My arrival in Buenos Aires was a celebration to the guys that invented the instrument landing system which allowed our plane to break through the cloud base at about 300 feet and find ourselves pretty much on the runway. After 10 or so hours in the air I´m also guessing that the pilot just wanted to get us on the ground.

The overcast cold day was a bit of a shock to the system after three months of european and african sun in addition to the past 5 years of warm climates, luckily I had been carrying around a stack of winter clothing which was instantly pressed into service.

 

I spent the first couple of days in BA walking around in a daze partly due to the cold but mainly due to the fact that no one was harrassing me for money or trying to rip me off. To help get through this period I consumed a
number of large beautifully cooked steaks with a nice red or two to wash them down. Having lost three kilo's and putting another hole in my belt since departing it seemed only wise to fatten myself up for the southern winter. In between meals I took in the sites of BA with its bustling downtown and posh Palermo cafe's. As was the case in Europe and Morocco the place came to a stand still during the world cup football matches - the locals were of course disappointed with their team's exit from the competition but thrilled that Brazil was also out of the running.

 

A side trip to Uruguay was next on the agenda with a 3 hour ferry ride to Montevideo a comparatively quiet city. I soon discovered that I was in a country of big drinkers when I asked for a beer and was handed a litre
bottle! I guess that's what they call a stubby around here?! Next stop was the town of Colonia, a quiet little place which apparently fills up with Argentinians out to party on the weekend. I was there mid week.

 

A finely timed return to BA and a dash to the airport had me on a plane to Puerto Iguacu - that's the top right hand corner of Argentina for all you geography buffs. It is here where the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and
Argentina meet that you find the Iguacu falls - a pretty spectacular water feature which attracts plenty of tourists. It is also the place where I found myself standing in my boxers with a lifejacket on waiting for a boat
which would take me underneath the said falls and I got the pleasure of paying for it too. Some how my new english travel buddies, Tom and Laura, had talked me into this. Needless to say it was very refreshing although I didn't attract as much attention as the lads in their budgie smugglers.

 

We also discovered Argentina still seems to have a bit of a thing for the Falkland Islands or Malvinas as they like to call them with a monument being erected only days earlier in town. Needless to say don't mention the war! It here also here that we met Erika, a reporter with the Miami Herald and avid hurricane hunter including Katrina which wiped out New Orleans, needless to say she had plenty of interesting stories. No stay in Iguacu is complete though without a visit to the Cuba Libre bar where we discovered how the local liquor has the ability to clear a large portion of the dance floor for Shakira impersonations.

 

With that all done it was time to move on, for me it was a very comfortable bus to Cordoba which didn't impress much which prompted a move to Mendoza, the heart of the Argentinian wine industry - just to be sure I was in the right place I took a wine tour which confirmed the same. Also on the agenda was a trip up to the snow in Los Penitentes next to the Chilean border, a fantastically day gave us great views of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in these parts.

 

After this tranquil wee break it was time to head back to Buenos Aires for a few spanish lessons which only proved to confuse me more as Argentinians use vos instead of tu for you and Portenas (Buenos Aires residents) say "sho" instead of "y" for ll - needless to say confusion rained. Friday has arrived though so will be out on the town tonight and on the weekend to do a bit more conversational practise. Off to Columbia on Tuesday.