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Introduction In September 2006, Sara and I spent two and a half weeks traveling in the northern half of the loverly country of Argentina. Here's what we saw. :) Timing Arriving on Thursday, August 31st, we spent three nights in Buenos Aires, then two nights in Iguazú Falls, then five nights in Mendoza, one night on a bus to Salta, where we spent five more nights, flying out on September 16th. It was winter, but being fairly near the equator, the weather was mild. Buenos Aires was mostly in the 60s, except for one especially frigid and windy morning. I wish I'd packed a winter coat. Iguazú was very pleasant, upper 60s. Mendoza and Salta were both lovely - a few hot days but mostly 70s. There was only one day in Bs As with a little bit of rain. Otherwise, dry and blue skies. Money Argentina has a long history of highs and lows in the economy department. It's currently in a low, especially after the tragic 2002 peso devaluation that shrunk the value of the peso to a third of its former self. Of course, that's good news for travelers. One US dollar was about $3.10 pesos while were there. Many things in Argentina are quite cheap. Food, in particular, is amazingly affordable. Simple café meals including drinks run about $1-2 USD. Average restaurants seem to be $3-4, and top-shelf restaurant entreés are $5-10. Attractions such as museums tend to be under $1, and goods such as clothes tend to be about half what you'd expect to pay here. Hotels are unfortunately not in the cheap category. We stayed at mostly three-star places, which tend to be basic but clean. The average seems to be $40-50 USD per night for a double room. The most expensive part, without a doubt, is airfare. The only game in town for many destinations is Aerolíneas Argentinas, the former national airline. They practice the despicable practice of charging US residents far more than Argentine. Bus travel is much cheaper. One odd aspect of Argentine money is the big lack of common denominations. Both consumers and merchants jealously guard the rare $1 coins and $2 / $5 bills. Worst of all, ATMs almost always give money in $100 bills. If you want to see Argentine friendliness stretched to its limits, try paying for a bottle of water with a 100 peso bill. ;-) Credit cards are accepted in quite a few larger restaurants and hotels, but they will try to get you to pay "en efectivo" (in cash) whenever possible. Tax evasion is a national sport, and credit cards leave a paper trail. Most hotels will give you a discount for cash, since they don't have to pay the 21% tax. Speaking of tax, prices in stores almost always include it. This is nice, because most things cost a multiple of a peso. Hotels sometimes include it, sometimes don't. We did read that we might have to worry about places like restaurants not specifying pesos or dollars, and charging us in dollars (they the dollar sign, too), but this never happened. You will run into some restaurants charging a "cubierto" (or "cover charge") of 1-2 pesos per person, however. They usually list it on the menu when they do. Tipping is offically illegal, not that you'd ever know it. Those jealously-guarded lower denomination coins and bills are good for this. A 10% tip is normal at a restaurant, but keep cash for this, since you can't add it to a credit card payment like you can here. Rounding up a taxi fare is the norm. Porters at hotels seem to enjoy 50 centavos per bag. More irritating, many public bathrooms have someone at the door wanting 25-50 centavos for toilet paper, and worst, we were outright asked for a tip by the dude who put our luggage into (and took our luggage out of) the Andesmar bus' cargo hold. Intra-Country Travel Within cities, taxis are your best bet. For one thing, they're everywhere, and they're also fairly cheap. Flag one down with the usual wave. If you have luggage, they'll hop out and help you put it in the trunk. Hop in, tell them where you're going, and they'll take you there. If you have luggage, they should get out first and help you with it. Taxis in Argentina aren't for the weak of heart. They drive like lunatics and there are no seat belts. In Buenos Aires, it was about 12 pesos from La Boca to Plaza de Mayo, and about the same from the Plaza to the Aeroparque airport. For longer trips, if you have balls of steel, one option is to rent a car. It's around $50-100 USD per day. But note that you won't really be able to pick it up in one city and drop it off at another. They add a surcharge of about a peso per kilometer away from the original pickup location, which adds up fast. That was a bummer, because we wanted to pick up a car in Mendoza, and drive to Salta. The bus system is the most common form of long-distance transport among Argentines. They do have some very nice busses. We took a bus from Mendoza to Salta using Andesmar. While it took 17 hours, we sprung for first class with 180 degree reclining leather seats, which was quite comfy, and cost about $50 per person. The service was pretty bad, however. Flying is the quickest way from point A to point B, but unfortunately, it's crazy expensive. Aerolíneas Argentinas is the big man on campus. Unfortunately, they rip off Americans by charging them way more. They do have a program called Visit Argentina with somewhat reduced fares. You have to buy at three legs, so we used them back and forth from Iguazú, and from Salta to Bs As. I'd recommend avoiding them if you can. They're borderline incompetent and perpetually late. We used LAN airlines for the Bs As to Mendoza flight. Not only are they half the price of even the "Visit Argentina" program, they were very nice to fly with. They didn't offer a Salta flight, which is why we had to use Aerolíneas, but try to use LAN for anything you can. Driving I grew up in the farmlands of Ohio, where a car is not a luxury but an absolute