Northern Argentina

At the end of our Bolivian Salt Flats tour, rather than returning to Uyuni, we caught a bus to the Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama. Unfortunately we don´t have much good to say about it. It was very expensive and on a different budget things might have been better but we found people rude and everything was out of our price range so we got the first bus to northern Argentina.


First stop was the city of Salta and we loved it. Everyone was incredibly friendly, even the traffic warden we stopped to ask for directions! We spent a happy few days there walking around and watching sport (mainly rugby). During the New Zealand vs France quarter final we started chatting to 2 Kiwis - Sam and Anna and agreed to drown their sorrows with our first Argentinian steak. All I can say is that it was awesome! The restaurant (or Parilla to give it its proper name) offered a complementary glass of Champagne - which was nice! However the waiter seemed to like us and we got through about 3 bottles worth between the 4 of us as well as the lovely bottle of red wine we bought to go with the steaks all for the grand price of 5GBP per person! The meat was lovely, perfectly cooked and incredibly flavoursome and tender - we´re going to like this place!! We were some of the first in at around 9pm (they eat late here) but the last to leave at about 1am.

In Salta we also watched the biggest match in the Argentinian football calender - the so called Super Derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate - the 2 main teams in Buenos Aires. Despite Salta being over 500 miles from Buenos Aires everyone was wearing strips of one of the teams - probably a little more Blue and Yellow of Boca than Red and White of River. The bars were all packed hours before kick off and we only just managed to squeeze in at the back of one, it seemed like the whole town was watching. River ended up winning 2:0 setting off mad scenes in the town. People marched and drove round and round the main square hooting horns and wacing flags. Despite all the exuberence, there was no agro between the fans who were all intermingled in the bars, even when a Boca player was sent off - a nice change from back home.


After Salta we headed south to Argentina´s second city of Cordoba. It is a beautiful city with lots of Jesuit architecture - the Jesuits settled here before being expelled from the country at a later date. Whilst it was interesting and friendly it didn´t have the charm that Salta did. In addition the steak we had wasn´t as well cooked and there was no free champagne! We did however find an amazing steak sandwich (lomito) shop that certainly improved things! It seems that our travels around Argentina will be defined by the quality of the food and wine - just as we had hoped!


One thing to mention is that the Argentines have a reputation for being arrogant and stuck up, in our experience from Salta and Cordoba, nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone we met was charming and keen to help. They also have a great service mentality and people in shops, cafes, hostels etc were all willing to go out of their way to help - a refreshing change from Bolivia!


Perhaps the only downside was that we were suddenly faced by a shoppers paradise and suddenly felt very scruffy compared to the locals - that hadn´t been a problem for quite some time! Our credit cards certainly started to feel a little jumpy in our wallets, self control will have to spread beyond red meat and red wine!


After Cordoba we headed to the capital but that is for another blog...

The 'F' Word

Before arriving in Argentina, we had briefly wondered to ourselves whether the issue of the disputed ownership of the Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas as they are called by the Argentines) would be a potential source of friction with our South American hosts.

We were assured by some travelling Argentinians that "no, not at all", and given the impression that this was all water under the bridge, as it were.

Not so. It soon became quite obvious to us on arriving in the country, that in fact, the Islas Malvinas were a slightly larger bone of contention than people would have had us believe. I did a double take for example on arriving by bus at the Argentinian border post with Chile, to discover that the larger-than-life map of Argentina on the wall did actually include the Falklands as part of Argentine territory. And sure enough, having examined several similar maps since being here, it is unusual to find one in spanish which does not list the Malvinas as belonging to Argentina. Not only this, but every town we have visited so far has had at least one street, bus company and tour agency named after the archipelago.

For the 25th anniversary of the invasion, Argentina has reasserted its claim for sovereignty, and it seemed that for the Socialist party, this claim formed a central part of their recent election campaign, hence a proliferation of street demonstrations, and requests for passers by to sign petitions for the return of the islands to their rightful owners. We declined to add our names...

In the library of the hostel where we stayed in BA, James cames across a book written in 1982 by one Rear Admiral (retired in service) Laurio H. Destefaniwar. We felt it was worth sharing an extract with you, as an insightful piece of war propaganda, particularly note-worthy for its impartial and un-emotive portrayal of the Falklands situation.

