It’s amazing that 2 weeks have
passed so quickly, yet that we have experienced so much in Ecuador and
Peru. We’ve been looking forward to ending our 3 week adventure in Argentina
given all the hype we hear from friends that Buenos Aires is their favorite Latin
American city. And so the final phase began…
Saturday, August 6: Lima
(Peru) ->Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Our international flight from
Lima departed at 8:45, arriving in Buenos Aires at 3:15pm. The highlight of the
journey was the LAN flight with movies on the back of each seat. It’s been a
while since we just watched TV, so the short flight was a treat! During the
flight, Karl pulled out his little travel emergency bag to show off how he’s
built an amazing collection of travel gear over the past year. Of course, he
proceeded to leave it on the plane as we rushed off to experience BA.
Fortunately we were able to have someone retrieve it once we were on the the
other side of immigration.
By the time we got to our very
cool boutique hotel (PuroBaires) it was around 5pm. The hotel managed to find a
wash & fold laundry place for us. It’s uncommon for people to have
washers/dryers, and instead they depend on a service. We walked about 15minutes
to drop our things off, then proceeded with a 2 hour walk until everything was
ready. It gave us a chance to explore the hip Palermo SOHO neighborhood we were
staying in. There was a wonderful square with artisans displaying their goods
while people strolled by. We noticed how European and young everyone looked
relative to the last 2 countries. At 5:30pm, the city was full of
activity. Everyone was in cafes with drinks and sweets. By 7pm, they all
disappeared and BA felt like a ghost town. However by 10pm, the restaurants
were full again with people having dinner before their night on the town.
We couldn’t manage waiting until
10pm for dinner, so we had the hotel book us a “super early” dinner slot at
8:30. The restaurant, Lo de Jesus, is one of many restaurants known for their
beef. As you may know, Argentina is famous for grilled steaks and Malbec red
wine. The meat was unbelievably tender and delicious (and when you say medium
rare, the steak was still moo’ing with just a sear on the outside).. As we left
dinner at 10pm, the restaurant had just gotten full. We still can’t understand
how Argentines eat so late!
One other note – we are SO
thankful we bought sweaters in Cusco! It’s in the 50s here, and while we packed
1 sweater, it’s not been enough.
Sunday, August 7: Buenos
Aires
We got a great overview of
Buenos Aires on Sunday. The city of 4M (which swells to 10M if you include
suburbs) starts a little late since it ends so late. We began around 10am. In
summary, we finished the day surprised by eclectic architecture and cultures of
each neighborhoods.
We began in the Main Square,
Plaza de Mayo. There’s a neo-classical Cathedral, the colonial Cabildo, the old
town hall and the pink colored Presidential Palace (think “Evita” where she
sung from the balcony). From there we went to San Telmo neighborhood. It’s the oldest
part of the city, bohemian atmosphere, narrow sidewalks, cobbled-stone streets,
flat roof colonial houses and windows with iron railings. On Sundays, there’s a
flea market and an artist’s market. It was great to browse the streets and
square. We continued to La Boca quarter, where Italian immigrants settled in
the 20th century. We saw the famed Boca Juniors soccer stadium,
multi-colored tin houses, and the very cool (but touristy) Caminito Street.
There, artists exhibit their work outdoors, tango dancers dance in the cafes –
all set against brightly, multi-colored buildings. Apparently it was the way
immigrants inexpensively dressed up the area. We also learned about the history
of tango, which originated in Argentina by the immigrants – all a mix of various
cultures. It was interesting to go from the poorer neighborhood of Boca
to the beautiful wide streets of Peurto Madero and the marina. The surroundings
include tall glass buildings, a stylish bridge, and renovated old brick
warehouses that now house restaurants/shops. All around the city – there were
so many plazas. We ended the tour in Riccoleta, an expensive neighborhood that
houses one of the weirdest sites we’ve ever seen: a cemetery. This cemetery
includes monuments that were designed by architects. It’s really incredible –
think of a little city of mausoleums. Creepy, yet beautiful.
