Argentina

Argentina is grilled meat and delicious wine. Let me tell you, it…is…glorious. Finish it off with some of the best ice cream and chocolate that I have ever had and you could easily convince yourself you are in heaven. The cows are happy here and it shows in the food. They are not pumped full of hormones or whatever else the USA does to our cattle. Yet, Anthony Bourdain says it best during his trip to Buenos Aires, "after a week or two here, even confirmed carnivores like myself will fall to their knees praying for a vegetable." It's hard to find any vegetable other than a potato in this country. You start craving salads, carrots, broccoli and you think something must be wrong with me. But it is true. You end up finding yourself wanting to take a break from steak for the sake of variety if nothing else.

The people here are equally amazing. Very friendly, polite, and willing to help us with our Spanish. Many are bilingual so that is very helpful.

You can have it all in Argentina. The city life in Buenos Aires, the next Napa Valley in Mendoza, and the outdoors in Patagonia. We were unable to visit Patagonia and we also ended up scratching out Iguazu Falls. Both spectacular places that we should have taken the time to see. Yet again, budget and time dictated we deviate from the plan. We bought our New Zealand tickets last minute and that ended up costing us the price of a used car.

I loved Argentina and I would absolutely come back.

And now, the breakdown… Nature and Scenery

Bariloche

Wow. It's the first word I said taking the bus from Pucon to Bariloche. Driving through cliff sides overlooking the sparkling blue lakes with mountain peaks in the distance. I've never been to either, but it's what I imagine New Zealand may be or a larger version of Lake Tahoe.

Technically considered the northern tip of Patagonia, this place has many hiking destinations or trekking as others call it. We ended up meeting an Irish guy, James, and spent a day hiking to Cerro Llao Llao and walking around part of Circuito Chico which ended up being close to 7 hours of hiking and roughly 15 miles. Nothing to a true backpacker, but for us, it was a long day. The views were some of the best I've ever seen and well worth the hike.

The town was also beautiful with architecture similar to a small German or Switzerland town. Walk around to find the numerous chocolate shops, amazing ice cream, multiple breweries, or head to dinner to get one of the best steaks in your life at Alto El Fuego. For it not the cold weather, I could find myself living here in awe of the view.

Mendoza

Similar to Elqui Valley, Mendoza is surrounded by desert covered with vineyards and olive trees. I'd argue Elqui Valley in Chile had better scenery, but it's tough to top. The downtown area is also very nice. Tree-lined streets with 5 plaza squares set up like the number 5 on a dice. A bit ritzy than I was expecting with modern hotels and restaurants surrounding the city.

I can't say I'm am a fair judge of Mendoza as we only spent two days here. One day was after an overnight bus ride and we were walking zombies for that day. The other was an all-day wine tour at 3 different vineyards all with their own exceptional views.

Buenos Aires

They call this city the Pairs of South America and I understand now by the architecture, sidewalk coffee shops, and many parks and gardens. There is plenty to see and do in this city. Grab a beer and watch tango dancing in the square, walk around the antique markets through closed off streets, or walk through one of the world's most beautiful cemeteries.

People

Nice people! Very helpful with directions, ordering food, and speaking to us in English when needed. We didn't get an opportunity to spend quality time with any Argentineans, but we do know they like to stay out late. Getting dinner at 7 o'clock is the equivalent of dinner at 4 PM in the states. They also party till 3-5AM if not later. So it makes sense that they take their siestas seriously.

Food & Drink You could visit this country on the food and drink alone and be happy with your visit. As I mentioned, meat is what you get here. A mixed variety of options called an asado - Steaks, chorizo sausages, blood sausages, chicken, you pretty much name it, they have it here. They way they cook it is on a specific grill called parrilla. There are different versions of this, but mainly you have an iron grate next to an open flame. The iron grate is connected to chains and you can use a crank to give an incline allowing to cook at different temperatures. I had my fair share of great steaks, but the ribeye I had in Bariloche at Alto el Fuego was the best.

If you get tired of steaks and want something else, be careful where you go. We went to a Middeterean restaurant in Buenos Aires and paid roughly $50 for the both of us. An equivalent meal in Chicago would be $20. Might not sound like a lot, but plenty of great steakhouses are very reasonably priced. Some as low as $15 - $25 for a steak easily enough for two people to share.

Malbec. My favorite wine. On our wine tour in Mendoza, the Malbec here did not disappoint. They have a great selection even if you like other reds or white wines. It was a pricey wine tour, but a great experience.

You can find a glass of wine for really cheap at most places - $4-$5 dollars on average. Expect very heavy pours too. I'd order a "copa" wine and find half a bottle in my glass. Excellent value!

Safety

Overall, we felt very safe in Argentina, but like anywhere, you should be aware of your belongs and surroundings.

