Category: Argentina

We stayed in Lujan de Cuyo which is just outside of Mendoza, supposedly closer to some wineries. The apartment we stayed at was very comfortable and safe. As with most places in Argentina, whether it be apartments, grocery stores, or wineries, there is a security guard managing the ins and outs. Our electric bikes arrived the next morning and we took off for Maipu for a wine tasting/lunch at Bodega Alandes. Our guide turned out to be the manager of the Bodega and he went overboard on the wine tasting. Many many samples and then lunch, a food and wine pairing to which he adds top end wines to try. Ok, I’m a sucker and this place is one of the few that actually has a wine club and yes I convinced Katie we needed to join! What! Oh well, great wines and they ship to the US. We started with an 11:30 appointment and we didn’t leave until 4.

We took off on our bikes but I put in directions to our place that somehow got routed through downtown Mendoza. Our 1 hour ride home ended up leaving us in dowbtown Mendoza. We had an hour to go. We both upped the electric motors and cranked for home. Along about 7 pm, with the sun going down and google reporting we were 12 minutes from home Katie spun out. It is unclear why but after going thru some traffic control bars at an intersection her bike didn’t slow down and she ran into a metal barrier at a culvert. Well it’s good the metal stopped her from the 10 foot drop into the culvert but using her lip as a brake was  in the long run not a good idea. She sat on the pavement for awhile trying to assess what was broken. Her bottom lip was clearly split and needed sutures and her knee was scraped up pretty good. So many people passing by stopped to offer assistance it was amazing. One of the first people got on the phone and called the police/ambulance. We waited maybe 45 minutes before he just flagged down a passing police car. But then another 30 minutes as the police talked on radios and really didn’t communicate what was going on. Katie and I eventually called an Uber as we just wanted to go to the hospital for stitches but the police said no when Uber arrived. Well we waited some more and then another police car came. This was the Tourist Police.

They let Katie get in an Uber to go the hospital and they called for a truck to pick up our bikes. They drove me and the bikes to our AirBnB then they took me to the hospital to check on Katie. The first emergency room she went to told her they couldn’t stitch her lip as there was no surgeon there (not like what I’ve seen on ‘The Pitt’). The tourist police drove us to a second hospital but that hospital said it would be 5-6 hours before she would be seen. Now, the police called around to other hospitals looking for a surgeon and a shorter wait. We eventually got to our third hospital at midnight which was now in downtown Mendoza. After an hour wait they took Katie back and after another hour she came out stitched up. Meanwhile the tourist police were still there. They would check on me in the waiting room, asking if I needed anything, any food, any water. So nice. They drove us back to our AirBnB but since our place was now in a different district than where we started, they transferred us to another set of tourist police to finish the ride.  Amazing help!

We slept like zombies but awoke in time for a small breakfast and coffee before our morning winery reservation. Katie wanted to continue on despite the painful fat lip and sore knee. We got an Uber driver to take us to our first appointment. We had a tour in english and a private tasting in the wine cellar. I had set up an elevation tasting in that a Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo the lowest elevation district was put up against Malbecs from the 3 Uco Valley districts each with a higher elevation then the last. All of the wines were made by the same vintner, Terrazas de los Andes.

We walked to our next Bodega for a food and wine tasting, stopping at a Farmacia along the way to pick up antibiotics and other supplies for Katie.

Bodega Renacer ended up being a fantastic lunch and wine tasting though for some strange reason I chose a vegetarian main course and Katie had the beef. Still kicking myself about that but the lunch was still fantastic with great paired wines.

Ubered to home but the service is much thinner here with 10-15 minute waits and sometimes they just drop you after you have waited awhile. Our last day in Lujan we walked to Bodega Artisanal L’Orange. This was a small all natural (not Au Naturel!) vineyard with some unusual varieties and styles.  It looked like a great place for a country wedding with Bocce and a pen full of chickens. We walked back to our place and later ordered an Uber for our next stop. I thought it was a 20 minute drive and so I ordered an Uber 30 min before. Our first driver canceled us after we had already waited for 10 minutes. Another 15 minute wait or so for the next. We were finally picked up and taken out some long dirt and gravel road. We were dropped at a gate that had a small sign for the vineyard we were looking for but nobody would answer the buzzer. I double checked google maps using the restaurant name instead of the winery and it turns out the restaurant was not in the same place as the winery! It was another 20 minutes away. We walked a bit after ordering an Uber. That would be another 15 minutes and in the end we were an hour late. The restaurant turns out to not care a bit. They met us before we got to the door with glasses of wine and began saying nice things to us. We settled into Quimera Bistro for another fantastic lunch and wine pairing.

