Argentina

The 3^rd on my list of the 9 Spanish speaking South American countries to visit before I'm 40, Argentina is the largest.

So large, to get anywhere from Buenos Aires, one must either commit to a ~20+ hour bus ride or a 2-3 hour flight. So after arriving in BA, it took me about 20 minutes to find a decent hostel and another couple hours of chatting with the front desk and other travelers to sketch out a loose itinerary and buy a plane ticket to Salta in the north-west.

Despite the fact that the USD$ has appreciated 50% to the Argentinean peso in the past 7 years,

it has been outpaced by the rate of inflation,

and Argentina, particularly BA, turned out to be a moderately expensive country...A far cry from Ecuador last year.

Buenos Aires is a pretty massive city of 12.8 million people,

with architecture reminiscent of Europe.

Heavy on the meat, I think I found the only vegetarian restaurant around.

Met up with a mate of mine from our Boston running club, TMIRCE.

And found the amazing cemetery where Avita and other prominent Argentine figures are buried.  Those buried in this winding cemetery spared no expense on themselves.

A flight to Salta in the northwest brought a more colonial flavor,

gauchos and all,

 

So I went for a walk up a nearby mountain.

And upon reaching the top saw this storm over my shoulder rolling in...

 

And had to walk about 8 miles back in this...

Leading to a room that looked like this :-P
 

Seeking drier lands, I caught a bus south to Cafayete.  A more quiet mountain town.
Got me a bike and went for a ride.

To find some pretty amazing landscape.

 

  95 degree sun-drenched heat-- no sweat...well, actually, a lot of sweat!

 
With a number of appealing places to stop along the way.
 Devil's throat. Outside and in

Ass too sore for any more cycling adventure, I sought off for a hike up a creek--I had heard of a canyon inhabited by 4 picturesque waterfalls.
Hitching a ride out of town I had no problem reaching the start of the river hike.

But after about an hour of leaping from rock to rock to cross the water and scaling steep cliffs to avoid the river,

I found myself 'up the creak' and gave up.  Hung out for some quiet solitude amidst the rushing water in the beautiful canyon and then returned to town for the local specialty: wine sorbet.
Red (cabernet) and white (torrentes)

For, after all, I was in wine country; my hostel providing a serene sample.

Waking in the morning for some grapes off the vine.

The wood fired hot water heater.

I learned that Mardi Gras is something celebrated across most all of South America.  At any given time/weekend in February, cities and towns all across South America throw down for a town wide party.  Partying DEEP into the night...till 6,7, 9AM when I would wake up to the sound of music and someone still MCing the party over a loudspeaker in the distance.  And somehow they apparently maintain a business as normal the days after.  Crazy!
Street parades, dancing,

elaborate costumes,

and loads of spray foam stuff--covering kids, parents, and cops alike.

The smallest town I visited in Argenetina, Cafayete was my favorite.
Always interesting the people you meet whilst traveling.  Like the 26 year old Kiwi couple I met here travling around most of South American by motorcycle for 6 months...Mm! That's the way to do it...

On my way south to Cordoba, where I was to catch a return flight to BA on my way back to the US, I stopped in another mountain side town--Tafi De Valle.
With torrential rain pestering my trip, I was hanging out in a kinda bleak hostel

and met a couple of guys from Argentina, staying in this town for 10 days to mountain bike.  As luck would have it, one of them wasn't gonna ride the next day and offered me his bike to head out with the other guy. Yeah! My favorite....some more adventure on two wheels.
Waking to more auspicious skies,



Juan and I set off down hill.  To beautiful mountains and fields,

and horses--both domesticated

and wild (in the background below).

No better way to see a landscape than on 2 wheels :-)...and get exercise whilst traveling.

Lastly, it was an overnight bus to Cordoba.  Argentina's second largest city.
Like BA, Cordoba had a much more Euro feel than the other parts of Argentina I was in--where things felt more South American and people looked distinctly more native Indian.
Some appealing architecture,

some curious architecture,

and heaps of mopeds-- blah :-(

Visited an interesting museum--The Museum of Memory.  Recognizing those who were "disappeared" by the government in the 1970-1980's, this museum exists in what was once a secret prison/torture facility.
Giving a face and story to a few of the 10's of thousands where kidnapped by the government for political dissidence.