Carnivorous in Argentina- a few helpful hints for the uninitiated

1. Never order 'rare; unless you are prepared to personally kill, skin and butcher the cow at the table. I had to send my slab of steak back it was so intimidatingly raw- I was embarrassed, but the waiter smiled at me like, it happens all the time gringa.

2. Cuts of meat do not come under 500gm. When the menu suggests the dish should be shared between two people, assume you and the local football team could happily tackle the hunk of beef and still have leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

3. There are more parts to an animal that you have ever dreamed of. Filet, t-bone, chuck steak etc are just the tip of the iceberg.  A lot of restaurants offer a helpful diagram of the relevant animal carved up into its various cuts!

4. Red wine is not only advisable but necessary to be able to digest such enormous quantities of meat. Vegetables are an afterthought and frequently shunned.

5. Seriously consider buying your own 8 inch carving knife, sheathed in a leather pouch, to bring to local restaurants.   It adds panache and also saves you the trouble of having to hack through a 4 inch steak with a butter knife.

The Rum Diaries Part II

Hmmm, already up to the second bottle of rum. This time a Venezuelan one called Pampero (local-ish at least) which I personally prefer to the Isla N (sorry Santi!)....but Martijn is standing by the Tucuman rum as the best so far!!

My Bad.

It has just been brought to my attention that I have failed to acknowledge Tucuman empanadas as the best in the country. I apologise unreservedly and bow down before those juicy, delicious little parcels of goodness. 

25 de Mayo en Cafayate

Today is recovery day after a big day of beer drinking yesterday at Cafayate's 25 de Mayo celebrations! We went to get icecream this afternoon (torrontes flavoured icecream- hey, when in wine-country...) and some random asked us if we had hangovers and did we enjoy the party last night. Guess we looked like we were having a good time : )

25 May is a public holiday in Argentina in commemoration of the revolution that led to Argentina's independence from Spain so all day long there were many cries of 'Viva la patria'. We went over to check out the town festival around lunchtime- the rodeo was supposed to start at 2ish. True to form everything kicked off about 2 hours after the advertised times so by the time they finally got it together for the rodeo we were slightly pissed.

All the local men were in their gaucho gear- high leather boots, vests & cowboy hats or berets. The locals were getting into the classic red wine & coke cocktail so beloved of drinkers of cheap & shitty wine the world over. It's weird that here in the heart of wine country, most people still drink tetra-pack containers of wine...I guess sometimes it's all about quantity!

Look!! There are bogans in Argentina too!

 

Once the sun went down the live music began and the beer started flowing even more freely. Martijn and I were soon snatched from the safety of the sidelines by enthusiastic locals and danced in true gringo fashion!! At least I've now convinced Martijn that he has to dance with me- otherwise he's just prey for much more coordinated local girls.

Thursday we walked a few km's out of town to check out some pre-Colombian rock paintings and found Sebastian, a local who offered to guide us up to a series of waterfalls hidden in one of the folds of the mountain.

Lucky we had him since we would never have found the way ourselves- it was a beautiful walk but involved a lot of clambouring up, down, over rocks and crossing the river several times.

 

I have reverted to the closest South American equivalent for Heather, since everytime I tell someone my name they screw their nose up as if even attempting to say it will hurt. So all day long I heard 'muy bien Eva' as I successfully leapt across another stream or made it across a rock face without falling on my ass. Sure-footed as a mountain goat I am!!

 

Cruising Argentina Norte

As I write this, I'm sitting in Amaicha del Valle, on the verandah of our hostal, enjoying the warmth of the last of the suns rays before it dips below the mountains to the west (and the temperature plummets!). We arrived yesterday afternoon after spending the weekend with Santiago & Tim road tripping through the provinces of Tucuman and Catamarca.

Leaving Tucuman we drove south, climbing through thick cloud forest enveloped in heavy mist, before crossing the pass and entering an entirely different landscape, the dry, arid region of Catamarca. Catamarca is Argentina's least populated province, a statistic that becomes obvious as you drive along the twisting, newly laid road. Tiny blink-and-you-miss-it hamlets speed by, points on the map that barely seem too warrant a name. The road winds along the valley floor, cactus studded landcapes stretch off into the distance before rising steeply up into dry, barren mountains. Far off on the horizon, you occaisionally catch glimpses of snow capped peaks, towering some 5000m above sea level.