Our trip to the Uco Valley started the next day and like some of our previous days, when talked about, it will be boring to those who weren’t there as it is a series of wine tastings along with lunches and wine pairings. I know, boring. But if you were there, fun. There was always a backdrop of snow capped Andes looming to the West. So our trip begins with our hired driver, Riccardo, who is from San Carlos in the Uco Valley. He picked us up for our 3 day exploration of the Valley. There is zero tolerance for alcohol and driving around Mendoza with the blood alcohol limit set at zero. Penalties include huge fines and possible incarceration. We also heard and now believe that Uber drivers are few and far between in the valley thus we opted for a hired local driver. 

Our first stop Domaine Bousquet. Fairly typical of wineries here, the Domaine included a restaurant and lodging. Beautiful morning views of the Andes but cold! The server was setting us up outside but we asked to be moved inside so our hands would stop shaking. This was not our favorite wine but not our least favorite either and they export most of their production, especially to the US.

We moved on to lunch and tasting at Andeluna which turned out to be one of my favorites. We had multiple courses again with the Filet being outstanding. Even the different breads served with fresh olive oil were hard to stop eating even though we were full. The olive oil here is fantastic. Then of course desert with a form of creamy ice cream. Really, really good.

Now stuffed and tipsy we moved on towards our AirBnB but not before our last stop at Bodega Salentein, one of the originals in the area. Good wines but honestly, too much for one day. We vowed just a winery and lunch from then on. Our lodging was a ‘cabin’ built amongst the vineyards. It was very comfortable but as in all of Argentina there are a slew of dogs roaming around with lots of barking. We had a hot tub on the roof but it was only about 2 feet deep so that was awkward. It was in the 30’s so we battled to get as flat as possible in the tub to keep warm. Quite the sight I’m sure. Big full belly protruding from the water’s surface (mine anyway). Oh well, first hot tub in months.

In the morning we were greeted by Javier a friend of Riccardo’s. He drove us over to Alfacrux a huge concrete monstrosity. Their production, similar to others in the region has been going down and the wine produced has shifted towards white wine, Rose, and young unoaked red wine. The taste trends seem to be worldwide. The high end Alfa and Beta brands were oaked red wines and sold for $80-400 per bottle. They were ok.

We moved over to Piedra Infinita, a restaurant associated with Zuccardi wines.

This is repetitious but another fantastic meal with super good wines. Katie figured out the fuss over Tomahawk steaks. Delicious but we were so full we gave half to Javier. Back to the hot tub for the rest of the day.

Our last day in Mendoza reunited us with Riccardo. He drove us over to Corazon del Sol where we had a very nice tasting. A cardiologist from Texas owns the place along with the Ravana winery in Napa and another winery in Oregon. Cardiology, coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Our final stop was lunch and a tasting at La Azul a character filled Bodega lacking any pretentious feelings. The waiter informed us at 12:30 they would be serving us wine until 4:30 unless we decided to stop. Whoops, we left at 3:30 with way too much wine on board. Riccardo drove us an hour and a half back to Mendoza where we stayed at close to our worst hotel of the trip. Katie had scheduled an Uber for the airport drive in the am. Either our alarm went off late or he arrived early but that was the quickest we ever got out of a hotel room. Luckily we seem to have all our stuff, well except for a pair of Katie’s sunglasses which still might be in our bags somewhere.

Lima is going to be a footnote. We got snookered on arrival by a guy showing us an Uber badge but he was a taxi driver. Drove for an hour, looking at his phone most of the time and the backseat seatbelts didn’t work. Charged us double what he said it would cost and begged off. Welcome to Lima. Drivers are the equal to Argentinians if not more aggressive and the cars are proof of that. Many have ropes holding the trunk closed and the bumpers on. We’ve explored downtown and the neighborhoods of Barranco and Miraflores along the Malecon. The coast reminds me of Santa Monica with the cliffs and the highway running along the ocean

We had a nice food tour yesterday evening with some ceviche, tuna tar tar, multiple corn dishes and Cremoladas, a slushy kind of thing. Unfortunately, Cilantro is back in style so Katie missed out on a few dishes. We are chilling today with plans for the airport and the Amazon tomorrow! Can’t wait.

