Visiting Argentina: Salta, Cordoba, & Buenos Aires
By Mike Shaughnessy, traveler - email Mike

Part 1: Entering Argentina

I last left you in the town of Uyuni, Bolivia.  I spent a full day the next day in a 4 wheel drive vehicle riding around the Great Salt Flats, over 7,500 square miles of salt...in the center of which is something they call an island...Isla Pescado.  Actually it is the top of a mountain or old volcano that sticks up out of the middle of the salt flats.

It was obvious that many years ago this was a huge ocean from the coral rocks scattered among the volcanic rocks on this ´"island".  We had a picnic type lunch on the island and a break to walk around.  There are many very tall cacti on this island as well, making for an interesting landscape comparison to the salt flats.  When it rains and the salt gets covered with a thin layer of water it really then does look more like an island.  At the end of the day I watched the sun set at the edge of the salt flats and decided this tour was a lot more interesting than I expected it to be.

Following the all day tour of the Great Salt Desert I took a train from Uyuni to Villazon, the last town on the border of Bolivia.  Half way through the trip the train engine broke down with an electrical problem and we sat for three hours waiting for a new engine to arrive.  The total trip by train took, including the wait time, eleven hours as the train goes very slowly on the uneven and bumpy rail tracks.

At the border we left the train and once again had to walk across the border, going thru passport control on both sides, the border is actually a bridge at this point, and entered into Argentina and the small northernmost town of La Quiaca, Argentina.

At the border I said goodbye to Vladimir from Bolivia and met Frederico from Argentina, the guide for the final portion of my trip from here to Buenos Aires. This was Saturday.  I stopped at an ATM machine to get some Argentine Pesos to continue my journey.  It was an ancient old ATM machine which after I entered my card and PIN it decided to crash, swallowing up my card and shutting down.   A friend from New Zealand in the group loaned me some Argentine money so we could continue our journey on schedule.

From the border town of La Quiaco we continued via a very nice van on nice smooth Argentine roads through the Humahuaca Gorge.  This was the route that the silver from Potosi took years ago to get to Buenos Aires and onboard ships to Spain.  The scenery here is spectacular with mountains of seven distinct colors and the muddy Rio Grande down below.  We stopped in a small village town of Tilcara to spend the night.

.The next morning the six of us continued on to the village of Purmamarca.  From here we took a trek through the colorful hills known as the Los Colorados, which enabled us to appreciate up close the incredible scenery and various colors of the hills.  We had lunch in the small village of Purmamarca and then continued on in our van to the larger and more modern city of Salta

Part 2: Salta

The city of Salta has about 600,000 people and is the capital of this Northwest region of Argentina.  Argentina is geographically a very large country with 37 million inhabitants, but amazingly one third of all of them live in the one large city of Buenos Aires, still a few days journey away for me.  The guided portion of the journey ends in Buenos Aires and from there I continue on entirely on my own through Brazil. 

Salta is a very traditional colonial city and is about as far south as the 15th and 16th century Inca Empire extended.  We arrived in Salta on Sunday evening before dinner.  Last night I had one of those large, famous Argentine steaks, very delicious, with some red wine and French fries, all for $10.  I woke this morning to rain in Salta, but it is about to quit and the sky is clearing.  After crossing the border from Bolivia to Argentina I had to set my watch 2 hours forward, so now I am 3 hours ahead of New York time or 5 hours ahead of my home time in California.  South America is not just South of North America; it also is quite further East as well. 

Salta is an amazingly modern town compared to what I have seen for the past month, almost like an Oasis feeling to be back into surroundings of nice stores and places.  This morning I took a large bag of dirty clothes to a local laundry I found, a huge pile, and for only 10 Pesos ($3) they will all be washed and folded and ready for me to pick up by 6pm today.  You really can travel for long periods of time with very few clothes; you just take them to a laundry once a week or so.

This afternoon after a walk around Salta and a visit to the Cathedral and the Church of San Francisco, I plan to take a cable car up a hill for an overview of the city below.  It is sure to be a nice clear sky by then.  I have two nights here in Salta and then I continue by an overnight bus to Cordoba, the second largest city in Argentina and the one that is in its geographical center of their country.