 

Passing through gorges and wide valleys, we arrived in the town (I use the word loosely) of Aimogasta in time for lunch and a cold beer. In the afternoon we continued heading north, passing through the village of Londres (London!) where we stopped to vist the pre-Incan ruins of El Shincal (and have a few beers while we watched the Champions League final with the locals) before arriving into Belen late in the afternoon. The guidebooks say Belen has a population of 30,000 but it had that ghost town feel- we went into the first hotel we saw on the main street and despite calling out and ringing the reception bell for a good 5 minutes no one seemed to care that there was profit to be made. After doing a few laps of the town we came back to Hotel Gomez and somebody finally deigned to let us have a room! That night we had a freaking amazing bife de chorizo (t bone steak) and a bottle of red wine at a local restaurant and staggered off to bed very happy!

Sunday we continued along Ruta 40, heading north via Hualfin and Santa Maria, arriving into Amaicha and saying goodbye to Santi & Tim.

Amaicha is one of those places where there isn't a whole lot happening, but the days seem to slide away very nicely regardless. This morning we headed out to the ruins of Quilmes, another pre-Incan settlement that was eventually absorbed into the Incan Empire, and then defeated by the Spanish after 130 years of resistance. Tomorrow we'll rent a couple of bikes and cycle up to El Remate, a small canyon with a little waterfall, and probably spend the afternoon in the rocking chairs they have here, reading in the sun.

 

We both agree that the Kindle is, without a doubt, the best piece of technology invented since twist-top beer bottles.

Wednesday the plan is to take a bus to Cafayate, centre of the northern wine region...hence today and tomorrow are designated AFD's : )

The Rum Diaries Part I

Martijn's rum diaries have begun with a winner!! Santiago was kind enough to procure a bottle of Isla N, a dark rum produced in Tucuman for export...incredibly hard to find and bizarrely enough not sold locally. According to Tinus Isla N rates at 7 out of 10 (with Captain Morgan at 5 and Barcardi 8 year at 8)...a FAT seven.

Déjà vu in Tucuman

It's hard to believe it's been 9 years since the first time I travelled in South America- almost 9 years ago exactly since I arrived in Tucuman for the first time, planning to stay a couple of days to visit a friend and ending up staying a couple of months working in Hostel Argentina Norte. The hostel no longer exists in that name but there is a lot that hasn't changed about the city.

My friends Santiago & Tim are still here (dutchman Tim has just celebrated his 9 year anniversary of arriving in Tucuman!) and the empanadas are still the tastiest in the country. Argentina Norte beer is still cheap and plentiful & the siesta still reigns supreme. Unfortunately this time around we have to pay for a bed, but at least we don't have to head to the bus terminal every day to try and poach backpackers!!

Yesterday we climbed up through the dense jungle of Las Yungas to the peak of Cerro San Javier, crossing old rail bridges high above the forest floor and scrambling up slippery rocky slopes to reach the top. From the statue of Christ (who is inexplicably posed giving the peace sign) you can see down to the plains below, the city grid and the patchwork fields of sugarcane and citrus orchards.

All along the foothills of the mountain range are sugarcane fields and old processing plants now fallen into disrepair. Tim took us to San Pablo to explore one of the more picturesque old factories, slowly being converted into a university campus. The oldest buildings date back to 1916 and the whole site was abandoned in the 60's with the collapse of the sugarcane industry.

 

Sunday night we headed across town for some tango music at a milonga- being the unco gringos that we are we planted ourselves firmly in the wallflower section, avoiding eye contact with all the tangueros seated around the room. No amount of beer can convince me that I'm capable of even approximating tango steps..

Bus Bingo

Bus journeys in Argentina have come a long way since 2003- we took an Andes Mar bus from Buenos Aires to Tucuman, a 17 hour journey via Rosario and Santiago del Estero. I remebered the buses here being ultra comfortable but I was pretty surprised when a few hours into the trip they busted out snacks and hot drinks. Thinking that dried biscuits would be our dinner I raced off the bus in Rosario to buy some empanadas for dinner, only for the bus 'concierge' to serve us a hot dinner of steak & roast potatoes when we took off.

Better yet, after dinner we were handed out bingo cards and the whole bus got involved in a game of bus bingo!! Unfortunately about half the cards were identical so when I yelled bingo, so did about 12 other people and we had to go to play offs for first prize (a bottle of wine). I ended up with second prize- a warm can of Andes beer. Woohoo!!

Mmmmm, empanadas

A big thank you to mi amiga porteña Ines who recommended El Sanjuanino in Recoleta for the yummiest empanadas we've tried so far (and we've tried a few!). Carne picante was the clear winner...washed down with an icy cold Quilmes (of course). I am personally holding out for salteñas in Bolivia before I deliver a definitive meat/pastry snack winner verdict.

Subcultural Buenos Aires

On our first day in Buenos Aires we walked over to Galeria Bond Street, a three story arcade devoted to tattoo parlours, piercing and graffiti art. It seems that all the city's tattoo artists, skateboarders, punks and weed smokers decided to converge on the one place...kind of a subcultural shopping mall.

Tuesday we went back for Martijn's appointment- tattoo's are cheap compared to Australia so don't be surprised if next time you see him he has a few newies. Since the left hand side of his body is running out of space, he's opened the right hand side up for business.

Yesterday we continued with the underground theme and took the subte out to Colegiales where we met up with Graffiti Mundo for a tour of Buenos Aires street art. Coming from a city like Melbourne where street art has a pretty high profile, it was interesting to see how the scene is viewed in BA. Like Melbourne, street art is seen as a legitamite art form and we saw heaps of huge walls in public spaces that have become ever-changing canvases.

I guess the biggest difference is that Argentines are willing to allow artists to paint their homes, businesses, schools whatever- with no conditions attached. After so many years of repression it seems that people here celebrate freedom of expression by allowing urban artists free reign. The result is huge, complex pieces that could only be done with the time & freedom that these artists are allowed. Most of the pieces below are painted on the facades of private property- all with permission from the owners. It's hard to imagine knocking on someone's door in Richmond and having them grant permisson to a kid with a couple of spray cans!

Stencil art ode to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner- president of Argentina

Gualicho- one of our favourite artists from the tour

Jaz- brilliant pieces on a huge scale

Ever- communist-art inspired images

Cafe Tortoni

Founded in 1858, this is one of the city's oldest and most traditional cafes and is now a tourist attraction in its own right. Both the doorman and the waiters were way better dressed than I think we have ever been (wedding included) and I was actually surprised that they let us in- beween my thongs and Martijn's AC/DC t-shirt it could have gone either way.

At AR$13 a throw, the coffee's are almost double the price that we pay in San Telmo, but worth it even if just for the experience of having an Argentine waiter actually approach the table to take your order. Oh, and the cafe is gorgeous too.

Getting used to a life of wandering in Buenos Aires...

It's amazing how quickly you can establish a routine, even in the absolute absence of any fixed plans or responsibilities. After just three full days in Buenos Aires, we have already settled into a comfortable rhythm, assisted no doubt by having our own beautiful apartment in San Telmo, one of the oldest and most picturesque neighbourhoods of the city.

Morning-man Martijn gets up and goes to grab some pastries for breakfast at one of the nearby bakeries and gets some spanish practise in at the same time (cuatro medialunas por favor). After breakfast we take a walk down to the San Telmo Market for a coffee (dos cafe solo por favor) and then head out for a bit of sightseeing.

We come back to the apartment in the afternoon for a quick siesta, then after dinner head out to one of the many bars nearby for beers and whatever else is on offer...so far we've been treated to stand up comedy by a rather imposing transvestite (where I learned the colloquiel meaning of the word paja) and a jam sesssion with Brazilian samba musicicans. Yep, this is a routine that I can handle.

Note: for those of you who want to know what a word spoken by a tranny at a stand up comedy show might mean.....

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=paja