Thursday, 11 March 2010
Buenos Aires to Iguazu (2 nights)
WE'D BOOKED A FLIGHT with Aerolineas Argentinas straight out of BA to Iguazu on the day we arrived from England. Our international flight arrived at Ezeiza at 1000, and we cleared immigration by 1100, which gave us three hours to get to Aeroparque Jorge Newberry(to check in for the 1505 flight) which turned out to be plenty of time. There are regular Manuel Tienda Leon buses from Ezeiza to Aeroparque, with a stop downtown. The fare is 35 pesos, and the scheduled journey time is 90 minutes, though it actually took nearer to 75. You buy your ticket from the Manuel Tienda Leon kiosk which is also where the bus leaves from. Once you have left international arrivals, bear left around the block and you’ll see it, it’s a few minutes walk.
Before leaving the international arrivals building, there are two HSBC cash machines, next to the post office, on the left just before the exit. A good tip to avoid ATM charges is to load up a pre-paid credit card at home. I loaded up a Caxton FX Mastercard and had no trouble getting upto 800 pesos out from any main bank’s ATM on a daily basis(sometimes twice in a day). Though you don’t have to pay any ATM charges, you ARE charged by the Argentine bank network, Banelco. It is just under 12 pesos per withdrawal, so it makes sense to withdraw your maximum whenever you can.
Credit cards aren’t universally welcomed in Argentina. Traders prefer cash, and you can hardly blame them after the economic meltdown of a few years ago. Even hotels bearing credit card logos sometimes will only accept a credit card under duress. Only the smarter restaurants accept them. Most upmarket shops, especially in Palermo BA, will accept them, though even they will offer a generous discount – upto 15 per cent – for paying in cash.
We arrived at Aeroparque in plenty of time, and had prepared for the fact that Aerolineas Argentinas’ hold baggage allowance is a measly 15 kgs per passenger(compared with the 23 kg of LAN and most other airlines). Bear this in mind if you are arriving off an international flight with your free 23kgs of hold luggage. You’ll have to do some re-packing – or wear a photographer’s-style waistcoat with loads of pockets, that was my tactic - if you want to avoid excess baggage charges. Alternately, book all your internal flights with LAN, the prices are pretty much the same as AA on most routes. Our flight to Iguazu, booked a month earlier at home, cost £102 inc. taxes. The LAN website showed roughly the same price(but their timings weren’t as convenient for us)
A word about Argentina’s airports – Ezeiza, Aeroparque and Salta. Even allowing for the inevitable airport “mark-up”, they are shockingly expensive. Drinks and food cost at least three times what we would have paid outside. It was the only time we felt ripped off during our trip.
Once our flight to Iguazu was airborne, the captain kept the seatbelt sign on for the whole 90 minute flight which meant the cabin crew stayed chatting behind a drawn curtain without serving any drinks or snacks(despite there being no turbulence at all)!
At Puerto Iguazu, we thankfully avoided the mad scramble for taxis by being met by the free transfer supplied by the Panoramic Hotel. Otherwise, the taxi fare is around 90 pesos.
We’d booked a stay at the Panoramic simply because we thought we’d be in need of some luxury after our epic 32-hour journey from home(without sleep) and, apart from the intrusive piped music around the pool(which drowned out the birdsong) and a lack of chairs for the balcony, it didn’t fail to deliver(see Hotels, right).
Before leaving the international arrivals building, there are two HSBC cash machines, next to the post office, on the left just before the exit. A good tip to avoid ATM charges is to load up a pre-paid credit card at home. I loaded up a Caxton FX Mastercard and had no trouble getting upto 800 pesos out from any main bank’s ATM on a daily basis(sometimes twice in a day). Though you don’t have to pay any ATM charges, you ARE charged by the Argentine bank network, Banelco. It is just under 12 pesos per withdrawal, so it makes sense to withdraw your maximum whenever you can.
Credit cards aren’t universally welcomed in Argentina. Traders prefer cash, and you can hardly blame them after the economic meltdown of a few years ago. Even hotels bearing credit card logos sometimes will only accept a credit card under duress. Only the smarter restaurants accept them. Most upmarket shops, especially in Palermo BA, will accept them, though even they will offer a generous discount – upto 15 per cent – for paying in cash.
We arrived at Aeroparque in plenty of time, and had prepared for the fact that Aerolineas Argentinas’ hold baggage allowance is a measly 15 kgs per passenger(compared with the 23 kg of LAN and most other airlines). Bear this in mind if you are arriving off an international flight with your free 23kgs of hold luggage. You’ll have to do some re-packing – or wear a photographer’s-style waistcoat with loads of pockets, that was my tactic - if you want to avoid excess baggage charges. Alternately, book all your internal flights with LAN, the prices are pretty much the same as AA on most routes. Our flight to Iguazu, booked a month earlier at home, cost £102 inc. taxes. The LAN website showed roughly the same price(but their timings weren’t as convenient for us)
A word about Argentina’s airports – Ezeiza, Aeroparque and Salta. Even allowing for the inevitable airport “mark-up”, they are shockingly expensive. Drinks and food cost at least three times what we would have paid outside. It was the only time we felt ripped off during our trip.
Once our flight to Iguazu was airborne, the captain kept the seatbelt sign on for the whole 90 minute flight which meant the cabin crew stayed chatting behind a drawn curtain without serving any drinks or snacks(despite there being no turbulence at all)!
At Puerto Iguazu, we thankfully avoided the mad scramble for taxis by being met by the free transfer supplied by the Panoramic Hotel. Otherwise, the taxi fare is around 90 pesos.
We’d booked a stay at the Panoramic simply because we thought we’d be in need of some luxury after our epic 32-hour journey from home(without sleep) and, apart from the intrusive piped music around the pool(which drowned out the birdsong) and a lack of chairs for the balcony, it didn’t fail to deliver(see Hotels, right).
IGUAZU FALLS
Puerto Iguazu, meanwhile, turned out to be a pleasant, friendly, laidback little town. Getting to the falls is easy. There are half-hourly buses from the bus station in the centre of town, and the half-hour journey costs 4 pesos and takes you right to the entrance. The return buses leave from the same place at 10 and 40 mins past the hour up until 1940.
Entrance to the Iguazu National Park for the falls is 85 pesos for non-South American tourists. February is the height of the season, which meant it was hot, humid and mobbed with visitors. The train which runs on a narrow gauge railway between the visitor centre and the furthest extremes of the park(with a change of trains halfway!) couldn’t cope with the demand, so we did more walking than planned, and actually gave up on even trying to get to the viewing point for the Garganta del Diablo as the crowds were so dense and the paths so narrow. It didn’t diminish our experience though. It was my second time to the falls, and the sheer scale and sound was still impressive.
The free ferry to Isla San Martin has been suspended since last year because of the high water level, which meant the paid-for boat trips were doing a roaring trade. We paid 100 pesos each for the 15-minute “Nautical adventure” which takes you right to the bottom of the falls.(It leaves from the Circuito Inferior) You get EXTREMELY wet. It’s a good idea to have your swimming costume on under your clothes, then you can pack your clothes away with your valuables in the waterproof bags you are supplied with. You do two passes at the falls. The first is a photo-opportunity, and then you are reminded to stow away your cameras before the boat steams full speed into the clouds of spray which look so picturesque from a distance. Exhilarating.
Apart from the waterfalls, and despite the crowds, we saw a toucan and the friendly anteater-like coati, plus loads of giant butterflies.
Back at the bus stop, because it was high season, we waited an hour and watched three buses depart full before we decided to take a taxi back to town for 60 pesos. I had a date with a slab of bloody meat….
In town, we ate at El Quincho de Tio Querido, on a side street just a couple of blocks downhill from the bus station. Fantastic parrilla, great wine and excellent live music(including a Spanish rendition of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina which had grown men weeping into their steaks). Over the course of two nights we tried the bife de chorizo – brick-size slab of rump steak – brochette of chicken, pork and kidneys, surubi (river fish) and side dishes of sausage and morcilla. We paid around 160 pesos for two, including beer and wine.
The ATMs are at the big Macro bank just downhill from the bus station. Also on this road is a good selection of shops selling cheap handicrafts, foodstuffs and outdoor equipment.
Entrance to the Iguazu National Park for the falls is 85 pesos for non-South American tourists. February is the height of the season, which meant it was hot, humid and mobbed with visitors. The train which runs on a narrow gauge railway between the visitor centre and the furthest extremes of the park(with a change of trains halfway!) couldn’t cope with the demand, so we did more walking than planned, and actually gave up on even trying to get to the viewing point for the Garganta del Diablo as the crowds were so dense and the paths so narrow. It didn’t diminish our experience though. It was my second time to the falls, and the sheer scale and sound was still impressive.
