Signorina Argentina

Argentina: April 2019

Iguazu

We arrived in Brazil, and promptly hopped the border to Argentina. Well, as promptly as we could with Argentine customs.

Leo's family welcomed me warmly and their happiness at seeing Leo was palpable. We went to dinner and then I gratefully sunk into the bed. I was still knackered from the Inca Trail (was it really only a day ago that we finished!?) and a day of airports and flights had not revived me much.

What would work, however, was the enticing promise of the Iguazu National Park the following morning, and the waterfalls I have dreamed of seeing for many years.

The Iguazu Falls straddle Brazil and Misiones, Argentina. Leo is proud of the fact that the Argentine side has all the interesting bits. However, the full panorama can only be seen from the far Brazilian bank. There are more than 275 falls, with the showstopper 'devils throat' consisting of 14 falls that drop to a height of 107 metres. The Iguazu Waterfalls are a kilometre longer Victoria Falls and more water flows through Iguazu Falls than any other waterfall in the world.

We arrived at the park to a sky blanketed in friendly clouds and caught the train to the Devil's Throat, which was the furthest away.

As we caught the train back down to explore the rest of the park, the heavens opened. We had flown through the thunderstorm the night before and had a first-hand understanding of how huge the clouds were, and they let loose most of the water on us for the next two hours or so. So we ponchoed up and soldiered on.

From left: Leo's Dad Luis, Mum Susana, brother Nacho, Leo, me and the Devil's Throat from a distance.

A coati - there were many; scavenging food from the tourists.

 Unfortunately, despite both wearing toucan t-shirts for luck, we did not spot one in the park. Perhaps we will need to go back.

Needless to say, Iguazu delivered on the promise of natural wonder and not even torrential rain could tamper my enjoyment of them. If anything the lack of crowds in a park that sees about 4000 people through a day was a boon.

The day after the park, we began the journey to Buenos Aires. Leo's parents (Susana and Luis) and brother (Ignacio/Nacho) had driven up from the capital to collect us from the airport and the five of us drove the 1,400km south. We were a little squished in the hatchback and it was a long, long drive. However, it was a great way to see the countryside and we were able to stop in Luis' home town of Alem and see Leo's cousins and uncles. I had my first taste of Asado - the traditional custom of cooking and eating barbeque. It was so tasty - but I was a real nocive at pacing myself and got full before it was all served up!

A quick stop at the triple border before the drive. From left - Leo, Susana, Nacho and Luis.

1278km to go.

Buenos Aires I

The first stint of BA, we were staying right in the city centre in a little cupola sitting snugly between two skyscrapers, with a wonderful view out to the Obelisco. 

Our first morning, we had breakfast in a great cafe that has long served Leo delicious pastries, before moving on to Plaza de Mayo.

The Plaza de Mayo is the figurative centre of Argentina. The Casa Rosada or the 'Pink House' (executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina) is opposite the  Cabildo, the former seat of the Colonial government. On the third side of the Plaza is the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral which was the parish of the current Pope Francis. 

"The square is a political hub, financial and administrative centre and throughout history has been a symbol of disaster, rebellion and hope." There are regular protests that converge towards the Pink House. This is particularly evident when you see the huge gates, a wealth of armed police and varied riot gear standing at the ready.

Moving on from the Plaza, we headed to Puerto Madero, a super fancy part of the city by the water, and strolled across the stunning Puente De La Mujer - The Bridge of the Woman.

Circling back towards the centre, we covered several stunning inner-city parks with huuuge ficus trees, including General San Martin Plaza.

Look how tiny I am!

 Close to lunchtime, we reached Recoleta. The cultural centre was a super cool building and had this rambling feminist exhibit that I loved.

At the back of the centre is the Cementerio de la Recoleta. Recoleta Cemetery is a rambling series of family mausoleums of Argentina’s wealthiest and most famous. Some of the tombs house several generations. The site is 14 acres of 4691 vaults. Notable graves include Eva Perón, several presidents, Nobel prize winners, academics, artists... Leo would often note that the name of a grave was the same as a university or large avenue or park.

Upon entering the cemetery through the imposing gates, you are nearly immediately lost in the city-like maze of elaborate marble mausoleums in varying states of decay. Some, such as the recent 2011 tomb we found, is tidy and well-maintained but others were crumbling; exposing coffins, stairs down to crypts and other creepy aspects.

