Travelling around Argentina

In January 2012 I made the trip which I have liked the most, to Argentina. It was 16 days of taking planes, waking up early, suffering sudden temperature changes, but despite that, the experience was beautiful.

We arrived in Buenos Aires on a sunny summer day, when Madrid was almost freezing, and the metropolis instantly captivated us. The sounds of the Tango, the smell of roast meat and the ever-present “yerba mate”, the Argentinian accent...the Porteño atmosphere and the people enchant you completely.

Beginning with the hotel where we were staying, which was located in downtown Buenos Aires, and was a typical beginning-of-the-century building, with its high ceilings and its courtyards that provided abundant light, the entire visit to the city was amazing.

We visited La Casa Rosada (Cristina Fernández de Krichner´s palace), the cathedral, Café Tortoni (the oldest café shop in the country), La Boca (the humblest but most colourful and charming neighbourhood in the capital), Recoleta Cemetery (probably with the most elaborate tombs that I have ever seen, and where the popular leader Eva Perón was buried-), and the San Telmo neighbourhood, with its old houses, markets and sidewalk restaurants. It’s definitely a city that is worth spending nearly 13 hours on a plane flying to it from Madrid!

After visiting the capital, we took a plane to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. It was amazing just thinking of being 1000 km from Antarctica!! But the weather reminded you...Although It was summer time, at sunset (around 11 p.m.!) you felt really cold. In Ushuaia we went trekking around Tierra del Fuego National Park and as well as canoeing in Beagle Canal, where the Andes meet Drake´s Sea, probably the most dangerous sea in the world, because of its strong currents.

The next step was flying to El Calafate (southwest Argentina), and the Perito Moreno Glacier. This was probably the highlight of the trip. When you get on the boat, approach the glacier and start hearing 80-meter ice blocks falling into the water, while the small vessel is rolling, the feeling is incredible!

The following day we rented some bikes and went to see the largest glacier lakes in Argentina. Their crystal blue water, is without a doubt the most beautiful water that I have ever seen, with nothing to envy the Caribbean for.

As we wanted to see more of Los Glaciares National Park, and we were at the border with Chile, we took a four-wheel-drive coach to reach Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, located on the Chilean side of Los Glaciares National Park. We spent some nights there and the hotel we stayed in was simply gorgeous, as it had extraordinary views of the Grey Glacier.

Scattered about the lake were many icebergs from the glacier breaks and we went kayaking among them. This was one of the best experiences that I have ever had. Icebergs are really wonders of nature!

Our last stop in Argentina was completely different from the other places. We took a plane to Puerto Iguazú (northeast Argentina), home of the popular falls. The Puerto Iguazú River is a natural boundary between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, and you can visit the falls from the Argentinian side and also from Brazilian one.

At Puerto Iguazú the weather was warm and humid, and it was very hard to bear, but we took a dinghy to the falls on the Iguazú river, where you got completely wet and refresh, as the driver took you right under falls! We also visited Puerto Iguazú Park, where there are numerous species of wild animals that you can see from a convertible truck, as it’s forbidden to visit it by yourself because it could be dangerous due to the leafy scenery.

So this is a short brief of my Argentinian experience, a land of a thousand countries which I strongly recommend visiting, but you’d better save some money first…I’m warning you…

                                                                                                                                                        Gajito