For some incomprehensible reason, young Argentines don’t find it particularly attractive to get blindingly drunk and fall flat off a bar stool. Argentines are a cosmopolitan bunch — sipping beer in streetside cafes, savouring wine by the glass in upscale bars, or nursing a coke in a nightclub looking sexy until sunrise…
First the heat – it really hits you. 40°C (104°F) plus. Hot, humid, and so sweaty you just don’t care. Lugging a back-pack makes the going even hotter and more difficult, and rather slow. Everything around you is wet, gorgeously lush, and very green – not the Argentina most people know…
It would be fair to say that mate falls in to that polite category of beverages – along with Fernet – of being ‘an acquired taste’. Pronounced ‘mah-tay’ (as opposed to an informal synonym of friend), this drink infusion is ubiquitous in Argentina and Uruguay. You’ll see taxi drivers, old ladies in the streets, lovers in parks, and friends in houses cradling a little gourd, taking a sip of mate through a bombilla (straw), and sharing it round. You’ll see it everywhere, and it will only be a matter of time (measured in hours rather than days) before you are offered some…
It is ox blood that first stained the slaughterhouses of Mataderos pink. The name of the neighbourhood itself means ‘slaughterhouses’. And throughout the week, Mataderos is still bovine hell – your last steak was probably alive and well (although a little trepidatious) until entering this suburb, at the westernmost end of Buenos Aires. However, on the weekend, particularly Sundays, the center of Mataderos becomes a fair and a celebration of all things country. It is where the country and city clash…
Many people talk about fly fishing and Argentina in the same breath, often conjuring up images of big sea trout fishing in Tierra del Fuego or Dorado in the North. But here in Mendoza, there is fantastic fishing right on the doorstep. When I decided to visit Argentina, I knew I wanted to fly fish, but I couldn’t quite fit Patagonia into my itinerary. I need not have worried – I had an awesome day fishing near a village called El Manzano Histórico, about 1.5 hours outside Mendoza. I am relatively new to the joys of fly fishing, and this day out has me totally hooked on the pastime!…
Mendoza is a charming city with a small-town atmosphere. The friendly locals, superb setting and gastronomic delights make it a perfect vacation spot with something for everyone. Born and bred in Mendoza, I’ve spent my life keeping track of all the developments in the Mendoza food and drink scene. Some of my favorite restaurants, cafes, and bars in town are internationally renowned for their gourmet cuisine and fine wines; others are lesser-known favorites frequented by locals who appreciate quality cooking in a welcoming atmosphere…
They say that tango is the very expression of the Argentine soul. Certainly its roots are entwined with those of modern-day Argentina as the country emerged into a nation of immigrants in the late 19th century. It was a time of tremendous change especially in the port of Buenos Aires (B.A) which was swamped with Europeans seeking a new life in the New World. Soon the influx of Italians alone outnumbered the resident porteños – citizens of B.A, who were mainly descended from Spanish colonists and African slaves…
How exactly do you define a boutique hotel? Well it is a bit of a loose term, and one that is stretched to its limit in Buenos Aires. Boutique usually means small. But in this city, it can mean anything with modern art in the lobby, bamboo walls and a spa in the basement, and who cares if it has 60 rooms. Boutique is buzz, and like all buzzes, the term becomes so common that it fades out into more of a putter. That said, there are some very very good boutique hotels in Buenos Aires, award-winning, world-beating, praised-in-Wallpaper* type of places…