necessity. When you want to go to the store, you get in your car, drive there, and park in the gigantor parking lot outside. When I go on vacations, I plan to fly in, rent a car, do the vacation, and drop the car off at the airport on the way back home. Argentina isn't a place where you can really do that. They said that I couldn't drive in Ireland. They use the left side of the road, only have stick shifts, and drive like maniacs. And it wasn't that bad. They said I couldn't drive in France. Everyone was insane and drove 300 miles an hour. They were wrong, it wasn't bad. And they said I couldn't drive in Argentina. I laughed at them. But this time, they were right. The actual car rental is reasonably easy, and not too expensive (around $50/day if you get a deal). The big names are all there, and most medium-sized cities have rental places. The problem is that Argentina is a huge country, and only 30% of the roads are even paved. Forget highway systems - they're only found on the outskirts of the biggest cities. Worst of all, rental companies do everything in their power to keep you from driving far. Unlimited mileage is unheard of, you'll only get around 200km per day. Plus, dropping off a car in another city is extremely expensive. But once you hit the road for real, things get ugly fast. Most cities have a perfect 1/10th of a kilometer cubic grid of one-way streets. Sounds simple. But what they don't tell you is that:
On the plus side, you don't have to worry about pedestrians. If one is foolish enough to walk in front of your car while in motion, you just hit them and continue. Windshield wipers are handy for moving the lifeless body out of the way so that you can see the road again - heavy-gauge winter wipers are recommended to prevent bending. "Highway" travel on national routes, roughly equivalent to US country roads, is somewhat better. Traffic is fast, but light. Don't travel at night if possible - not all cars use lights, and of those that do, about half use headlights that are almost invisible. One very odd aspect of Argentine driving is the police checkpoint. These are permanent spots where police stand in the middle of the road and stop passing cars. All that we ran into were in rural areas. On the 500km trip from Salta to Humahuaca and back, we hit eight (four each way) and were stopped at only one. They asked for a licence and of where we were going. It took about a minute. Due to rampant poverty and police corruption, I've heard of these being much worse. Offering a colaboración (aka bribe) to a police officer who's giving you a hard time is supposed to help. Still, it was nice to have a car for day trips. We got one in Mendoza for a day to hit some wineries and a few spots outside of town. We got one in Salta for a day to drive the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Each time we planned to keep the car for a few days, but gave up in frustration after actually driving. Always use your headlights when driving. It'll help you to be seen at blind, uncontrolled intersections. Drive at the speed of traffic, but be careful of slow vehicles. On a 120km expressway, you'll see cars blast past at 200, but you'll also see cars at night with no tail lights going 30. And bikes. And pedestrians. And even bus stops. And get gas often. It's hard to come by in many areas (and seems to always be full-service, so "llene el tanque" is a handy phrase to know). Language I'd hate to say it, but if you don't speak Spanish, Argentina isn't for you. Unlike France, where most people could communicate at least basically in English, very few people here speak more than a few words of English. I'm not fluent in Spanish, but it was reasonably easy to get the point across. People were friendly to my attempts at speaking, and never laughed at me (to my face, at least) for all of my screw-ups. ;-) Unfortunately, Argentine spanish is one of the harder dialects to understand. They speak very fast, and have a habit of running words together and mumbling. A quick "¿Como?" usually gets them to speak a little more clearly, though. One of the odder things is that voseo is king here. I didn't know it going in, but I'm definitely going to learn it before returning. It's used more often than I expected, especially in stores and casual restaurants. I just stuck to the usted form, at the risk of being overly formal. I'd read that ceceo is used here, but I only rarely heard it. Only the occasional dropped "s" sound. Harder to predict is how to pronounce "ll" and "y". In normal Spanish, "calle" is pronounced "CAY-yay". In most of Argentina, it's actually pronounced "CAY-zhay". But in Mendoza, I heard more traditional tongues, along with a bizarre smattering of "CAL-yay". A few words are distinctly Argentine. I never once saw any "fresas", only "frutillas". And they never seem to say "de acuerdo" for some reason. The People Argentines are wonderfully friendly and hospitable. Most don't speak a lick of English, but as long as you make an effort at Spanish, they'll do everything they can to communicate with you. One thing that struck me right away was how sophisticated these people are. Every aspect of their life oozes it. They dress very nicely, they are very smart and cultured, and they have a huge sense of style. They put a big value on the arts, especially music and theatre. They love to talk, and spend hours in cafés just passing time. I saw an alarming number of (mostly young) Argentines littering. However, people seem to always be cleaning. Everyone has these ornate tiled sidewalks, and walking down the street any given morning will find many people hosing these down and scrubbing. I never could manage to reconsile that in my mind. Be warned if you're British - the 1982 war over the Falklands Islands (aka las Islas Malvinas) is still very present in the minds of Argentines, and most Argentines still feel that the