When we heard that we had won the Argentina win trip, we were stunned. How fantastic! What a surprise, Argentina, a destination that we would never have chosen ourselves because we have been in love with Africa for years, but of course we are overjoyed!
Buenos Aires
Our journey begins in Buenos Aires , a metropolis that has certainly left its impressions. A large city with friendly people and heavy traffic, which unfortunately does little justice to the name of the city. Many beautiful and interesting places with a monument or statue on every corner. Cozy restaurants and beautiful parks. We stay in hotel Reconquista Garden Hotel , sober but neat.
We choose to explore the city by hop-on hop-off bus; for us a great way to get a first impression of the city. We buy a ticket for two days. Today we make a general tour and tomorrow we will specifically visit a number of sights.
'LA BOCCA IS DEFINITELY A NEIGHBORHOOD YOU MUST VISIT'
We stop at the stop in front of the neighborhood La Bocca . This is a must-see part of Buenos Aires. An artists' quarter on the harbor that is best known for its colorfully painted houses. There is a cheerful atmosphere and people praise their wares here. Between the narrow houses, bazaars are decorated with lots of colors and kitsch.
Another stop is at Floralis Generica . This one is located in La Recoleta, the old chic neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The 20 meter high metal flower opens and closes with the rhythm of the day and is a beautiful mirror of the city. It is a beautiful work of art that rises high against the now cloudy sky with the skyline of Buenos Aires in the background.
'THE CITY IS STILL WITH ART'
And there is even more art, the city is dotted with statues, sculptures and otherwise displayable objects. Some are prominent on their own square or in a park, others are hidden between the bushes or along the side of the road. Along the riverbank, on Paseo de la Gloria, stands for example, a whole collection of statues of life-size Argentine sports icons, including tennis star Gabriela Sabatini, NBA basketball player Manu Ginobili, former Formula 1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, hockey star Luciano Aymar and - of course - also Messi.
The bus also stops at Palermo , the culinary part of the city. There are restaurants, small bars and cafes everywhere. We enter a cozy steakhouse and enjoy a delicious piece of Argentine beef amidst the locals.
'WE ENJOYED THE CITY'
We visit the impressive cemetery La Recoleta . When you enter it seems like you enter a village with mini houses, tombs! Here are tombs and chapels that sometimes have the size of a few living rooms. Pretty weird to walk through here. Tombs from eighteen hundred so many to the present day. Very old weathered and richly decorated tombs and sleek marble tombs stand side by side here forever as good neighbors. The atmosphere is gloomy and at times a bit foreboding. More than 25,000 people are currently buried in 6,400 tombs!
We enjoyed this city and end the day with Cafe Valerio , a small restaurant where we ate the last few days.
We enjoyed this city and end the day with Cafe Valerio , a small restaurant where we ate the last few days.
Salta
We fly to Salta . From Salta we make an excursion to the high mountains of Humahuaca. A journey of 500 kilometers and about 12 hours in the bus! The landscape changes quickly. Large, barren plains and dried-up riverbeds are slowly turning yellow. In the rainy season we would now drive north along swirling rivers. Now we only see dust and gray stones.
'SLOWLY BARE PLAINS ARE TAKEN BY MOUNTAINS'
Slowly the bare plains are taken over by the mountains and they suddenly stand at the side of the road like great dragon legs. Impressive! What make these mountains so famous are the beautiful colors. Due to the different minerals and different ways of erosion, the most colorful and bizarre paintings are created here. In Purmamarca, a small village with a nice market and a souvenir shop in every house, we can stretch our legs. The village is located on a well-known Inca route that is flanked by the Cerro de los Siete Colores (the seven color hill).
'CACTUSES OVER FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OLD'
Our next stop is the Botanical Garden . Here are cacti that are four hundred years old. If you walk through the garden and climb the mountain via the narrow path, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view of the mountains. Halfway through the trail, a few restored historic homes hide among meters high cacti. Offering souvenirs is one of the most important activities at every stop. Nevertheless, it is nice to walk around among the many trinkets and excessively colorful fabrics and specific clothing. The people are friendly and helpful and not pushy at all.
