AMAZING ARGENTINA
We arrived early in the morning after our overnight flight from Amsterdam. Our sightseeing tour took us to the colourful area of ‘La Boca’ where the famous pedestrianized street called the Caminito is full of local cafes where lots of tango artists perform. The area is also home to the famous soccer team the Boca Juniors where Diego Maradona played in the early days. We also visited Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron is buried and spent some time at the Evita Peron Museum which was well worthwhile. It covers the life of Evita from a young age. You can hear all her inspiring speeches and hear the crowds roar and they had a showcase of all the fabulous outfits she wore during her most famous appearances on the world stage.
Buenos Aires consists of several neighbourhoods. Apart from La Boca and the cultural area of Recoleta, we visited Palermo Soho at night – the area was just buzzing with lots of bars, restaurants and hundreds of people sitting outdoors in the warm evening soaking up the atmosphere. We also visited the newly developed area of Puerto Madero, home to lots of upmarket hotels and apartments along with some exclusive restaurants and cafes. One of the oldest neighbourhoods is San Telmo, home of the tango and many of the cafes in this area put on open air tango performances. Buenos Aires is definitely a city of contrasts.
We then headed to Bariloche known as the ‘Little Switzerland’ of Argentina. Our flight took 2 hours and 20 minutes and we had a fabulous view of the snow-capped Andes as we descended. The drive to our hotel situated a couple of kilometres from the centre of the town was lovely. Bariloche is situated on Lake Nahuel Huapi and the view of the lake backed by the Andes was spectacular. The following day, we did a tour called the ‘Circuito Chico’ or ‘Small Circuit’. The highlight of this tour was the chairlift to the top of Campanario Hill. The views were simply amazing and we could not stop taking photographs. Every corner we turned offered a better view than the previous one. It was just fabulous.
Bariloche itself is a lovely town – very alpine with lots of wooden chalets. It had lots of restaurants and some great pubs. The speciality here was smoked foods e.g. deer, trout and mushrooms. A typical souvenir from Bariloche would be chocolate and the main street was full of chocolate shops.
The following day we took a trip to the quaint town of Villa la Angostura which lies 70 km from Bariloche. Once again the scenery was magnificent and activities you can do there include skiing, hiking, horse riding and all sorts of water sports. This is also one of the starting points for the lake crossing into Chile.
Weather in this area was a lot cooler than in Buenos Aires and the locals advise that for any time of the year, it is necessary to pack a warm jacket. However, the skies were a clear blue and it was just wonderful being out in the clean, fresh air.
After 3 fabulous days in Bariloche, we headed back to Buenos Aires for our last night. The highlight of the trip was the tango show at the Esquina Carlos Gardel. We were lucky enough to be seated in the VIP section and had excellent views from our table over the balcony to the stage. We arrived at 9.00 pm and after a fantastic meal accompanied by fine wines, the show began at 10.30pm. Not only were we entertained by the passionate dancers, but they were accompanied by a lively 8 piece orchestra and 2 singers. The dancing, the acrobatics, the music, the outfits – totally amazing!
And so ended our short trip to Argentina, however it is such a fabulous country and there is so much to see there that it still remains on my bucket list and I hope to return in the near future.