Despite the fact that the Falklands are still inhabited mainly by english speakers, it seems that the Argentine claim to the islands is underpinned by the fact that -

"...the Falkland Islanders cannot determine by themselves what they want to do, because they are actually a factory which has been colonised and exploited by a monopoly which does not permit any freedom to the islanders"

and he concludes the book with the following passage...

"The history of the Malvinas which has been so tragic and bitter for Argentina has now taken a new persepctive thanks to the courage shown by our men. On April 2, 1982, this country decided to put an end to the frustrations caused by almost a century and a half of submission.

We recovered the islands much to the surprise of the invader, who thought it would continue occupying them as it had done until then.

Our armed forces in a perfect operation occupied the Malvinas and the South Georgias, without causing the enemy a single casualty but suffering the loss of four men and three wounded ones.

The reaction has been excessive and cruel. The powerful adversary displayed all its modern war equipment, but received another surprise, our country which had been underesitmated already once, was able to retrurn blow by blow.

Today there is an impasse in diplomatic negotiations which will end by giving us what is ours, or maybe a bit less. I think that sooner or later, either during our generation or in the future, this inheritance will be finally ours."

So, the moral of the story has been - "don't mention the war"!

You know you´re in Argentina when.....

So, after nearly 6 months in the central Andes, we arrived in Argentina. Our first stop was a town called Salta in the north of the country. The effect of suddenly being somewhere which feels more like a European city than a Latin American one was nothing short of culture shock.

Out with the unsealed roads, the arduous bus journeys, the locals dressed in traditional Andean costume, hostel rooms for $3 each per night. In with upmarket cafes serving good cappuchinos, (for the price of a night's accomodation in Bolivia!) shops full of things you suddenly wanted to buy and streets full of suited & booted locals wearing Gucci sunglasses. It was all quite a shock to the system.
On our first wander around the streets of Salta, I could instantly feel my credit card twitching in my pocket, in reaction to 6 months in the same clothes, and suddenly being surrounded by shops selling nice looking things!

We decided that you know you're in Argentina when...


- there's a hot tap in the bathroom... and hot water comes out of it
- red wine costs only a few cents more than bottled water
- you can no longer buy a 3 course meal for 50p

- you don't stick out like a sore thumb as a tourist

- you find yourself inadvertently shouting for the 'Pumas' rugby team
- your protein and alcohol intake increase by 200%
- you feel distinctly under-dressed in your travelling gear
- the air-con on the bus works
- you can buy real italian pizza, french pastries and brown bread
- you order a drink and its served by a cheery waiter and comes with nibbles!


Our first few days in Argentina, have unashamedly been spent revelling in the delights of 'civilisation' and enjoying the sport fest that has been the last few weeks.

Mixed feelings at seeing Scotland go out to the Pumas in the rugby, but it didn't feel that they put in a great performance, and it was great to see the Argentinian reaction to the 'miracle' of the Pumas reaching the semi's. ("Yesterday a Dream, Today a Reality, Tomorrow a Legend", or in the words of Adidas, "Impossible is Nothing"). Good on them for getting so far as a non-pro team. Hopefully their performance will give a boost to the popularity of Rugby in Argentina (its still apparently seen very much as a posh boys sport). They certainly deserve it.


On Saturday, our allegiances were torn, when we managed to get hold of tickets to the Argentina vs. Chile World Cup Qualifier match at the River Plate stadium in BA, which meant leaving the pub after the first half of the France vs. England rugby match. To be honest we didn't have high hopes for that one... but as is so often the case, in rugby anything can happen! So the next priority will be finding somewhere to watch the final next weekend. The football was great - fanstastic atomsphere, and a win for Argentina via 2 perfect free kicks from Riquelme. Chile were truly outclassed.

Salar de Uyuni

We'd heard great things about Bolivia's Salt Flats, which stretch over an amazing 12,000km sq in the south west corner of the country and after a night in the nothing town of Uyuni itself, were more than a little excited to set off on a trip into the unknown, with our trusty companions, Shay and Em, and also a dutch couple, Esther and Ton, along with Carmelo our guide, Emilia the cook.

The Toyota Landcruiser is the vehicle of choice for tackling this harsh terrain, and a quick glance around the other vehicles stood on the main street before we left, told us that ours at least was looking in pretty good shape compared with those belonging to other agencies. Of all the places in the world to break down, the Salar de Uyuni is not recommended!

We had been promised unworldly landscapes, with eerie perspective effects (inifinite scope for whacky photos!)

and strange multicoloured lakes, complete with flocks of flamingoes, and what we got was just that. The Salar is unlike any landscape we had ever seen, with mile upon mile of panake-flat, glaringly white salt, (bring your sunnies or suffer the consequences) left over from a lake which, 10,000 years ago, disappeared into the ground in the wake of 2 separate earthquakes. Who knows where all that water went? The lake had been, after all bigger than Lake Titicaca.

The lakes were no less impressive, with dazzling colours flamigoes by the hundreds, (so many amazing photo opportunities - have a look for yourselves ona our Flickr page).

On the last day we were treated to a pre-breakfast dip in some natural pools, which more than compensated for the early start, before heading to the Chilean border where we picked up a shuttle which took us to Chile.

We had mixed feelings about leaving Bolivia. We have had a great time in this wonderful country, and between the jungle, the mountains and the Salar, it is home to some of the most stunning scenery imaginable. The people have welcomed us unconditionally, and for a nation

which has been dealt such a crappy hand historically, in terms of how it is treated by its neighbours, governmental corruption, and the exploitation of its natural resources by others, you have to respect the Bolivians for their sheer stoicism and willingness to get on with it in the face of adversity. We would certainly recommend Bolivia as a destination to visit, to anyone who is willing to get off the beaten track for a truly unforgetable travel experience.

But onwards and downwards... Argentina and Chile await! Bring on the red wine and steak!

A final few days in Bolivia.....

After the Inca Trail we headed back South to Bolivia at full speed. Our aim was the city of Sucre. It claims to be the most beautiful city in Bolivia as well as its rightful capital. It is certainly the former with a lovely selection of white buildings built round the main square. As for the latter, that is a mater for some debate. It is where the Bolivian decleration of independence was signed and has been made the Constitutional Capital but the judiaciary and government all sits in La Paz. Personally we think that Sucre is better off like this as it gets the distinction without any of the downsides that La Paz suffers. It is a lovely city and being the full capital could well destroy it but the locals seem pretty convinced that they deserve to be the one and only capital!

We were in language school for a week here. 4 hours in a group each morning and 2 hours of individual hours in the afternoon. We certainly got a lot out of it. Bolivia´s national dish is the Salteña - a kind of pasty named after a town in Argentina (go figure!). All our teachers kept talking about the best place in town to buy them but it was only open from 0930 to 1200 - when we were in school. Apparently tradition is to have them as a mid morning snack! Luckily we were able to get them over the weekend and they lived up to the hype.

After Sucre we headed with our friends from the jungle, Emily and Shay, to Potosi. Thanks to silver mining Potosi was once the richest city in the world. They say that in 460 years of mining, enough silver has been dug out to make a bridge all the way to Madrid! In the first 300 years of productoin under Spanish rule 8 million people died in the mines - not including those killed by poisoning outside the mine - that´s 73 every day!! Today the mining is still very manual with miners pushing trolleys full of ore out of the mine multiple times a day. Normally 2 of them push the trolley weighing about 1.5 tonnes the 3km or so from the workings 10 times a day!! The average lifespan of a miner after starting work is 10 years and there is no-one over 40 still working there. The most common death is silcosis or related cancers caused by terrible ventilation in the mine. Doing a tour is depressing and interesting in equal measures - it is amazing to think people are still working like this in the 21st century.

The town of Potosi itself is not beautiful but has a few interesting buildings. All in all we were glad to head off on our last Bolivian bus trip the morning after our day in the mines.

So the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived - our last Bolivian bus ride - and it lived up to expectations with all the classic hallmarks of a terrible bus trip! To name a few:

-It was 6 hours in an ancient bus on almost entirely unsurfaced roads

-My bus seat was broken so it went into full recline as soon as I leaned on it

-There was horrendous music being played loudly all the way

-Very smelly locals packed the aisles and kept leaning on my chair thus sending it into full recline or using Shay´s knee as an armrest

-Locals fired chairs back into recline meaning we were left with no leg room (hitting the back of the chair encouraged them to move though!!)

-We stopped in some god forsaken back village for some food

-There was a box of chickens on the back seat

As I said, it was a classic and there was much relief when we got off in Uyuni knowing that we never need get on another Bolivian bus! And getting to Uyuni meant only a day to the highlight of Bolivia - a tour of the salt flats...........