Dec

Argentina

arrived in Buenos Aires and took a taxi to where i was staying, which was the Millhouse youth hostel. It’s located in the centre of town close to the Obelisk on Buenos Aires largest avenue. The Millhouse is a great place to stay, the people that run it are very friendly and arrange a lot of activities for guests. I played in an indoor football tournament and also took part in salsa dance classes and other nights we just all went out to nightclubs. The city itself has a very european look to it with a lots of classical architecture and wide avenues. A highlight for me was walking around the Puerto Madera area which is the old harbour area but has been completely renovated. It now has a modern feeling and there are many places to eat and drink. Another thing i enjoyed was walking through the Boca area which has a lot of very colourful houses and a bohemian atmosphere. The food in Argentina is generally a lot of meat and salads. Eating out is inexpensive and the portions are very generous, you certainly dont go hungry! Since the credit crunch at the turn of the century the peso has devalued so shopping offers good value deals, especially for clothes and local items. After Buenos Aires i went to Iguaza falls which is quite a long bus ride away. Getting around Argentina is pretty easy, flights are quite cheap and the long distance buses are very comfortable and take you long distances without any effort. The bus back to&from Iguazu to Buenos Aires takes about 16 hours which sounds like hell, but the bus stopped for a three course meal in a restaurant (included in the price!) and breakfast and drinks were served onboard. The seats aren’t like European coach seats, they’re more like business class seats on airplanes, they’re massive and recline fully back so sleeping on long distance trips is no problem at all. Iguaza falls is probably one of the must see things on a trip to South America. They’re higher than the Niagara falls and about 2 1/2 kilometres wide, in a horse shoe shape. There are a lot of smaller waterfalls around the main falls and the whole site is really beautiful. I stayed in a youth hostel on the Argentinian side of the falls in Puerto de Iguazu. It’s a really small town which lives on the tourist industry but is a good base to see the waterfalls. You can also stay on the Brazilian side of the waterfalls, but the view from the Argentinian side is better and it’s a bit of a hassle to cross the border. Apart from Buenos Aires and Iguazu i also saw Mendoza which is located next to the Andes mountains in the west of the country and is know for it’s wines and mountaineering and skiing. It’s a smallish spread out town. The main things to do here are visiting wineries and see the mountains. I did the latter and made a round trip to Santiago de Chili. This bus trip crosses the Andes and you get great views on the way. Chili is a lot more expensive than Argentina though, so i only stayed two nights before heading back to Mendoza. So to anyone interested in scenery you can’t beat Iguazu or the Andes and to anyone interested in going out, shopping and partying Buenos Aires is great. Coupled with good food i certainly recommend Argentina!