We were waiting to get dinner in a pretty popular area called Palmero. The restaurant was on a corner street with outside seating. Across the street, another restaurant also had seating outside. No more than 30 seconds of putting our name on the waiting list, we hear screams and people running towards the restaurant door. I tried to look around to see what happened, I thought maybe someone was injured. From what others had stated, a man had grabbed a woman's purse at the other restaurant, pushed her down, and jumped on the back of his friend's motorcycle. The police were there very quickly. The woman was OK and people went back to their seats once the police arrived.

It was quite the adrenaline filled experience.

Highlights

Bariloche

If this town is any indication of Patagonia's true beauty, then I want to be back soon. The views were just phenomenal. We kayaked here as well and just fell in love with the calm and stunning waters. Also here, was some of my favorite food that I have had which leads me to my second highlight.

Food and drink

After being in Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, I really enjoyed the variety of foods. Yet, nothing really wowed me. Argentina did more than that. You are getting amazing quality and enormous quantity for a reasonable price. They also have a fantastic microbrewery scene with my favorite being Patagonia (that's the name) Amber Lager.

Not to forget, this country had some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted. My favorite being a raspberry mascarpone which tasted like a raspberry cheesecake with a consistency slightly softer than gelato.

The food, desserts, and drinks are firing on all cylinders in this country.

Tango class

Lexi convinced me to do a tango dancing lesson. I was a bit hesitant at first, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We walked up the steps of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. When we reached the top, we saw this enormous open floor with people dancing. The room was lit up by dim overhead lighting and a multitude of candles which gave it this very cool and calm ambiance. Our lesson was only for an hour but was very cheap, $100 pesos or about $4-5 dollars per person.

I didn't walk away as a tango expert by any means, but it still was really a fun experience. After our lesson, we shared a beer over candlelight watching others taking a tango class.

Wine tour

Although our stay was short in Mendoza, we had a great time during our wine tour. 3 vineyards starting at 11 AM, we were feeling a bit tipsy early afternoon. At the final vineyard, we had a 5-course meal with wine pairing overlooking the massive vineyard with the Andes mountains in the distance.

Lowlights

Stuck in an elevator

In Buenos Aires, we were about to go for dinner. As we got in the elevator, it went down one floor and stopped. It was about 30-32C or 86-93F that day so you can imagine it was pretty hot in an elevator with no air. About 5 minutes sitting there, I was sweating bullets and needed to take off my shirt. We tried everything. Hitting the stop button, ringing the alarm, trying to call the emergency number. All did nothing. Lexi was slightly freaking out, to say the least. Finally, someone came to the elevator, but we couldn't hear what she was saying. It sounded like the parents in Charlie Brown only in Spanish. Lexi starts to pound on the elevator saying "Ayuda, Ayuda, Ayuda (help)". Thankfully, this person tells us she is calling maintenance.

It's been about 30 minutes and finally, my Airbnb owner gets back to me. He tells me to hold stop and press the lobby button. Voila! That worked and we were out of the elevator.

It was an eventful night since this was the same night as the dinner mention in the Safety section above.

Expensive overnight bus

The buses, in our experience, are expensive in Argentina. Compared to Peru and Chile, it was pricey to get around. We found that some flights were similar in price. From Bariloche to Mendoza we took an overnight bus that cost $158/pp. A flight from Bariloche to Mendoza was ~$220. A lot of backpackers told us how great overnight buses. We've been on nice buses before and the seats have been amazing so we thought we would give it a try.

It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't a good night sleep. It was a bumpy ride and a bus driver passing people on a two-lane highway at night didn't give you much comfort to fall asleep. When we arrived in Mendoza, we were so tired that we didn't do anything. Walked around the city, got lunch, and then wanted to go to bed. If the bus was cheaper, then I can see the value in it, but in Argentina, it is probably best to fly to long destinations.

Strange and Weird

Square toilets

Most bathrooms in Argentina have square toilets and bidet. Perhaps not newsworthy, but the consistency was enough for me to mention.

Doors and keys

Majority of doors have a lip on them that goes over the door frame. Back home, the door goes inside the door frame. Also, a bit odd, all the keys here are skeleton keys. Like the old school ones, you see in movies. They look interesting but frustrating to use.

Mate Tea

Argentinians are obsessed with this drink. You'll see plenty of people holding a large thermos for their hot water, a wooden cup, and a metal straw sticking out. Mate has a very bitter taste that I didn't think was all that great, but I'd give it another shot.

Ditches in Mendoza

Throughout Mendoza, you will notice concrete canals or ditches running through the city. These supply water to other parts of the city. They are also quite the hazard since they are exposed with no covering on them. If you are walking late at night, I wouldn't be shocked if you fell in and broke something.

#argentina #wine #steak