Argentina the northern half

Argentina, January 2015 – 1st destination on our tour around the world

The northern half of Argentina:
Buenos Aires – Puerto Iguazu – Salta – Cordoba – Mendoza

Saying goodbye to our families was quite emotional. So we stood at Düsseldorf Airport to take our first flight with mixed emotions.

We had a long travel day – first to London Heathrow (we recommend the Noodle Bar at Terminal A :) and than to Buenos Aires. We slept most of the thirteen hours of the flight to EZE. The entertainment system had only a limited choice and some technical difficulties, but seat and space were good in that Boeing 777 of British Airways.

 

Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires welcomed us with clear skies and a max. of 25 C.

Tip:
If you want to take the local bus no. 8 to the center you need coins! We took the bus from agency Tienda Leon (counter directly at the airport exit next to the tourist info) incl. extension offer that drives you to your hotel. It costs around 20 $ but is in total a good service.

Hostel: Goritti 4290 Bed & Breakfast
From the outside you won’t expect such a nice hostel inside. The owner is very friendly, can give you tips and changes money for a good rate. Rooms and sanitary facilities are clean. The breakfast is really good – typical Argentine it is sweet.

Buenos Aires seemed very safe to us. We even took the public bus after 10 pm.

Tip:
Check first the name of the stop where you want to get off – you have to tell the driver. Even the same buses drive different routes – marked on the outside.
In the bus you get no info where you are at the moment and there are no signs at the stops so keep an eye on the street names. Bring coins or use the SUBE card – otherwise you have to walk!

Strolling around the city was fun. There are so many trees lining the streets and so many parks. The best ice cream we bought at Freddo. You will find many Freddo shops over Buenos Aires. One night we made bif de chorizo by ourselves with friends that had rented a flat via Airbnb. 1 kilo best meat for 4 persons cost 145 pesos including wine and a salad. The next evening we made empanadas with them. You can buy the needed ingredients in every food market. It’s easy & delicious :)
The only thing that was a little overrated was the flea market on Sunday. Just very little old stuff and very touristy, but it lead us to Plaza Dorrego, where we saw normal citizens dancing tango in the warm summer evening.

Top 3 in Buneos Aires
1. Friendly and helpful Argentines
2. The many parks and trees in the city
3. 1 kilo steak and two bottles of red wine for under 10 €

 

Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu
We took the bus, because it was only half the price of the plane ticket. We chose
Via Bariloche / Tigre Iguazu, executivo, cama.
Comfy chairs with a wide angel and board service with food and drinks – driving time 17,5 hrs. / 1280 km.

Puerto Iguazu
We arrived at 7.30 in the morning and took the local “Yellow Bus” (Rio Uruguay) on the other side of the terminal for 5 Pesos to our Hostel, which is the price for all stops in town.

Hostel: Hostel Inn Iguazú Falls
Little outside of town, good bus connectivity! Our first impression from the outside was good. Big pool and much communal place, but than we discovered that the mans shower had only 1 out of 5 shower heads and the public restrooms were dirty. Should we stay or should we go? We waited until our 4 bed dorm beds were ready. Later in the morning the public restrooms got cleaned and the place seemed o.k. to us. Well … if we want to save money, we have to get used to this kind of hostels.
Most of the staff is friendly and tries to deal with your wishes, but the place has definetly seen better times. The breakfast is small but ok – typical Argentine. Top: The kitchen is open from noon till the night and offers good food for a good price so you don’t have to go back to the city.
Do we – Claudia and I – have the right mindset? The place has good ratings on hostelworld!? We will see as we will compare it to other hostels in Argentina.

The Iguazu Falls from both sides – Argentina & Brazil
( If possible try to see both sides, each on a separate day! It is absolutely worth it. In Brazil you have the best views, so that you can have an idea on how big these falls really are. In Argentina you get close to them, which is quiet impressive to. Here you can easily spent a whole day!)

> Argentina
We took the first bus “Cataratas” at about 7.15 am and had to pay 50 Pesos each. The ticket booth opens at 8 o’clock. Entrance cost 260 Pesos. We decided to walk the inferior trail and directly to and under the first water fall – good choice!!! We were alone as we arrived. It is so impressive to stand alone on this platform, the water roaring and millions of drops soak you immediately. For approx. an hour we only came by a few people, after that masses of people shoved their way along the vistas, which was a little annoying, but the water falls make it all up.

Tip:
Take the last train (around 4 pm) to the “Devils Throat”, so that it’s maybe a little less crowded. But plan with some additional time for the train back to the entrance!

> Brazil
We took the communal bus which costs 90 Pesos. It brought us to the boarder, helped with the formalities and brought us to the entrance of Parque Nacional. Although we took the first bus at 8, we arrived there at 10 (keep 1 hour time shift between Argentine and Brazil in mind). Lines had already been formed, but they very well organized, so that it took only 30 minutes to get a ticket (52 Rias ~ 20-25 US$). The walk along the falls is so beautiful that is definitely not to be missed! Take your time – the trail isn’t too long so you’re not in a hurry. At the end you get once again totally wet (wonderful! :D), this time from the other side of Garganta Del Diabolo.

Tip:
I bought a camera bag for snorkeling at home, it was perfect for making pictures and videos near the waterfalls

 

Puerto Iguazu to Salta (via Corrientes)
Flecha Bus, cama, duration 24 hrs / 1430 km. The AC was in freezing mode and the blanket was not enough to keep you warm. If you get a chance always take seats up in the first row – the view in the front is amazing! If not available: we always made good experiences with the seats up in the last row. There, nobody walks by and you are as far as possible from the sometimes smelly toilette.

