South America in 10 days – part II

The first thing we notice are the giant billboards advertising casinos, which are prohibited in Brazil, right after that we see an ad for the duty free shop, which claims to be the largest in the world. It’s not true, so in comparison to shops between Slovenia, Italy, Austria and Croatia, this one reminded me more of a local shop, but it was nice. The casinos are also much smaller that those that stand near the Italian Slovenian border, but let’s forget the casinos and head towards attractions that really make your stay at Puerto Iguazú worth the wile.

Just a few kilometers ahead there are two Youth Hostels Puerto Iguazú right by the main road. Both are neatly organized and offer from the swimming pool to entertainment: from dancing shows that include traditional Argentinean tango to a traditional barbecue of carne asade. For those, who wish to be located closer to the center, there’s also a third hostel in the downtown of the city. You can check out some photos about Hostli Iguazu v Argentini that will convince you more than any words could.

The city of Puerto Iguazú has less than 100.000 population and is a few times smaller than the neighboring Brazilian Foz do Iguaçu, but it still has more nice small shops to offer and naturally souvenir stands.

Not far from the center there’s the memorial site »Tres fronetras« meaning three borders, from where you get a nice view of Brazil and Paraguay.

Since it’s a tourist city, there are many other attractions as well, from which I wish to stress the museum in the shape of a bird trap that gives us a lot of history about this part of the world.

Upon my return I wanted to see the true face of the city, so I went through the part of the city where the people working int tourist industry live. We should not observe these houses through our European eyes, for there’s no winter there, still it’s a contrast that you can not miss.

But let’s leave the city and go to the main attraction – the waterfalls of Iguazú.

Already at the entrance of the national park, we spot some differences. If the Brazilian side was more modern and touristy, the Argentinean side is simpler and more natural – although both sides place great care in environmental protection.

Once we get to the biggest waterfall – the Devil’s throat – we realize, why you really need to see the falls from both sides of the border. The fall we saw from below on the Brazilian side, is now in front us in its full greatness, which makes us forget how wet we got.

IF here’s enough time you can walk between the waterfalls, but otherwise there’s a miniature railroad connecting the individual points of interest.

See the Argentinean side of the Iguazu falls HERE.

And once we see the waterfalls from the Argentinean side, it’s time to depart and head to the very north of Argentina.

We can reach the capital – Buenos Aires – by bus or plane. The bus takes 17 hours, but the drive towards the town of Pousadas, while there’s still daylight, is very pleasant and from there on you can easily fall asleep in the special »cama suite« bus seats, that convert into 2 meter long beds. Additionally, they also serve dinner and breakfast onboard and the bus has its own toilet. A ride in the most luxurious model of the bus is around 100€ for 1.300 kilometers (or 30% cheaper than the flight). A ride in less luxurious, but still comfortable version of the bus can save you additional 30€.

Photo gallery of the way between Puerto Iguazu and Pousadas can be seen HERE.

Arriving to Buenos Aires is fascinating, for it takes us –once we get to the outskirts of the city - more than an hour to reach the central station Retiro, and the bus drives fast. This shows how big the city with over 3 million of people in the downtown area and at least twice as much on the outskirts, is.

After dropping the luggage off at the Hostlu Ritz in the center of the town, by the theatre and the obelisk, was to take a shower. It was the only thing lacking in the bus. Apart from the Youth Hostel Buenos Aires – Ritz, there are several other hostels in the city. Check the link Buenos Aires Youth Hostels to see the two central hostels »Buenos Aires – HI Hostel Inn Ritz« and »Buenos Aires - HI Hostel Suites Florida«.

And now let’s walk around Buenos Aires.

Despite the size of the city, we can see quite a few sights just by taking a nice stroll. If we start at the presidential pink palace (named so due to its color), we can see the main part of Buenos Aires and walk among the docks of the old port in Puerto Maderira, which are today a part of the culinary and shopping area, with also some of the most prestigious apartments and hotels there and even an old military school ship we can explore.

Next we walk around squares and streets and have lunch at one of the restaurants on the way. Around lunch time (between one and three pm) most restaurants offer daily meals, which are big, good and inexpensive. But if you prefer fast food I suggest you go to the shopping mall Atlantico, where you’ll find in their basement a vast array of fast food restaurants (and some traditional restaurants) from internationally renowned names to local fast-food chains.

A definite must see is the theatre, the largest in South America, built at the time of the biggest prosperity of Argentina, so no luxury is missing.

Apart from the stalls, there are seven stories for spectators. One has to specially mention the presidential and mayor’s box, as well as the box for the widows. A century ago it was not acceptable that women, who just lost their husbands would go out to the theatre or have any other kind of amusement, so these boxes are hidden behind thick iron bars allowing the widows to watch the production without being a target of slander for their socially unacceptable behavior.

The exact opposite to the city downtown is the part of the city called Palermo, which is – despite the name – one of the safest parts of the city.

It’s a popular quarter of the city with many restaurants, bars, clubs and shops. It’s also interesting during the day, but it gets its full charm in the night. Argentineas eating habits are different from Europeans’ and supper usually doesn’t start before 9 usually even 10 in the evening. So you won’t have a problem finding a free table at a restaurant at our usual time after seven in the afternoon, but the question is, will you be able to get a more complex dish so early?

Caminito is the part of the city, where the soul lies. It was the gateway for Europeans coming to Argentina. It is where the famous dance Tango originates from in the roaring twenties of the previous century. Tango is not only a dance, but also the way of life. Even today quite a few artists reside and create here. The biggest attraction of this part of the city are the colorful houses, painted in all colors imaginable, and even unimaginable. The reason for this variety is not some artistic scheme, but very simply, people who crossed the ocean used whatever paint they had for painting the ship, to paint the house. Since Caminito is one of the tourist traps, there are many tango dancers, who will allow you to take a picture with them for some change, and there are also Madona imitators and similar street artists here. Naturally, there are also many restaurants, some also with the true and delicious local grill. Another attraction here is also the football (unless you’re American – than it’s soccer) stadium La Boca.

San Telmo is another part of the city, where you can find a huge market place in the open, and a covered market place. The open market offers mostly antiques, while in the covered one, we can even get fruit. This part is also famous for bars and restaurants.

For the best panoramic view of the city it’s best to take some bus lines, that cross the metropolis, but you need to keep an eye out on your belongings (valets, cameras, etc.) while on public buses. The other, more expensive but safer, is the open tourist bus, that takes you among the sights of the city. And the third possibility is the taxi, which can be cheaper than the tourist bus, if more people share it. But we can not leave Buenos Aires without seeing a real tango show, which is not just a dance, but a way of life.

Everything mentioned above I’ve seen without rushing (stopping now and again for a beer) in two days, so I can honestly say three days are more than enough to see the main attractions of this city, but it might be good to have an extra day in between.

Before I take you to the east of the country, to the wine capital of Mendoza, I still owe you the description of Uruguay we skipped over this time – so that’s our next issue

Even if Buenos Aires is one of the biggest cities and definitely a city you mustn’t miss if you’re touring South America, you can experience a part of it through the pictures I’ve made:

- Docks – Puerto Madeiro
- Caminito and San Telmo
- Palermo
- Center with the presidential palace and the theatre
- Tango showsi