Salta was a very nice town in the hills of Argentina; I really liked it a lot.  I was told its original name was Saska, which in the local language meant the beautiful one, and even today Salta is referred to as the beautiful town…I agree.

Amazingly I have not been pestered by any insects on this long trip, just one bite up in Machu Picchu, no other insects since then thankfully.  I went to the new MAAM museum in Salta...Salta has three Inca mummies, children that were sacrificed and buried in the frozen top of a tall mountain by the Incas near Salta.  The frozen mummies were found and recovered in an expedition in March of 1999 and are now on display in a frozen vault here in Salta in the new MAAM museum which was built with special technology to hold these bodies at minus 20 degrees centigrade, the bodies are well preserved after all these hundreds of years...a bit creepy and sad to know that they were sacrificed.

Yes it has been pretty much back roads and small towns for sure that I have been seeing, but I am now getting into central Argentina and the more modern and larger towns, large comfortable buses and smooth roads...each day is getting warmer as I head down the mountains towards sea level.

I went back to CitiBank again the next day back there in Salta and had a totally different experience.  They canceled my lost card and the New York office will send me a new ATM card to Buenos Aires so it will be waiting for me when I arrive there in a few days.  All should be well now to get cash for the remainder of my trip.  Very different experience from the previous day at the same place, different people made all the difference.

Part 3: Cordoba

I am now in Cordoba, Argentina.  This town was named by the Spanish about 500 years ago after Cordoba in Spain.  Cordoba is referred to as the central city or the heartland of Argentina as it is pretty much in the geographical center of the country of Argentina.  Cordoba is the second largest city with about a couple million people.  I did a walking tour of the central city today, also am staying in a hotel just four blocks from the main central square in the heart of the old town area.  Cordoba is OK, a prettier place in years past, so far I liked Salta better. 

The Jesuits had a very strong presence in Cordoba and are still here today.  They came to convert and educate the people and their school is still working.  Tomorrow I am doing a full day excursion into the country side to visit the UNESCO world heritage sites of the Jesuit missions of Capilia de Candonga, Santa Catalina, Santa Maria and one other one with a strange name I cannot remember.  It will be a long day outing with some nice scenery then a return back to Cordoba.

In a couple days time or less I arrive in the Capital city of Buenos Aires.  Each night dinner time is getting later and later, adjusting to the local customs.  In Peru I was eating dinner around 7pm, in Bolivia around 8pm, and now in Argentina having dinner around 9pm or later.  In Buenos Aires the ideal dinner time is 10pm to be in sync with the locals.

It is amazing how a few Spanish arriving after months on journeys on ships from Spain centuries ago were able to conquer and take control of so much of South America.  Their influence in architecture and layout of cities is still so evident today, and of course they gave a common language of Spanish to most of this continent.

One disadvantage of not traveling with my own laptop is that I do not upload any of my photos to the Internet as I go along, as I have done for most of my past journeys.  I did not want to carry and worry about a laptop on this trip and I believe that was an excellent decision as there would have been little opportunity to connect it anyway.

One thing I have learned that the poorer the country and the poorer the people the more prevalent are Internet Shops.  For example, in Bolivia almost no one owns a computer and certainly would not have money to pay for the computer or Internet access at home.  Therefore as you walk down the street of the typical town in Bolivia it appears that almost every 5th store front is an Internet shop, with dozens of computers placed side by side.  The computers are so close together that you almost rub shoulders with the person sitting at the computer next to you.  When school lets out they are filled with loud, noisy kids playing computer games...perhaps their parents think they are doing homework on the computers.

The wealthier the country, the more likely individuals will own their own computer and have Internet access at home and therefore you find fewer public places with computers to access the Internet.  Argentina is one of the more wealthy countries in South America and perhaps half the people here have a computer, so now I find an Internet shop maybe every 25 or more store fronts, but still plenty.