Salta
Hostel: La Posada de Don Simon
Nice, small, clean hostel that is run by a nice elderly couple (and their cat :D)

The town is at its best visited when the Siesta is over (after 5 pm). The streets start to fill with people. On the weekend the stores are open and in Parque San Martin south of the “complejo téleferico” – cable car station – of Cerro Bernardo the locals have weekend family fun with kids.
The top of Serro San Bernado is easy to reach. The stairs (easy walking, stairs start behind the Güemes monument) lie in the shade of bushes and trees. From the top you have a wonderful view and it is slightly cooler as in the city.

We didn’t do any excursions around Salta, manly because we wanted to save some money and because we saw a similar landscape (colored mountains, salt flat) in Nevada (USA). Please let us know if we were wrong on this one!
Attention: Currently the famous (and expensive!) “Tren de las Nubes” isn’t going. When they will open again isn’t announced yet. Status: January 2015

Eating
We went to “La Carrua Parilla & Restaurant” (street: Caseros 221), because we got a recommendation. We ordered Parilla Argentina. As promised it was a lot of meat, very tasty yes, but the stripes of cow brain are something that we both won’t get used to. Bring warm cloth, they have AC and use it!

“Doña Salta” (street: Cordoba 46) is a very nice restaurant too, visited by locals and tourists alike. We ate Tamal (corn with meat, wrapped and cooked in a corn leaf), Carbonada (meat, potato & pumpkin soup) and Bife de Chorizo (steak). All very tasty and we payed less than 12 US$ each including drinks. Try also the Salta beer.

 

Salta to Cordoba
Andesmar; semi cama; 13 hrs / 861 km

Cordoba
Hostel: Hostal Tango
What makes this place special is its “friends and family” atmosphere that the young group of owners create.

Tip:
We did a 3 hour historic walking tour with LeLe (one of the owners of Hostal Tango) who has a degree in tourism and history. He loves his city, he loves what he talks about and you will love his tour (95 Peso) – we highly recommend this tour.

In January most of the 400.000 students and some residents leave town (summer holiday), so that Cordoba is relatively quiet. Still there are enough bars and restaurants to have fun.

 

Cordoba to Mendoza
Company Andesmar, type cama suite (similar to 1st. class); 9 hrs / 687 km
A nearly 180 degree lying seat, good meal, tasty Malbec red wine, free WiFi and a movie collection with English language made this short bus ride a fun experience

Mendoza
Hostel: Hospedaje Mallorca
Time stood still or at least ticked very slowly in the last approx. 80 years in this place, but it still works. In the patio wine gives you shadow, breakfast comes with good coffee and fruits, and the charming owner Mariano is a wonderful host!

We visited Maipu for a day trip. We took bus number 10 (171-173) and rented bikes at Mr. Hugo. It was very quickly obvious that there are many more olive trees than wine in this a area?!? In January most stores and restaurants were closed, no English tour was available in the wine museum and outside it was very hot.
We visited the Boutique Bodega Domiciano (winery). The wine tasting (60 Peso incl. bodega tour) was nice, but they still work with concrete wine tanks. Also the wine doesn’t grow here but in an area more south of Mendoza so we didn’t really see how the famous Mendoza wine grows.
Our impression: If you really want to see the wine itself, it’s better go to a different wine region. We recommend Germany with its famous Weinstraße or maybe France! ;o)

The really interesting part happened on our way back to Mendoza. We met a couple from Namibia. They already travel since 5 years sailing around South and Middle America & the Caribbean. Now they are traveling by bike and tent through South America but still have their sailboat in Venezuela. Wow! Interesting couple!

Tip:
Condorito is a little mini market near the medical faculty of Mendoza (street: Aristides Villanueva). You must go see it. Stuffed animals (even a condor) and foreign currencies on the walls + everything you need to buy when everything else is closed.

Eating
“Facundo” is a good place to eat asado or bife de chorizo and drink some wine. The prices are a little higher but food and service are really good.

At “Picardo” you can eat different picadas (similar to tapas in Spain), a lot of food and really tasty!

At “El club de la Milanesa” we – of course – had a Milanesa. Milanesas are veal schnitzel with different toppings (e.g. ham, cheese, spinach, tomatoes…). If you are with the two of you ordering “for one person” will do absolutely fine! At least you don’t need additional orders like starters or add. salat. Trust us ;o)

Day trip “Alto Montana”
We started this trip into the Andes (470 Peso) at around 7.30 am and returned around 7 pm. The guide gave a lot of information and spoke English. The trip itself is a typical tourist tour, but the beautiful mountains and vistas – changing after every corner – made it still worthwhile. Here the Andes show itself like a moon landscape with almost every color of the rainbow – impressive! The Aconcagua is a beautiful mountain, and we saw it from approx. 25 km. To see it in its total beauty you have to visit the National Park, which is expensive and not included in the tour. The highlight of the tour is the statue of Jesus (Christo Redentor) on 4000 m altitude on the boarder to Chile. It’s cool – literally – but it is not the highest point in the surrounding so that you don’t get a 360 view. Beside the view the drive up and down the mountain is an experience for itself. Be prepared for high altitude sickness and drink a lot of water on your way up.

On our last day we spend the afternoon in the patio of our hostel talking to the owner Mariano. He is a knowledgeable guy and we covered many interesting topics. He explained some very interesting things about the Argentine national psyche. He even gave us a beginners course in the art of preparing and drinking maté tea. Later he fetched a book of an Argentinian intellectual out of his apartment in which the two German words “Fernweh” and “Heimweh” where explained. Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mariano!

From here we travelled to our first stop in PATAGONIA.
You can read about that part of our journey in our next post here, or you have a look at our Facebook page or you follow us on twitter.

Thanks for reading and sharing. Have a safe trip.
Claudia & Tom