The free ferry to Isla San Martin has been suspended since last year because of the high water level, which meant the paid-for boat trips were doing a roaring trade. We paid 100 pesos each for the 15-minute “Nautical adventure” which takes you right to the bottom of the falls.(It leaves from the Circuito Inferior) You get EXTREMELY wet. It’s a good idea to have your swimming costume on under your clothes, then you can pack your clothes away with your valuables in the waterproof bags you are supplied with. You do two passes at the falls. The first is a photo-opportunity, and then you are reminded to stow away your cameras before the boat steams full speed into the clouds of spray which look so picturesque from a distance. Exhilarating.
Apart from the waterfalls, and despite the crowds, we saw a toucan and the friendly anteater-like coati, plus loads of giant butterflies.
Back at the bus stop, because it was high season, we waited an hour and watched three buses depart full before we decided to take a taxi back to town for 60 pesos. I had a date with a slab of bloody meat….
In town, we ate at El Quincho de Tio Querido, on a side street just a couple of blocks downhill from the bus station. Fantastic parrilla, great wine and excellent live music(including a Spanish rendition of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina which had grown men weeping into their steaks). Over the course of two nights we tried the bife de chorizo – brick-size slab of rump steak – brochette of chicken, pork and kidneys, surubi (river fish) and side dishes of sausage and morcilla. We paid around 160 pesos for two, including beer and wine.
The ATMs are at the big Macro bank just downhill from the bus station. Also on this road is a good selection of shops selling cheap handicrafts, foodstuffs and outdoor equipment.
Iguazu to El Soberbio and Los Saltos del Mocona (3 nights)
THANKS TO SOME great research by Lila, the “e-concierge” at the Panoramic Hotel (she’s actually based in an office 1,000 km away in the centre of Buenos Aires!), we didn’t have to get up at 4 am to catch the “Expreso del Selva” bus service to El Soberbio. Instead, we took one of the regular buses from Iguazu to Posadas – Empresa Argentina, M. Horianski and the ubiquitous Flechabus have departures – and changed at Jardin America for a connecting El Cometa service into the heart of the jungle.
M. Horianski and Flechabus both offer comfortable semi-cama services while Empresa Argentina is a bit more threadbare. The total, seven-hour journey cost us about 70 pesos each. A full timetable for all the local bus companies criss-crossing Missiones can be found here.
El Soberbio is a bit off the tourist track. It’s a pleasant, bustling little place on the banks of the River Uruguay. Like the other towns we passed through on the way from Jardin America, it’s as far from an overgrown “jungle town” as you could imagine. Its neatly-manicured lawns, tree-lined avenues and brightly-painted low-storey buildings are more like something out of Desperate Housewives than Wages of Fear. The whole region of Missiones appears to have had a lot of money invested in it, and an evidently thriving tobacco and mate-growing industry has helped.
El Soberbio is the gateway to the Saltos del Mocona, an extraordinary 3-km long waterfall near the source of the River Uruguay. As a result, several luxury “eco-lodges” have sprung up nearby. We were booked in at one of the less expensive ones, Posada La Bonita, which lay nestled in the hills a bumpy hour’s drive from El Soberbio.
The most expensive part of staying at Posada La Bonita or any of the other lodges is the cost of the 4WD transfers in and out. While the road that follows the route of the River Uruguay from El Soberbio is paved, the roads off it leading up the lodges (and local communities) are back-breaking cart tracks(sometimes impassable after heavy rain).
Posada La Bonita had recommended Sergio for our transfer from the El Soberbio bus station. He charged what appeared to be the standard rate of 180 pesos one-way. But I wouldn’t recommend him for the simple reasons that he lied to me when I asked if there was a bus from El Soberbio on the morning of our departure. He said there wasn’t and that therefore we would require a transfer to the next town, San Vicente, at a cost of 280 pesos. I agreed, only to learn during the course of our stay that there WAS a bus from El Soberbio – at midday – and that anyway the transfer to San Vicente was being offered significantly cheaper – 220 pesos – by Miguel at mocona4x4@yahoo.com.ar (We only found this out after the brilliant Don Miguel had taken us on the excursion to the Saltos del Mocona the next day. I managed to cancel my arrangement with Sergio and do business with Miguel instead)
M. Horianski and Flechabus both offer comfortable semi-cama services while Empresa Argentina is a bit more threadbare. The total, seven-hour journey cost us about 70 pesos each. A full timetable for all the local bus companies criss-crossing Missiones can be found here.
El Soberbio is a bit off the tourist track. It’s a pleasant, bustling little place on the banks of the River Uruguay. Like the other towns we passed through on the way from Jardin America, it’s as far from an overgrown “jungle town” as you could imagine. Its neatly-manicured lawns, tree-lined avenues and brightly-painted low-storey buildings are more like something out of Desperate Housewives than Wages of Fear. The whole region of Missiones appears to have had a lot of money invested in it, and an evidently thriving tobacco and mate-growing industry has helped.
El Soberbio is the gateway to the Saltos del Mocona, an extraordinary 3-km long waterfall near the source of the River Uruguay. As a result, several luxury “eco-lodges” have sprung up nearby. We were booked in at one of the less expensive ones, Posada La Bonita, which lay nestled in the hills a bumpy hour’s drive from El Soberbio.
The most expensive part of staying at Posada La Bonita or any of the other lodges is the cost of the 4WD transfers in and out. While the road that follows the route of the River Uruguay from El Soberbio is paved, the roads off it leading up the lodges (and local communities) are back-breaking cart tracks(sometimes impassable after heavy rain).
Posada La Bonita had recommended Sergio for our transfer from the El Soberbio bus station. He charged what appeared to be the standard rate of 180 pesos one-way. But I wouldn’t recommend him for the simple reasons that he lied to me when I asked if there was a bus from El Soberbio on the morning of our departure. He said there wasn’t and that therefore we would require a transfer to the next town, San Vicente, at a cost of 280 pesos. I agreed, only to learn during the course of our stay that there WAS a bus from El Soberbio – at midday – and that anyway the transfer to San Vicente was being offered significantly cheaper – 220 pesos – by Miguel at mocona4x4@yahoo.com.ar (We only found this out after the brilliant Don Miguel had taken us on the excursion to the Saltos del Mocona the next day. I managed to cancel my arrangement with Sergio and do business with Miguel instead)
POSADA LA BONITA
The Posada La Bonita (see right) was something we’d discovered in the pages of Taschen’s coffee table book, Great South American Escapes. We arrived in darkness and were disappointed when the cabin we were led to turned out to bear as much resemblance to the glossy photos in the book as Gerard Depardieu does to Eva Mendes. Then, when we returned to the main house for dinner and discovered there was no room for us to eat out on the verandah, it dawned on us that owner Franco Martini(part time international playboy) had obviously overbooked. It wasn’t quite the tranquil, peaceful experience promised in Great South American Escapes.
By the light of the next morning it became clear just how rubbish our leaning, wooden cabin – number 4, and plainly the emergency overspill option – was compared with the others in all their handsome, stone-fronted splendour. We expressed our disappointment (again) at breakfast, but Gladys and Waldemar – the brother and sister who run the place – had already taken steps to rectify things. They’d already cleaned out cabin number 3 – following the early morning departure of its occupants – and suggested we could move in there, or to one of their hilltop cabins a 5 km walk away. We chose the first option. This was much more like it. The rest of our stay was a dream, and when I suggested a discount for the first night, they happily knocked US$50 off our bill. (NOTE: Despite the credit card signs on their website, they accept only cash, which means some forward planning is required if you are to beat the daily limit imposed by your ATM and still have enough to cover your accommodation and meals at the lodge.)
But the undoubted highlight of Posada La Bonita – apart from stumbling across a magnificent, three-foot-long coral snake on the way to breakfast after a sudden rainstorm one morning - was sitting outside our cabin after dinner with a bottle of duty-free single malt and staring up at a sky bejeweled with thousands – thousands – of stars….
SALTOS DEL MOCONA
The excursion to Saltos del Mocona was an incredible experience. Don Miguel charges 130 pesos each for the excursion which lasts a full afternoon and involves two hours on a speedboat and an hour “walking” across the top of the falls for a view from above. But again, it’s the cost of the transfer from your hotel to the embarkation point which bumps up the cost. Sergio charged us 300 pesos for the return transfer. I suspect Don Miguel would have charged less.
What made the trip so memorable was that the falls, though not as epic as Iguazu, are in a natural, completely unspoiled environment – and they really do stretch for three km along the Argentine side of the river. The boat trip to them takes you past miles of pristine jungle on the Brazilian side. We saw parrots and turtles. When you get there – there were eight of us tourists on board – Don Miguel’s expert boat-handling takes you right to the foot of the 10-metre drop. Again, prepare to get wet.
