The Land of Che

We arrived in Argentina on Monday early afternoon after a short 90 min flight from Santiago. We checked into our hostel which was literally on one of the main streets, Avenida Corrientes and two blocks from the big obelisk that BA is famous for. Afterwards we went to have lunch and went to a delicious steakhouse called La Estancia. There we consumed mass quantities of super high quality beef, since Buenos Aires is the beef capital of the world. Once we were done stuffing ourselves we made a very brief visit to La Boca, an old neighborhood where lots of italian and spanish immigrants first settled before moving elsewhere. It was not a very safe area though, so we didn't spend too long and only in a specific "safe zone". Afterwards we wandered down by the beautiful Puerto Madero, the port area which has completely been redone with lots of bars, restaurants and shops. Then we went to the Casa Rosada "Pink House" which is the Argentine equivalent of the US White House. It is where Eva Peron, and other political leaders have given numerous speeches to Argentineans gathered in the Plaza de Mayo. We concluded the day with quick stop by the Argentine Congress building.

Yesterday, we went to the Recoleta Cemetery and saw Eva Peron's grave ("Don't cry for me Argentina!"). Then we did a bit of shopping, had some lunch and then went to catch our flight to Puerto Iguazu. That brings us to today where we have just returned from a day on the Brazilian side of the falls taking in the gorgeous panoramic views. Photos and words do not do justice to the beauty of this area, it's a place like the Grand Canyon where you just have to witness it to get the full experience. Probably the highlight of the day was walking on a catwalk right in front of the waterfall area "garganta del diablo" or devil's throat and getting soaked with the mist coming off the plunging water. Tomorrow we will check out the Argentine side where we hope to also to see a few coatis, a native animal that somewhat resembles a raccoon.