| s/y Nine of Cups Inland Travel in Argentina September - October 2006 |
| Republica de Argentina Capital City: Buenos Aires Population: ~38,000,000 Land Area: 1,073,519 sq miles South America's 2nd largest country Currency: Argentinian Peso ($3 PA = $1 US) Language: Spanish Highest Point: Cerro Aconcagua - 22,831 feet above sea level Political Units: 22 Provinces, 1 island territory, 1 federal district (like our D.C.) Note that the "island territory" is Islas Malvinas claimed by the British as the Falkland Islands. Exports: Beef (it's the best!), lamb, grapes (wine), wheat, wool electrical equipment, chemicals Argentinian wines are phenomenal and inexpensive. They are particularly known for a particular varietal, Malbec. Additionally, ice cream is outstanding here. |
| A rather circuitous itinerary... |
| Iguazu Falls |
| Valle Calcachiques Tour |
| San Ignacio de Mini |
| We left Cups "on the hard" in Piriapolis, Uruguay and set out by bus for a tour of northern and central Argentina with a sidetrip to Paraguay. With Lonely Planet Argentina as our guide, we caught several buses which took us from Piriapolis out of Uruguay and north towards Posadas and the Iguazu Falls. We planned to visit Iguazu first, return to Posadas then travel to Paraguay from there. Our itinerary changed as we decided to include some cities/towns we hadn't considered earlier or stay longer than anticipated. The luxury of making changes on a whim was not lost on us. We relished the thought of taking our time, seeing what we wanted and not missing out on anything which caught our fancy. |
| Marcie (wet from spray) with Iguazu Falls in the background. |
| The Iguazu Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls, consist of more than 275 cascades along a two mile stretch of the Iguazu River. Located on the Brazil/Argentina border, there are two large national parks...one on either side of the Falls. Discovered in 1541, this area was established in 1984 as a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We stayed in the little town of Puerto Iguazu for a few days...an easy commute by local bus back and forth to the Falls. |
| Panoramic views are stupendous as viewed from an elaborate set of "pasarelas" (catwalks) and footbridges throughout the park. |
| Coati (we call them coatimundis) were quite common, roaming freely, snuffling for good treats. |
| Caiman are also quite common and we caught this fellow as he lazed in the sun nearby the footbridge. |
| Lots of birds and butterflies. Above, a pair of plush crested jays. |
| The ruins at San Ignacio de Mini date from the 16th century. Founded by San Ignatius de Loyola in 1534, this Jesuit mission was dedicated to education and the teaching of Catholicism. When they became a bit too influential in the eyes of the Spanish landowners and the Pope, they were summarily expelled from Argentina. To the right, the walls of one of the buildings remain. A museum displays the history of the Jesuits in the area and in Argentina. |
| Salta, jewel of the north |
| From San Ignacio, we bussed to Posadas. Lonely Planet listed several interesting things about the town including a great Natural History Museum and the fact that the specialty of the town was frog's legs. Unfortunately, the museum was closed due to lack of funding and frog's legs were no longer served, but rather exported to places like France and Canada according to the waiter who served us chicken instead. From Posadas, we crossed the border to Paraguay for a few days and then crossed back into Argentina to Resistencia and on to Salta, the "jewel of the north". |
| View from Posadas of the International Bridge across the Rio Parana to Encarnacion, Paraguay. |
| A gorgeous flowering tree known by the locals as "pacho" was in bloom and quite flambuoyant. |
| The Andean Northwest is considered to be the most "traditional" part of Argentina and Salta is its hub. A city of ~500,000 people, the city maintains a colonial ambiance due to its well-preserved architecture. Above the Cabildo was the colonial city hall and now houses the Museum of the North which was terrific. Salta is also a good hub for exploring the Calcachiques Valley and the Parque Nacional Los Cardones. |
| There were many churches in town, but the most impressive was the ornate Iglesia de San Francisco. |
| Salta's "teleferico" transports people 926' upwards to the top of Cerro San Bernardo for an unsurpassed view of the city below. |
