After spending 38 days bouncing around Argentina, I got a solid glimpse at life in this beautiful country and enjoyed a lot of what it has to offer, albeit briefly. Of course, the people I met along the way, both the Spanish-speaking-Italians-who-want-to-be-French (a.k.a. locals) and foreigners, helped make it a fun 5+ weeks.
Here are five fantastic things about Argentina.
NATURE
Argentina has a ton of diverse, natural beauty! It took some work and busting of the budget to hit a few spots, but it was all worth it, as I experienced some wonderful places and activities.
Perito Moreno Glacier
Just outside of El Calafate, it’s truly a can’t-miss if you’re Patagonia (park admission: 260 pesos). I had a chance to climb it on a mini ice-trek with Hielo y Aventura (1500 pesos) and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve done on the trip. For those of you who got Perito Moreno postcards with Chilean postage stamps: it was more than 3x cheaper to send from Chile 🙂
Iguazu Falls
An international wonder, the Argentina side (260 pesos) is better than the Braziian side (57.3 Reals), but you’ll have a chance to get absolutely soaked on both. The falls were very impressive in terms of beauty, size, power, and annoying tour groups.
Quebrada de las Conchas
Cafayate is known for their wine, but I started my time there with a 50 km mountain bike ride along some gorgeous scenery, the bulk of which had red and orange hues. Rent a bike (around 150 pesos) and take a bus to Garganta del Diablo (50 pesos + 20 per bike), then ride all the way back to town, stopping at a few notable places along the way. Tiring, but definitely worth it.
Beauty on the road
Crossing the Andes while traveling from Chile to Mendoza and seeing incredible canyons and deserts when moving from Salta to northern Chile, made taking day buses well worth it, even if it meant “losing” a day and paying for accommodation. Some of the most impressive scenery you can roadie through here.
WINE
I did tastings in Argentina’s top wine regions: Mendoza and Cafayate (or Cafashate, rather, as they say here). My two favorite wines came from organic wineries (that’s what 5 years in Seattle do to you; miss you, Golazo!): Cecchin‘s Malbec (Maipú), and Nanni‘s Torrontés Tardío (Cafayate). Plus, good, cheap wine is always available, especially Malbec.
Mendoza
Actually, Maipú and Luján de Cuyo, south of the city. I stayed in Maipú, where they have bike lanes and a few rental places in town, of which I picked the wrong one, I guess (Orange Bike, 100 pesos), since my brakes stopped working after my first vineyard visit and I had to ride buzzed-without-brakes all day. Good times!
They also have La Botella, a tiny vinoteca, where Guillermo is a gem of a gentleman, and their great empanadas pair perfectly well with their 5 wine flight (50 pesos). Further south in Luján, a stop by Carmelo Patti, where the founder and oenologist himself pours you free samples, provides good insight and useful tips, was a highlight.
Cafayate
Bike or walk, as there are plenty of vineyards close to town. My favorite was the American-owned Piattelli, a long, hot walk from town. But this Cafayate newcomer impressed with their sleek, new facilities, the best, most informative tour/guide of all the wineries I visited (80 pesos), very good wine, and awesome views.
SOCCER
Other than meat, I’d say this is one thing the entire country, with few exceptions, is crazy about. I had a chance to visit La Bombonera (museum & entrance to one end of the stadium was 130 pesos), and went to a pair of games, checking out Racing Club’s stadium, excellent pre-game food, and great crowd, as well as Argentinos Juniors’ cool stadium (named after Diego Maradona, who started his career at the club), bad pre-game food, and lack of crowd. And I hit both of those, combined (plus Messi and the Argentina victory over Chile in Santiago, Chile), for less than it would’ve cost to see a bad Boca Juniors play ($100 USD per ticket? No chance.).
BEER
Argentina’s craft beer scene is solid, and the best of the four countries I’ve visited so far. Good craft beer was easier to find on sale here without having to resort to an upscale supermarket or specialty store. Even big-boy ABI Quilmes had bocks, porters, and stouts. And there were a pair of stand-out places with craft beer on tap and great happy hours.
Bier Life (San Telmo, Buenos Aires)
Ah, my favorite happy hour and craft beer joint on the trip so far. It has 40+ beers on tap, all of which are stocked with craft beer from Argentina. All the food on their menu has beer as an ingredient, down to the Beeramisu and IPA ice cream, and the Happy Hour from 6 pm to 8 pm, and all-day on Wednesdays, gets you two good beers of your choice, including Kraken Imperial Porter (my bang-for-the-buck choice at a tasty 9% ABV) for the price of one (50 pesos). I was there often. Very often.
Antares
Another great place to hit, their porter, IPA, Imperial Stout, and Barley wine are all solid, as is their happy hour on Sundays and Mondays, when you can get 2-for-1s. These guys have been around longer, have multiple locations (including Córdoba, which was a great find), live music certain days, and a loyal following. Any time I asked a local for recommendations on where to get craft beer, Antares was the first word out of their mouth. Pints are about 80 pesos.
ARTS
From music to sculptures, graffiti, monuments, killer bookstores, and museums, Argentina was a feast for the eyes and ears, particularly in Buenos Aires, where I spent about 2 weeks and got a good taste of the cultural offerings there.
Recoleta Cemetery
Pretty much an enormous, outdoor gallery of beautiful art deco and art nouveau architecture and sculptures, I stopped by the Recoleta Cemetery on a few occasions. They offer free guided tours Tuesday to Sunday (in Spanish), the best way to get very interesting stories about the people residing within and below the artwork. It’s beautiful, one of the 3 most-visited cemeteries in the world for good reason (along with Père-Lachaise in Paris and the Staglieno in Genoa, Italy), and the only one of those where admission is free.
Teatro Colón
A glorious theater, its construction was led by three different architects, thus its exterior is a beautiful, subtle mix of classy styles. Tenor Plácido Domingo said it has the best acoustics of any theater in the world! I had a chance to catch Don Giovanni there and it was fantastic (albeit long). Free tickets for the final dress rehearsal of many performances are usually made available on a first-come, first-served basis the Saturday before the show, at 10 am. Get in line early.
Bomba del Tiempo
Every Monday night, a large group of percussionists and a guest musician entertain crowds rain-or-shine at Konex. An affordable (110 pesos), fun, upbeat event I unexpectedly got to check out twice because my flight to Iguazu got canceled on a Monday afternoon. The post-show drumming outside is cool, but watch your wallet as pickpockets target the crowd.
Museums
I visited a handful, but two of my favorites were the Museo Casa del Che (75 pesos) in Alta Gracia, Argentina and the MALBA (90 pesos; 45 pesos on Wednesdays) in Buenos Aires. The former is where revolutionary Che Guevara spent a bit of his childhood, and where his entire life is well-presented from his early years, to his journeys through South America, to the letters he wrote his wife and kids when he knew a young death was imminent. The MALBA is a nice, modern building with great exhibits, my favorite of which was Jorge Macchi’s Perspectiva.
N.B. on meat
Argentines are obsessed with their meat, religious about it on Sundays, and the quality was superb (except in Cafayate; terrible). I didn’t rank it as one of the things I loved about Argentina, as a) I only ate out at a parrilla three times, so the sample size is small (though I did enjoy a killer asado at Rayuela, my hostel in BA, and b) I’m Mexican and found that those large servings of meat lacked a certain je ne sais quois. Actually, I do know. Good partners-in-crime, like veggies and tasty salsa/sauces. And tortillas.