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