We arrived in Salta to another surpringly easy Hertz Rental car pickup. I have had real problems in the States at times with this company but here, in Argentina, the service has been spectacular. We stayed downtown just off the main square and we had a wonderful evening walking about the downtown. A traditional dance was being performed in the central square. There were also quite a few upscale shops downtown along with pedestrian-only streets full of crafts.

After a hearty breakfast at our hotel we set off for the north. We missed the winding scenic route somehow and ended up on the less scenic quick way. We stopped in Purmamarca for lunch and open markets full of blankets, pottery and leather. Katie picked up a sharp looking knockoff Northface jacket for $30 and we then had Empenadas for lunch while listening to a wonderful guitarist/ singer.

We drove on North reaching the Seven Senoritas hills. These were red clay/sandstone carved hills with slot canyons. To explore you needed to hire a guide who then led us up and into a long slot canyons for some terrific views. The elevation was already high, something like 11,000 feet so we puffed a little climbing even a short ways up the slot canyons. Many beautiful cactuses about, looking like Saguaros but not.

Our final destination was the 14 Colores del Hornocal. We found out they closed the road at 6 and the road up was an hour drive, So we found a hotel in Humahuaca. We spent a half hour trying to get to our small hotel but with 2 washed out bridges and many unmarked gravel/dirt roads it was difficult. It didn’t help that I marked the wrong hotel on Google maps so we banged on a locked door to a place we had no reservation for. In the am we set off on a winding gravel/dirt road to the top of a scenic lookout to the painted mountains. We arrived just before 10 but no local was there to check us in, just a Toyota pickup with Colorado plates. The young man in it was indeed from Colorado, and he had been traveling for 2 years. He drove up to Alaska then all the way down to Patagonia. He was now headed to Uruguay and the end of his trip. Amazing! He did say the scariest driving was thru Mexico where he was stopped multiple times by police and the cartel, all wanting something from him. Well the scenic lookout was at 14,272 feet! Pretty good views but you needed to hike down a very steep hill then up a smaller one to get to a better viewpoint and coming back was breathtaking. Literally breathtaking.

We drove back to where we had lunch the previous day for a tortilla and we secured a hotel for the night.

We then drove out to Salinas Grande, a huge salt lake located pretty close to the border with Chile. The pass over the mountain was over 14,000 feet again! On the way up we passed a burning car that I guess overheated on the climb up. The Salt flats were white and flat. They wanted you to hire a guide to take you out on the salt flats but the parking lot was on the salt flats so we just admired the view from there.

Back to Purmamarca for dinner and sleep. While walking about town we stopped at a restaurant for a glass of wine and to listen to two guys playing music. One was a guitarist and singer. The other was a jack of all trades and fantastic at all, from singing to guitar, flute, to violin. He would sing and Katie and I would just look at each other and say OMG. We were told by a couple from Buenos Aires that the guitarist was a very famous folk singer in Argentina and if you were in Buenos Aires you would have a hard time getting a ticket to see him.

Our next day was a driving day as we were headed to Cafayate, south of Salta. Now I had read highway 68 was pretty but once in the Quebradas de Las Conchas it was like Utah on crack. Miles and miles of carved colored mountains always changing in character. The backdrop to this were the huge Andes mountains. We stopped many times for pictures but they just don’t do it justice.

Cafayate is a friendly small town known for its wine making. Once checked in to our great little hotel, we walked about the small central area and came upon a Bodega (El Transito). The door was open so we went in and ended up having a terrific tasting of local wine along with a great talk with the server. We crossed the street to see when that Bodega (Nanni) would open in the morning as it was after 6. But, the server said sit down and try our wines. So we did. Apparently this area is known for their white wine, made from the Torrontes grape and for some heavier bodied reds. The Torrontes can be made dry, semisweet and sweet. It also can be oaked and unoaked. We found it light, sometimes citrusy. Sometimes the wine had more tropical notes like pineapple. The Malbecs were good but this area is known more for Tannat which we thought was pretty good too. The server from our first tasting recommended Chacos for food and wine so we went there. A cheese platter and Olives turned out to be dinner and the wines, terrible. This guy Chaco was supposedly a Sommelier but the wines he served were all very young. Some undrinkable and all probably cost less than 5 or 10 dollars in a local store. Oh well.