Afterwards, Don Miguel moored the boat to some rocks and his son-in-law led us down a trail – past inquisitive coati – to a point in the river where you are above the falls. A series of posts with some limp rope strung between them is the “path” through the water to the lip of the falls. Though not deep, it is extremely slippery underfoot, and the “path” provides no help at all. It is something which would have been closed down by the health and safety inspectors in Britain a long time ago. It took me about half an hour to get halfway across, by which time I was fed up of falling arse over heels and decided to return before I broke an ankle(or worse).
El Soberbio to Corrientes (2 nights)
WE LEFT Posada La Bonita on Saturday 13th February. Our plan was to make it to Corrientes for the last night of it’s much-hyped carnival. This meant a change of bus at Posadas. To give us some extra leeway, we opted for Don Miguel’s 220 peso transfer to San Vicente for the 1230 M. Horianski bus to Posadas(fare 36 pesos). This arrived in Posadas 45 mins earlier than the 1200 bus from El Soberbio, and we made it in time for the 1615 Flechabus service which got us into Corrientes at 2045(fare 44 pesos). For full listing of bus services between provinces in Argentina, this site is quite good.
The bus station’s a few miles from the centre of Corrientes. A sign above the taxi rank gives you some idea of the taxi fares to key destinations in town. The Gran Hotel Turismo was given as 12 pesos, but it actually cost 16.
Corrientes is the self-proclaimed national capital of carnival. It all takes place at the “Corsodromo”, an avenue of grandstands just south of the bridge over the Parana, about a 20-minute stroll along the river from our hotel. It was 40 pesos general admission, and for that you get several hours of samba bands and surgically-enhanced exotic dancers parading by (from 2230 until the early hours). You’ll also get soaked in spray foam, a carnival prerequisite. Very colourful experience for a pair of stiff-upper lip Brits such as ourselves. I even felt my leg start to twitch at one point…
The riverfront is lined with kiosks selling cold drinks and fast food(a litre bottle of beer costs about 12 pesos). Meanwhile, families set up folding chairs and tables on the grass verges to host picnics while dozens of car stereo systems blast out everything from merengue to hip-hop. Handicraft vendors set up stalls selling cute wooden bead rosaries for about 10 pesos. Across the road are a couple of bars and average parrillas. Plus a truly hideous, modern-built casino.
We spent 48 hours in Corrientes, which was probably 24 hours too long, not helped by the fact it was the hottest place on earth that weekend (35 degrees according to the CNN worldwide weather report), overcast and humid, plus everything was shut on the Sunday. Things improved a bit on the Monday. I found a little shop on 9 Julio – I think – which sold Argentine cigars(both filler tobacco and the leaf. These are usually exported, I didn’t find them anywhere else in the country - a delicious, slow-burning smoke for 12 pesos) And The Wife found a designer shoe shop, Pepe Cantero, at the corner of Quintana and San Juan, just off the riverfront, where one of the friendliest Argentines we met, the lovely Jorgelina, gave us a generous discount for paying in cash for a pair of leather sandals. (The main, pedestrianised shopping street is Florida which is great for reasonably priced clothes and shoe shops)
By unintentionally staying on the 109 bus until the end of the line – we’d caught it in the opposite direction to the bus station to buy our bus tickets for our departure – we discovered a couple of “resorts” offering beaches, swimming and restaurants, with names like Playa Paraiso. Unfortunately we couldn’t use them as the mother of all thunderstorms erupted, but apparently you pay about 10 pesos admission.
The bus station’s a few miles from the centre of Corrientes. A sign above the taxi rank gives you some idea of the taxi fares to key destinations in town. The Gran Hotel Turismo was given as 12 pesos, but it actually cost 16.
Corrientes is the self-proclaimed national capital of carnival. It all takes place at the “Corsodromo”, an avenue of grandstands just south of the bridge over the Parana, about a 20-minute stroll along the river from our hotel. It was 40 pesos general admission, and for that you get several hours of samba bands and surgically-enhanced exotic dancers parading by (from 2230 until the early hours). You’ll also get soaked in spray foam, a carnival prerequisite. Very colourful experience for a pair of stiff-upper lip Brits such as ourselves. I even felt my leg start to twitch at one point…
The riverfront is lined with kiosks selling cold drinks and fast food(a litre bottle of beer costs about 12 pesos). Meanwhile, families set up folding chairs and tables on the grass verges to host picnics while dozens of car stereo systems blast out everything from merengue to hip-hop. Handicraft vendors set up stalls selling cute wooden bead rosaries for about 10 pesos. Across the road are a couple of bars and average parrillas. Plus a truly hideous, modern-built casino.
We spent 48 hours in Corrientes, which was probably 24 hours too long, not helped by the fact it was the hottest place on earth that weekend (35 degrees according to the CNN worldwide weather report), overcast and humid, plus everything was shut on the Sunday. Things improved a bit on the Monday. I found a little shop on 9 Julio – I think – which sold Argentine cigars(both filler tobacco and the leaf. These are usually exported, I didn’t find them anywhere else in the country - a delicious, slow-burning smoke for 12 pesos) And The Wife found a designer shoe shop, Pepe Cantero, at the corner of Quintana and San Juan, just off the riverfront, where one of the friendliest Argentines we met, the lovely Jorgelina, gave us a generous discount for paying in cash for a pair of leather sandals. (The main, pedestrianised shopping street is Florida which is great for reasonably priced clothes and shoe shops)
By unintentionally staying on the 109 bus until the end of the line – we’d caught it in the opposite direction to the bus station to buy our bus tickets for our departure – we discovered a couple of “resorts” offering beaches, swimming and restaurants, with names like Playa Paraiso. Unfortunately we couldn’t use them as the mother of all thunderstorms erupted, but apparently you pay about 10 pesos admission.
Corrientes to Tilcara (3 nights, including overnight bus journey)
TOOK THE 2100 Flechabus cama service from Corrientes to Salta, arriving on time at 1000 the next morning. The fare of 180 pesos each made it more expensive than most of the hotels we stayed at, but it was comfortable enough with functioning toilet and decent food.
Then we jumped on the 1030 Balut service Salta to Tilcara (46 pesos) and settled back for the scenic four-hour drive along the Quebrada(Canyon) de Humahuaca(sit on right hand side for the best views).
The bus station at Tilcara is small but chaotic. The nearest Tourist Information is several blocks up the hill(next to the ugly, modern Hotel de Turismo). Don’t make the mistake I made of heading to the information point you pass just after crossing the bridge into town. There’s nothing there. So we stepped off the bus with no idea of the whereabouts our hotel – Posada con los Angeles – or how big the town was. There was a long line of people waiting – presumably – for one of the town’s scarce taxis, so I left The Wife with our luggage in the shade and headed up the hill to find a map. It turned out our hotel – as well as being a little, luxurious oasis amidst all the bustle – was just a 10 minute walk from the bus station. (Just about all other hotels are much further and uphill….)
Tilcara was in the middle of its carnival celebrations. That meant wandering bands of drunken musicians and regular ambushes by the locals wielding spray foam and talcum powder. And it got pretty chilly once the sun went down(we were 2,500 metres above sea level). By the way, the town’s only ATM is just off the main square.
Then we jumped on the 1030 Balut service Salta to Tilcara (46 pesos) and settled back for the scenic four-hour drive along the Quebrada(Canyon) de Humahuaca(sit on right hand side for the best views).
The bus station at Tilcara is small but chaotic. The nearest Tourist Information is several blocks up the hill(next to the ugly, modern Hotel de Turismo). Don’t make the mistake I made of heading to the information point you pass just after crossing the bridge into town. There’s nothing there. So we stepped off the bus with no idea of the whereabouts our hotel – Posada con los Angeles – or how big the town was. There was a long line of people waiting – presumably – for one of the town’s scarce taxis, so I left The Wife with our luggage in the shade and headed up the hill to find a map. It turned out our hotel – as well as being a little, luxurious oasis amidst all the bustle – was just a 10 minute walk from the bus station. (Just about all other hotels are much further and uphill….)
Tilcara was in the middle of its carnival celebrations. That meant wandering bands of drunken musicians and regular ambushes by the locals wielding spray foam and talcum powder. And it got pretty chilly once the sun went down(we were 2,500 metres above sea level). By the way, the town’s only ATM is just off the main square.
WALK TO THE GARGANTA DEL DIABLO (DEVIL’S THROAT)
Our purpose for visiting Tilcara was to walk in the Andes. We’d originally looked at a company called Caravan de Llamas. They offer a range of walks ranging from four-hours to three days, providing food and water(and llamas for carrying your bags). But the price for their shortest walk – to the Garganta del Diablo, a narrow gorge in the hills above Tilcara – seemed a bit extortionate at US$60 per person, even if it did include lunch on folding chairs and tables. So after getting the bloke in tourist information to draw me a rough map, we opted to do it on our own.