British are an occupying force on their land. Just avoid bringing up the topic and you should be fine. Argentine Food Read any guidebook, and it'll tell you that Argentines eat beef, beef, and then some more beef. It's true, but it's an overstatement. While they don't exactly have an especially varied diet, it's popular to eat chicken, ham, pasta and pizza as well. The most shocking thing for me, after hearing so much about how amazing the beef is in Argentina, is that they overcook the hell out of that poor meat. Well-done is a baseline. Asking "poco hecho" will get you a blank stare, and a medium-cooked steak. You have to convince the waiter that you really do want the meat "vivo por adentro" (alive inside) to get a good, rare steak. Also oversold is the concept that no Argentine would be caught dead eating dinner before 11pm. While strolling into a nice restaurant at 8pm will get you some confused looks, there are plenty of people who eat around 9. Cafés are a lifesaver for Americans who get hopelessly hungry at 6 or 7pm - most stay open all day, and tend to serve light fare (empenadas, sandwiches, etc). The best rhythm we found was waking up around 9am, strolling shops and museums until siesta around 1pm, having lunch, and then spending the afternoon doing outdoor stuff while everything is closed. Often we'd head back to the hotel for a couple hours to rest and regroup. Then, at 5 or 6 when things open back up, do more of that, and grab dinner at 9 and then head to bed. Some of the typical dishes:
Most foods, especially in cheaper restaurants, are on the bland side. Salt helps. Pasta tends to be overcooked, and sauces are basic. Pizzas are plentiful, but don't hit the spot for someone like me who likes more sauce and less cheese. They also tend to have flabby crusts. One culinary high spot is helado (ice cream). Every town has a few indie heladerías that are simply lovely. Rich, creamy, and lots of flavor. Alfajores are also plentiful and tasty. They're small flaky cookies with chocolate on the outside and dulce de leche on the inside. If you're a coffee fiend, you may be in trouble. "Café" means espresso. American-style coffee is almost impossible to find. Even if you happen to find an "Americano" on a menu, it's just a shot of espresso cut with a tiny bit of water. The Ubiquitous Mate This one deserves its own category, as it's such an important part of Argentine culture. It's called mate (pronounced MAH-tay). It's incredibly common to see Argentines holding a gourd with a metal straw, and a scary green soup inside. It's caffeinated, and in a way, is their coffee. I'd been warned that it's bitter. I'd been warned that it has the flavor of lawn clippings mixed with the tang of cigarette butts. But I was going to give it a shot. After heading to a few cafés, I found that it was oddly missing from every menu. Eventually, I just asked for some. The poor waitress looked at me like I was from another planet. Lesson #1 of mate learned: it's a very social yet personal drink. You don't pick one up at your local Matebucks. Eventually I did find something on a menu called "mate cocido". I tried it. It came as a regular teabag (which is what made it "cocido"). I held my breath and took a sip - and it was actually pretty darn tasty. With spirits high, I decided I wanted to try the real thing. I bought a mate gourd and bombilla (the straw) at a street fair in La Boca. I picked up a bag of the most expensive yerba mate I could find. Following the directions to a tee, I filled the gourd 3/4 of the way up, turned it upside down to distribute the dusty part, then added some warm water. And then I took a big sip... Eek. This was the first thing that the stereotype actually understated. This stuff is harsh. Nothing like the smooth mate cocido, the real thing is incredibly brash and bitter. Ok, fine, the first batch (the "fool's mate") is notoriously strong. I'll keep adding water (spitting out the mate for a few rounds to weaken it). Sure enough, it did get more palatable after awhile, but it still tasted like ashy lawn clippings. Mate is officially not for me. Ettiquette & Protocol Whenever I go on vacation, one of the hardest parts at the start is trying to figure out the protocol of everyday things. Here's what I learned from Argentina... Restaurants:
Cafés:
Hotels:
Guide Books There are a decent number of Argentina guidebooks available, and we brought three. Rough Guide was the favorite by far. Not only is the thing an epic tome, clocking in at 900 pages, it's a good balance between frugality and comfort. They have a good range of accommodations, from hostels through luxury hotels. They have good maps of many of the smaller towns. They consistently find the interesting things for each town, and the layout is intuitive. Fodor's was a decent second reference, and would be the best if you're going on a luxury trip, but for us it focused too much on foofy stuff. Plus, there were a lot of glaring omissions, worst of all, no accommodations listings at all for Salta! Moon Guides was another ok-ish second reference. I definitely wouldn't use this one as a primary reference, though. I didn't like the layout much. The research seemed sketchy and there was very little detail. Good for filling in the gaps, but skip this overall. Buenos AiresOverview I'm not a city person, but I loved Buenos Aires. With Paris still fresh in my mind from last year, I definitely saw a lot of the "Paris of South America" comparison that everyone makes. Especially around the Plaza de Mayo and the Microcenter, the architecture is ornate, the wide boulevards are grand, the buildings are the same 5-10 story low-rise style, and there are cafés everywhere you look. But there's a certain unmistakable something that gives this city its own identity. Bs As (as they often shorten it, pronounced "besas", the spanish word for "kisses") is very barrio-based. There