The following day we had one reservation at 3pm but we set off in the am in search of a winery up on the side of a hill, Bodega Domingo Molina. The gravel road up was a bumpy half hour ride but the tasting room was stunning. If it hadn’t been so cold and windy we would have stayed outside on couches looking at the gorgeous valley in front of us, but we moved inside after a short while. The view was still good just behind some glass windows.

Very good wines here. While tasting here we contacted a large winery down the road and they were able to get us in. We drove down to their facility which was very pretty but felt like a huge production. The winery was bought a number of years ago by people from Minnesota and it feels like it in that there was no local character to it. Very uninspired tour and tasting except for the couple with us who were from Buenos Aires. Also a grey fox wandering about the grounds made Katie’s day.

We moved on down the hill to finish the tasting day at Bodega El  Esteco, apparently one of the large producers in this area. We had a private tour and tasting with a guide from the area who spoke very good English. We learned much about the wine but also the local and national culture. Good wines too. We took a break until dinner which was the usual 8pm affair. We tried out the well rated Black Tote Parilla which was good but not as good as those we ate at in Buenos Aires. The meat just wasn’t as tender but it was cheaper. A couple steaks, fries, a bottle of wine and we were still less than $100. We were up walking about town the following day until an 11 am appointment at Burbujas de Altura, a sparkling and still wine producer that use Torrontes or Malbec grapes for the champgne method sparkling wine. The owner was from Norway many years ago, had worked in Napa for 3 years and now started his own family run winery in Cafayate. He toured us around his cellar explaining each step in the primarily manual labor production of his product. The end result was good for both his still and sparkling wine. He was so nice I really hope he can succeed in this tough business. He says the area in the beginning had no soil so they had to plant crops and plow them in for several years to make suitable soil. The area also has little water so he drilled down 300 feet to get a well going to irrigate his vines. Something I never thought about is their growing season. Their rainy season is in the summer so the grapes are getting wet when they are ripening. That is generally not a good thing in California. Around the winery were flocks of Monk Parakeets. Very noisy and they tend to peck apart his adobe buildings as they are a burrowing bird. They don’t eat the grapes though. Bright side!

After this terrific visit we drove out of town, up in the hills for a winery visit/lunch at Les Nubes. We had tried and tried to get a reservation but they never responded to the emails or answered the phone. Fortunately they were open and not to busy. We sat at some tables outside with views over the hills and vineyard eating their empanadas. We finished with a tasting but that was ot as inspiring as the views. 

Traveling day in the morning. Filled up with gas as there would be none on the 5 hour drive. Ruta 40 is a glorious highway in Argentina that starts down at the bottom of Patagonia and runs up alongside the Andes to Bolivia. Now glorious doesn’t mean paved or two lanes. Of our 150 km drive only 30 were paved. The other 100+ was dirt and gravel  i dodged large potholes, dogs, donkeys, cows, and sheep all the way. There were one lane hairpin turns and tops of hills that you couldn’t tell if there was a rode after that from the top. The scenery however was stunning. The area is called Quebradas de las Flechas (arrows) and it went on for miles. I felt we were in Radiator Springs at times or at least back on the ride in Disneyland.

We had a food and wine pairing setup just outside of the town, Cachi which was our overnight stop. We made it right on time after 5 hours of driving but in reality there were only like 4 other people there. They sat us out on a patio that looked at the Valley and Mountains.

We enjoyed a four course meal each paired with a different wine made on their property, Bodega Puna. We drove into the little town of Cachi which had paved streets (already loving it) and settled into a wonderful authentic adobe hotel. The town was delightful to walk about and Katie fell in love with some of the small jewelry vendors.

We filled the car up again for another drive thru the mountains. This time Highway 33 which crossed the Parque National los Cordones. Another stunning mountain drive. This was paved up to a pass at 11,000 feet but then back to winding gravel roads with lots of Guanocos, hairpin turns, tourist vans, and an occasional big truck. Beautiful but stressful driving.

We are back in Salta for the night then off to Mendoza tomorrow. I’ve got to turn the car in but man it is a heap of dust. That stuff got everywhere.

Oh yes dogs, I forgot to mention all the dogs out and about. They are on the streets of all towns. They are out in middle of nowhere, far from any town or house. They sometimes are lying on the side of the road, sometimes walking in the road. I did not see any dead dogs by the roads, but there were a number of dogs with a limp. Apparently they are working on it in Cafayate.

A couple other notes. There was a fellow, years ago, named Gauchito Gil who apparently helped people a la Robin Hood. The truckers and other drivers on the road have erected special shrines to Gil. They leave beer and snacks and hope this aids in safe passage on the road ahead. They are all red because he died having his throat slashed??