We returned to our hotel for a
short break before walking around Palermo more. We walked to the leather
outlets, but decided that the selection in China is much better. Nothing like
having things custom made! We also walked to another square. During weekdays,
this square is surrounded by bars and discos. On Sundays, it turns into another
artists fair. Inside the discos, small boutiques and sellers set up shop. It’s
odd to walk into a disco during the day and see clothes for sale and the bars
covered up.
For dinner, again at 8:30pm, we
got into a hot restaurant – La Cabrera. The atmosphere was wonderful. The
quality of steak was good. Best, it was just a few blocks from our hotel.
During our dinner we came up with the following list….
-
Most surprising
about BA (good): 1. such distinct differences between the neighborhoods
and 2. the grave site.
-
Most disappointing
(bad): 1. poop on the ground (tons of dogs being walked, all which seem to poop
freely!) and 2. all the graffiti (which seems to a common part of the political
expression).
-
Our favorite spot:
San Telmo.
Monday, August 8: Day trip to
Colonia (Uruguay)
Across the river from Buenos
Aires is the city of Colonia, in the country of Uruguay. Lila had been to
Uruguay years ago, but only to the capital city of Montevideo. We were
deliberate in adding Uruguay to our agenda so Karl could get 1 country count
closer to Lila. J We took the ferry at 8:45am, returning around 6pm. It’s
around an hour journey across the Rio de la Plata river. The river looks more
like a sea from the coast, and ends up at the Atlantic Ocean.
Colonia dates back to the 17th
century. Its small, Old City is a World Heritage site. We were pleasantly
surprised to have a tour guide for a few hours, then roamed around on our own.
It was wonderful because we really felt that we learned a lot about Uruguay –
the history, culture, and lifestyle. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. We
opted to start at the not-officially-opened Visitors Center – a great stop to
get an overview via a short video of Uruguayan images (which our guide
explained) and a historical timeline. We did a quick tour around town, learning
about the river, and seeing an old resort the Spanish opened, including a Bull
ring and sports center. Once bull killing was deemed inappropriate, the ring
closed as did the rest of the old resort (only two years after it was
opened). The old city was quite charming. There were 2 highlights. The first
was the architecture. The Portuguese (who ruled Brazil) built in Colonia as a
way to spy on the Spanish in Argentina. The Spanish didn’t like that. In fact,
during just 100 years, Colonia passed between the Spanish and Portuguese 10
times! Right next to a short, Portuguese house with roof tiles, you’d see
the flat roof Spanish home. One cobble stoned street would peak in the middle
and slope on the sides - the way Spanish architected drainage. The next cobble
stone street would be dipped in the middle with the sides higher to create a
water drainage in the middle (Portuguese design). It was very fascinating! The
other highlight was this old Portuguese house we found refuge from the cold
wind off the river. Inside the stone building with low roof, it felt like
we had stepped back in time. We enjoyed an assortment of cheese and meats,
including the famed Colonia cheese with a bottle of Tannat (the country’s
signature red wine).
We returned to Buenos Aires via
ferry, which even had a duty free shop inside! It was an interesting day, got
Karl to 58 countries, and put a few more stamps in both of our passports. That
evening, we relaxed at the hotel, still full from our Uruguayan lunch and then
the cheese/wine snack. We organized our luggage and prepped for the 5am
departure on Tuesday to Mendoza.
Tuesday, August 9: Buenos
Aires -> Mendoza (Argentina)
We arrived in Mendoza, a 2hr
flight from Buenos Aires (440miles NW), around 9:30am. Our itinerary in Mendoza
got a bit screwed up, but we did some last minute coordination with the tour
guide and arranged for a city tour in the morning. We really enjoy learning the
history, and getting an orientation of a city when we arrive. Especially with a
new city every couple of days, it’s really helped us piece together the history
and culture of the continent. The city is dotted with huge central plazas. We
saw at least 5 – not bad for a city of 130k citizens. Most of the history of
the city was wiped out in an earthquake in the mid 1800s. One of the most
amazing sites was the city park – Parque General San Martin – with 11 miles of
paths, 300 species of imported fauna, an amazing rowing club, and beautiful
statues. It was very grand – especially for a smaller town. We also drove into
the mountains to see a beautiful monument to San Martin, one of the lead
generals who fought the Spanish for independence of Argentina, Peru, &
Bolivia. Apparently when San Martin returned from Spain, he chose to be based
in Mendoza to plot out the revolution against the Spanish. We also stopped at
the central market, where we got some delicious dried fruit (Lila thinks the
peaches were the best, but in fact Karl’s dried, white figs ruled!).