Part 4: Buenos Aires

I arrived from Cordoba, Argentina via 10 hour bus to Buenos Aires safely but a bit tired, a nice shower helped me to feel much better.  I went to the CitiBank Gold office here on Florida Street...when I went in they said...yes your new ATM card arrived yesterday via DHL...would you like some coffee while I go get it for you...nice service.  Then they called New York and activated it and let me use their computer to link it to my online banking so that I can once again see my accounts online.  I went right to the ATM and it worked perfectly right away, so back to normal.

Last night I had one of those huge Argentinean beef steaks, grilled to perfection.  Good beef is plentiful here and inexpensive, they are famous for it.  Argentina is a horrible country in which to be a vegetarian...I think you would starve.  Buenos Aires (good air) is one of the world’s largest cities, I think around the 15th largest in the world.  It is a very modern city with some old buildings that look like palaces from France.  This city is frequently referred to as the Paris of South America.

Yesterday the city closed the 12 lane wide Avenue 9 July and put up a huge temporary stage in the middle of the big street.  There was appearing last evening a TV evangelist minister from the USA, Luis Paulo or something like that, anyway I had never heard of him.  It was being live telecast on all the local TV stations here and many thousands packed the street for the free music concert.  I left before the minister took the stage but the crowd was packed and rocking to the loud live singing groups prior to his arrival.

Tonight I am going to see a live Tango Show.  Tango was invented here in Buenos Aires so it is still a major attraction.  I will tour the Boca la Caminita street, San Telmo street fair and antique flea markets on Sunday, the Casa Rosado in the main square San Martin along with the Cathedral there, the pedestrian boulevards of Florida and Lavelle, Recoletta Cemetery to say hello to Evita, and the nice Palermo neighborhoods as well as the central downtown and bustling renovated Puerto Moderno port area.

Buenos Aires is the ONLY city on this long six week journey through the four countries of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil that I have previously visited.  I was here in BsAs one year ago which was my first time ever to visit South America.  I liked BsAs so much last year that coming back to it on this journey was a good thing for me.  It is totally amazing how many people can crowd onto one sidewalk in this city...if you do not like crowds of people, best not to come here.

After Buenos Aires last year I visited Uruguay (Colonia, Montevideo and Punte de Este) so I will not be going to Uruguay on this trip. Also last year I visited quite a few cities in Brazil but they were all along the coast such as Florianopolis, Paraty, Buzios and Rio.  I am going to Brazil again this year but not to any cities that I visited last year...all new places. 

After Buenos Aeries I will fly Argentinean Airlines up to Iguassu Falls and stay in a hotel in Paraguay next to the falls, visit the Argentinean side of the falls one day and then the Brazilian side of the huge waterfalls the next day.  I had wanted to go there last year but there was not enough time in that month long trip to fit it in, so I saved Iguassu Falls as an excuse for the return trip this year.

Buenos Aires is a curious combination of 3rd world, 2nd world and 1st world city all rolled up into one, depending on which street or barrio you find yourself in at the moment.  There is the ultra modern Puerto Madero (this old port area laid empty for 50 years until its recent rebirth as the upscale and expensive area to live and dine), the very chic Recoletta and Palermo (where the rich moved when Yellow Fever broke out in the old La Boca area many years ago), the bohemian and artsy La Boca and San Telmo areas (many artists moved into these areas from around the world after the AR Peso was devalued making this a good value place to live), the bustling shopping paradise of El Centro with the pedestrian streets of Florida and Lavelle, and then there are the slums so close by to it all, homeless on the streets and plenty of beggars too.

Smoking is still very prevalent here in Argentina, it seems everyone smokes in cafes, restaurants, hotel rooms, bars and just everywhere.  The city has many museums of all kinds, they are mostly free to enter and very good.  There are also many green spaces and large parks necessary for a city with so many people.

When I was here last year the famous Colon opera house was closed for remodeling.  I thought this year I could get a peek inside at the opulence, no luck, still performing restorations and it remains closed. I am told that now they are hoping to reopen it in 2010 for its 200th anniversary.  It is supposed to be a jewel, but some are now calling it a white elephant, but it should be once again grand and better than new when they finally do get it reopened.