Finally, stickers. Pretty much every sign and marker is covered with them!

To be continued from Mendoza.

We ended up at a great hotel in Córdoba. Great location downtown making easy walks to the sights about town. We had some fun touring the crafts fair on a Sunday in the Guemès district but really no great dinner finds until our last night and this was across the street from our hotel! We had noticed people lining up for takeout here so we swooped in just as they opened, 8 pm, and got Schwarma and Falafel to go. Great meal. Huge wraps we ended up finishing the next day.

Walking about town, we saw quite a few spectacular churches, particularly set off at night.

We walked to the University of Córdoba, which is the oldest in South America. We either missed the original version or they have remade it all in a Brutalist style of concrete and teeny tiny windows. At one point I said one of the buildings looked like a top secret warehouse, Katie said more like a prison. It was one of the physics buildings.

We did rent a car to get in a few day trips. We visited Alta Gracia which for us was highlighted by a tour of Che Guevera’s childhood home. Learned a bit about him which was different then what you learn or hear in the States. He was quite the explorer early in life, riding a motorized bike all over Argentina and Latin America. When he was older he shared a motorcycle with a friend and rode over a similar area. They also built a raft after the motorcycle broke down and floated for days down the Amazon. Anyway, the museum was kinda the highlight of 2 different days outside of the city. A touristy German town reminded me of a Solvang kind of thing and an outdoor hike led us to the top of a mountain with a cross on it.

Driving was quite the challenge. The cities have very narrow lanes that generally are not marked by lines. Motorcycles weave in an out of traffic, often riding just off the right quarter panel of the car where you can’t see them. Dogs and people appear in the street out of nowhere. Potholes are numerous and for me often unseen or unexpected. Speed bumps and dips are everywhere, often unmarked, unhighlighted and thus jolting. Katie has taken to wearing a sports bra when I drive. I haven’t hit anything so far but it has been very close at times. Drivers tend to drive all over the lanes, straddling the lanes and moving into the lane without notice. Many small crossroads have no signs and it is kind of a game of chicken to see who crosses first. All in all very stressful but mainly this is just in the city except for the dog, pothole, speedbump and dip thing. Those seem to come out of nowhere everywhere.

Not much else to say about Córdoba so I’ll mention a few fun things we’ve noticed. When you fly in Argentina and land successfully, everybody applauds. I kind of remember that when I was a kid but rarely now. Katie has mentioned dinner times which is typically 8 or 8:30 for opening. Fortunately, bars have Happy Hours and they are often 2 for 1 until 8 pm. We noticed quite a few parked cars and trucks outside the city with plastic bottles on the roof. Turns out this is the universal sign that the vehicle is for sale. The size or color of the bottle apparently does not reflect the asking price. And of course everybody still drinks Mate

We are on our way to Salta/Cafayate

A short flight but a late evening arrival in Bariloche led to the quickest car rental I think I have ever had. We drove down (Katie loves it when I describe a direction as down or over) to our AirBnB which turned out to be lovely with views of one of the lakes from our balcony.

We battled some rain the next day but nothing really hard. We had ponchos on for a short while but mainly just raincoats. We did a lovely 6.5 mile hike in Llao Llao which had spectacular views of the lakes and the Andes despite the cloud cover. We completed the circuit Llao Llao in the car with more beautiful sites and a fox just standing on the roadside!

We picked up food for a couple dinners at home which we haven’t had for a month. 

Still intermittent rain the next day so we walked around San Carlos de Bariloche stopping to have a Gin and Tonic in memory of Paul.

The following day brought sun and we were up early. We repeated the circuit Llao as the views are spectacular.

We then stopped at a chair lift that takes you up to the top of Cerro Centenario, a must do if you are here. It seems to be a small cinder one that rises up enough to see the surrounding lakes and mountains in a full 360 degrees. The downside was the temperature and wind. The wind chill was reported to be 22 degrees F at lake level. I’m thinking it was close to zero at the top. I couldn’t feel my fingers after briefly looking through the binoculars.

We drove on looking for the gondola to the top of Cerro Otto but after a number of false stops we found the base but it was closed for maintenance. So, we drove up the dirt road to the top of Cerro Otto. Actually not as bumpy as the road to the Stanislaus. We then hiked the Sendero Piedra de Hapsburg which turned out to be otherworldly! Fall colors mixed with trees covered in hanging moss.