is no real center of town. The microcentro and Plaza de Mayo are the closest thing to that, but are mostly government and office buildings (aside from the bustling Calle Florida). There aren't really many killer attractions, the fun of Bs As is in strolling around and taking in everyday life. Microcentro & Plaza de Mayo We stayed at the 562 Nogaró hotel, located just steps off of the Plaza de Mayo. The plaza itself is a nice little two block park, but the real attraction here is the architecture. There are some truly amazing buildings that branch off of the plaza, and this is the one section of town that truly captures the Paris feel. The crown is the Presidential palace, the Casa Rosada. It was closed for tours while we were there, but there was a nice and free museum hidden off to the side with some neat government relics. The plaza is the main site of protests. Sure enough, the night we arrived, there was a huge one. 300,000 people demonstrated against President Kirchner's lack to curb the growing crime problems. We stayed back at the hotel, but the roar of the crowd was amazing to hear. The Microcentro, just north of the Plaza, is mostly medium-rise office buildings with shops and restaurants below. The most bustling part of the city, Calle Florida, is here. It's a pedestrian drag leading from the Retiro's San Martin Park down to the Plaza de Mayo. If you're into foofy stores and hordes of people, this is your place. It was a little touristy for my tastes, but it was fun to stroll the length of. Be sure to check out the Galerías Pacifica mall - I've never seen such over-the-top opulence before. The downside to staying here is that the area is dead on weekends. Some of the subway lines don't even run. Plus, there aren't really any food options nearby. But it's awesome for public transportation. Palermo & Recoleta The northern barrios are quite lovely. They're relatively quiet and peaceful, with lots of open green space. We started at the wonderful botanical garden in Palermo. Ever since the currency crisis, the park has apparently been falling into disrepair. You wouldn't know it from the many people working hard to do what they can do to keep it beautiful. It was a theme we'd see over and over around the country - "we might not have the money, but god damn it, we're going to do everything we can." The number of stray cats that live at the park is staggering. It's both happy and sad to see them there. Around the perimeter of the park were a comical number of professional dogwalkers, sometimes dragging up to a dozen of them at once. Just to the north is the city's zoo. It was a bit run-down by US standards, but it was a nice place to visit. The South American wildlife was fun to see up close. We went to grab lunch down south in the much-touted Palermo Viejo. We weren't especially unimpressed. There was some neat architecture, but there weren't many good-sounding food options. We ended up at a parrilla on the southern end called "Lo De Franco". I had a big plate of barbecued sweetbreads. And no, it's not bread that tastes sweet. It was ok for a few bites, but the tongue-coating texture was a bit much for more than that. ;-) Walking back north to Recoleta, we stopped at a wonderful heldería called Victoria Cream for some ice cream. It was super-tasty. Recoleta has what I'd probably call my favorite part of Bs As: the cemetery. Mostly known as the final resting place of Evita, there's so much more to see. It's a miniature scale city-with-a-city. The mausoleums are huge and opulent. And there are so many of them. It's truly stunning. The main area of Recoleta is cool - a few blocks of densely packed restaurants and cafés, topped by the hilariously over-the-top Alvear. Also worth visiting in this area is the amazing San Martín mark in Retiro. The whole area has a very European flavor, and the park is one of the only hilly areas we saw in Bs As. Calle Florida starts here, and is a great way to get to the microcentro. San Telmo & La Boca On a frigid and windy morning, we took the walk down Defensa through San Telmo. It was a quaint part of town - pretty architecture and a smaller, more rustic feel. The narrowest house in the city is here, only 2.9 meters wide and the gift from a slave owner to his freed slave. It's not marked, but it's easy to find. There are also a ton of antique shops here. It's interesting to see Argentina's concept of antiques, since they're so different than ours. Overall, San Telmo is worth a quick walk, but there's not much to see or do otherwise. At the end of the road in San Telmo, we found ourselves at the large Parque Lezama as they were setting up a large weekend art fair. After enjoying the warming temperatures and regrouping, I noticed we were right on the border of La Boca. We'd planned on taking a taxi to the tourist part of the barrio (Caminito), but being so close, we decided to walk it instead. Every guide book advises against walking in La Boca, at least at night, since it's one of the more dangerous areas of town. I'd venture to say that it's not dangerous as much as incredibly poor. Heading down Avenida Almirante Brown was an experience. It was surrounded by extreme poverty, but also extreme beauty in an odd way. And people were everywhere. No "gangsta" types - just families going on with life on a late winter afternoon. Eventually, we hit the end of the avenue and walked along the smelly coastline to Caminito. The difference couldn't have been more extreme. The true poverty with colorful people were replaced by faux poverty and colorful buildings. This would end up being the most touristy part of the entire vacation. The whole area surrounding Caminito is crammed with tourist kitch and tango traps. The street itself is pretty, though there's nothing actually on it. La Boca is definitely something you need to see to understand Bs As, but do yourself a favor and don't skip