At this point, most guidebooks will give the name and telephone number of a local guide instead of providing a detailed, accurate description of the route(which kind of defeats the object of a “guide”-book, don’t you think?). I am now not only going to describe the route to you, I am going to describe a BETTER route than the one used by Caravan de Llamas and most other guides.
The route they use starts off at the bridge across the (dried-up) Rio Huasamayo on the south side of town. This sees you walk along the north side of the river for a couple of hundred metres and then veer off to the right along a footpath that leads, straight as an arrow, directly to the Garganta. This is the most popular route. We saw dozens of walkers take it. Its main advantage is that it is a footpath, so you don’t have to worry about motorized traffic. But its one big disadvantage is that it is enclosed in a narrow gorge for the whole route, which means the only views you have of the Quebrada are directly behind you(or in front of you on the return journey). There is no 360 degree panorama available. However, if you follow the route we pioneered…..
We turned left out the tourist information office and continued up the street(Belgrano) until it peters out at the foot of some steps. Continue up the steps. At the top there is a maze of dusty footpaths running between half-built homes. You want to bear 45 degrees to your right, i.e. in a south easterly direction. In the cresent of hills above you, you will see a track leading from left to right. This is where you are heading for. The walk from the top of the steps to the start of this track is a bit hit and miss and steep in places, but it should take you no more than 20-30 mins. Have a stick or couple of rocks handy for any hostile dogs(though a shout out to the nearest house will usually summon the animal’s master). This is the trickiest bit of the whole route, but is well worth it.
Once you are on the mountain track – a gravel path wide enough for the occasional taxi or truck – it is plain sailing all the way. From here on upwards, you will get great views of Tilcara and ever increasingly spectacular vistas of the Quebrada stretching toward the horizon in the north(and the border with Bolivia). The track soon forks. Take the left(uphill) route. This gradually snakes upwards, past a telecoms station and to the Garganta. It took us about two hours, including frequent stops to take in the views all around. To the north are the fertile green plains of the valley. To the south you will see the mattress of cloud as the valley narrows towards Jujuy. And across the valley you will see the stunning rainbow of pinks, reds and browns that make up the mountains’ distinctive rock formations. So, unlike the more popular route, you get stunning views in all directions. The minor disadvantage is that you’ll occasionally have to make way for taxis bearing fat North American tourists, but we counted barely more than a handful during our entire journey up and down(and we passed just a couple of other walkers).
Just before you reach your destination – marked by a wooden sign – there are some unmarked toilet cubicles on your left. There’s a 3-peso admission charge to enter the Devil’s Throat, but we didn’t bother. Instead, we continued up the track, which zig-zags ever higher through huge specimens of cactus, until it curves around the mountain and levels off, revealing another beautiful valley. We continued for about half an hour – convinced some distant huts would harbor a fully-stocked bar and restaurant(alas not) - until the path melded into the dried up river bed. For an hour, we were the only human beings on the planet……
We returned to Tilcara the way we came, and this time the panorama was even better as we didn’t have to keep stopping and turn around. We arrived back in town four-and-a-half hours after we’d left. Apart from the occasional catching of breath, the altitude (3,000 metres at the highest point we reached) hadn’t unduly concerned us. But water and sunblock are essential. You can buy ethnic-patterned sunhats – or Yankee imperialist baseball caps – in Tilcara’s main plaza for 12 pesos.
That night, we treated ourselves to a slap-up meal at our hotel’s restaurant. There were no other diners, yet the full menu was available. Even better, the chef – an Argentine Johnny Depp-lookalike – let us eat in the TV lounge in front of the football(!) rather than have to eat in an empty restaurant. My grilled llama steak in salsa cerveza negra was one of the best things I ate all holiday.
The previous night we’d eaten at the Nuevo Progreso restaurant a block up from the main square. It was OK, but the live music – a couple of locals playing contemporary tunes – was needlessly obtrusive. I couldn’t hear myself chew……
At this point, most guidebooks will give the name and telephone number of a local guide instead of providing a detailed, accurate description of the route(which kind of defeats the object of a “guide”-book, don’t you think?). I am now not only going to describe the route to you, I am going to describe a BETTER route than the one used by Caravan de Llamas and most other guides.
The route they use starts off at the bridge across the (dried-up) Rio Huasamayo on the south side of town. This sees you walk along the north side of the river for a couple of hundred metres and then veer off to the right along a footpath that leads, straight as an arrow, directly to the Garganta. This is the most popular route. We saw dozens of walkers take it. Its main advantage is that it is a footpath, so you don’t have to worry about motorized traffic. But its one big disadvantage is that it is enclosed in a narrow gorge for the whole route, which means the only views you have of the Quebrada are directly behind you(or in front of you on the return journey). There is no 360 degree panorama available. However, if you follow the route we pioneered…..
We turned left out the tourist information office and continued up the street(Belgrano) until it peters out at the foot of some steps. Continue up the steps. At the top there is a maze of dusty footpaths running between half-built homes. You want to bear 45 degrees to your right, i.e. in a south easterly direction. In the cresent of hills above you, you will see a track leading from left to right. This is where you are heading for. The walk from the top of the steps to the start of this track is a bit hit and miss and steep in places, but it should take you no more than 20-30 mins. Have a stick or couple of rocks handy for any hostile dogs(though a shout out to the nearest house will usually summon the animal’s master). This is the trickiest bit of the whole route, but is well worth it.
Once you are on the mountain track – a gravel path wide enough for the occasional taxi or truck – it is plain sailing all the way. From here on upwards, you will get great views of Tilcara and ever increasingly spectacular vistas of the Quebrada stretching toward the horizon in the north(and the border with Bolivia). The track soon forks. Take the left(uphill) route. This gradually snakes upwards, past a telecoms station and to the Garganta. It took us about two hours, including frequent stops to take in the views all around. To the north are the fertile green plains of the valley. To the south you will see the mattress of cloud as the valley narrows towards Jujuy. And across the valley you will see the stunning rainbow of pinks, reds and browns that make up the mountains’ distinctive rock formations. So, unlike the more popular route, you get stunning views in all directions. The minor disadvantage is that you’ll occasionally have to make way for taxis bearing fat North American tourists, but we counted barely more than a handful during our entire journey up and down(and we passed just a couple of other walkers).
Just before you reach your destination – marked by a wooden sign – there are some unmarked toilet cubicles on your left. There’s a 3-peso admission charge to enter the Devil’s Throat, but we didn’t bother. Instead, we continued up the track, which zig-zags ever higher through huge specimens of cactus, until it curves around the mountain and levels off, revealing another beautiful valley. We continued for about half an hour – convinced some distant huts would harbor a fully-stocked bar and restaurant(alas not) - until the path melded into the dried up river bed. For an hour, we were the only human beings on the planet……
We returned to Tilcara the way we came, and this time the panorama was even better as we didn’t have to keep stopping and turn around. We arrived back in town four-and-a-half hours after we’d left. Apart from the occasional catching of breath, the altitude (3,000 metres at the highest point we reached) hadn’t unduly concerned us. But water and sunblock are essential. You can buy ethnic-patterned sunhats – or Yankee imperialist baseball caps – in Tilcara’s main plaza for 12 pesos.
That night, we treated ourselves to a slap-up meal at our hotel’s restaurant. There were no other diners, yet the full menu was available. Even better, the chef – an Argentine Johnny Depp-lookalike – let us eat in the TV lounge in front of the football(!) rather than have to eat in an empty restaurant. My grilled llama steak in salsa cerveza negra was one of the best things I ate all holiday.
The previous night we’d eaten at the Nuevo Progreso restaurant a block up from the main square. It was OK, but the live music – a couple of locals playing contemporary tunes – was needlessly obtrusive. I couldn’t hear myself chew……
Tilcara to Salta (2 nights)
WHILE THERE ARE plenty of buses Tilcara – Jujuy and Tilcara - Humahuaca, there are only three direct buses from Tilcara to Salta(Balut, three and half hours without stopping at Purmamarca, 46 pesos). These are at 0315, 1205 and mid-afternoon.
The Salta bus station is brand spanking new, and from there it’s a short walk through pleasant gardens and past a picturesque boating lake to the centre of town.
We stayed at the Hotel del Antiguo Convento on Caseros. Beautiful, quiet, clean, great location just a short walk from the main plaza and a good selection of restaurants and handicrafts shops ranging from bargain to luxury. There’s a “bank zone”, so no shortage of ATMs and unofficial money changers on the streets.
Caseros continues from the hotel past the main square and becomes a good pedestrianised shopping street. Just past the main square, on your right, is a big gift shop with an extensive range of football (mainly Boca, River and Independiente, but not exclusively) memorabilia that is better priced than in BA. Also on Caseros, a block before the main square, also on your right, is El Solar del Convento, the best restaurant we came across in Argentina(recommended by one of the staff in the aforementioned gift shop). It was the first time I’d seen a menu offering half-size steaks – still enormous by European standards – but it was the quality that impressed right through from the starter to the home-made flan dessert.
