NOTABLE IMPRESSIONS
Argentina is a big
country whose differences in landscapes and people remind us of the regional
differences we see in the United States. From the jungle of Iguazu Falls and
the European feel of Buenos Aires to the farmers in Mendoza and the sheer
geographic beauty of Salta (not to mention Patagonia which we didn’t even get
to see), Argentina’s got something for everyone. That said, if you’re in the
hunt for a strong South American culture, Argentina will surprise you. It’s
quite westernized.
Also, don’t be fooled
by the Argentinian currency crisis of 2001. It’s nowhere near as cheap as we
had heard about and expected. They have rampant inflation, and prices have doubled
in just the last few years.
FOOD
Parilla – a
restaurant that cooks on a large grill and whose menu is heavily favored
towards the Argentinian staple…meat. We’ve eaten everything from beef and lamb
to goat and llama. For the record, llama was quite tender, lean and tasty. We’ve
eaten so many steaks that we’ve lost count, but depending on the region and the
restaurant, the experience seems to differ. Most of the steak we’ve been served
has been very fatty compared to American standards. To Argentinians it doesn’t
matter…they eat everything straight down to the bone. Sometimes the steak is
topped with an egg over easy or coarse salt…perhaps a homage to times when
freezers didn’t exist? Most of the time our steaks have looked as brown as
medium-well, but tasted just as tender as medium-rare. Our very best steak was
at a restaurant in Salta called Dona Salta.
Asado – a meat
sampler from every part of the cow, including some Argentine specialties such
as Morcilla (blood sausage). Available at parillas.
Empanadas – sometimes
fried but more often baked in the oven. They come stuffed with so many
different fillings that the restaurants need a way to tell them apart, so
they’ve created a folding nomenclature. Just like a candy box lid that helps
you decipher which flavor you’re choosing, the empanada flavors are designated
by a diagram.
Canelones – rolled up
spinach, chicken, goat ricotta and tomato sauce.
Humita – similar to a
tamale, although there must be a difference because restaurants had both on
their menus.
Hamburgesa Napolitano
– a hamburger patty without a bun topped with salsa. When it first showed up to the table I was skeptical, but it was surprisingly delicious!
Pan Relleno – bread filled
with meat, cheese, egg, tomato, etc. just like the salgados in Brazil.
Roquefort – a special
form of blue cheese, which is mild and tasty.
Dulce de Leche – a
caramel spread that Argentine’s must have pumping through their veins. It takes
up entire shelf sets at grocery stores and is a breakfast staple to be spread
on anything and everything.
Alfadors – a cookie
sandwich with a layer of dulce de leche spread in the middle. Sometimes the
cookies are plain and sometimes they are covered with chocolate, white chocolate
or even powdered sugar. We have tried every kind…including double-stacked and
triple-stacked.
Pochoclo de Quinoa – we love
quinoa for all of its great nutritional properties, but we had never even heard
of it being popped before. They pop it just like popcorn and add either a salty
or sweet flavoring.
Ice Cream – there are
lots of ice cream shops in every city we visited. Our favorite was a chain in
Buenos Aires called Freddo. They had a promotion going called “minicucu”, which
was a small cone for only 5 pesos or $1.25. The catch was that the only flavor
you could order was…not a shock…dulce de leche. We tried other flavors throughout Argentina like Super Dulce de Leche (Dulce de Leche with carmel swirls) and Malbec ice
cream in Mendoza.
Medialunas – half
moon shaped croissants lightly covered with a sugary coating. They’re eaten for
breakfast with a café con leche.
Café con Leche – one
of 5 different ways of serving coffee in Buenos Aires. The other 4 are served
in the tiniest coffee cups ever and ordered throughout the day. Café con Leche
is only option that is decently sized and is only supposed to be ordered for
breakfast. We defied the breakfast-only rule and most certainly pegged ourselves as
tourists. We even enjoyed a cup in Argentina’s oldest coffee shop – Café
Tortoni. Buenos Aires has a passionate café culture. Even if it’s a workday,
people go to a café and take as long as they want to enjoy their coffee. We didn’t
see a single person walking around the streets carrying a coffee cup. We wondered
how Argentinians must look at us in disgust when they come to a place like New
York City and see mobile coffee drinkers.