the rest. It was far more interesting. Iguazú FallsGetting There & Around The bus ride each way would take the better part of a day, so I'd recommend flying. Again, skip Aerolíneas Argentinas if at all possible. While they have more flights than anyone else, LAN has a flight or two every day and is much cheaper (I was seeing fares of under $100 USD per person per leg - half of Aerolíneas' discount rate). There are a few options of where to stay. The one I'd recommend is Puerto Iguazú on the Argentine side. It's a smaller town, but there are are still lots of accomodation and food options. Some people head over to Foz do Iguazu on the Brazil side. It's a bigger town with more nightlife, but c'mon, who wants to sleep in until 10 when there are falls to see? The final option is at the park itself, at the Sheraton. Unless you're a millionaire, skip this. It's crazy expensive, and it's a scar on the otherwise pristine park. We picked a smallish hotel in Puerto Iguazú called La Sorgente. It was a mixed bag. The rooms were neat and funky, very clean, and the common green was beautiful. However, there is no heater, and there is a big air gap under the door! It got quite cold at night. The water pressure in the shower was terrible, and it frequently scalded. They "couldn't" take credit cards as advertised because their machine was "broken", so we had to hike to downtown to find an ATM. Worst yet, when they cleaned the rooms in the afternoon, they left the giant front window wide open. Entry is somewhat protected through the lobby, but it wouldn't be hard to jump in and rip our stuff off. I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a hotel unless there are no other options. We used a remise to get from the airport to the city. I forget how much it was, but it wasn't bad, and it only took about 15-20 minutes. To get back to the airport, we just hailed a taxi. Also reasonably cheap and worth it. To get back and forth from the falls themselves, we relied on the city bus. I have mixed feelings on this one. Depending on the time of day, the bus can become standing room only. It's hot and slow (lots of stops in town). It usually took 30-40 minutes. On the plus side, it was cheap - 7 pesos round trip. Just go to the bus station in town and head to the booth at the far right to purchase tickets. Some people head over to the Brazil side to see the falls. We didn't, so I can't say if it'd be worth it, but it doesn't sound like it is. Apparently there are better panoramic views there, but I doubt it could compare. Plus, there are all sorts of time, travel, money and visa headaches to deal with, and there's so much to see on the Argentine side. A day and a half at the park was plenty to take in the sights. If you are staying three nights, maybe consider the Brazil side for a day. Oh, and while Puerto Iguazú seems fairly basic as far as food options, there is a restaurant called La Esquina (attached to the Hotel Saint George) that is brilliant. We had a couple of great meals and I had one of the best wines I've ever tasted, a Trumpeter Malbec. So good. The Upper & Lower Circuits We arrived at the park in time for a late lunch (2:30pm), so we grabbed a quick-ish bite at the "fast-food" place. We then set out to climb the upper trail. The trail was really nice - an elevated catwalk with no real climbing involved, taking you to the heart of some smaller waterfalls, finally ending at some large ones. The lower trail involved much more climbing, but was even more beautiful. On our way down, Sara noticed an armadillo right about 2 feet off the trail digging a hole. It was way cool. Then, a few steps later and also right off the edge of the trail, there was a lizard that was far too large for its own good. It was probably about three feet long. After snapping a couple of cautious pictures, we high-tailed it down the trail. The lower trail is prettier from a nature standpoint. It doesn't get as close to the falls, but gives better views. There's a boat ride to an island that requires a good climb down and up, but unfortunately we were too late on the other side to do much. Take the lower trail early in the day to allow plenty of time for this. Macuco Jungle Trail We started our second day on a trail often overlooked by visitors - the Macuco jungle trail. It's a 7-8km round trip, but is very cool if you have the time. It takes you into the heart of the jungle to an isolated waterfall. Take the extra time to descend to the base of the waterfall - it's the best part of the trail. We didn't have much luck spotting wildlife, but it's apparently possible to see a couple different species of monkeys and all sorts of cool birds. And, like, jaguars and stuff. Neat. Garganta del Diablo A train leaves the park entrance to take you to the main event, the Garganta del Diablo. The train ride itself is quite pretty, through jungle areas with the beautiful red soil everywhere (don't wear white shoes, btw). Once there, you walk a kilometer of catwalks over the Iguazú river. On the way, we saw an alligator perched on a rock below. The Garganta is something that pictures just can't capture. It's simply stunning. The main falls are thunderous. Water tumbles off of them and smashes onto the rocks below with such force that you can't even see the bottom through the violent mist. There's an ever-present rainbow from all the moisture. Downstream, smaller falls are arguably even more beautiful. The catwalk takes you as close as you'd want to be, occasionally being misted into oblivion by shifting winds. This is incredible. MendozaGetting There & Around You can get to Mendoza via a 14-ish hour bus ride from Buenos Aires, but it's through the mind-numbing dullness of gaucho country. We flew instead. This was our only leg using LAN airlines. It was about $100 per person, and they were much nicer to deal with than Aerolíneas. Be prepared for a secondary