The opposite end of the spectrum can be sampled at the other end of town(near the railway station) on Balcarce, where a few blocks are dedicated to trendy bars, nightclubs and restaurant folkloric(Gaucho) shows. It’s pot luck whether the show you choose will be better than the others, but obvious clues can be found in (a) the size of the stage(we saw one barely big enough for a solo guitarist), and (b) the cover charged(varies between 10 and 20 pesos per person). We opted for El Viejo Estacion. The show featured spectacular dancing with flags and bolas and a great live band. Total bill for two courses, bottle of decent Malbec and covers was 200 pesos, but there’s nothing to stop you ordering just a couple of starters and bottle of beer.
The bars around the main plaza are great places to watch the world go by, but inevitably you pay a premium the closer you are to the cathedral.
We took the teleferico up to the top of San Bernardo hill (10 pesos each way) which gives great views of the town and the distant Andes. The restaurant there does good, simple dishes and has a surprisingly decent, if limited, wine list. We feasted on empanadas, salad, beers and bottle of Torrontes for about 100 pesos and enjoyed the views for a good couple of hours.
Despite loving train journeys as much as the next incorrigible romantic(and being a weatherbeaten veteran of several spectacular rooftop train rides across South America), I gave the “Train to the Clouds” a miss after learning that the journey costs more than US$100 per person and, despite covering barely 100 miles, lasts from 7 am until midnight(which means most of your return journey is in complete darkness!).
The Salta bus station is brand spanking new, and from there it’s a short walk through pleasant gardens and past a picturesque boating lake to the centre of town.
We stayed at the Hotel del Antiguo Convento on Caseros. Beautiful, quiet, clean, great location just a short walk from the main plaza and a good selection of restaurants and handicrafts shops ranging from bargain to luxury. There’s a “bank zone”, so no shortage of ATMs and unofficial money changers on the streets.
Caseros continues from the hotel past the main square and becomes a good pedestrianised shopping street. Just past the main square, on your right, is a big gift shop with an extensive range of football (mainly Boca, River and Independiente, but not exclusively) memorabilia that is better priced than in BA. Also on Caseros, a block before the main square, also on your right, is El Solar del Convento, the best restaurant we came across in Argentina(recommended by one of the staff in the aforementioned gift shop). It was the first time I’d seen a menu offering half-size steaks – still enormous by European standards – but it was the quality that impressed right through from the starter to the home-made flan dessert.
The opposite end of the spectrum can be sampled at the other end of town(near the railway station) on Balcarce, where a few blocks are dedicated to trendy bars, nightclubs and restaurant folkloric(Gaucho) shows. It’s pot luck whether the show you choose will be better than the others, but obvious clues can be found in (a) the size of the stage(we saw one barely big enough for a solo guitarist), and (b) the cover charged(varies between 10 and 20 pesos per person). We opted for El Viejo Estacion. The show featured spectacular dancing with flags and bolas and a great live band. Total bill for two courses, bottle of decent Malbec and covers was 200 pesos, but there’s nothing to stop you ordering just a couple of starters and bottle of beer.
The bars around the main plaza are great places to watch the world go by, but inevitably you pay a premium the closer you are to the cathedral.
We took the teleferico up to the top of San Bernardo hill (10 pesos each way) which gives great views of the town and the distant Andes. The restaurant there does good, simple dishes and has a surprisingly decent, if limited, wine list. We feasted on empanadas, salad, beers and bottle of Torrontes for about 100 pesos and enjoyed the views for a good couple of hours.
Despite loving train journeys as much as the next incorrigible romantic(and being a weatherbeaten veteran of several spectacular rooftop train rides across South America), I gave the “Train to the Clouds” a miss after learning that the journey costs more than US$100 per person and, despite covering barely 100 miles, lasts from 7 am until midnight(which means most of your return journey is in complete darkness!).
Salta to Cachi (3 nights)
THIS IS ONE of THE great bus journeys of South America. (And as a graduate of several epic journeys across the northern Andes of Peru and Colombia, you’ll have to trust me on this). Why anyone would choose to do it cramped in the back of a minibus with a load of other tourists at ten times the price is beyond me. (In Salta, your hotel will try to persuade you take take one of its tours that takes in Cachi and Cafayate). Marcos Rueda operates the only public bus service, with departures at 0700 and 1330 Monday to Saturday(37 pesos). The journey is only 100 miles, but rises from 1,100 to 3,400 metres before swooping across the stunning antiplano – look out for llamas – and down into Cachi at 2,400 metres. It takes four-and-a-half hours, and for the best, heart-stopping views on the way up, try to get a seat on the left.
As if that isn’t good enough, you then arrive in one of the most charming Andean villages on the continent, dramatically situated in a fertile valley in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Cachi(6,500 metres and snowcapped even in summer). I’m loath to go into too much detail about Cachi as I don’t want it to become overrun with clueless Aussies, chinless Brits or loud North Americans. While not on the scale of a Cuzco, Cartagena de Indias, Granada(Nicaragua), Havana or any centro historico in Spain(stop namedropping – Ed), it’s a little colonial gem. Most tourists stay a couple of hours. We stayed three nights. Most of that time was spent eating and drinking outside Café Oliver(see right) in the main plaza. Or eating and drinking outside the Cachi Vinoteca, just off the plaza near the church, which does simple food and great wines. Or walking up to the cemetery which, with its mountainous backdrop, scuttling lizards and snakes, wooden crosses and brightly-coloured (fabric) flowers, was like something out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. And if you don’t know who GGM is, may I humbly suggest you don’t bother making the journey to Cachi. You won’t appreciate it. You’ll think it’s shit. Honest.
As if that isn’t good enough, you then arrive in one of the most charming Andean villages on the continent, dramatically situated in a fertile valley in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Cachi(6,500 metres and snowcapped even in summer). I’m loath to go into too much detail about Cachi as I don’t want it to become overrun with clueless Aussies, chinless Brits or loud North Americans. While not on the scale of a Cuzco, Cartagena de Indias, Granada(Nicaragua), Havana or any centro historico in Spain(stop namedropping – Ed), it’s a little colonial gem. Most tourists stay a couple of hours. We stayed three nights. Most of that time was spent eating and drinking outside Café Oliver(see right) in the main plaza. Or eating and drinking outside the Cachi Vinoteca, just off the plaza near the church, which does simple food and great wines. Or walking up to the cemetery which, with its mountainous backdrop, scuttling lizards and snakes, wooden crosses and brightly-coloured (fabric) flowers, was like something out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. And if you don’t know who GGM is, may I humbly suggest you don’t bother making the journey to Cachi. You won’t appreciate it. You’ll think it’s shit. Honest.
BIKE RIDE IN THE ANDES
Though not noted in any guidebook, Edgar at the Bicicleteria Reyes just up from the main square will rent you a battered mountainbike for 6 pesos an hour or 40 for the day. My first target was the ruins at Las Pailas, allegedly 16 km away(though you’ll quickly learn to take the distances given on the signposts around Cachi with a huge dose of salt). I had no particular interest in seeing a load of rubble in the dust(file Ruins next to Museums and Churches), but it provided a goal for my bike ride….
Take the bridge out of town towards the cemetery and bear left(it’s signposted). The road is a very rough track which gets even worse after about three km when you have to take the right hand fork. From here on, it’s also relentlessly – though gradually – uphill. Compensating for the effort, the valley opens up and you get great views of the Sierra. I continued for about an hour until I reached what appeared to be the highest point of the road. I could see for miles ahead, but there was no sign of anything remotely resembling “the biggest and most important archaeological site of Cachi”. So I turned around and headed back to the fork in the road. The descent wasn’t quite the relaxing freewheel I’d envisaged. I was out of the saddle and had the brakes applied for most of it, so rutted and littered with loose rock and boulders was the road surface.
Back at the fork, I turned right to the village of Cachi Adentro. Here, on the right, was a shop where I bought some water. The rough map from Cachi’s tourist office indicated it might be possible to complete a circuit back into Cachi. I checked with the shopowner and he confirmed that if I continued for about a kilometer and then took the first left across a stream, the road would eventually take me back down to Cachi.
It was a superb circuit, taking me past fields of peppers, across dried up river beds and past towering mountain peaks. Again, it was mostly a gradual ascent, culminating in the settlement of Los Trancos. From here, the road disappeared into a dried up river bed and I had to dismount and push for a while. I eventually found the continuation of the track and, after about another kilometer of gentle ascent, found myself staring down at the valley floor. I’d climbed a lot higher than I’d realized, and cycled maybe about 26 km.
It was at that point I got a puncture. I managed to coast quite a few kms downhill out of the saddle, but eventually had to give up and wait for a truck. The truckride down into Cachi took a good 15 mins(and cost two pesos), and a beer has never tasted so good as the one I had at Café Oliver on my return….
