Top 5 Places to Visit in Argentina...in 2 weeks

Did the bossman only grant you 10 days off, even after you begged and pleaded for more? Not to worry, that's plenty of time to soak in the best of what Argentina has to offer. Keep in mind that you will have to jet-set a few times, but planned in advance, this should still be affordable. Check out LAN if you have status with United or Aerolineas Argentinas if you have status with Delta. Either of these can offer multi-segment flight passes throughout the country (or continent).

The trickiest part could be deciding when to go. If you're from the midwest US, that's easy. Go during the most brutal part of the winter...January-March, as you will be met with the opposite: Argentina's summer. If you're single, why no skip over Valentine's Day altogether and treat yourself with a mid-February getaway. Hate the same lame New Year's Eve scene? This is your chance to start the new year right...overseas!

So let's get to it...

 

1. Buenos Aires 
You will likely find the cheapest round-trip airfares in and out of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city. This is one of the best first places to go in South America, hands down. It has a very European style, with an easy transportation system within the city, and for the most part, is clean and safe for a large city. There are museums, walking tours of historical sites, as well as a huge selection of restaurants and bars. Visit the cemetery where Evita was buried, take some tango lessons, and enjoy some delicious steak and wine!

2. Punte del Este, Uruguay
Day 3 take a ferry and bus ride to Punte del Este, Uruguay. Although it's not actually Argentina, it's such a quick and easy day trip, that you might as well add another stamp to the passport while you are in the area. Be sure to see the infamous fingers coming up through the sand and this is your chance to eat some sushi instead of steak. As a resort, this will be one of the priciest areas, meaning drinks will be the same price as back in the states. You don't need much more than a full day here, so make the most of the beautiful beach scene.



3. Ushuaia
Day 5 take the bus and ferry back to Buenos Aires, where you will fly to Ushuaia (pronounced 'posh-why-ah'). It will be a bumpy landing into a tiny airport, but it will be worthwhile as you are surrounded by beautiful mountains at what is referred to as the end of the world, or the southern most point before Antarctica. Bring your raincoat, as storms are likely to pop up at a moment's notice, as you can't see them coming in over the mountains until it's too late! If you decide at this point to quit your job, or if you just happen to have an extra 2 weeks, why not check out a last minute deal to Antarctica? Ushuaia is the port town for these cruises, so at the very least, take a boat tour to see penguins or other sea birds and lions. Seeing them in their natural habitat beats any day at the zoo back home. Hike around town or at the nearby national park, then grab a brew at a local pub...and stay out until the sun goes down...which could be about 11pm in January!



4. El Calafate/El Chalten
Day 8 flight to El Calafate, then take a bus to El Chalten, the base town for Mount Fitz Roy. El Chalten is about like any other really small mountain town in Colorado or Alaska...even the majority of the other travelers are probably from there as well. Eat some good grub and drink some great brews while hearing others tell you which hiking trails to take the next day. If you have the time and the equipment (or are able to rent), pitch a tent at the base of Mt. Fitz Roy and enjoy the beauty of the true Patagonia for a few days.
Day 10 head back to El Calafate and spend the night there. This is a bit bigger city with more locals, but the next morning you will head out the Los Glaciares National Park, where you will witness one of the world's largest glaciers come crashing in front of your eyes. Plan to spend the entire day there if you wish to take a cruise up to the glacier, or even hike on it.



5. Mendoza
Day 12 fly out of El Calafate to Mendoza, more popularly known as Malbec wine country. There are plenty of wine tours to choose from, or you can be adventurous and take a city bus to Maipu and rent bikes from bodega to bodega...some even offer olive oil tastings as well. This is the last stop so that you can load up your bag with wine to take home to remember the experience! (If you can get it through customs!)

Malbecs and backpackers

We left the bottom of the world and flew to El Calafate, from there took a 4hr bus to El Chalten...a backpacker town of 600, just outside Mt. Fitz Roy, an icon of Argentina. This place felt even more like Colorado, probably because of all the American backpackers in full gear. For our one full day there, we hiked around the mountain...super cold and windy at the top, then toasty warm back in town. That night we headed back to El Calafate. Such great food in both of these towns...think local, some vegetarian, and microbreweries. This hostel had a great view of the mountains, it's a shame we couldn't stay longer. The next morning with a few hours to spare before our flight, we hired a driver and drove to the big glacier park. We saw huge pieces slide off the glacier walls and crash with sounds of thunder into the lake. Best part was that we had the park to ourselves since we arrived much earlier than the tour buses.