At the end of the trail there is a Refugio which is placed at the top of a prominence with gorgeous views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. It was not open now but you could see the bar with its taps thru the window. It must be a fantastic break on a summer’s hike. The Piedra (stone) was a massive stone overlook of the Lago Gutierrez. Eagles were flying above us as we looked out at the jaw dropping scenery.

We managed a swim in the pool back at our AirBnB, then out to dinner at Stags which is perched over the Lago Nahuel Huapi. Wonderful Tenderloin steaks and Malbec wine. 

We went off on a drive the following day, following the Circuit of the 7 Lakes on Ruta 40. The drive out was limited on views as it was SNOWING! We had good laughs along the way and jumped in and out of the car in record time at viewpoints. We were surprised by a very friendly hawk at one pullout. He jumped right on the hood and watched the windshield wipers go back and forth.

When we turned around, some 2 hours out, lo and behold (does anyone say that anymore?), Sunshine. We now had snow capped mountains and beautiful lake views. 

Katie has had a little stomach issue so we napped the rest of the afternoon. We still rolled out for steak downtown. As usual delicious Beef, this time sold as Bife de Chorizo. Not that this is sausage. They say chorizo to describe an elongated steak. They also use it for wiener dogs calling them chorizo.
checkout was today so we packed up but managed a 3 mile hike out and back to Duendes Falls and beyond. A gorgeous day tempting us to stay if w3 could.

The flight to Iguazu Falls was mostly notable for being and hour and a half delayed with no information ever given to the waiting passengers. Once we arrived, Katie and I got an Uber from the airport to our hotel. We stayed at The Hotel Saint George which turned out to be really nice. We were hungry and thirsty after our delayed trip and what do you know, across the street from the hotel was a Patagonia Brewery outlet. We got some IPA’s and a regular pizza, then off to the park via Uber.

The driver didn’t say anything on dropping us off there but I suspect he knew that the park closed at 4 for entries and it was 4 o’clock. We did salvage it by learning about tickets and trains etc, and we purchased our tickets online for the next day. Weirdly the ticket office there will not sell tickets for the next day to you. You have to buy them online. Back in an Uber and back to the hotel. We did get up early the next day and we were at the park just before 8 when it opened. We pushed by a few kids after they dropped the rope (we were recently at Disneyland where we built up our skills) and we were able to catch the first train out of the station bound for Garganta del Diablo.

Turned out to be stunning and only a few people there so easy to get great views. Huge roaring waterfall surrounded by many other waterfalls.

We followed that up with the Superior Circuit Loop and then the Inferior Circuit Loop which was really not really inferior to the superior if you know what I mean.

Along the walkways we ran into a couple of locals.

We headed back to town and did a long walk along the river that separates Argentina from Brazil. End of the road was the 3 corners where the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. We had us a lovely spot for a Gin and Tonic.

A rather poor imitation of tacos and margaritas followed, then off to the airport for the flight back to BA. 

We stayed at a new hotel in Buenos Aires, located in the Recoletta district, The Trianon Residence. This did allow easy walking to the sites downtown but I think staying in the Palermo SoHo district might have been a better choice. There are more things going on there and a larger selection of restaurants and bars.

We walked about town the following day (we have been averaging 6-7 miles/day) and rode the subway and Uber to various places. I don’t think I’ve mentioned the driving in Buenos Aires. The drivers tend to drive right on the bumper of the car in front. They tend to drive in the middle of two lanes, constantly changing lanes to get a few cars ahead. They toot their horns to say hello or warn off any pedestrians or cars and they use their hazard lights anytime there is a slow down in traffic. I never saw an accident though and despite what I consider aggressive driving there were no finger gestures, cursing, or using the car as a weapon issues. Now bike riders in this town, generally don’t stop for anyone. We were warned. Strangely, none of these riders wear a helmet! They didn’t really follow any traffic rules either. Police on bikes have a helmet but they don’t necessarily wear it.

We had dinner back out in Palermo, this time the Hollywood side at Hierro Parrilla Palermo. Another fantastic meal with Proveleta and then fantastic tenderloins. We rode the subway back to Las Corrientes, a street that resembles Broadway with many theaters and thousands of people walking the street. Many street performers, many lights all very fun and that got us back late to our hotel. We followed that up with another food tour the following day, this time down in the San Telmo district. Our guide this time? Yes it was Stan from our Palermo tour. Again an excellent tour going into bars that opened in the mid 1800’s and into family restaurants full of tradition and flavor. We visited the San Telmo indoor market for some new surprises there. Katie and I had eaten at the market already but these were new places and with stories attached to them. We ended our tour with fantastic ice cream.

