Why I love Argentina

Ok, so Argentina is not exactly what I would call authentic South America and I found it quite different to Peru and Bolivia. It´s definitely a lot more westernised than the previous two countries but it was nice to get a change of scene. After my nightmare border crossing from Bolivia, I proceeded to Salta for new year. The hostel I stayed in wasn´t much but they did have a pool and they did have a new year´s eve party - 150 pesos for bbq and unlimited (yes, that´s right, unlimited) alcohol. If there´s one thing Argentinians (or is that Argentines?) do well, it´s bbq, or asado. Great cuts of meet, cooked to perfection and not over priced. Sorry vegetarians out there but it´s amazing! I didn´t see too much else in Salta as I was only there for two days over the new year period and a lot of stuff was closed (even McDonalds, which - shame on me -  I really wanted the next day, after the unlimited alcohol). I got an overnight bus from there to Mendoza on January 1st. Another things Argentina does well is long bus journeys. The buses are so comfortable, and on this ride, we got meals, DVDs (in English - yay!) and, wait for it, bingo! Yup - the waiter that delivered our meals to our seats, also doubled as a bingo caller. A great way for me to practise my Spanish numbers. However, while I was asleep on this bus, someone stole my alarm clock and light. More inconvenient than anything else - perhaps they had trouble getting up in the morning and needed it more than me.

Mendoza was absolutely a highlight for me. After hectically trying to fit things in before Christmas, and then between Christmas and new year, I was ready to chill out. I stayed in a fantastic hostel - small, with a pool, hammocks, and best of all, free wine five nights a week. I met some great people here and relaxed for a few days - I liked it so much I even stayed a fourth night - the longest I´ve stayed in one place on this trip. Mendoza is a wine region, famous for Malbec, so I got together a group of people from the hostel and we spent a day cycling around a few wineries and sampling the local tipple. Thankfully, we didn´t get robbed at gunpoint like two guys I met the day before.

After Mendoza, I headed for Buenos Aires. I spent a very hot four days here - did a great free walking tour of the city, met some Kiwi guys from Otago, went to a steak restaurant where I ate the best steak of my life, walked around colourful local neighbourhoods, ate lots of dulce de leche and emapanadas (but not together), had coffee at the famous Cafe Tortoni, watched locals tango in the streets and even went to an Andy Warhol exhibiton.

From Buenos Aires, I headed for Iguazu Falls, right on the border between Argentina and Brazil. Since this was my last overnight bus trip in Argentina, I decided to splash out and get the next class up on the bus, which meant I got wine with my hot dinner, followed by coffee and champagne (which was a bit of a weird order), a super comfy chair that reclined just that little bit extra and a nice pillow and blanket. Luxury for a backpacker. Iguazu Falls was amazing. I spent a day there doing all the walking paths and the boat ride that takes you right under some of the falls - I got absolutely soaked. The hoards of tour groups were a bit of a downer, but that´s to be expected. I went back the next day to do the Macuco trail, a 3.5 km trail into the jungle within the national park. The hike went to a waterfall with a swimming hole at the end. I was hoping to see capuchin monkeys, but unfortunately I didn´t. I did, however, see three toucans together in a tree - that was pretty incredible.

I´ve now crossed the border into Brazil to see the falls from the other side and I´m looking forward to the next two weeks of beaches and sun as I head up to coast to Rio de Janeiro. I´m hoping I´ll be ok given that I don´t speak any Portuguese!