| We checked out all the tours in town and found one to our liking. We opted for a 2-day, overnight covering a 320 mile circuit over unpaved roads into the Andean foothills. The tour included a route through a national park, several scenic "quebradas" (gorges), stops in small Andean towns to check out the fine weaving and crafts and finallyl winetasting in the vineyards of Cafayate. We shared the tour with a pleasant couple from Madrid who spent their time correcting the Spanish of our guide. |
| One of the first interesting sights was a huge crowd of "peregrinos" (pilgrims) making their way on a 5-day pilgrimage to Salta for an annual religious festival. |
| A guanaco, member of the camelid family, is relative to the llama, alpaca and vicuna and one of two found in the wild of the Andean foothills. |
| The Parque Nacional Los Cardones was a massive expanse of desert and cacti with a backdrop of the Andean foothills. |
| The scenic plaza in the center of Cafayate. |
| We toured several wineries in Cafayate, sampling several of the local wines. Torrontes, a sweet white, is a specialty of the area. |
| One of many roadside stops we made to check out the local crafts and offerings. |
| We stopped at numerous little towns along the way to stretch our legs, have a snack and check out the landscape. To the right, the picturesque little town of Cachi with its whitewashed buildings and cobblestone streets dates from the late 18th century. |
| Cordoba ... City of Bells |
The incrediby ornate neo-Gothic style of the
Capuchin Sacred Heart church.
Capuchin Sacred Heart church.
| A city of 1.3 million people, Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina, dating from the 17th century. With seven universities, it is also the educational center of the country and maintains the best preserved colonial architecture. It was our favorite city on our tour and we enjoyed several days here exploring all it had to offer. We took a walking tour of the city including the Manzana Jesuitica (Jesuit Block) in town as well the underground crypts discovered only recently by the local phone company when trying to lay new cables. We also took a side tour to several Jesuit estancias (ranches) in the surrounding countryside. In 2000, UNESCO declared Manzana Jesuitica and five Jesuit estancias in the area a World Heritage site. The tour was lovely and gave us a feel for the richness of the local culture. |
| View of Cordoba's city plaza from our hotel room window. |
| Estancia Santa Catalina founded in 1622 is the largest and most majestic of the estancias in the area. |
| Mendoza |
| Mendoza is known for its vineyards, wine and olives and in fact, produces 70% of the country's wine. We spent several days exploring the local area and sampling wines at local restaurants by the "flight". Each "flight" offered a glass of different wine with each course of the meal. |
| We took a bus to the top of Cerro Gloria, the highest point in the city adorned by an enormous military statue and topped by Lady Liberty. |
| Even the ice cream reflected the "wine" theme of the city offering Vanilla Malbec, Peach Syrah and Pineapple Viognier. We tried them and prefer to keep them separate. |
| General San Martin Park was absolutely splendid. From its ornate entrance gate to its stunning lakes and paths, it was a delightful way to spend the day and a gem in the middle of the city. |
| Across the Andes and Home Again |
| From Mendoza, we decided to take a bus across the Andes...mostly because we'd never done it before and also because we hadn't visited Santiago, Valparaiso or Vina del Mar on our trip along the Chilean coast. The trip was hair-raising...what a rush! |
| In the midst, Cerro Aconcagua stands regal at 22,831 feet above sea level.. It is not only the highest mountain in Argentina and South America, but the highest in the western hemisphere. |
| The roads on the Argentina side were well-maintained and though steep, no more difficult than I70 in Colorado. The roads on the Chile side, however, were unbelievably scary. We sat in the front row of a panoramic view bus and man, oh, man, the view was stupendous as the bus slowly wended its way around 28 switchbacks with no guard rails and crumbling road edges. |
| We returned across the Andes with much less drama since the switchbacks were behind us, not in front. We passed through Mendoza once again and headed on to Buenos Aires which deserves a page of its own. To tour the fabulous city of Buenos Aires with us, click here. After a month on the road, we were happy to return to tranquilo little Piriapolis, Uruguay and move back aboard Nine of Cups. |
| Check out our Birds of South America |