Take the bridge out of town towards the cemetery and bear left(it’s signposted). The road is a very rough track which gets even worse after about three km when you have to take the right hand fork. From here on, it’s also relentlessly – though gradually – uphill. Compensating for the effort, the valley opens up and you get great views of the Sierra. I continued for about an hour until I reached what appeared to be the highest point of the road. I could see for miles ahead, but there was no sign of anything remotely resembling “the biggest and most important archaeological site of Cachi”. So I turned around and headed back to the fork in the road. The descent wasn’t quite the relaxing freewheel I’d envisaged. I was out of the saddle and had the brakes applied for most of it, so rutted and littered with loose rock and boulders was the road surface.
Back at the fork, I turned right to the village of Cachi Adentro. Here, on the right, was a shop where I bought some water. The rough map from Cachi’s tourist office indicated it might be possible to complete a circuit back into Cachi. I checked with the shopowner and he confirmed that if I continued for about a kilometer and then took the first left across a stream, the road would eventually take me back down to Cachi.
It was a superb circuit, taking me past fields of peppers, across dried up river beds and past towering mountain peaks. Again, it was mostly a gradual ascent, culminating in the settlement of Los Trancos. From here, the road disappeared into a dried up river bed and I had to dismount and push for a while. I eventually found the continuation of the track and, after about another kilometer of gentle ascent, found myself staring down at the valley floor. I’d climbed a lot higher than I’d realized, and cycled maybe about 26 km.
It was at that point I got a puncture. I managed to coast quite a few kms downhill out of the saddle, but eventually had to give up and wait for a truck. The truckride down into Cachi took a good 15 mins(and cost two pesos), and a beer has never tasted so good as the one I had at Café Oliver on my return….
We stayed at the lovely Hostal Llaqta Mawka(see right). Return buses to Salta leave at 0900 and 1530.
Buenos Aires (6 nights)
WE FLEW SALTA to Buenos Aires with LAN, booked in England a couple of weeks earlier for £125 each, inc taxes. This turned out to be a good move for two reasons: 1, we didn’t have to worry about having more than 15kg in our hold luggage, and 2, we could watch smugly as the Aerolineas Argentinas flight due to leave before ours was delayed by two hours. The (only) restaurant in Salta airport, meanwhile, was a disgraceful rip-off and should be avoided at all costs.
At Aeroparque, we booked a remise - an upmarket taxi - to Palermo at the Manuel Tienda Leon desk. It cost 43 pesos. In hindsight, we should have taken a yellow Radio Cab from outside, I think that would have been significantly cheaper.
It was my second time to BA, so I had a fair idea of what I wanted to do. The first time, I’d been on my own, and found the Hotel Frossard on Tucuman, near Florida in the Microcentro, to be perfect for my needs – clean, secure, helpful staff, good breakfasts and surprisingly quiet(2010 price US$60 double room). But this time, with a wife in tow, I wanted to be a bit nearer the restaurants, bars and shops of Palermo, so we settled for a great little place run by a lovely Mexican woman called Lorena, called Casa Palermitano(see right). A 20-minute stroll from the heart of Palermo, it was safe, quiet and welcoming. Lorena also booked us a taxi to Ezeiza for our flight home for 95 pesos(allow an hour to 90 mins depending on time of day).
We had five full days in BA. Already ticked off from my previous visit were Puerto Madero(just like any renovated dockside area in any other big city), the Evita Museum(excellent), a tango dinner-show(great dancing, average food, very overpriced), the Sunday market in San Telmo(tourist-infested tat), a neighbourhood milonga(somewhere in Palermo, very entertaining), El Caminito in La Boca(wow, a short street with colourfully-painted houses and overpriced tourist traps!) and football at both Boca and River(mind-blowing). The only thing I definitely wanted to repeat was the football. Here’s how we spent our time….
We had five full days in BA. Already ticked off from my previous visit were Puerto Madero(just like any renovated dockside area in any other big city), the Evita Museum(excellent), a tango dinner-show(great dancing, average food, very overpriced), the Sunday market in San Telmo(tourist-infested tat), a neighbourhood milonga(somewhere in Palermo, very entertaining), El Caminito in La Boca(wow, a short street with colourfully-painted houses and overpriced tourist traps!) and football at both Boca and River(mind-blowing). The only thing I definitely wanted to repeat was the football. Here’s how we spent our time….
SIGHTS
PRETENTIOUS TRAVELLER ALERT! Ever since I spent a month in Cuba tracking down the birthplace and mountain hideout of Fidel, I’ve believed in “organic tourism”, where the attractions and sights you seek are woven into the fabric and history of the place you’re visiting. In Buenos Aires, that means football, tango, Evita and Las Madres de los Desaparecidos…
The “Mothers of the Disappeared” meet every Thursday afternoon at 3.30 in the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Presidential Palace. They have become one of the strangest – and saddest – tourist attractions in the whole of South America. Their numbers dwindle year by year, but they remain a living monument to the 30,000 Argentines who were “disappeared” by the country’s military junta during the Dirty War of the early 1970s. If you go to take photos of this poignant ceremony, have the decency to buy something from their little stall.
The ghost of Evita meanwhile – thanks to the Peronist posturings of Argentina’s current President, Cristina Kirchner – is alive and well, her support of Fascist causes conveniently forgotten as Ms Kirchner, like Eva Duarte Peron 70 years before, tries to win the support of the working-class. (In Evita’s case, the issue was worker exploitation. Kirchner is using two disparate issues to distract the population from its current economic woes: the Falklands/Malvinas row and a bizarre campaign called Futbol Para Todos which will see public money being used to buy back football TV rights from the cable channels!)
The Evita museum includes some stunning film footage of her funeral and the aftermath. Even if you didn’t agree with her politics, you can’t fail to be impressed/moved by the degree of her popularity. So it was me and The Wife decided to pay our respects at her tomb in the Recoleta Cemetery.
You’ve got no chance of finding it in this mini-city of sarcophagus skyscrapers unless you’re prepared to buy a map from one of the Friends of the Cemetery for a few pesos. There are no signs, and Evita’s tomb – she’s housed in the Duarte mausoleum – certainly isn’t the biggest or brashest in what is probably one of the most exclusive cemeteries in the world. A clue: follow that group of badly-dressed, camera-toting Italians and you’re probably getting warm…..
The “Mothers of the Disappeared” meet every Thursday afternoon at 3.30 in the Plaza de Mayo in front of the Presidential Palace. They have become one of the strangest – and saddest – tourist attractions in the whole of South America. Their numbers dwindle year by year, but they remain a living monument to the 30,000 Argentines who were “disappeared” by the country’s military junta during the Dirty War of the early 1970s. If you go to take photos of this poignant ceremony, have the decency to buy something from their little stall.
The ghost of Evita meanwhile – thanks to the Peronist posturings of Argentina’s current President, Cristina Kirchner – is alive and well, her support of Fascist causes conveniently forgotten as Ms Kirchner, like Eva Duarte Peron 70 years before, tries to win the support of the working-class. (In Evita’s case, the issue was worker exploitation. Kirchner is using two disparate issues to distract the population from its current economic woes: the Falklands/Malvinas row and a bizarre campaign called Futbol Para Todos which will see public money being used to buy back football TV rights from the cable channels!)
The Evita museum includes some stunning film footage of her funeral and the aftermath. Even if you didn’t agree with her politics, you can’t fail to be impressed/moved by the degree of her popularity. So it was me and The Wife decided to pay our respects at her tomb in the Recoleta Cemetery.
You’ve got no chance of finding it in this mini-city of sarcophagus skyscrapers unless you’re prepared to buy a map from one of the Friends of the Cemetery for a few pesos. There are no signs, and Evita’s tomb – she’s housed in the Duarte mausoleum – certainly isn’t the biggest or brashest in what is probably one of the most exclusive cemeteries in the world. A clue: follow that group of badly-dressed, camera-toting Italians and you’re probably getting warm…..
Avenida Corrientes - the Broadway of BA - is one of the great thoroughfares of the world. Walking from its junction with Florida, across 9 de Julio beneath the Obelisk, and up past its theatres and restaurants after the shows have just finished between 10 and 11 at night is a wonderful experience as you mingle with all levels of BA society. Popping in to one of its authentic little cafes, like Cafe La Giralda, for a nightcap of coffee and churros served by white tuxedeod waiters, is a simple yet ageless experience. (Just remember the subte stops running at 11 on weeknights......)
On our last day, a Sunday, we took the train to Tigre(4 pesos return from Retiro station. Or you can take the train to Maipu and cross platforms – via a shopping centre – to the Tren de la Costa which has its own separate line, complete with picturesque stations, and more comfortable carriages for 24 pesos return) to have a glimpse of the Delta islands. The journey takes an hour, but if you think you are leaving the chaos and madness of downtown BA behind you, you are very much mistaken….