South America runs on plastic...and I do not mean the credit card kind, it is pretty much a cash society everywhere in South America, most transactions in cash only and often no records to avoid taxes.  But the economy runs on plastic meaning plastic is everywhere, everything goes into plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic glasses, and plastic bottles for everything...the discarded plastics are placed into plastic bags and those bags of plastic are put into larger plastic bags...and no recycling so where does all that plastic end up?  It makes me appreciate more the push towards paper bags and away from plastic bags back home.

The US Dollar used to be King all over down here, the USD is still used a lot in Peru and Bolivia, but in Argentina and Brazil the wealthier countries down here, the US dollar has lost its favor to the Euro.  The decline of the dollar value has caused its fall from grace as the Euro is now a stronger currency.  The dollar still has good value though, especially in the northern and western parts of Argentina, prices get a little higher the closer you get to Buenos Aires.  Still reasonable compared to home, Buenos Aires is the most expensive city in Argentina but then that is a lot like saying New York is the most expensive city in the US.

I splurged on dinner, a nice steak in the most expensive steak house here.  I could have paid a lot less for the same thing if I had gone somewhere else but Cabana Las Lilas is considered the best place here.  It is a cash cow as thousands of people pour in that place every night.  Bill Clinton dined there back in his Monica days....but the total bill was still less than I would have paid for the same thing at home...and I needed to celebrate on St. Patrick´s Day!

The government here has switched back and forth from civilian run to military run several times.  There was runaway inflation in the past and a huge Argentine Peso devaluation took place in 2002.  Since then the economy has been rather stable, powered mainly by farming, some manufacturing, and now tourism.  During the last military run government from 1976 to 1983 it is said that 10,000 people ´disappeared´.  If you said anything against the military dictatorship you simply disappeared.  Today there are old women wearing white scarves that walk a circle in the main square, holding pictures of loved ones that disappeared back then.  I am told they do not want revenge; they simply want to know where the bodies are.

Argentina claims that the Falkland Islands off their southern coast belong to Argentina.  You may remember the brief war in 1982 when the Argentine armed forces took control of the islands, the British forces quickly retook the islands and the Argentine armed forces quickly left the islands.  There is a replica of the Big Ben Tower in a Park near downtown that was long ago donated to Argentina by the British and was named The English Tower.  Most people still call it that today but after the Falklands war ended and Argentina lost, the name was officially changed to The Monumental Tower.  Across the street from this Big Ben English tower was built a memorial to the Argentine people that lost their lives in the Falklands war.  By the way, the Argentines never call them the Falkland Islands; they are the Malvines Islands and in their eyes will always belong to Argentina.  Politics.............

I did not really appreciate the amount of illegal copyright infringement until I undertook this tour of South America.  Everywhere on the streets in kiosks after kiosks you can buy any software, any CD ever made and any DVD movie you like...none are originals, all are copies, right out in the open.  And cell phones...just one word, ubiquitous.  They do not own a car, and do not own a TV, but everyone no matter how poor has a fancy cell phone.  They save up to buy that necessary item as cell phones are expensive here, but the monthly service to use them is cheap.  Just the opposite of home where they use the ´Gillete Razor´model and give away the cell phones to get you hooked on their high monthly fees, they make more money that way in the long run. 

I hope I get up in time tomorrow for my early flight to Iguassu Falls!!  I am looking forward to getting drenched.  By the way the wind has picked up today and a bit cooler, perhaps a change in the perfect weather is in store, don’t know as I have not watched any TV here or read any newspapers.  I am sure the news is pretty much the same back home :-)

Mike was born and raised in a very small town in middle of Missouri… 50% German and 50% Irish, 100% gay. He received his University MBA and then off to work for IBM in NYC and really came out there. Mike was job transferred to San Francisco in the wild 1970s, lived and loved there ever since. He retired in 2000 and have been traveling the world, usually staying home in December to plan his next year’s worth of traveling. He is currently single but would like to settle down (applications accepted) and stay home more in the future.

San Francisco is a great place to live, and Mike also hosts guys from around the world from time to time at his home, which then gives him new friends and new places to visit and stay.

More from Mike in the next newsletter as he visits Brazil.