Blogs from Argentina, South America

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South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires April 17th 2024

Hello! This one is for all the naysayers out there who said we'd never make it...we're OK here in hot and humid Buenos Aires. The BA journey was pretty long, not helped by the slobbering character sleeping next to me on the plane (no, not Laura) and the 25 Argentinian youngsters returning from their degree course at the Finsbury Park School of Applied English (cash only, terms and conditions apply). I arrived without incident and successfully booked into the wonderful Garden House Hostel in the San Telmo neighborhood of the city. Great hotel - not too many people staying, so no late-night raucous mobs to disrupt my beauty sleep...sort ly tailored toward the traveling population in a good way.My only complaint is a lack of air conditioning (that we've noticed) and the lack of a private ... read more

South America » Argentina » Salta March 24th 2024

No more elevation!! Salta is like being in Sydney -- dry warm, catholic eateries and cafes and more dry warm. Our campsite is recorded as the finest in South America. God help the rest of South America. It could be a shit gap with one monster swamp/pool within the center. A few of us overhauled to a adjacent lodging and I´m cherishing it. Cheap and cheerful with a pool. The final seven weeks have been difficult with the cold and elevation. I am not cut out for cold climate. From here on it'll be hot, hot, hot!... read more

South America » Argentina » Tierra del Fuego » Ushuaia March 7th 2024

Our day started at the 3:45 breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel. It was a nice buffet breakfast with a large room full of other guests that were probably going to be our fellow passengers. I think many people were just waking up so it was a mostly quiet experience. We were on the second group to leave on chartered buses, departing at 4:30am. Our names were checked off and we sat in silence for the 35 minute trip to the EZE airport. From there, our group followed a guide directly to the security line as they had given us our boarding passes on the bus. Since it was a domestic flight, we were in the waiting area pretty quickly. It was very crowded though, and not a very large area, so we found a seat where ... read more
Ushuaia harbor
Tierra del Fuego - Lake Acigami
Tierra del Fuego - post office

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires March 6th 2024

Our third day in Buenos Aires started off with a nice breakfast before walking once again to the hop-on-hop-off bus stop near the zoo. We waited for about thirty minutes, enjoying the dog walkers who were in charge of anywhere between 5 to 15 dogs; this is such a dog friendly city - we saw them everywhere! We just had two stops until we reached our planned destination: La Recoleta neighborhood. Here is where the famous La Recoleta cemetery is located but there are additional things to see, including some more colorful buildings. This is a very upscale neighborhood as well. As we walked to the cemetery, we passed by the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar, which is painted a stark white, in contrast to the adjacent multi-colored cultural building. It was surprisingly peaceful and the ... read more
Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar
Mausoleum of General Jose de San Martin
National History Museum of the Revolution

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires March 4th 2024

The start of an adventure of a lifetime, the first phase was getting to Buenos Aires, then we planned four nights in Buenos Aires itself. I honestly did not know what to expect from this city - I knew of it, but did not know what to plan on for four days, but as I was planning the trip, I started to identify what to see and do and started to get excited. Phase 1 - Travel to Buenos Aires The travel from Dubai (actually, Abu Dhabi) to Buenos Aires was its own adventure with some planning involved. It was a 25-hour flight, plus the 1.5 hours taxi ride to Abu Dhabi. I had never flown on Etihad before, but I was happy and the airport was beautiful! The 8-hour flight to Madrid was relatively easy ... read more
Palacio Barolo
Caminito
Carniceria - Smoked Provolone

South America » Argentina February 23rd 2024

Takin' a cuе from Rogеr Dеar's book of еxprеssions and this is likеly our final blog post bеforе our trip to Europе and so "likе it or lump it!" Aftеr sеttlin' into thе hostеl at around noon and wе hеadеd to gеt somеthin' to еat. Evеn though wе hadn't sееn Burgеr Kin' in еight months and wе wеrе all dеlightеd to sее it and so Maccas was thе obvious choicе for lunch. This was our initial еrror! It wеnt down smoothly and but as Axе discovеrеd and it also camе up smoothly. It goеs without sayin' that wе didn't еat thеrе thе rеmaindеr of our trip. Thе Mееtin' of thе Amеricas took placе durin' our wееkеnd and an' hundrеds of pеoplе dеmonstratеd against Gеorgе W. Bush's attеndancе at thе nation. Thе march bеgan pеacеfully but latеr ... read more

South America » Argentina » Salta » Cafayate February 4th 2024

I have made it to the most western region of Argentina that I plan to visit: Cafayate, the northern wine region! Before sampling the regional wine I took a sunrise drive to Quebrada de las Flechas which is an impressive serious of mountains in the Parque Nacional Cardones. You can drive right through these jagged rock formations. Early morning is the perfect time to see them with the light shining at an angle. This region of Argentina’s wine making is known for Malbec (both red and white), high altitude champagne as well as a variety of Cabernets. I had a one on one tour with a winemaker who focused on the high altititue champagne. He follows the same process created by Dom Perignon in France. He shared that this region is almost a desert - warm ... read more
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South America » Argentina » Mendoza » Mendoza January 28th 2024

On a cool summer's eve, along a slow, side street of a northwest Patagonian town, a hint of Astor Piazzolla floats through the air. It is a quiet Sunday night, without much street or pavement traffic, nor regular shop lights to distract a casual stroller. The lilt of the rhythm drifting out of the purple dark comes from the direction of a group of casual eateries, a block or three away. A pause in the beat, a faint clapping of hands chatters lightly, until a minute or two later a different yet similar tune filters from what must be now just around the corner. Tango. A tiny piece of a nation's soul is playing out on a small, round, roofless suburban plaza - an urban salon, perhaps a more appropriate appellation. Not large, some 20-25m in ... read more
Tango karaoke
Angel cleans her bike
Ladies and horsemen (or knights or gentlemen)

South America » Argentina » Misiones » Iguazú National Park January 26th 2024

A visit to this region isn't complete without visiting Iguazu falls which is located between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. You can visit the falls from the Brazilian side or the Argentina side. I started with the Brazilian side which offers a more expansive view of the falls. Iguazu Falls are two times taller and three times wider than Niagara Falls to give a frame of reference. That said Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe is the tallest in the world while Murchison Falls in Uganda is the most powerful. There are walkways that allow you to get views of the falls from many different angles to fully grasp the shear size. Seeing this side takes majority of the day. I decided to rent bikes to be able to ride into the national park instead of taking the bus. ... read more
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South America » Argentina » Jujuy » Humahuaca January 24th 2024

Normally this time of year I am in Eastern Africa to visit new potential partner organizations as well as check back in on my existing relationships in Uganda. But my two partners in crime in Uganda - Irene and Hope - received a last minute opportunity to attend a leadership program in the UK for 4 months and so will not be in country when I had planned to visit. After learning this, I decided to switch up my travel for this winter. I am back in South America for a combination of work for Lift Her Up Foundation and bit of tourism. I have three pilot loan programs that I am starting in the first quarter of 2024. The first one will be with the group in Bolivia that I visited last year. They needed ... read more
Quebrada de Humahuaca
7 Colors Mountains
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