Some graves have fascinating stories. This is the family crypt of Rufina Cambacérès. Suffering some sort of comatose illness, Rufina was buried alive. Days later, her coffin was found to have moved, with scratch marks on the inside. Her body showed clear signs of her desperate attempts to escape. The tomb was remodelled with her statue guarding the door.

This double grave is of a married couple who hated each other so much that they didn't talk to each other for thirty years. After the husband died, the wife gave clear instructions that she wanted to eternally disparage him by being buried and memorialised facing in the opposite direction.

After surviving the supreme creepy-ness of the cemetery we headed back towards our cupola, past the El Ateneo Grand Splendid - an incredible bookstore housed in a 1919 theatre. 

After a rest, we headed to a barbeque dinner with the world's best pour of wine.

It is so full!

Day two, we headed to the most famous of the "Bares Notables" in Buenos Aires - Café Tortoni. Historically Buenos Aires has had a  thriving café culture and illustrious literary, musical and political figures would meet to have a cortado (espresso with a dash of hot milk) or a medialuna (croissant) in any of the 70 listed historic cafes. With well-preserved decor, these establishments are a little history trip with a welcome loo stop and good coffee.

After breakfast, we taxied to Caminito - Buenos Aires' famous street museum. Located in La Boca, the Caminito (little path, in Spanish) is a cluster of wooden and sheet-metal houses that characterise the end of the 19th century in Argentina. The colour and vibe is the result of local artists trying to revive an area suffering after the closure of a railroad route. 

Caminito's colour and presentation alone were stunning, but I really appreciated the commitment of the local people to maintaining the aesthetic that was led by Benito Quinquela Martín nearly 70 years ago.

Next stop was the Planetario Galileo Galilei for a show. The universe is projected onto the inside of the dome and you lie right back in comfy seats and explore the stars. I might have missed a few key points in the Spanish explanations but it was so stunning I didn't mind not quite understanding everything.

On our way back into the CBD, we threaded through the Jardín Japonés (Japanese Gardens). The tranquil and impeccably maintained area created in was 1967 when Japanese Emperor Akihito, and his wife Michiko visited Argentina.

  

A few blocks away is the Floralis Genérica. Designed in 2002 by Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano, the giant, reflective silver flower "blooms anew" each day in a pool of water. It has six colossal 13 metre long petals and is 32 metres wide when open.

Having hit up most of the sights (with a few saved for the final part of the trip) we focussed on Leo's friends and family for the next few days.

Mendoza

A few years ago, Gonzalo had visited Leo in New Zealand and they enjoyed a road trip around the South Island. Leo's best friend was eager to repay in kind so we flew to Mendoza with him and his partner Vanessa to explore the region. Situated close to Chile, with the Andes on the west the region is famous for it's Malbec and boasts more than 1,500 local wineries. The mountains are a constant companion and can be spied constantly through the tall, swaying trees. Not far from the city you can get a clear view of the Aconcagua, the highest mountain in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres with a summit elevation of 6,960.8 metres. This one, we would not be climbing.

Our first stop, naturally, was a winery. I loved the reds and was very, very pleasantly surprised by the  Pinot Noir Sparkling that was brewed in the traditional champagne method, meaning scant and small bubbles and white colour.

Day two we drove nearly to Chile to see the Puente del Inca and the Aconcagua.

The  Puente del Inca or the Inca Bridge is a natural, mineral-rich rock arch over the  Las Cuevas River. A series of stalactites and 'calciferous inflorescences' has built up around the bathhouse that was built to take advantage of the thermal waters. The minerals have made the rock formation around the bathhouse and bridge brilliant shades of orange, yellow and ocher. 

After stopping for lunch in the little town that has collected around the bridge, we drove a short distance to the Aconcagua Provincial Park and walked uphill towards the monolithic mountain. Though not a long or arduous walk, we were again ridiculously far from sea level and the minor trauma of exercising at altitude was once again something to endure. Viewing the largest mountain outside the Himalayan range was enough to take my remaining breath away, and the effervescent blue sky set the whole thing off perfectly. In contrast to the mountains to the side - each is under 4500m, so the size of the Aconcagua at nearly 7000m is hard to imagine, even when standing looking at it.

