Trip diario #4: Argentina

Mas Buenos Aires

We set out with two goals: tango and meat, or bife, as they say. And tango, as they say. So we headed to Plaza Dorrego because they break out into spontaneous free tango there and free is good. The first tango we saw involved an arthritic couple moving gingerly around on a piece of cardboard about one square meter. While an old woman in fishnet stockings isn't something you see every day (or actually, it is, if you live in Buenos Aires - note weird lady in the background sitting to the right of the tree), it wasn't quite what we were looking for.

Then we happened upon these two. Very cool. And isn't this guy the living depiction of "swarthy"?

In the guidebook, there's a square box that says "La Boca warning" that basically warns you not to go there when it gets dark. So we walked there during the day. And it was still sketchy.

This Disneyland-looking place in the middle of La Boca is Caminito, an area where Italian immigrants settled.

By 7 pm, we were starving but the Argentines don't eat dinner till around 9 pm. Which is ridiculous. But we found a steakhouse and ate the most delicious steak we've ever had. It's not just tender and juicy, it's like EXTRA BEEFY. This was the most expensive meal we ate and we had 2 steaks, 2 drinks, half a bottle of wine, dessert, and a tango show, and it was $40 total. Yes, food is cheap. And unlike Peru, delicious.

Our host, Argentine Liza Minnelli. It's totally her!

Iguazu Falls

We then headed off to spend a couple of days at Iguazu Falls, which is on the border of Argentina and Brazil. The entire system is 1.6 miles across and much bigger than Niagra.

Walking along the upper trail. It's gorgeous.

Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat). There's so much water flowing over that you can't see the bottom half because of all the mist rising up.

Early next morning, we were going on a long hike so we brought along these lemon cookies for breakfast. Great idea, yeah? If only the cookies weren't made of AIR. Seriously, like the lightest cookies I've ever ingested. We ate LEMON FLAVORED AIR for breakfast.

So we hiked into the jungle and starved.

Andrea is carrying a stick. It's for warding off the jaguars. She handed me a rock. What's this for, I asked. Am I supposed to club him with this? I thought you could throw it in his mouth in mid-attack, she answered. Well, sure. Like those clowns' mouths at the carnival you throw bean bags into. Except instead of getting a stuffed Flintstone if you win, you get a jaguar mauling if you lose. Only THIS game is free! And, as I've mentioned, free is good. But not always.

Devil's Throat. Brazil is on the left bank, Argentina is on the right.

More waterfalls to the right of Devil's Throat. Isla San Martin in the middle. So THIS is what paradise looks like.

Near the park entrance, we ran into a posse of coatis. They're like half raccoon, half Snuffleupagus.

Here's a monkey! It's blurry because it was pretty dark and those critters move fast.

We also saw a toucan sitting in a tree, looking very much like a cartoon. It told us to eat fruit loops and then flew away.

Buenos Aires

We flew back to Buenos Aires for a little while longer.

Recoleta Cemetery at night.

We stayed at this great hotel with old fashioned keys that fit into an actual keyhole! Like the kind people used to peep through!

What's weird is that I don't think they were being artsy or quirky with the use of old keys because we stayed at another hotel that also had them. We couldn't figure out how to open the door and fiddled for close to 10 minutes before having to ask for help. The ironic thing was we were trying to get into the business center to use the computer. We were using keys from the 1800s to get into the room containing the INTERNET.

We also had another delicious steak dinner and, for future reference, discovered that if you want to order two steaks medium rare, you'll get one steak medium and one steak rare. And rare is SO GOOD. In Spanish, it's jugoso. I WOULD like my steak juicy, thank you!

The Recoleta Cemetery during the day.

It's like a neighborhood of apartments for dead people. These giant tombs are for entire families and have multiple levels. To buy a space here is more expensive than buying a home in Buenos Aires. Though I guess it IS for forever. Plus, you can be neighbors with Eva Peron!

While we were loitering near the entrance, this woman asked if we were there for the English tour. Is it free?, we asked. Then yes. Then this incredibly chatty woman who called us "California girls," proceeded to talk for 40 minutes and literally move about 50 feet. We ditched the tour. Also, it was kind of amusing to find that, whenever people talked to us, they called us "chicas." As in "Holas! Chicas! Estan listas?" (They also like to pluralize "hola.")

Packing up to go home!

The cab ride to the airport was insane. Lane lines mean nothing to these people. In Peru, the driving wasn't much better, but this was a big city with major freeways and people were just driving in a large mass of cars. And I thought Europe driving was crazy. Right after I checked my seat belt for the third time, Andrea leaned over and asked me if I had my seat belt on. Haha.

We had no clue how long the flight from Buenos Aires to Dallas was going to be (at that point in the trip, we had taken a lot of flights and had stopped caring about landing times), and so estimated it at around 6 hours, 7 hours max. Imagine our shock when the pilot announced it would be 10.5 hrs. Did you know that Argentina is THAT far east and THAT far south? Shucks.

After traveling abroad, I always come back into the US with a new appreciation. But boy, I've never felt more lucky to live here as after this trip. So so lucky. All told, an amazing experience!

These pictures and more here.