Our plan was to buy leather jackets this day so after walking along Puerto Madero, we got on a subway to Murillo street ( Note Porteño’s say Muricho, 2 L’s are cha. Tortilla is Torticha and they laugh at the sing song Mexican version of tortilla that we all learned in school. Anyway, we visited 4 or 5 leather shops and we each found the perfect jacket. Paid cash mind you otherwise it would be significantly more in price. No receipt, no questions. 

We are flying out to Bariloche but needed some exercise so we walked our 6 miles about town and along the way I found some ear buds to replace the AirPods I ‘lost’ in Guna Yala. We stopped in Palermo for a Mate tasting. Basically tea but oh my gato, so many people carry these Mate cups and straws and they have a thermos of hot water to refill throughout the day. They sell and people carry, packs for their thermos and cups. I am convinced there is more than Mate in these things. People are drinking the stuff at all hours and in all places. It’s like they can’t stop! Neither Katie nor I would carry that stuff around having done the tasting.

They have a lounge at the airport so we went early for our flight to Bariloche. Well a little too early as they won’t let you check your bags until 2 hours before your flight! That’s a new one. Sometimes it feels like trying to get a patient to the OR at Kaiser. There is always a ‘new one’ to hold it up.

On to Bariloche

We made it to the airport on time from San Blas. We found the COPA lounge and they had showers! How great was that to get the salt water off and shave. Awesome. We both managed to sleep on the plane though they still were planning on giving us dinner at like 11:30 at night. We passed on dinner but ordered a bourbon and were off to sleep. We woke up to the now usual water carton that was left with us just before landing. We had a long drive in from EZE airport as there was much traffic. When we went thru our last toll booth on the highway, the police were pulling over every motorcycle. Apparently many hide their license plates to avoid toll so they were confiscating bikes. I saw at least 10 bikes up on trucks to be taken away. Our hotel had a room open at 9:30am so we moved in then walked down to Playo de Mayo and Casa Rosado. The latter is said to be pink from cows blood mixed in with the paint. The Casa is where the President of Argentina lives. The Mothers of Plaza Mayo still protest on the plaza every Thursday evening. They protest for lost ones during the last military dictatorship in the 70’s-80’s. Thousands were disappeared.

Walked down to San Telmo district with its cobblestone streets. We toured the indoor market there with its crafts, wine shops and food court. We stopped and shared fried cheese and chorizo with chimichurri, green Provençal, and salsa dips, and of course some wine and beer. Walked back to the hotel then later had dinner along the water at La Cabana, rib eye and top sirloin each about $45, many wines to choose from but most over $200, meal was $250.

We walked to Recoletta cemetery the following morning. The Recoletta district is kinda 60’s -70’s architecture. The Cemetery had huge tombs dating back to the early 1800’s but also modern era ones. Duarte and Eva Peron are buried here but there tomb is not too wild and not on the main aisle.

We had to have a beer across the street from the cemetery at the Rooftop Bar per Alex’s winner suggestion. Great views and super beer, Patagonia 24.7. We managed an hour at the National Museum of Fine Arts. Some Rodin sculptures, various impressionist paintings from Pissarro to Monet to Van Gogh. We walked around Floralis Generica, which is a crazy water art sculpture in a pond but they were setting up for a weekend event so mostly it was closed off. The weekend event turned out to be some kind of Formula F1 ‘demonstration’. Many roads are blocked off in the Recoletta with grand stands being erected. Stan, our food guide later that night said over 500,000 people were expected to watch the event so we will try to avoid that. We started walking back home but got a bit hungry so stopped for empanadas and G&T’s. $60 bucks later we were back walking. Haven’t found anything ‘cheap’ in this city except Uber and public transportation.

We got on a food tour in Palermo Soho that evening and met up with soon to be ‘Porteño’ Stan and a couple from Australia-Donna and Chris.

Fantastic tour of a really interesting neighborhood. Lots of interesting stores, restaurants, breweries, and street art. Stan introduced us to Argentina pizza, apparently more than 50% of the population was Italian in the late 1800’s. Also empanadas at our first restaurant, ‘Picsa’. We went on to 4 other stops and were truly stuffed by the end, from rib eye to churipan to several other local dishes. We sampled good white and red wine and ended up with 2 desserts, Dulce de Leche and Italian Ice Cream.  Great tour and so informative on the culture, the politics, and the arts.

