A country that left me conflicted but in love with some regions is Argentina. It has taken me some time to write about Argentina. I had planned a long stay in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, thinking that it would be a good place for Tom and I to decompress after the previous two months of travel in four different countries.
However, that’s not what happened.
It was our introduction to AirBNB in Buenos Aires the soured the experience, in addition to horrendous high mosquito activity, which made me sick to what I feared was Dengue Fever.
We had a horrible AirBNB experience that had us leaving three days into a 25 day stay because of a mechanical elevator right next to the apartment in a building with 14 floors. It also included disasterous interaction with customer support at AirBNB, which is obviously beholden to Hosts and less so to the people that actually rent the accommodations. I had written what I thought was a fair assessment of the apartment, hoping to let others know about the constant noise in the apartment. Of course, the Host came back with her “only bad review she has ever written” about me. I hadn’t even written a horrible review! I then felt compelled to comment on her review of me. Apparently, this is considered retaliatory, especially since AirBNB had given us $300 as a courtesy when we left early. She also was able to get AirBNB to remove the review I had written. However, her review of me remains on my AirBNB profile.
Needless to say, the whole experience probably influenced my feelings about the city. I was concerned what impact her review of me would have on my ability to rent from AirBNBN in the future. I also admit I internalized some of her untruths about me for some time.
After this experience, we moved to a Hilton Hotel. Much of our travel through South America has included stays in hotels. This presents a it’s own set of problems: finding the right one, in the best location, hopefully quiet enough for a good sleep. Fortunately, the hotel was located near a nature preserve, which was really the only saving grace for the city of Buenos Aires. The mosquitos were bad and I woke up became sick one morning with some mosquito borne illness during our stay. I felt it could possibly be Dengue due to the symptoms I experiencing. I had run a lot in the reserve and despite my best efforts at prevention managed to get bitten quite a bit by mosquitos. I was sick but not so sick I needed to go to the hospital. I ached all over my body, had a fever and a rash, and a crashing headache with eye pain. Though never officially diagnosed, I was pretty certain that was it.
I found Buenos Aires loud, dirty, a South American city with mediocre food and unfriendly people. At this point in our travels, we had spent a lot of time in the major cities of several countries. I was tired of large cities, so we decided to leave the city and head over to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, an hour ferry ride across the Rio de La Plata.
Colonia is a small town and UNESCO site which provided the reprieve I needed from travel and the hustle and bustle of big city life. The people were friendly and we found a few favorite restaurants to eat at. I also got in some long runs along the coast.
I can’t pinpoint exactly what is was about this lovely city except it soothed my weary soul, relieved some travel fatigue and was a good spur of the moment decision. It showed me the importance of remaining flexible and open while travellng and that everything doesn’t have to be planned down to a tee. I learned a lesson about spontaneity and what a wonderful experience it can create.
Though Buenos Aires is probably my least favorite city in South America, there is much to love about the country of Argentina, in particular the city of Ushuaia and Iguazu Falls.
We landed in Ushuaia after our Patagonia cruise. I had planned for us to stay five days in the area. It was cold, but breathtaking, with its snow-capped mountain range. It’s located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the southernmost tip of South America, which is also referred to as the “End of the World. There’s a sign in Torres del Paine National Park that proved we made it to the “End of the World.”
During our cruise we met two friends, Lisa and Scott, who also planned on staying in Ushuaia for several days. The four of us hung out and visited Torres del Paine. I loved the beauty of the area, its pristine air and great running opportunity it provided. Ushuaia is also one of Tom’s favorite cities.
Another area in Argentina we loved was Iguazú Falls. We stayed in Foz do Iguaçu, a Brazilian city on the border of the Falls. This area of Argentina borders Brazil and Paraguay. Iguazú or Iguaçu Falls are the waterfalls of the Iguazu River. They make up the largest waterfall system in the world and are truly spectacular. We flew into the small airport on the Argentina side and fortuitously met a driver named Fabio who we hired for the week to drive us back and forth over the border of Brazil and Argentina and to various sites throughout the region, including the ruins of San Ignacio Mini. He was great and certainly worth the money we paid.
I had always wanted to see Iguazú waterfalls and they didn’t disappoint. They were spectacular and awe-inspiring. The memory of seeing and experiencing them will always stay with me. There’s something magical about waterfalls. I can stand there and look at them for what seems like an interminable period of time and feel a peace come over me. It’s proof for me of some higher power, and the power of Mother Nature.
Argentina is a country in turmoil, with major economic problems and high inflation. Our driver Fabio shared his struggles and his hope that the new President Javier Milei’s economic plan will eventually bring some relief to the people. My hope is that it will, too.
After a week’s stay in Foz do Iguaçu, our next stop would be Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.