A few reflections on this fantastic country, now that we have left and are in Bolivia...
1. Patagonia - though seemingly
with nothing more to offer than an endless horizon, the vast wilderness of
Argentina is surprisingly soulful. Mile after mile after mile, it is almost
hypnotic; the stillness and
isolation cannot but turn your thoughts inward to greater wonderings of Life,
almost to the point of conjuring up a mystical presence of this age-old barren
land. Darwin wrote, in the final chapter of his Voyage of the Beagle, about how the ‘boundless plains of Patagonia’
enable “free scope given to the imagination”.
Being so remote from
anywhere, with little to distract the traveller’s eye, there are nevertheless small
and infrequent clues to occasional life form in this desolation: every once in
a while, a small armadillo may scurry across the road, or a desert fox can be
seen trotting purposely Somewhere. Every 50km, or so, there will be a gate,
indicating an entrance to Somewhere; we rarely saw where the track past the
gates led to, though we assume they meant there was a remote estancia (farm) somewhere beyond in the Nowhere distance. Naturally, there
would also be vast flocks of hardy sheep, the raison d’etre for these old farms
in the first place.
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| SO MUCH of Nothing, and yet of Everything... |
2. Ruta 40 - Travelling southward from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, you drive on the
National Route 3 road; it is long (over 3,000km) and more or less straight and
very predictable. On the return journey northward, you take the National Route
40, otherwise known as the Ruta 40, or even simply as the Cuarenta. This is the route that takes you through the mountains,
the Alta Montana, and the Altiplano. It takes you through the desert and
God-forsaken, dust-filled, Who-the-Hell-Wants-to-Live-Here towns. It’s almost
as if it has assumed the job that no one else wanted: being the loyal pathway
to all these out-of-the-way places; joining the dots from all the dust in a
brave attempt to bring civilisation to the desolate western regions. For this
reason alone, it deserves its affectionate reputation of national service, and
is easily forgiven for its rough dirt roads and hotch-potch, indirect,
often-confusing illogical direction. It is simply One of Those Things you have
to do when travelling Argentina.
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| One of the many obligatory photos with Lola the Landie |
3. Ushuaia - Argentina’s southernmost town: characterful and colourful, perched at
the very bottom of our inhabited Earth. In spite of it being so far away from
the rest of the world, it is surprisingly busy, functional and independent. Its
main source of income, tourism, offers many exciting and unique adventures
(skiing in the winter, whale watching, boat tours along the Beagle Channel,
hiking in the dramatic mountains that encircle the back of the town, and even a
jazz festival). Of course, everything you do, see and buy there comes with the
ubiquitous label of being “the southernmost…” whatever. It’s kind of clichéd,
but undoubtedly unique. Its duty-free status is a surprising bonus, too,
especially when you walk down the quaint, cobbled streets, looking at incongruous
designer-named shops everywhere!
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| Ushuaia: such a cool place to live! |
4. Mountains - Once you’ve driven down through Patagonia, on the eastern half of
the country, you hit mountains. And then, as you start driving up the western
half of Argentina, that’s all there is! Mountains, mountains, everywhere. Of
course. For this magnificent western border is where the majestic Andes’
mountains begin. Mostly snow-covered in the southern range, the mountains get
bigger as you go further North, until you reach the Alta Montana, or Altiplano, where
you feel you have found yourself at the birth place of Earth: raw, powerful
energy surrounds you, as you look on in awe at such richly coloured, shaped and
patterned HUGE chunks of rock that have been pushed out of the Earth’s belly
however many million years ago. Inspiring, soulful and truly breath-taking
natural monuments.
