a sophisticated and educated population. In fact, travelling south after spending many months in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru ... read more
Always keep your yerba mate cup nearby
Gaucho country
Really bad opening times




Tot: 0.209s; Tpl: 0.007s; cc: 12; qc: 68; dbt: 0.0855s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb