The most diverse country I have ever seen so far.
Our stops in Argentina:
• Buenos Aires
• Puerto Madryn and the Península Valdés
• Tierra del fuego
• El Calafate
• El Chaltén
• Mendoza and Maipú
• Quebrada de Humahuaca
• Puerto Iguazú
Buenos Aires.
I did not expect that city to be very honest. South America so far presented itself completely different so I did not expect these beautiful buildings and quite modern site of the country.
On each corner there is a little parc which makes this city super green. All the trees were blooming when we visited and poeple were super friendly and approachable.
The district La Boca was our favorite. The colorful houses, the cheerful streets, very photogenic.
Also street food and Salsa played a big role in Buenos Aires. A perfect start into Argentina.
Puerto Madryn and the Península Valdés.
Puerto Madryn is perfect to explore the Península Valdés, an island that actually belongs to Patagonia.
The peninsula immediately cought me. Magellan penguins everywhere, Guanacos on our way there and a beautiful blue sea that looks almost unreal.
We did some hikes along the many paths. The next day super early in the morning we went by car to the coast. We wanted to see the sunrise. Sitting next to the penguins on the cliff we watched the sea when suddenly Orcas entered the bay.
We watched them for more than one hour chacing the poor seals, just for fun. It was an Orca family and especially the little one was super playful. I did not know that Orcas can come so close to a shore.
Of course a whale watching tour was also necessary on the peninsula and on our boat we were able to watch a Right Whale.
Tierra del Fuego.
We continue the trip to the very south end of the world - Ushuaia.
It was pretty cold there as a couple of days before it had snown. So we needed all our clothes we packed.
We did a really nice boat tour on the beagle canal and hiked along the Costera trails in the Tierra del Fuego national park.
The super nice owner of our hostel even gave me a cooking class in making Empanadas, because I liked them so much.
El Calafate.
Next to the super turquoise lake Argentino the little village El Calafate is located. It is the perfect stop to explore the famous glacier Perito Moreno.
And oh - how stunning was that!
With a small group we did a glacier trekking tour and in the end got some whikey with glacier ice. Equiped with crampons the hike was really doable.
The whole area was surreal and immensly breathtaking. Whenever a peace of the glacier broke off and came down it sounded like a thunder. Super cool adventure.
El Chaltén.
The little village with its view to the Fitz Roy Mountains was a highlight as well.
We did a 2-day hike to teh Laguna de los tres with a camping stop and further to Laguna Torre. There were not a lot of hightmeters on this hike, but it was super looooong.
The whole landscape was amazing though.
Back in El Chaltén we enjoyed the backpacking flair. The local food was delicious and there were many cervecerías.
Mendoza and Maipú.
What a change in scenery. Up north it's warm and dry.
After the cold days our next goal is Mendoza. We explore it with rental bikes and basically went from vinyard to vinyard. We found the smaller ones more attractive so we focused on them. We visited Domiciano and Mevi, did some wine tasting, had great food and in the end of the day I must say I was really drunk.
I never slept better on a bus ride than this one.
Quebrada de Humahuaca.
In the afternoon we arrive in Salta, a quite big city actually with very old, former colonial houses. We got a rental car there and drove up to the Quebrada de Humahuaca. There we very staying in Purmamaraca and explored the whole area.
In the mountain valley one can see the stunningly colorful mountains due to the presence of diverse sedimentary rocks with various minerals. The most amazing view we had on Cerro de los Siete Colores.
The streetfood here in north was also really good. WE tried everything.
By car we also explored the Salinas Grandes, a salt desert in the north.
Puerto Iguazú.
The last stop in this country is Puerto Iguazú. It's located at the corner of 3 countries: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Of course our goal were the Iguazú Falls.
The gigantic falls are one of the 7 wonders of the world and we must admit we were stunned. Having visited the dry area around Medoza and just a couple of ours further there is so much water that I was a bit overwhelmed.
The Iguazú falls are the biggest waterfalls on earth and we did see them from the argentinian as well as from the brazilian side.
What an amazingly divers country. I would love to visit again.
