Argentina: Diverse
We worked our way from the scenic and rural Patagonian south, through the german influenced Bariloche, and on to sophisticated Buenos Aires. Argentina really has a lot to offer and is making a comeback economically. Argentina is another place that is super livable and pretty easy to navigate
The South: Patagonia & El Calafate
Argentina wins the contest for best town name. El Calafate literally means “The Caulk” because of the Calafate shrub with its blue berries that was used for caulking homes. The local legend says if you eat a Calafate berry, you will return to Patagonia. Unfortunately, I did not have one but I would not be against coming back. Argentine Patagonia was every bit as beautiful as the Chilean side. Perito Moreno Gacier was unique in how close you could get to it using the walkways and the boat tour.
El Chalten (another cool name right?) was a great little mountain town a couple of hours from El Calafate. We did a day trip and did not have time for any long hikes but it was beautiful and interesting.
Why did the Guanaco cross the road. Because it was the chicken’s day off (I am so sorry that is the last one)
Bariloche: German Argentina
San Carlos de Bariloche was a haven for multiple waves of German refugees including the last big group after WWII. It is not surprising that some of those that emigrated were Nazis. We took a Nazi history walk and found out that in 1994 ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson confronted and interviewed SS Captain Erich Priebke here. This lead to his extradition (controversial in Argentina) and conviction for his involvement in the Ardeatine Caves Massacre in Italy in 1944. Here is the interview link https://abcnews.com/video/20575216/ For us it was a pretty little alpine town with German and Swiss influence and good fondue.
Bariloche was a mixture of nice scenery, good food, and resorty stuff. It is a vacation spot for all of Argentina, so it feels quite touristy. With the good weather, beautiful scenery, and good food, we definitely enjoyed our time here.
Buenos Aires: Sophisticated and Metropolitan
After being in smaller towns, Buenos Aires was a shock. The B.A. metropolitan area has almost 16 million people and is almost 1500 square miles of urban and suburban area. We don’t care for big cities but we stayed near the historical center, so it was manageable. Karen and I both though the Buenos Aire-ans sounded Italian.
My aunt Maria and I did a group dinner (really a meat-fest) on a private terrace. It was so good and it was a lot of fun talking to other travelers. The meat was really amazing with just salt and a little olive oil as seasoning.
My two favorite things were the Tango Show at La Ventana and Recoleta Cemetery. Again video and pictures fail to capture the experience that was the Tango Show. It was spectacular and intimate at the same time. A really surprising experience.
The performers and the musicians really have a love for it that came through
Even the musicians were rocking out (Tango-ing out?). It truly is a unique art-form coming from the blend of cultures here.
Our last stop was Recoleta Cemetery since Karen is a big Evita (movie not play) fan. Besides seeing the Duarte family crypt, it was interesting to see the grand and small tributes to lost loved ones
Evita’s embalmed body was stolen and completed an almost 20 year odyssey before finally being interred in 1976. Here is the link to the fascinating story https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18616380