Once at Tigre station(or Delta station if you take the Tren de la Costa), it’s a short walk to the river and the Estacion Fluvial. If you’ve ever been to Venice and marveled at all those gondolas, water taxis, water buses and tourist boats managing not to collide with each other on the Grand Canal, then you’ve got some idea of what to expect at Tigre. It’s an incredible scene. And this is just your introduction to the maze of waterways that criss-crosses the Delta. Just wait till you see the paddle steamers, cruise ships, jet-skis, kayaks, speedboats and rowing boats that lurk around the corner…..
At the Estacion Fluvial it may look chaotic(especially at weekends in summer when Tigre is a popular escape destination for portenos), but there is actually a system to all those lines of people waiting to board assorted vessels. You need to check out the ticket booths on the quayside. These are selling boat trips to restaurants and hotels hidden deep in the Delta, or just pleasure cruises. You can see detailed maps of the cruises, or menus and photographs for the restaurants.
We chose a return trip to the Alpenhaus hotel and restaurant, and were told which line of people to join. The boat is basically a colectivo – or bus – which calls at certain resorts or islands along a set route in the Delta. Our return ticket for the 45-minute journey to our stop cost 25 pesos each. The journey took us past palatial riverside mansions, private islands, family resorts, beaches, neatly tended lawns, swimming pools, terrace restaurants(El Gato Blanco looked particularly nice). As well as the aforementioned variety of nautical craft, our skipper also had to dodge the occasional swimmer and water-skier!
The stop for Alpenhaus is down a quiet canal, and then you have to walk a few hundred metres past beautiful holiday homes before arriving at the Austrian chalet-style restaurant and hotel. While our lunch was painfully expensive(see right), the journey to and setting for it were magical.
Afterwards, we joined the queue on the jetty for the return “bus”. Back in Tigre, before returning to the train station, we persuaded a member to escort us in to the sumptuous Buenos Aires Rowing Club building. For any rowers amongst you, this club’s narrow-gauge railway system for getting the boats down to the river, plus its antiquated training pool, is well worth checking out. The Victorian-age (I think) building is pretty stunning too…
On our last day, a Sunday, we took the train to Tigre(4 pesos return from Retiro station. Or you can take the train to Maipu and cross platforms – via a shopping centre – to the Tren de la Costa which has its own separate line, complete with picturesque stations, and more comfortable carriages for 24 pesos return) to have a glimpse of the Delta islands. The journey takes an hour, but if you think you are leaving the chaos and madness of downtown BA behind you, you are very much mistaken….
Once at Tigre station(or Delta station if you take the Tren de la Costa), it’s a short walk to the river and the Estacion Fluvial. If you’ve ever been to Venice and marveled at all those gondolas, water taxis, water buses and tourist boats managing not to collide with each other on the Grand Canal, then you’ve got some idea of what to expect at Tigre. It’s an incredible scene. And this is just your introduction to the maze of waterways that criss-crosses the Delta. Just wait till you see the paddle steamers, cruise ships, jet-skis, kayaks, speedboats and rowing boats that lurk around the corner…..
At the Estacion Fluvial it may look chaotic(especially at weekends in summer when Tigre is a popular escape destination for portenos), but there is actually a system to all those lines of people waiting to board assorted vessels. You need to check out the ticket booths on the quayside. These are selling boat trips to restaurants and hotels hidden deep in the Delta, or just pleasure cruises. You can see detailed maps of the cruises, or menus and photographs for the restaurants.
We chose a return trip to the Alpenhaus hotel and restaurant, and were told which line of people to join. The boat is basically a colectivo – or bus – which calls at certain resorts or islands along a set route in the Delta. Our return ticket for the 45-minute journey to our stop cost 25 pesos each. The journey took us past palatial riverside mansions, private islands, family resorts, beaches, neatly tended lawns, swimming pools, terrace restaurants(El Gato Blanco looked particularly nice). As well as the aforementioned variety of nautical craft, our skipper also had to dodge the occasional swimmer and water-skier!
The stop for Alpenhaus is down a quiet canal, and then you have to walk a few hundred metres past beautiful holiday homes before arriving at the Austrian chalet-style restaurant and hotel. While our lunch was painfully expensive(see right), the journey to and setting for it were magical.
Afterwards, we joined the queue on the jetty for the return “bus”. Back in Tigre, before returning to the train station, we persuaded a member to escort us in to the sumptuous Buenos Aires Rowing Club building. For any rowers amongst you, this club’s narrow-gauge railway system for getting the boats down to the river, plus its antiquated training pool, is well worth checking out. The Victorian-age (I think) building is pretty stunning too…
TANGO
Keen to avoid an overpriced dinner show, we scanned the classifieds of El Nacion and Clarin and found shows at Café El Tortoni(nightly, one hour, two dancers, great singer and band, beautiful setting) for 70 pesos and the Centro Cultural Borges, at Viamonte and San Martin in the Microcentro(90 mins, eight dancers and singer, modern auditorium) for 50 pesos. Both delivered great music and plenty of thigh….
FOOTBALL
Last time I was in BA, I bought tickets for a league game between River and Independiente from the Tiketek ticket agency(branches at Viamonte 560 and at the Opera Theatre on Avenida Corrientes). So I headed off there in search of tickets for Boca v Estudiantes, but apparently it’s only River tickets they sell.
I telephoned Boca Juniors football club and was told all remaining tickets for Friday’s game would go on sale at the stadium ticket office from noon on the day.(The kick-off was 2110). Even though Boca are having a pretty miserable season, a home game against the champions of South America promised to be a sell-out. On the Friday, we took the subte to Constitution and jumped in a taxi from there direct to the stadium(12 pesos). We arrived just after midday, and the queue was already trailing around the corner. After just over an hour’s anxious wait among good-humoured, friendly Boca fans, we got to the ticket window to find the choice of remaining seats was limited. There were none left in the platea alta, and the only ones they had available in the more expensive platea baja were in different rows. They were 180 pesos each. Cheap by British standards, but a fortune by Argentine standards. We bought them.
La Bombonera – the chocolate box – is so-called because of its strange shape. While the ends behind each goal are the terracing familiar throughout the world, and the three-tiered main stand is nothing out of the ordinary, it’s the disproportionately thin stand opposite – housing only private boxes – which gives the stadium it’s peculiar shape(apparently down to a scarcity of space when they built it). The platea seats are in the main stand opposite the private boxes. We asked for seats in the seccion norte, to be near the home fans, who are amongst the most colourful and passionate in the world (And we weren’t to be disappointed, see the photos above). Secciones D, E, etc would have put us nearer the halfway line, apparently.
We now had several hours to kill before the kick-off. First we checked out the shops selling Boca shirts which surround the stadium. (Bizarrely, they also sold River memorabilia) These shops should be avoided at all costs. The genuine, replica shirts were at least 40 pesos more expensive than we’d seen them in the sports shops along Florida, eg Dexters, where the uniform price appeared to be 280 pesos. Also for sale were all kinds of “retro” shirts. These were even more expensive – upto 390 pesos! – and were DEFINITELY not authorized, i.e. closer inspection revealed pretty shoddy workmanship. Of the other stuff for sale – key-rings, hats, pens, T-shirts, ashtrays, etc – there was nothing you couldn’t get cheaper on Florida. So we left empty-handed and headed for lunch(after discovering the club’s museum was closed on match days!)
For lunch, we headed in the opposite direction to the tourist traps I remembered from El Caminito and down a nondescript residential street found the gem that is El Obrero(see right and photos).
Got back to the stadium in plenty of time for kick-off, which was just as well as the police set up a highly complicated barrier system from several blocks away to keep opposing fans separate(but there was never any sense of danger). Once through the ticket control, you get a free programme(imagine that in England?!) and there was a souvenir stall selling decent quality T-shirts for a bargain 40 pesos(worth bearing in mind before you buy something from one of the expensive shops outside the ground).
We found ourselves sat amidst a group of season ticket holders, including three grandmothers, who were only too accommodating when it came to letting me and The Wife sit together. Then we sat back and watched the home fans start their highly choreographed singing, chanting, flag-waving and jumping(which never relented for the duration of the game). The match itself was rubbish…..
I telephoned Boca Juniors football club and was told all remaining tickets for Friday’s game would go on sale at the stadium ticket office from noon on the day.(The kick-off was 2110). Even though Boca are having a pretty miserable season, a home game against the champions of South America promised to be a sell-out. On the Friday, we took the subte to Constitution and jumped in a taxi from there direct to the stadium(12 pesos). We arrived just after midday, and the queue was already trailing around the corner. After just over an hour’s anxious wait among good-humoured, friendly Boca fans, we got to the ticket window to find the choice of remaining seats was limited. There were none left in the platea alta, and the only ones they had available in the more expensive platea baja were in different rows. They were 180 pesos each. Cheap by British standards, but a fortune by Argentine standards. We bought them.