security screening after getting off the plane. I think they're checking to make sure you aren't bringing in fruits and crap. Mendoza is a fairly big city, and the attractions are somewhat spread out. We did most of the things we wanted to do on foot, but taxis are cheap and easy. It's possible to walk to the bus terminal, but if you have luggage, take a cab (it was about a 35 minute walk from Plaza Independencia). For accomodations, I'd definitely recommend staying downtown. We stayed our first four nights at the Hotel Carollo. This was the biggest disappointment of the trip. It's a three-star hotel, but doesn't even come close to the expectations that come along with that. The worst part: most of the rooms face the incredibly loud street, which air conditioning would fix. However, you don't get to control the air conditioning unit that's mounted on your wall. You need to phone the front desk to have them turn the power on or off. That's fine for a budget hotel, but unthinkable for a 3-star, 150 peso/night place. The bed was very crappy, and the pillows were all but unusable. The key was generic and probably worked for every door. There was only one computer, and it was from the stone age. We were nosy and poked around a few different rooms. They all looked like ours - the photo on the website is absolutely nothing like the styleless craphole that you'd actually get. The shower was the only saving grace, but was also the only one dirty enough where I needed my flip-flops. The fifth night, we planned on doing a road-trip, but since I got sick we decided to stay another night in Mendoza. Rather than wasting another night at the Carollo, we went over to the Hotel Argentino at the top of the Plaza Independencia. Wow. The price was about the same as Carollo, but this is an amazing hotel. Everything about it was A+. It's brand new, with high style, comfy beds, quiet rooms, working A/C, fast internet, drool-worthy showers and a fabulous restaurant. I can't recommend the Argentino enough - best hotel of the trip by far! For food, there are a lot of good restaurants in Mendoza, but you can't miss 1884 Restaurante. It was the best meal of the trip. It's a bit off the beaten path, so take a taxi, and make reservations to appease the armed guards at the gate. :) I had a yummy pumpkin salad and the tastiest filet mignon ever. The only depressing thing was the price: depressingly low. Two salads, two entrees, two bottles of water, and four glasses of very nice wine ended up at about $50 USD. All this from the earth's 7th best restaurant according to the New York Times. Central Plazas At the heart of Mendoza is the Plaza Independencia. It's an absolutely fantastic four-block park that's bustling with life. I got sick a couple days into our five-night stay in Mendoza, and spent the final two days mostly relaxing here. Even if you're not sick, spend a day here just vegging and people-watching. Why don't any towns in Ohio have places like this? Sprouting off to the east side of the plaza is the pedestrian Sarmiento. It's a bustling place with lots of nice cafés and restaurants. There are four smaller orbital plazas in the area as well. All are worth visiting, but the standout by a longshot is the Plaza España. The tilework is stunning. On the north end of this area is Las Heras, which is probably the most concentrated shopping district. There's lots of interesting stuff up there, and a very helpful mega-market at the corner with Belgrano. Hint: "Vitamina C" is behind the pharmacy counter and are meant to be taken as plop-plop-fizz-fizz, rather than directly. :-/ Other Mendoza Areas Parque General San Martín is found on the west side of town. It's a gigantic expanse of green. The lake is especially pretty. At the foot of the lake, there's a building that looks like a decrepit Soviet relic from the outside, but the inside houses a pretty-good anthropological museum. Villanueva is a road leading from the center of town to San Martín park. There are a good number of food options here. Museo del Area Fundacional is a small museum on the northeast side of town. It's built on the site of the original town center, and inside they are excavating the old plaza. An earthquake completely destroyed the city in 1861, and the town was rebuilt in its current location. This is cool if you're a history buff or a map geek, but otherwise it might not mean much. On the far east side of town (technically in Guaymallén), there's a mall along RN-7 called Mendoza Plaza Shopping. There's a run-down food court, and some much nicer shops above. It's not necessarily a destination, but it's interesting to see a different aspect of Mendocino culture. Mendoza Wine Touring Now we're talking. As you probably know, I'm a wine nut. And I've always been a sucker for Mendoza's prize vine - the rich, chocolately Malbec. So needless to say, I was way excited to tour the wine region around here. Boy, was I in for a disappointment. The first thing we notice upon leaving the city limits is the crushing poverty. I'd expected Maipú to be a wealthy suburb, but the concept of suburbs seems to not exist in Argentina. Sparsely-spaced shacks line the dirt roads, and stray dogs are everywhere. Somehow, foofy wineries sprout up from this scene. It's truly surreal. Our initial visit was pretty cool. We stopped by La Rural, which is one of the more popular stops. Being used to Napa and Sonoma, this was way more rustic and informal than I'd expected. It took us a good 15 minutes to figure out how to get a tour. The tour itself was interesting, made easy by the tour guide who mercifully didn't have an Argentine accent. The highlight was an early Malbec barrel tasting. It only had a couple months of aging, and it was cool, fruity and smooth. I'd drink it just like that. The wine museum was also very cool. In good spirits from the luck at our first stop, we pulled out our trusty map and headed for the nearest winery. It was a farm setting. On the driveway heading back, by the house, a mother was cutting her son's hair on the back porch. At the winery building, it was deserted. There was a sign with tour times, and a note that it was free for Spanish tours, but 5 pesos for English tours. Five pesos is nothing, but that irritated me, so we moved on. We decided to stick to the bigger wineries for the day. But one after another, there was a common theme. Every one was either under construction, showing no signs of life whatsoever, or had armed guards waiting at the gates(!). Sonoma this ain't. We gave up for the day, hoping to regroup and do better the next day. Unfortunately, that afternoon was when I got sick, so it wasn't meant to be. Mendoza has a lot to learn from the California wine touring experience. They've got the wine, they're just not set up to take advantage of tourism. If you're feeling adventurous and want to try it, I'd recommend looking into a tour group. At the very least, make reservations for every winery you want to go to. The armed guards get cranky if you show up and you're not on the list, and cranky armed guards aren't my idea of a good time. SaltaGetting There & Around We took the Andesmar bus from Mendoza to Salta. It was a little over $50 USD per peson to go first class for the 17-hour trip. The service sucked, but it was comfy and the red-eye made time fly. Unfortunately, LAN doesn't fly from Salta, so this is the reason we went with Aerolíneas Argentinas for the flight back to Buenos Aires. The airport is small and efficient, though - only two domestic and one international gates. Salta's another town you really should stay downtown in. Traffic is tough, so it's better to avoid driving in the city center. There are quite a few hotels clustered around the downtown core. We stayed at the Gran Hotel Presidente, a couple blocks northeast of the square. It's a four-star hotel, but doesn't really live up to it. The lobby is huge and beautiful, but the rooms are really low-style. If you close your eyes, it's not bad. The beds are comfy, the interior room was quiet, the bathroom was clean, and the central AC was nice and worked well. Plus, we managed to get a 5x4 deal that brought the price down to 200 pesos a night. However, the room was probably the ugliest of the trip (topped off with terrible self-gratifying oval wooden headboards). But worst of all, the shower. It drained the wrong way. By the end of the shower, there's a pool of water a half inch deep that wouldn't drain. Plus, the design was horrible - there was a fixed glass panel on the water half of the shower, but nothing but a two inch barrier on the other half (with no shower curtain). The floor would be a lake by the end of the shower. Oh, and the minibar was locked. And leaked a brown goo. :-/ And the outside view was nothing but pigeon shit. And lots of it. Food One of the culinary highlights of the trip was El Solar Del Convento. This place is super-elegant, right from the start when they pour you a (large) free glass of sparkling wine as you're looking over the menu. The food is brilliant. We went there twice. The almond trout ($10) was great, and the lomo steak was amazing. Don't skip desert here - especially not the Copa del Solar. Yum. The restaurant at the Gran Hotel Presidente was one of the highlights of staying there. I had a divine trout with orange sauce ($7), and Sara had pumpkin ravioli with saffron cream sauce ($4.50). Very elegant and highly recommended. For simple food and breakfast, you can't go wrong at the Van Gogh Café. Definitely try the fresh lemonade there. Mmmm. Don't miss out on the local specialties here. Empanadas don't get any better than they do here. Also, locro is quite nice, as long as you don't think too much about what's in it. :) The City Center This is a fairly centralized town, and most things worth seeing are within spitting distance of the central Plaza 9 de Julio. The plaza itself is pretty nice, and is quite popular. It's no Plaza Independencia, but the surrounding buildings are as a whole more interesting. On the north side, you'll find the Van Gogh Café, and further down the block is the magnificent cathedral. On the west side are several popular shops, cafés, and the square's only kiosk. The south side has restaurants and the wonderful Museo Histórico del Norte, which was my favorite museum of the trip. There are awesome early regional history exhibits, and an amazing coin room, not to mention the view from the balcony which is worth the price of admission alone. The east side has hotels and the nifty modern art museum, which is definitely worth a trip. North of the square, there's not a ton. There's the dusty Plaza Belgrano leading up to the overhyped Calle Balcarce. There really wasn't much there to my eyes. *shrugs* South of the square is where most of the "stuff" is. The two pedestrian streets, Alberdi and Florida, are very nice and popular. On the southern end of them is the gigantic Mercado Municipal, which is highly recommended. The good, bad and ugly of food is all here. And there are dozens of booths selling little green bags of coca leaves (no kids, that doesn't have anything to do with chocolate). Heading east, along the Avenida San Martín, is the Parque San Martín. It's a huge park with a nice pond and paddle boats. It's also the launching point for a true must-see in Salta: the Teleférico. It's a cable-car ride up to the top of the 1500m mountain that looms over town. The top is surprisingly developed; there's even a faux-waterfall (at the summit of a mountain, mind you - physics be damned). The views are spectactular. Skip the café, though. The food was iffy and the service was astoundingly terrible. Quebrada de Humahuaca Wow. I don't know how many times I said that while driving through the Quebrada. We rented a car as soon as Avis opened