Submarino – a warm
cup of milk and a chocolate bar. You stir the chocolate bar in the milk until
you get lukewarm hot chocolate, or chocolate milk, depending on how you look at
it.
Vino – It’s all about
Malbec (red) and Torrontes (white). Especially in Buenos
Aires, they are not shy about filling the glass all the way to the top.
Beer – with the
exception of Salta (where the beer brand is creatively named “Salta”), the beer
that completely dominates store shelves is Quillmes. Whether you’re in the
grocery store or at a restaurant, you have to go big with a 1 liter bottle. If
you’re lucky, you might get a fancy liter-sized koozie like this...
Fernet & Coke –
an alcohol mixed with Coca-Cola and ice that tastes like a herbal black licorice combo.
Mate – we tried it
with Mary in Buenos Aires and it tasted like we were drinking a cigarette. In
Mendoza we tried other brands that had herbal or lemon infusions, and they were
smoother. Mate can be taken with or without sugar, although it’s believed by
some that mate with sugar is not mate at all. My friend Matt from the UK
reminded me to point out the pronunciation…“mah-tey”.
Tang – it seems that
Argentina is self-sustaining the Tang business. There are many different
flavors, and it’s common to see people deliberating about
which flavor to get.
WILDLIFE
The usual suspects –
horses, cows, sheep and goats – but the llamas left the greatest impression. We
also saw some condors flying off the mountaintops outside of Salta.
Stray dogs should be their national animal.
Stray dogs should be their national animal.
HOSTELS
Recommended places,
if you’re looking to do the hostel thing:
- Hostel Bambu Mini (Iguacu Falls)
- Hostel Empedrado (Mendoza)
- Hostel Bambu Mini (Iguacu Falls)
- Hostel Empedrado (Mendoza)
HIGHLIGHTS
- “Cama Suite” overnight bus ride from Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires
- Staying with and spending quality time with our old friends, Chris and Mary
- Buenos Aires parks, dog walkers, neighborhoods, tango, Recoleta, and Boca Juniors
- Katie’s Spanish lesson in Buenos Aires
- Lupan de Cuyo wine tasting in Mendoza
- Salta’s churches, MAAM and countryside
- “Cama Suite” overnight bus ride from Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires
- Staying with and spending quality time with our old friends, Chris and Mary
- Buenos Aires parks, dog walkers, neighborhoods, tango, Recoleta, and Boca Juniors
- Katie’s Spanish lesson in Buenos Aires
- Lupan de Cuyo wine tasting in Mendoza
- Salta’s churches, MAAM and countryside
LESSONS LEARNED
Thieves don’t necessarily look like thieves. While Katie was
taking a private Spanish lesson in Buenos Aires (on the empty 2nd
floor of a Starbucks mind you), two well-dressed business women came upstairs
and sat right behind her. A minute later, one woman had reached her arm inside Katie’s chair from the back and
attempted to steal her purse which was sitting between her thigh and a wall.
They aren’t very graceful, are they?! The purse fell to the floor, but Katie
was able to grab it back and the women scurried away.
We’ve come to the conclusion that Mendoza is a city of have
and have-nots. If you have enough money to buy yourself a blind eye, you might
not even notice the roughness of the city. But if you’re a backpacker or
someone on any kind of budget, maybe this shouldn’t be on the top of your list.
Also, we would not recommend biking the wineries of Maipu. If you’re going to spend
the money to come to Mendoza, you might as well spend a little more and get a
driver to take you around.
More time: Patagonia (nature), Cordoba (city), Rosario
(people)
HOW ARE WE DOING?
Once we left Brazil and arrived in Buenos Aires, the heat became much
more manageable. By the time we got to Salta, it was borderline cold at night.
What a difference a month makes.
We have learned not
to trust the weather forecasts at all. It says it’s going to rain almost every
single day, and it never does. After being spooked on a couple of occasions, we
promised each other that we wouldn’t make any more decisions based on the
weather forecasts. We haven’t been burned (yet).
We both got colds in Buenos Aires and
then Steve caught another cold, just a week and a half later, in Mendoza. Other
than that, no health issues.
Katie’s Spanish is coming back more and
more every day. I know that my high school Spanish teacher is reading this
blog. I’m trying to make you proud, Mrs. Worbis!
I love the recaps. I hope no more colds come back. Keep having fun! Can't wait to read about Peru!!
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