We started our visit to the
wineries in Lujan de Cuyo, or the first zone. It’s home of the Malbecs and the
main area of Argentina’s wine industry. The first stop was for lunch - at Clos
de Chacras winery. It was an outstanding gourmet pairing of many food and wine
courses. One thing about Mendoza – they like their wine with good food!
Afterwards, we visited Alta Vista - a well known winery known for the mix of
old and new, Malbecs and Torrentes. From there we stopped by Carmello Patti, a
winemaker who produces wine under his own label. It was a very small operation
and fun to hang out with the charming older man. Afterwards, we walked around
the small town of Chacras, where our hotel was based. We’ve decided that we
like the charm of small hotels, but like to be based in a larger city/town
where we can walk around. In Chacras, you can walk the entire downtown in 15
minutes. The hotel, Lourdes de Chacras, was a charming boutique hotel made of
old stones.
That evening we had dinner at
Nadia OF. The chef, Nadia, is married to a winemaker O. Fournier. She started
the restaurant to do wine pairings with his wine. Again, the
food/pairings were wonderful.
Wednesday, August 10: Mendoza
(Argentina)
Today’s wine visit was in the
Uco Valley, a high-altitude wine region pushing against the Andes. It was about
1 hr from the town of Chacras, about 90min from downtown Mendoza. It’s
considered the new frontier in Argentine wine. Our first stop was Salentein. No
words can describe the amazing architecture and structure of the winery, set
against the beautiful backdrop of the snow capped Andes. As you approach the
winery, it really doesn’t look like anything special. But inside and
underground is amazing. Frommers described it as “temple like cave” – and
that’s what it felt like! Maybe because it’s winter, or because it’s Mendoza,
but we were surprised how quiet the winery was. In the US, such a beautiful
winery would be over packed with visitors. Afterwards, we visited Azul, an uber
boutique winery that produces only 40,000 bottles each year. We got to some
wine from the 2011 March harvest straight from the tank. We also tried their
premium wine straight from the barrel. The winemaker was very cool to talk to.
The morning’s visits were really excellent and enjoyable visits!
For lunch, we ate at the Altus
winery, a small very rural winery that hosts the top quality restaurant Bistro
La Tupina in a converted vineyard workers’ cottage. The pairing was again
amazing – and never ending! At least 3 times we thought we were done. We had
small courses of appetizers (chorizo, chardonnay cheese, blood sausage
(disgusting thought, but good in the belly), an amazing egg dish (presented in
an egg shell)). Then we were given delicious sheppards pie, empanadas, a
lentil/meat stew, and finally the most tender short ribs. They also prepared
wheat-free versions for Karl.
We napped on the hour car ride
back to the hotel, arriving around 5pm. Clearly we were too stuffed for dinner
that evening so we opted for a game of pool with a cheese snack plate at the
hotel. We’ve now had more meat and cheese since landing in Argentina than we’ve
had the entire year!
A few things we’ve taken away
from Mendoza. Its common to drink young wines, meaning inexpensive (e.g.
US$5-$10) that are not aged in oak to show off the flavors of the grapes. They
aren’t fans of barrel aged – we had many wines including a cab that spent no
time in a barrel – only a concrete or stainless steel tank. As a result, many
of the wines don’t have a long finishes. There’s a big shift from producing
quantity (150 years of producing the 4th largest volume of wine) to
quality (less than 10 years of experience). Most of the wines are not “drink
alone” wines, but rather should be paired with food. The specialization is
Malbec, but they are experimenting with a variety of whites and reds. The
migrant workers are predominantly from Bolivia, who earn ~ $15/day. There’s a
recent effort to improve the working conditions. Water is highly regulated by
the Dept of Irrigation. Overall, we learned a ton about the differences
with California’s wine region and preferences. It was very fascinating and
enjoyable!
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