That afternoon we flew off to Mendoza, stopping first at Buenos Aires. The BA airport looked very familiar, and we soon realized that we had landed at the wrong airport! We rushed past baggage claim to talk to someone in the office, who told us there was a bus waiting to drive us to the correct airport in town. Then we realized we'd need to grab our checked bags. Thankfully the security is more lenient here and Jess got through without a proper flight ticket and got our bags. We loaded up the bus and away we went to AEP!

Pow! Thump thump thump...went our bus as I yelped a bit. We got a flat! Needless to say, our flight took off without us but we were able to take the next flight. The wine would be waiting! And this was really just the first hiccup of the trip.



Travel books say that you'll know you're in wine country as soon as you arrive in Mendoza, but I didn't feel it until we were a 45min bus ride away in Maipu, on rented old cruiser bikes. It was a scorching 100degrees and I wasn't sure how wines could grow in such a desert! But they do. Thankfully we sampled some chilled Savignon Blancs and Torrentes white wines besides just the typical Malbec.



We rode to 4 bodegas/wineries over about 5 miles, then our last stop was a beer garden where we met fellow Coloradans and English speaking new amigos. Then again, I'm not sure we heard/saw any Spanish speaking visitors at the wineries anyway.



We ate our first tacos of the trip that night. You'd think tacos would be more popular, but I guess that's a tex-mex thing. I've definitely had my share of pizza and ham and meats here! Enough for the year I think...good thing there's wine to counteract the cholesterol, and some fruit street vendors.

We left Mendoza via a 14 hour bus ride, nervously sitting behind a young couple with a baby. We dreaded the worst, but it was fine. Along the drive, the bus attendant had us play bingo. Hilarious!...thankfully Jess translates numbers well. What was even funnier apparently were the jokes the attendant told and we laughed at our cluelessness.

Back in BA, and now that Jess has extended his trip a few days, we've decided to take a bus trip south a few hours to Pinimar for a couple nights stay. We must have bad luck with buses because this one had a tire problem as well, delaying us 30min or so.

Funny how people here don't seem to mind, or realize that complaining wont get them anywhere like it does in the states. Not sure if either side is better, but I think we can learn from each other. Be patient yet stand firm for your rights.

So two more days on the beach, two more in BA then I'm back in denver for two days. Definitely looking forward to getting my fix of cool temps and snowboarding til I hit up round two of travels! Driving past all these lush fields is getting me excited for farming in denver this summer too!

Passion that drives

Yesterday we arrived in Ushuaia (pronounced oosh-why-ah), the most southern town in the world, and a departing point for Antarctica. I hadn't looked at pictures before arriving and I'm glad I didn't. What a shock to see that we were right along the water, and within a circle of mountains. I thought it'd be flat, so it feels like home in denver. A pleasant retreat from the heat in BA!

The skies are bright blue, and there's no way to see what clouds are coming over the mountains, so it rains on and off out of nowhere. This is their summer, so the sun rises at 4am and sets at 10:30pm. Little different than the short days back in the states, huh?

Jess and I walked around the town and found some great views before we hopped on our boat tour. The little boat took us to see sea lions and sea birds...sadly we didn't see an island full of penguins, but we did see a couple swimming alongside our boat!

It was definitely a touristy tour til the tour guide took us off the boat and showed us the native plants of Ushuaia and the surrounding islands. He had grown up here and was obviously super passionate about the land and history of it. He told us of the natives who lived here without clothes (keep in mind it's a high of 59•F now in their summer). The people had 39•C body temps, had 7mm thick skin, and rubbed themselves in baby seal fat to keep warm. There were no trees on these islands, so the people hovered besides mounds to shield them from wind.

Then immigrants came, saw that natives were naked and clothed them...and they started coming down with pneumonia and diseases that they were once immune to. There is one native woman who is still alive, but she is in her 80s with no descendants.

Being a tour guide might not seem like the most glorious job, but his passion educated us and made this the best part of our trip so far.

Buenos Aires and Uruguay

¡Hola from the season of 15 hours of sunshine! I realize that if I lived here my sentences would be a mess of ¡!'s so I'll work on that :) I'm writing this as we wait for our flight out to Ushuaia...the southern most point of South America. We just got through security in 3 minutes flat. No 3-1-1 rule and no shoe or backpack removal.