La Bombonera – the chocolate box – is so-called because of its strange shape. While the ends behind each goal are the terracing familiar throughout the world, and the three-tiered main stand is nothing out of the ordinary, it’s the disproportionately thin stand opposite – housing only private boxes – which gives the stadium it’s peculiar shape(apparently down to a scarcity of space when they built it). The platea seats are in the main stand opposite the private boxes. We asked for seats in the seccion norte, to be near the home fans, who are amongst the most colourful and passionate in the world (And we weren’t to be disappointed, see the photos above). Secciones D, E, etc would have put us nearer the halfway line, apparently.
We now had several hours to kill before the kick-off. First we checked out the shops selling Boca shirts which surround the stadium. (Bizarrely, they also sold River memorabilia) These shops should be avoided at all costs. The genuine, replica shirts were at least 40 pesos more expensive than we’d seen them in the sports shops along Florida, eg Dexters, where the uniform price appeared to be 280 pesos. Also for sale were all kinds of “retro” shirts. These were even more expensive – upto 390 pesos! – and were DEFINITELY not authorized, i.e. closer inspection revealed pretty shoddy workmanship. Of the other stuff for sale – key-rings, hats, pens, T-shirts, ashtrays, etc – there was nothing you couldn’t get cheaper on Florida. So we left empty-handed and headed for lunch(after discovering the club’s museum was closed on match days!)
For lunch, we headed in the opposite direction to the tourist traps I remembered from El Caminito and down a nondescript residential street found the gem that is El Obrero(see right and photos).
Got back to the stadium in plenty of time for kick-off, which was just as well as the police set up a highly complicated barrier system from several blocks away to keep opposing fans separate(but there was never any sense of danger). Once through the ticket control, you get a free programme(imagine that in England?!) and there was a souvenir stall selling decent quality T-shirts for a bargain 40 pesos(worth bearing in mind before you buy something from one of the expensive shops outside the ground).
We found ourselves sat amidst a group of season ticket holders, including three grandmothers, who were only too accommodating when it came to letting me and The Wife sit together. Then we sat back and watched the home fans start their highly choreographed singing, chanting, flag-waving and jumping(which never relented for the duration of the game). The match itself was rubbish…..
After the match, we followed the crowds up to Ave Patricios in search of a taxi home. We fiinally got one about midnight. The drive across the city at that time of night, along the tree-lined expanses of 9 de Julio and beneath the illuminated Obelisk, was magical. From La Boca to Palermo by taxi - practically the width of BA - cost just 27 pesos.
For the rest of this season's fixtures, click here. Bear in mind that the precise date and time of games is determined by the TV channels, and could be anytime between the Friday and Monday nights(usually announced a week or two in advance).
SHOPPING
In the Microcentro, Florida, near Tucuman and Lavelle, is the place for all sports-related stuff, including genuine replica football shirts. Also check out the kiosks along this stretch of Florida, plus Corrientes from Florida to a couple of blocks beyond 9 de Julio, for unexpected football memorabilia ranging from keyrings to wristbands at the cheapest prices you’ll find anywhere.
Casa Lopez is a great chain for mainstream leather goods. I bought a wallet from there on my last visit and, six years later, the stitching is still perfectly intact. There are other good (but more expensive and exclusive) leather shops in the blocks between Plaza San Martin and Recoleta. Here, too, the corner kiosks can be great treasure troves of cheap and distinctive souvenirs.
The neighbourhood of Palermo is a great place to spend a Saturday shopping. As well as seeing well-heeled portenos at play, there’s no shortage of great shops and lunch destinations. On Saturdays, there’s an extensive handicrafts market around Plaza Campana del Desierto, and some of the bars around Plaza Cortazar are converted into clothes markets selling reasonably priced stuff. Elsewhere, the grid of streets bordered by Borges/Serrano, Cabrera, Scalabrini Ortiz and Guatemala are full of great leather, shoe, lingerie and clothes shops. Nearly all offer around 15 per discount for paying in cash, few give receipts. We picked up a beautiful document case – in butter-soft yellow leather – from a great stationary shop called Papelera Palermo, and a supple, satchel-type “manbag” from Florentina Murana on Borges, both at about a third of what you’d expect to pay in Britain. Cardon, which has shops in Gurruchaga and Honduras, is another great, reasonably-priced shop for leather jackets, bags, briefcases, etc(though appeared to have gone slighly more mainstream since my previous visit six years ago).
Casa Lopez is a great chain for mainstream leather goods. I bought a wallet from there on my last visit and, six years later, the stitching is still perfectly intact. There are other good (but more expensive and exclusive) leather shops in the blocks between Plaza San Martin and Recoleta. Here, too, the corner kiosks can be great treasure troves of cheap and distinctive souvenirs.
The neighbourhood of Palermo is a great place to spend a Saturday shopping. As well as seeing well-heeled portenos at play, there’s no shortage of great shops and lunch destinations. On Saturdays, there’s an extensive handicrafts market around Plaza Campana del Desierto, and some of the bars around Plaza Cortazar are converted into clothes markets selling reasonably priced stuff. Elsewhere, the grid of streets bordered by Borges/Serrano, Cabrera, Scalabrini Ortiz and Guatemala are full of great leather, shoe, lingerie and clothes shops. Nearly all offer around 15 per discount for paying in cash, few give receipts. We picked up a beautiful document case – in butter-soft yellow leather – from a great stationary shop called Papelera Palermo, and a supple, satchel-type “manbag” from Florentina Murana on Borges, both at about a third of what you’d expect to pay in Britain. Cardon, which has shops in Gurruchaga and Honduras, is another great, reasonably-priced shop for leather jackets, bags, briefcases, etc(though appeared to have gone slighly more mainstream since my previous visit six years ago).
Bokura, Gurruchaga 1686, and Bensimon, Honduras 4876, do stylish, great-value mens clothing(including some great leather jackets at the latter). There's a brilliant stock of original and colourful casual wear at the Adidas shop on Malabia, and an extensive range of discounted men's and women's wear a few doors along near the corner with Costa Rica.
In San Telmo, the antique shops are uniformly disappointing, unless your airline baggage allowance allows for leather armchairs and bedside cabinets. In the Mercado San Telmo there are some more interesting junk stalls selling everything from old typewriters to faded sports magazines and street nameplates.
In San Telmo, the antique shops are uniformly disappointing, unless your airline baggage allowance allows for leather armchairs and bedside cabinets. In the Mercado San Telmo there are some more interesting junk stalls selling everything from old typewriters to faded sports magazines and street nameplates.
EATING OUT
From our first night sharing a tasty fugazza(onion pizza) outside a branch of Zapi Pizza – a ubiquitous delivery chain – to dressing up for a swanky three-course feast at Lo de Jesus in the heart of Palermo, we never had a disappointing meal(well, apart from being ripped off in the Delta, see right)
El Obrero in La Boca(see right) was probably the highlight – providing the perfect pre-match meal before we headed up the road to see Boca v Estudiantes at La Bombonera – but others stood out too, namely:
Lo de Jesus, Gurruchaga and Cabrera, Palermo, where we shared a plate of grilled achuras. Though it’s a taste I’ve yet to fully acquire – entrails, sweetbreads and bits of cow eyelid – it was beautifully grilled, and the superb desserts soon took the taste of blanched bull’s testicle away….
Don Julio, a few blocks further down Gurruchaga at Guatemala, does half-size steaks and a vast selection of wine. Great atmosphere inside, and the sommelier introduced us to a new(to us) Argentine grape variety, Bonarda, which complemented the meat perfectly.
Clarks, one of the many terrace café/restaurants opposite Recoleta Cemetery. The perfectly grilled meat on its lunchtime menu del dia (38 pesos) was a revelation for such an apparently touristy place.
El Obrero in La Boca(see right) was probably the highlight – providing the perfect pre-match meal before we headed up the road to see Boca v Estudiantes at La Bombonera – but others stood out too, namely:
Lo de Jesus, Gurruchaga and Cabrera, Palermo, where we shared a plate of grilled achuras. Though it’s a taste I’ve yet to fully acquire – entrails, sweetbreads and bits of cow eyelid – it was beautifully grilled, and the superb desserts soon took the taste of blanched bull’s testicle away….
Don Julio, a few blocks further down Gurruchaga at Guatemala, does half-size steaks and a vast selection of wine. Great atmosphere inside, and the sommelier introduced us to a new(to us) Argentine grape variety, Bonarda, which complemented the meat perfectly.
Clarks, one of the many terrace café/restaurants opposite Recoleta Cemetery. The perfectly grilled meat on its lunchtime menu del dia (38 pesos) was a revelation for such an apparently touristy place.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)