On the Uber ride home we saw street lanes blocked off from cars and full of people. There were performers from musicians to clowns and just a lot of happy noise. Times Square like but for city blocks. Stuffed and in bed by 10pm.

The following day was a Saturday so we walked thru several markets. Many many craft booths around the parks and squares in the city. We ended up back in Palermo for lunch which was a bust as the breweries there hadn’t opened yet as it was only 2 o’clock. We ended the day early trying to get some rest for our evening event

FUTBOL! Katie got us tickets to the River Plates futbol match on Saturday evening. Game time 9:30! The process was onerous. To get a validated ticket required passport scanning and facial recognition apps. We were finally approved and went off to the stadium by subway, then train, and then shoes. Oh, we did buy River Plate jerseys before the game as we heard that they were  important for safety reasons.

I read the stadium guidelines and left my belt at home (apparently a safety issue as well). Quite the waddle to the park for me! We followed a pack to the stadium, being redirected several times by police and volunteers to get us to the right gate as once inside,  the 80,000 fans in the stadium can’t just move around. There are barriers in place. On the way we ran into a gauntlet of police barricading the street.

They had large guns and held shields in their arms. What? Turns out the visiting team’s bus was crossing an intersection down the road and they didn’t want anyone close. Man these people have some history. We did get in using facial recognition and feigning ignorance multiple times. Well maybe not feigning at all. We were several hours early, as instructed . At 2 hours before game time, the stands were not occupied much except behind the goal where flags and umbrellas were dancing, drums were playing, and lots of singing. That continues throughout the game including halftime. The stadium gets packed!

The game was a blast to watch. Everyone had a great time, no fights, just hugging and singing. Luckily, the home team won. We left a few minutes early and caught a cab back to the hotel pretty easily. Some additional notes. Beer hasn’t been sold in the stadium for 28 years until this year and the process of buying and drinking is onerous and limited. Katie and I had a beer but we were some of the very few. Now mind you on the way to the stadium, numerous people were offering rum and cokes, beer, and shots. Plenty of people were pregame hammered. They just could not continue once in the stadium. We have noticed a high incidence of smoking in BA and though you can’t smoke in the stadium it was in reality everywhere. The security guards were probably smoking or lighting the cigarettes of the fans around them. They say America now has a less than 10% incidence of smoking and Argentina is at 22%. I think for Argentina they are measuring the incidence at any one time, as it seems everyone smokes.Another observation was how comfortable men were showing emotion to other men. This was in their greetings and their conversations. Just always close, hugging and greeting. Last observation, Argentina employs a lot of police. They are everywhere.

Slept in then walked to the Sunday craft fair in San Telmo. Good thing we used the ATM the day before as so many cool little things to buy. We had to buy little things as our bags are jammed and we still have quite a few weeks to go.

Visited Caminito street which is an artist haven with many painted buildings.

We slept in a bit the following morning then off to El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a converted theater. Now a bookstore. Fabulous interior but we were a little cold so we sat down to have a coffee. So happens a YouTuber was filming a ‘spontaneous’ performance of Cold Play’s Fix You. They had cameras all over, a choral group, multiple singers and guitar players pop up and there we were 10 feet from the guy, Joe Jenkins, who was playing the piano. Apparently some 4 million followers, well 4 million and 2.

We visited Palermo Hollywood but honestly not much to see. We visited SoHo again but very quiet as most places are closed on Mondays. We heard of a street with many leather shops so took off for there. Didn’t think I needed a leather jacket, but now I do. They definitely don’t like credit cards here as many places will give you 40% off for cash payments.

Yesterday we took a ferry over to Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay. We walked thru the old town, down the allies and into a few of the open art shops but in general very quiet.

They do love old cars and trucks here.

We read books in a park waiting for our return ferry which turned out to be 1 1/2 hours late. We were going to go back to the hotel and freshen up but not enough time. In fact, we arrived about 10 minutes late to a food and wine pairing in Palermo Soho. No worries others arrived behind us! It’s hard to be late here.

We had an incredible ‘meal’. Eggplant with ricotta and peanuts, provoleta, blood sausages, pork, short ribs and rib eye steaks all paired with wonderful wines. Fantastic!

we are flying to Iguazu to see the falls. More to come.