Argentina!! Wow I thought to myself as I crossed the border on foot from Bolivia to this country. One of the first things I saw was what looked like a brand spanking new petrol station (probably years old) & a thing called a tarmac road. I was travelling with Mads (Danish) who I met on the Uyuni salt flats. We were heading in the same direction from Tupiza to North-west Argentina. Our original plan was to stop off at Purmamarca (seven coloured hills) but the bus did not stop at this destination unbeknown to us. We decided to get off at the next stop, a couple of hours later we arrived in Juyjuy. This was definitely not in the plan but what the hey, & it was a nice city. I was gaping at all the neon signs & high rise blocks when I arrived; we had reached civilisation!!

First day we experienced the food/drink culture in Argentina, we rushed at the bus station on the border town for something to eat and they rustled up a lomito (steak sandwich with egg, salad etc). Maybe I was hungry but that was one of the best steak sandwich I have ever had. It continued in the evening; we decided to go to a restaurant & have an Asado (bbq) where you can have as many cuts of meat as you like. The steak was gorgeous with a nice malbec. I have never been keen on red wine before the trip but the Argentinean tinto vino has grown on me. This was pretty much our diet for the next few days; consisting of amazing steak & red wine. With some Empanadas, white bread at breakfast thrown in with good measure.Juyjuy was quite pleasant; spent a bit of the day & there were big celebrations for the 165th birthday of a hospital; to me that is a weird year to commemorate.

Next destination was Salta, spent a good three nights' in this city. There was plenty to do in the city itself to explore. One thing that stood out was a mummified child that was sacrificed as part of a tribal ritual. It was amazing how life-like the figure was after 500 years preserved on top of a mountain. While here we went white water rafting about 70km from Salta which was great but nothing as scary as the NZ plight. Mads went bungee-jumping in afternoon while I happily watched not doing a bungee-jump.

After Salta I went onto Cafeyate which is in the countryside surrounded by beautiful scenery in the Quebrada de Cafeyate with lots of vineyards. We arrived on a sort of fair/carnival night where they were showing off tractors, farm machinery, various plants, local service wagons (ambulances, police cars) & finally cowboys on horses parading down the street. Next day we planned to go bike riding a whopping 100km, this was just impossible for me with a dodgy bike & ended up cycling 54km through some spectacular valley. After the ride I had the reddest legs ever that glowed in the night, it was difficult to walk for a couple of days. I split up with Mads as we went in separate directions, I went onto Tucuman. Less I say about the place the better, I was glad there was a mini music festival on otherwise there was no point visiting this place.

Then onwards to Cordoba, which is the cultural city of South America, pretty hefty title to live up to. It lived up to its title, I had a really nice time, this place has 7 (seven) Universities so it's very much a student city. I saw performances in the street that were jaw-dropping, also went to a kind of orchestra/opera thing that was free at a theatre!! One of my favourite city's I have travelled on my journey in SA. Next was Rosario which again very pleasant, Che Guevara & Messi were born in this city. There were lots to see & do, but a little spread out.

Finally I arrived in Buenos Aires on another Mother's Day Sunday (my fourth this year!! Australia, Japan, Argentina & England). It was dead quiet but St Telmo market was on with lots of art & crafts available and tango performances in the street. I arrived into the cleanest hostel ever; it was more like a hotel called America del Sur with reasonable prices. Obviously I went out quite a few times while there; a city that never sleeps. I visited the normal sights with going on a political tour with bloody history. Also watched a football match; Independiente vs Boca (it was a no score draw but the atmosphere was electric!) Again had the most fantastic steak & red wine, if you go to Buenos Aires you must go to La Cabrera!! Also had the sickest pizza called Fugazetta (lots of cheese with onion); disgusting & amazing at the same time. It's such a nice place & if you are stuck where to go on travels I recommend the European like city BA.

I then took a 19 hour bus journey to Iguazu falls which is just amazing & cannot put into words how to describe it. As soon as I saw the falls I was smiling like a Cheshire cat. I decided to go near the falls in a speedboat & got absolutely drenched but was so much fun. I went on the Argentina side where you get up & close to the falls, next day went to the Brazil side which is just as spectacular & gives an overview of the falls & how vast it is. I will talk more of Brazil in my next blog, but as per normal I love it. Cannot believe I only have 10 days left, where's the time gone?!