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| Strolling the foothills of the majestic Aconcagua |
5. Animals - Coming from Africa as we do, we are more than used to being treated
with sightings of exotic savannah animals, many of which can be deadly
dangerous. None of the animals we have come across in Argentina are remotely
dangerous, but to us they are just as exotic. The guanaco, a silkier version of
the llama, is the most common wild animal wandering the cold parts of
Patagonia. The llamas are fluffy and often decorated with ribbons, maybe their
mark of identification from their owner. And third version of these hardy
camelids, are the vicunas, the smallest and shyest of the llama cousins and the
ones found in the most remote mountain stretches. All these are the classic
symbol of South America, the llama being the most domesticated and thus commercialized.
All beautiful and strange to look at. As already mentioned, we have also come
across many an armadillo and desert fox, the latter that so resembles our
African jackal. On a much more ordinary note, but one that impacts us literally
on a daily basis, the domestic dog must be mentioned here! Partly because they
are everywhere in every village and town we have been through in Argentina, all
seemingly stray, but partly because they are also such sweet-tempered animals,
with whom we have made many friends across the country.
6. Dinosaurs - Earlier this year, there was a new and magnificent paleontological
find in the middle of Argentina; one that has surpassed all others, for the
evidence shown in the unearthed bones boast a creature far bigger than anything
ever discovered before. So big is it, indeed, that it has been named something
like Tyrannustitanic and is thought
to have measured as high as 40m. This is the jewel in the crown of many other
dinosaur discoveries found throughout the province of Neuquen.
7. Panaderias - Pan is Spanish for bread and although bread is not strictly speaking the
staple diet in Argentina, it certainly (unofficially) seems so, going by the
abundance of panaderias that are
everywhere through this land. Just as well, because our daily lunch demands
have depended on these places in every part of Argentina. They also offer
tantalizing sweet morsels; you know that mouth-watering smell that wafts out of
any bakery that is so hard to resist? And we thought we’d lose a bit of weight
on our travels…
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| Sometimes, when it's too hard to choose, you just gotta try them all! |
8. Helados - Anyone who has been to Argentina knows exactly what I’m talking
about here! If you thought there was nothing better than Italian ice-cream, you
were wrong. No matter how small a town is in Argentina, you will always find a heladeria at which to have a delicious
treat!
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| Tiramasu, mocca, dulce de leche, berries, lemon meringue…need I continue? |
9. Bife and Bebidos - Beef and
Drinks. There is a surprising micro-brewery business blossoming in certain
towns of Argentina and it has to be said, some of these artisanal beers rate
just as well as what we sampled in Alaska and Oregon. As for the red wine, even the cheapest boxed vino tinto (at a ludicrous $1,50 per
litre) is perfectly palatable. Mmmmm
is all I can say about that! Now, as for the beef…at great risk of offending
our gorgeous Zimbabwean cows, and let me tell you, Zim nyama is GOOD, I have to
honestly say that there is nothing more succulent and juicy and tasty as an
Argentinian steak. It sucks, to tell you the truth, because I was trying to
come to a decision about withdrawing animal foods from my diet, which has been
impossible whilst here. But however I decide to pursue this philosophy on our
return to Zim, I have no regrets for the delicious bovine indulgences in the
meantime.
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| OK, so this grilled meat isn't beef, but grilled Any Meat is what Argentinians do best |
10. Good Value - Argentina and Zimbabwe have a special economic history that they
share: both have suffered from disastrous economical policies and landed up in
hyper-inflation states, which then resulted in a forced new currency. Whereas
in Zim we changed to a completely different currency, Argentina has persevered
with the Peso. Unfortunately, the leaders of this wonderful country, do not
seem to have learned their lesson and once again Argentina’s economy exists on
a two-tier status. Officially, the Peso is valued at 8 to 1$ (US), but there is
a ‘Blue Rate’ which is tolerated, at which you can change from 12 to 17 Pesos
to 1$. This, of course, means take lots of US cash with you when travelling to
Argentina, and it will ensure you have a terrifically cheap and great value
holiday!
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| Argentina has offered us so many amazing experiences; for us as a family, it has been an awesome and superb-value holiday! |
