ARGENTINA - 1 to 9 March (1st entry)

Introduction

During our 6 weeks in South America, we criss crossed the Andes between Argentina and Chile a few times on the way south to the continents southern most town, Ushuaia. A wide array of gorgeous landscapes and climates, cosmopolitan cities with lively nightlife - not forgetting the sexy tango! Argentina is safe, wonderfully affordable with really friendly folk who cheek kiss every time they meet. Most have European descent while 15% are mestizo and less than 2% are of indigenous background (mainly Quechua in the north and Mapuche in Patagonia ).

Background and History

Before the Spanish hit the scene in the 16 th century, nomadic hunter gatherers then agricultural settlements were the way of life. The Spanish established Buenos Aires in 1580 while Spaniards from Chile also moved across the Andes . After the settlers booted out a rogue British force in 1806, the colonists revolted against Spain gaining independence in 1816. But a civil war ensued between the inhabitants of Buenos Aires and the provinces until a ruthless dictatorship took control on 1829. The army eventually forced Rosas from power in 1852 and the country‘s new constitution then heralded in a fleeting golden age of investment and trade.

n 1929, the military again took power as a social crisis developed with the widening gap between rich and poor. In 1946 the Perons entered the stage with social welfare programs tinged with fascism, until economical difficulties led to a coup in 1955. Chaos prevailed for 2 decades and the country entered its darkest hour in 1976 when the military again prevailed. 7 years of terror known as the ‘dirty war' ensued as the government targeted the Montoneros, a left wing Peronist guerrilla group. Ironically this war ended with the Falklands when the government attempted to dislodge the British. Humiliated by their defeat the military withdrew from government and democracy returned in 1983. The long-struggling country then had 2 decades of rising unemployment and economic woes with numerous presidents until the economic turnaround in the 21 st century. Although times are still tough with a curious economy, Argentines have one of Latin America 's highest standard of living!

Our Experience

Border formalities crossing into Argentina – well, there were nearly none! We could drive through as an immigration officer stamped our passports and without a check or a question, Tipperdee had her temporary import paper issued. We were all set to explore this massive country from its north-eastern aspect known as ‘Misiones' that's wedged between the Parana and Uruguay rivers. Cost and time persuaded us to skip the views of the Iguazu Falls from the Argentinean side and the grand overview from Brazil 's angle seemed to capture the 3km thundering cascade adequately. Puerto Iguazu is a cute touristy town and was perfect for getting cash and fuelling up for a 100km drive before the sun disappeared. Again a gas station with hot water showers sufficed just outside Eldorado.

The 2 nd March we continued south west for 440km through a red soil landscape, with a 2 hour stop to experience a guided Jesuit Mission tour in San Ignacio Mini. At its peak in 1733 this settlement housed nearly 5000 Guarani and 2 Jesuit priests. Although 70% was restored since the 1940's after being abandoned when the Jesuits were kicked out of the Americas in 1767, it is still quite impressive. The bas relief sculptures of the enormous red sandstone church's facade that's designed in a Guarani-Baroque style and the living quarters around the Plaza de Armes tell the tale of religious colonisation that had a unique twist of successful communal existence for over 150 years! After being invited for some cool drinks in one of the local's home we were on our way.

The subtropical vegetation and red soil suddenly changed into grasslands with pine trees and cattle ranches after Posadas . The last 100km to Colonia Pellegrini was over increasingly bad and deeply rutted sandy tracks. Tipperdee had to tackle the terrain in 4X4 mode and we just made it with the last rays of light to an overnight ‘Hospedaje' with much needed air-con! This little village is in the heart of Esteros Del Ibera wildlife reserve, a wetland wilderness that we explored by boat the following morning.

We were up at 6am for our river boat adventure and after a sip of grass like ‘mate' (the local tea and definitely an acquired taste!) we spent 3 hours around the floating islands of aquatic plants and grasses. Besides the abundant varied birdlife, we spotted scores of caiman (one devouring a snake!), capybara (a massive rodent) and swamp-deer.

Around noon, the dirt road continued for another 120km to Mercedes with the birds, odd snake and an armadillo providing the entertainment. A fairly descent tarred surface took us further south for 230km to Federal where we eventually found a gas station after dark that also had wi-fi. We could connect with a friend Laura Troglia that we'd met in Peru and who had invited us to spend a few days with her Cordoba family. To get to her we had 570km of good roads west via Parana and under the Rio Parana (once we found the tunnel!). The biggest challenge was negotiating numerous police check points as each one had a different agenda – from an illegal bullbar to a rear bumper with tow bar, fortunately our lack of Spanish just did the trick!

Cordoba was a lot bigger and more difficult to navigate than we'd imagined, but Argentineans seems to be attracted to the South African vehicle and our frustration soon evaporated when an English speaking lady guided us to the suburb of Arguello. We spent the next 3 nights camping on Laura's lawn in a gated complex and got a good feel of upper middle class Argentina . We shared cooking cultures, countries histories and got to see the new South African movie ‘Invictus'. It was also a great base to service Tipperdee, changing all filters and lubricants and to fix her broken snorkel and Jo-Anne's pet hate, the broken passenger side mirror! All our contact with the locals reflected their friendly kind hearts – the labour costs just required a handshake or a hug. Laura and her family, Paula, Titiana and Tomas typified Cordobians warm nature during our stay and sealed our love of this area with an asado for the Sunday lunch! Argentineans love their meat and have a special way of cutting their prime young beef. Huge flaps of different thickness flank and perpendicular cut ribs are slowly prepared outdoors over the coals – much like our braai! After a relaxing afternoon with heavy stomachs, Laura took us for drive downtown which is a blend of modern and more colonial near central plaza San Martin which is flanked by the usual Cathedral and Cabildo (government buildings). The buzz in the streets with music, outdoor cafes and bars was just unbelievable, but understandable when we learnt that Cordoba has 7 universities! The highlight of our evening was to see the movie Avatar in 3D and the nightlife astonished us when another packed show started at 1h30am!

The 7 th March we had to move on and it is never easy to say goodbyes. But by midday Tipperdee climbed the old mountains outside Cordoba to over 2400m and then descended through peaceful villages to Villa Dolores. The landscape became more barren and deserted. Thankfully the sun sets later as one travels south in summer leaving us with more driving time. By 8pm we found a safe spot after 460km at an agricultural check point along the lonely road west towards Mendoza . Trucks had the same idea to overnight here and their noise with the 30+ temperatures made for a restless sleep. We awoke to a sandstorm the next morning but after about 150km, Mendoza county's vineyards and olive groves replaced the semi-arid landscape.

With the patchy snow-capped Andes on our right, we continued south on route 40 made famous by Che Guevara during his motorcycle tour of South America . A good 120km of this was a dirt track at nearly 2000m past volcanoes and a turquoise dam that brightened up the brown and sparsely vegetated Andean foothills. 490km and 9 hours later we camped at a $2 municipal campsite in the pretty town of Malargue .

The next day we continued south on route 40 that alternated between a tarred and dirt surface. The scenery was spectacular. If the Andes wasn't flanking on the right, a string of volcanoes were on our left, with us traversing old lava fields. We'd pass the odd vehicle and quiet rural towns and after another 490km we camped at Las Lajas' shady campsite along a river (for just $5). Although it was already 7pm, the sun still had a fair way to go to reach the horizon which gave us enough time to make a fire. What a joy to be able to ‘braai' some Creole spiced chicken!

The 10 th March we enjoyed the campsites hot showers and filled Tipperdee up to the brim before doing the final 70km west to the border with Chile at Pasode Pino Hachado. Argentinean formalities were over in a flash, but the Chilean side is another story!

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