Next up was a day that I expected to be the most challenging yet - a Spa Day. I am not inclined towards this type of thing. The last "treat" of this kind was a massage my girlfriends made me try in Thailand and it was so horrendous they still feel guilty about it. This, however, did turn out to be quite a pleasant surprise. We bussed through some lovely desert country to get to the resort and on arrival, we were able to get white towelling robes and I felt like I was in a movie. We were led through the complex and told about the features and I felt myself relaxing as I realised that no-one would be poking or prodding at me. The most uncomfortable things were the mud (which you applied autonomously) and the foot bath full of stones to exfoliate your feet (which I was very anxious to try). 

Most of the day we lolled around in thermal waters that we really beautifully made, making our way up to the hot-hot ones. We had a buffet lunch included and it was lush. Asado galore (Argentine BBQ) with a plethora of salads and veggies. It was pretty nice to have some boiled broccoli! After returning to Mendoza, we gathered our bags and night drove for a couple of hours to San Rafael

San Rafael

The town of San Rafael sits amongst a myriad of different microclimates that originally cradled an oasis in the Monte Desert at the base of the Andes Mountain Range. We would spend the next few days exploring the staggering natural wonders of the area. We started with a looping drive through the Cañón del Atuel.

 

Carved by the wind and the waters of the Atuel River the Canyon starts at the Reservoir El Nihuil, 70 km away from San Rafael City and winds with the river. Dotted with dams and power stations, the rock formations are breathtaking and the variation in sedimentary and volcanic rocks is fascinating and colourful. The canyon ends at the largest dam, which has created the Embalse Valle Grande - a cerulean reservoir lake cradled by bare, cathedralic rock. 

Laguna de la Niña Encantada (Lagoon of the Enchanted Girl) is a stunningly picturesque little spot of water hidden amongst Mordor-esqe volcanic rocks called El Escorial volcanic El Infiernillo.

The area was also home to a herd of goats and the cleanest public toilets I had yet encountered (bonus!).

Pozo de Las Ánimas (the Well of Souls) are two massive sinkholes that 'wail' in the wind, the source of their name. Pure water filtered through the alluvial plain glitters 90 metres below the rims. The 300m wide holes will likely eventually join to make a supermassive hole. 

We ended the trip at Las Leñas, a ski resort abandoned for the summer months.

Heading back to San Rafael we pulled into an open pit salt mine. It was Labour Day so the place was empty and we could see the machinery used to excavate the salt from the nearby flats. 

The Salinas del Diamante was incredibly beautiful - the salt glistening in the sunlight and reflecting the distant Andes.

We were privileged to be travelling with Vanessa, who had already organised a wine tour in Mendoza through work and we were headed to the second one at Bodegas Bianchi - one of the preeminent wineries of the region. And this one was FLASH. We had two staff showing us around, one of whom was a sommelier who was responsible for the daily tasting of the fermenting wines. We had a private VIP tasting in the special secret cellar and felt very swish as we passed the tourist groups on their very ordinary tastings and tours. I was fascinated and thrilled at the group of (all female!) scientists working to analyse the wines - everything from the PH levels to alcoholic content. The tour was very comprehensive but I didn't understand a word of what was said. It did, however, leave me with plenty of time to drink in my surroundings.

We also had the opportunity to visit Bodega Salentein, a vineyard closer to Mendoza, that has a much larger international export than most wineries of the region. The grapes are grown in three locations that are between 1050 and 1700 meters above sea level in the shadow of the Andes. The variation in temperatures between the day and night is apparently sublime for cultivating quality grapes. More than the others we visited, Salentein stood out due to it's architectural and artistic value. It boasts modern, carefully-planned buildings and a valuable collection of art that includes contemporary Argentine, and 19-20th Century Dutch masterpieces. Even more beautiful than the clearly expensive art was the vines disappearing into the foothills of the mountains.

Buenos Aires II

Our return to BA saw a late night show at The Cavern Buenos Aires. The club is has a partnership with the Liverpool original and the John Lennon tribute band playing for us had just returned from a USA tour sponsored by both bars. The lead singer was 'Estefy Lennon', a female vocalist and guitarist. She was excellent.

The next few days was friends and family focused so I will detail a few notable things we visited rather than a day breakdown.

First up was one I had researched from New Zealand and I was pretty excited about. Not many people we talked to knew about the Palacio Barolo which was a shame because it is a real gem. The most exciting part was the panoramic view from the lighthouse at the top but the whole building was pretty interesting.