Cafayate: wine and mountains
In contrast to yesterday, today we drive south with four guests in a Toyota 4x4, towards the wine. It will be a relaxed day out. Just like yesterday, the landscape changes quickly as we leave the city. Yet the mountains we encounter are of a different caliber. High rock formations and carved caverns characterize the rock formations that pass left and right. At two of these caves, the Devil's Throat and The Amphi theater we stop. The Devils Throat is a narrow funnel, well carved into the rocks. Here you are very small. You can barely see the tops of the rocks. The Amfi theater is a somewhat larger gorge that ends in a round "courtyard" with very nice acoustics.
'IN CAFAYATE WE VISIT TWO WINE FARMERS'
In Cafayate , we visit two winegrowers. We get a short tour with an explanation of how and how much wine is produced. Of course we can also taste. The first farm produces about 24,000 bottles a day, but is not really our taste. The second, on the other hand, a much smaller winery that produces only a fraction and only supplies within Argentina, suits us better. The wine is made entirely organically on this farm. We taste four varieties, two white, a rosé and a red. We buy two bottles of the red one to end our holiday in a few days.
The trip to the high mountains was enormous with beautiful views and beautiful landscapes. The wine region in the south is different, rougher but no less beautiful. Here, nature has erected its own statues that have been given names by man.
'IT IS INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL WHEN WE STAND AT THE EDGE OF ARGENTINA'S BIGGEST WATERFALLS. '
Iguazu is the highlight for us. The enormous natural spectacle on the border of Argentina and Brazil is more than a miracle. Fantastic! We are happy that we were able to feel, see and smell this. In short, an experience you will never forget.
Our hotel, Posada 21 Oranges , was a kind of B&B with a dozen semi-detached houses. Primitive, but very cozy with a personal service.
On the first day we drive to the falls in a company of about fifteen people.
'SLOWLY WE SAIL TO THE BIGGEST WATERFALL, READY FOR THE SHOWER!'
We will visit the falls on three levels and start at the highest level, Devil's Throat . A walking tour of about 2.5 kilometers through the jungle over metal bridges and along many photogenic spots. It is impressive and unimaginably beautiful as we stand on the edge of the largest waterfalls in Argentina. Awesome! Because of the violence of all the water and the force with which it explodes on the rocks we are showered warmly.
The middle level is just as beautiful and we enjoy it to the fullest. We try to capture everything on photo and film, but that is impossible. The only way to store this is within ourselves so that we can replay it later in our memory.
After lunch we continue with – what turns out afterwards – the biggest challenge: the lowest level. Through the jungle, over slippery concrete paths with uneven steps here and there, we walk slowly to the last 250 meters of this tour. Intuitively, these are 250 meters longer than our first trip this morning. We have to watch every step or we will be down earlier than planned. It reminds me of our first 'easy walk ' in South Africa along the coast of Robbenland or on our trip to the waterfalls in Tsitsikamma in 2012!
'WE WILL THINK ABOUT THIS OFTEN!'
Sliding we arrive at the departure point of the boat that will take us to the bottom of the falls. Slowly we sail along the rocks and when one of the crew members gives the signal to attack, we dash full-speed towards the largest waterfall, ready for the shower. A fantastic spectacle and fun to do. In this violence of water you yourself are only a drop. We end the adventure with a ride through the rainforest. We wouldn't have wanted to miss this. We will remember this often!
The waterfalls in Brazil
We also visit the falls on the Brazilian side. This walk is a lot easier than the one from the Argentinian side. We descend to the waterfall on a wide concrete path with well-organized stairs. The ultimate experience is the expansive platform above the falls. Everyone laughs, everyone enjoys! We notice that the part of Brazil we drive through is clean. The gardens are well maintained and the houses are also in good condition.
Three-country point between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
Our last outing of this amazing journey is Hito Tres Fronteras , the tripoint between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The two major rivers, the Paraná and the Iguaçu, are the common denominator of these three countries. A nice view, but the view from yesterday and the day before yesterday is hard to beat.
We walk slowly along the river back to the center of Iguazu. We are not so much mistaken in the distance, but in the height that we have to bridge, so we rest for a while on a terrace before we walk further up into the village again. We have our last meal at La Rueda where we enjoy a delicious steak.
Thank you!! May this happen to us, to win this fantastic journey. It was pure enjoyment. We are grateful and many beautiful and magical memories richer!!
Muchos Gracias!
Guus and Veronika Quaedvlieg
NB The photos used in this travelogue are by Mr. Quaedvlieg home made.