up, and took the drive up past Jujuy (pronounced "hoo-hooey") where the Quebrada begins. First things first: get gas in Jujuy if you're even at a half a tank. There's only one station that we saw the whole drive. Soon after Jujuy, and slightly off the main road, is the amazing village of Purmamarca. This was the unexpected treasure of the trip. It's a place of unimaginable beauty and interest, with stunning scenery and earthen buildings. It's immediately clear that you've left the now-familiar Argentina and have entered a much older civilization. The 1600s-era church was fascinating. The real treat was lunch at Los Morteros. The earthen Andean building with a giant clay stove in the center was not where I expected to find gourmet food, but it was easily in my top 5 favorite meals of the trip. I had the Llama Carbonada (yes, "llama" is a cognate). It was delicious - the meat was so tender but flavorful. The maize chunks (which were huge) added an almost potato-like feel to the dish. I could eat there every day. I miss it already. Purmamarca's main attraction is the Cerro de los Siete Colores - a multicolored rock formation. And it didn't disappoint. There's a road that leads to the base of the mountain, and there's a footpath that leads to a hill with an amazing view. Don't skip that. Leaving Purmamarca, we passed up the Quebrada. It's basically two sets of mountains separated by a wide river bed. There are cacti growing out of the rock in the mountains. The road passes through neat little towns past the Tropic of Capricorn, complete with a funky monument. We ended at the last main town, Humahuaca. It's a very neat place, with narrow cobbled streets and oozing with charm. At 3,000 meters, I was surprised to not have altitude sickness (though Sara was feeling it). I could tell the air was thinner, though. On the way back, we stopped by Tilcará. It was neat, but windy and dusty on the day we were there. We also stopped by Maimará to see the funky rock formations ("La Paleta del Pintor") and the funkier cemetery. All said, the trip took from about 10am until 8pm with stops. The fairly direct drive home was about 2 hours. No trip to the northwest would be complete without doing this drive. It was spectactular and a real highlight of the trip. Fiesta del Milagro Imagine taking a random vacation to New Orleans. You get there and notice that things seem a little unsettled and busy. Then you find out there's this little party that will be going on called "Mardi Gras". That sounds fun, you say. Such was our Salta adventure. Hint #1: It was oddly difficult to find a hotel in the off-season. Hint #2: While having coffee on our first morning, we see a small procession. Is that a protest? No, they're going to the church. Hmm, why's everyone selling carnations? Hint #3: A couple of our guidebooks had small blurbs about a festival going on, ending September 15th (the last full day we'd be in Argentina). Oh, that sounds fun. We should stop by if we have time. All was relatively normal on our first few days. We went out on the Quebrada drive on the 13th, had a lovely day, then puttered back into town. Then all hell broke loose. There were people everywhere. Driving back to the hotel was a nightmare. This was two days before the main festival, mind you. The people were jam-packed in the square, and there was oddly propoganda-sounding religious speaking piped into speakers all around town. On the 14th, things were even more unsettled. By this point, we'd pieced together exactly what was happening. It's called the Fiesta del Milagro, and it was started all the way back in 1692. Strong earthquakes were shaking the region, but some priest dude decided that if images of Jesus and Mary were paraded through the streets every year, then Salta would never be destroyed by an earthquake. They've done it every year, and Salta's still standing. Then, on the morning of the 15th, the city became eerily... tranquil. We quickly figured out that this was in part because of the 3,000 policemen patroling the streets. We tried for breakfast at Van Gogh, but the tables were gone and people were crammed inside. Ok, Havanna it is. We puttered around town for a couple of hours, but everything was closed. We eventually found a restaurant a couple blocks away from the square, and sat down about an hour and a half before the main procession was going to begin. While eating, we watched a steady deluge of people pass by toward the square. Hmm. We decided to try to get close, so after we finished eating, we went and squeezed our way toward a decent spot. There was constant talking over the loudspeakers by the bishop, and seemingly random ringing of the bells in a hypnotic pattern. This went on for about an hour, and eventually, two giant statues of Jesus and Mary on top of a bed of white and red carnations came through the doors of the church. We're figuring that it's mostly over by this point, so we decide to try to sneak out of the square before the insanity starts. After some skilled weaving through the throngs of people, we made our way onto a side-street off the square. But it wasn't deserted; there were tons of people running down the street. Running crowds usually lead you in the right direction, so we followed them, and ended up on a blocaded street. After waiting for a little while, the statues made their way in front of us along the parade route. It was amazing to watch the people cheer as if rock stars were walking past. There were apparently over 300,000 people who crowded the streets of Salta that day. I believe it; it was unreal. The strangest thing is that this is just a random regional festival. It's not something that people outside of the Salta region know and/or care about. It was very cool to be in the middle of something so local and strange, yet so normal to everyone around us. |
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