Palacio Barolo is an Eclectic office building that was the tallest in South America when it was completed in 1923. Commissioned by Italian immigrant Luis Barolo, the Italian architect Mario Palanti infused the whole structure with iconography that worshipped Dante's Divine Comedy. "There are 22 floors, divided into three "sections". The basement and ground floor represent hell, floors 1-14 are the purgatory, and 15-22 represent heaven. The building is 100 meters (330 feet) tall, one meter for each canto of the Divine Comedy. The lighthouse at the top of the building can be seen all the way in Montevideo, Uruguay." Such was the homage to Dante, that the owner intended to house his ashes in the lobby to keep them safe from a  "Europe drifting toward collapse". Alongside the Divine Comedy tributes, iconography revering Freemasons, alchemy and the Italian flag is evident throughout.

Highlights personally included the original elevators with the manual sliding doors, that were more like old train cars than the sleek metal boxes we are used to and, naturally, the remarkable view from the top.

Above, from the 14th floor, you can spot Congress, which we visited next.

Wandering the street was always a colourful and cultural experience:

We visited a little private museum I had found via Googling called El Zanjon de Granados (zanjón: ravine). The restored mansion has a fascinating history. Before the contemporary structure was built, it was a junction of two rivers. The rivers became a cesspit and the locals were required to cover over the creek. A house was built on top, and then eventually the mansion on top of that. By the early 20th century the owners had moved to a fancier part of town and turned the mansion into a tenement house with about 100 residents. By 1985 it was debris filled and abandoned.

How it looked when the owner bought it:

The tunnels built to enclose the river:

A bread oven from the tenement house and restored hallway from the mansion:

An aspect I enjoyed immensely was that collection of prints which helped my understanding of the history of Buenos Aires. This map shows the old course of the River Plate or the Rio de la Plata (the world's widest river). Since this illustration, a huge section of the river has been reclaimed to create the other side of the city.

I also learnt about the eclectic ancestry of the people of Argentina and understood more about how they came to talk like they have Spanish heritage but eat like Italians.

Below you can see the narrowest house in the city - a two-metre wide dwelling also renovated but the passionate owner of the El Zanjon de Granados.

We explored the bohemian and artistic area of San Telmo - finally finding a few shops that spoke to me and I acquired some original local art and a stunning handmade little leather handbag. Two days before the end I was starting to panic I wouldn't have bought anything! The streets were colourful and vibrant and it was a fascinating area of the city.

Our second to last evening we dressed up all fancy and headed for a final Asado and to the opera at the Teatro Colón with Leo's dad.

Regarded as one of the finest theatres in the world with exemplary acoustics, the inauguration of the building on October 12th 1892 coincided with the 400th anniversary of the "discovery" of America. A four-year restoration project concluding in 2010 has elevated the Colon to rival La Scala as a world leader for opera. 

It was my first opera - we saw A Streetcar Named Desire. I conclude that operas are silly. It was in English and I didn't know until Leo told me. Couldn't understand a word. But I could appreciate the insane talent of the performers and the set design was remarkably clever. Just sitting in the theatre alone was a real treat.

As the trip wound down, there was a lot of goodbyes and promises to visit asap; and I found myself reflecting on the things I would take away about this incredible country. I was so thrilled to see where my wonderful partner had grown up and become who he is and to see the puzzle pieces of his life that I had not seen yet. I also found that travelling with a local immersed you into a country in a very different way than the more sanitised tourist strategy I have had to take in my other adventures. I saw everyday contemporary houses and talked to people who really lived in the areas we visited. I had endless options to try usual versions of the local cuisine, and for the first time ever, spent a lot of time in private cars (which is weirder than it sounds!) I also could see just how different I was to my Argentine equivalents. Such as

1. You are nothing if you are not wearing ripped jeans or black jeggings. Honestly. That was all women wore. With either fancy, new trainers that had never been used for anything physical or these behemoth platforms from the SPICE era. No skirts, and certainly no colour.
2. Breakfast is 98% sugar and YOU WILL NOT EAT SAVOURY FOOD. I suffered through entire cafes that only served sweet things, and in abundance. 
3. Sweet food in Argentina is a Whole New Level. I think they even sweeten their sugar. It wasn't just breakfast food.
4. Mastercard is not a thing. Visa or death.