My first site upon arriving to Buenos Aires was that if Paris and Quito had a baby, this would be it. The first whiff of the distinct South America grungy exhaust I experienced in Ecuador is now familiar and comforting. Car after car were parked in the green areas along the drive to the city from the airport, families picnicking for the long New Years holiday weekend. That made me smile. In the city are majestic old renaissance buildings. As my friends have said, it's the Europe of South America. In fact, it smells greener without the smell of coffee and cigarettes.

I met up with Jess, a college friend whom I haven't seen since those days. The timing just worked out to explore the area together. I planned the trip solo, but was definitely more excited to share the experience with someone!

Our hostel was located in the Palermo district. Tree lined streets and sidewalk cages and parks galore. Most businesses were closed for New Year's Eve but we were still able to see the neighborhood, get some delicious 'helato' (ice cream) and earn a few blisters. Midnight we went to our hostel's roof deck, popped some champagne and watched fireworks fly for an hour with other hostel roommates.

New Year's Day we departed for Punte del Este in Uruguay via the buquebus ferry to Colonia, then a 4 hour bus ride. I had no idea what to expect of the country, but we drove through what looked like the fields of the Midwest (besides the occassional palm tree and the family cow/horse/goat that was tied to a leash while the dogs roamed free). And everything was so clean. Punta del Este was the most expensive area in this small country, as it is a beach resort town. It was cloudy, rainy, and cold when we arrived...our 12oz beers costing 140 pesos, equivalent to US$7. That's NYC prices! We were both thinking this was going to be a miserable experience if this continued for our next two days, but the sun came out and gave us plenty of vitamin d. I of course am overconfident in my tan base from the ever sunny Colorado, and neglected to pack more than a 'serving size' packet of toxic sunscreen. The sun and cool breeze (like the hot/cool of arid Denver) were just too perfect not to nap in! But a definite kick in the shins for these next few days when we painfully put on our backpacks.

Not many people spoke English in Uraguay, so I enjoyed speaking the words I did know, but mostly turned to Jess to translate. I hate being labeled a snotty American...which is why Jess tells most people that we're from Canada...which is great until we met someone from there...lol. My theory is to prove to everyone that we're not so bad. Though they were probably pretty annoyed at our excited when we saw the NIU Huskies playing in the orange bowl on tv there!

Along with the prestige of Punta del Este, everyone there was dark and beautiful. Women were curvy and fit in their Brazilian bottomed bikinis. The beaches were covered with men playing soccer and families playing a sort of sand bocce ball with discs. Everyone carried around thermoses and mate (tea)...few were drinking beer...but no one was stuffing their faces with churizo and corn puffs and cotton candy like the beaches of Chicago. I still have yet to attempt surfing but that is on my list...hopefully within these next couple months.

I have also decided that the coffee is in fact delicious if I drink it 'cafe con leche' (with milk). Otherwise it's way too strong. There are Havanna chocolate shops all around but I'm nervous to try, as I have yet to enjoy chocolates in South America. The fruit in the street markets are delicious and grown within the country. Not sure if its organic or not but I figure in season local trumps that.

Water must be legit because one vendor washed my fruit and another restaurant put ice in my coke and I haven't gotten sick yet (knock on wood!). I'll be more cautious in the other cities, promise :) my theory is that I'm also building immunity with my water filter which doesn't kill the bad bacteria, but just makes them non-active.

So from Punta del Este we took a 2hour bus ride west to Montevideo, the capital city of Uraguay. We stayed in Centro, the center of the city, in another great friendly hostel with floor to ceiling doors and windows. It was very humid here, which also meant lots of mosquitos. This city felt a little grungier than BA, but that may be because there's no train system, so the streets are congested. We were just there for a night, then returned to Buenos Aires. This time we stayed in the central district and walked to San Telmo for a delicious steak dinner. For a bottle of Malbec wine, provoleta (grille provolone cheese), bruschetta, and sirloins, the tab was 350 pesos...US$70. Half price from anything top of the line in the states! Best steak I've ever had...again, not sure how it was raised though. And I now know how to say 'la cuenta por favor!' (The check please!)

The sun set last night at 9pm, not long after we arrived to the empty restaurant. Apparently that's still early for dinner there! After we got our steaks it started pouring and the lights went out. The memory of that setting is one for the books.

This morning I think the sun was up at 3am...just when a jam session began in our hostel. We left at 6:30am for our ride with a remis driver to the airport...the streets filled with college aged kids still up from a night out.

Which brings us to present time...now in a plane en route to Ushuaia and I've already been yelled at twice by the flight attendant so I will put my phone away. Hope to post more shortly to avoid these long novels of posts!