Reflections on Argentina

We've now left Argentina, as Erin will relate shortly, but I wanted to recap a few observations and sentiments that I had about the country while traveling there. It speaks volumes that of all the countries outside the U.S. that we have visited, Argentina stands out as one of my two favorites - along with Thailand. My reasoning for liking these two countries are similar. First and foremost, I love the natural world, and both these countries feature amazing landscapes - striking, majestic mountains and glaciers and open country in the case of Argentina and gorgeous tropical islands and beaches and coral reefs in the case of Thailand. Secondly, the people of these two countries are very gregarious and outgoing and welcoming. They have vibrant cultures of which they are proud and into which they welcome you with open arms. Next comes the food - and drink, I suppose. Argentina features amazing meals of steak and beef coupled with outstanding and affordable red and white wines. Thailand has my favorite food of any country we've visited, boasting an amazing assortment of flavors, spices, curries, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables and more - all washed down with cheap and light beers that go down easy in the hot weather. Both countries also provide a good quality of travel - nice accommodation, good infrastructure, quality roads and buses and airports, and generally the things needed to make travel easy and enjoyable as opposed to tough and burdensome. Overarching all of this, the two countries are very affordable. They are in the mid-tier of countries where an American can travel comfortably at a very affordable daily cost - not expensive like New Zealand or Europe and not dirt cheap like Laos or Bolivia - but offering a great value for enjoyable travels. Given all of the above, it is not surprising that we spent the most time in these two countries while traveling in South America and Southeast Asia. I give my hearty endorsement for you to see them in your lifetime if the above reasoning appeals to you.

The landscape - Cerro Torre

Now that I've professed my love for Argentina, here are some more specific thoughts and observations on the country.

Food - It's all about the beef. All manner of meat dishes are cooked and consumed by Argentinians on a daily basis. Our favorite, of course, was the steak. Great quality, great price. They also love mayonnaise in this country - too much so even. The Italian influence is evident in many things, especially the prevalence of pasta and pizza. The country also has some great ice cream and chocolate, an influence of some of the Swiss who emigrated to the Lakes District here. Sweet-tooth Erin's favorite discovery was dulce de leche (literally "sweet from milk"). It is similar to condensed milk but a more accurate comparison is caramel. It is basically like eating caramel, and they put it in and on everything . It's often featured for breakfast to be spread on bread; picture yourself waking up and dousing a roll in melted caramel and that's an accurate comparison. Erin was in love. Another common dessert is an alfajor which is essentially two slices of cake with dulce de leche sandwiched in between - not unlike a Ding Dong. In general, the food, particularly the beef, is good in Argentina, if not widely varied.

The food - an asado, or Argentine barbecue

Drink - The most notable drink in Argentina is its wine. They are very good and very cheap. I love reds, and they make great cabernets, merlots, and syrahs. They also have some good tempranillos which is a more spicy red. The big red wine discovery here, though, was malbec. Malbec is a smooth, easy-drinking red wine that comes from a European grape that has flourished more here than anywhere in the world. Go out and get yourself a good, relatively affordable malbec from the Mendoza or San Juan regions, and you'll be pleased. They also have good whites. In addition to the common chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, the new white wine discovery was torrontes. It's fruity but also sort of dry - a very interesting and unique white that also has done best in Argentina than anywhere else in the world. Buy one from Cafayate, a town in an arid valley in the north, and you may be pleased at a new wine discovery.

The food and drink - steak and vino

An interesting liquor that is "the drink" of all the young folk is fernet. They drink it with Coke like Americans would drink a bourbon and Coke - albeit without the bourbonization. Fernet branca is the full name, and it is a spirit made from grapes and flavored by up to 40 herbs. The taste is unique - sort of mediciney, like Dr. Pepper a bit - and is definitely an acquired one. But if you're looking to try a new drink, check it out and you'll be just like a hip, young Argentinian.

Aside from alcoholic beverages, the national beverage is matè (pronounced "mahtay"). It's a hot tea made from steeping the herb yerba matè in hot water. Its consumed from a traditional gourd called a matè through a metal (traditionally silver) straw called a bombilla. It's a social or communal drink and is typically shared amongst a circle of friends. The taste is a touch bitter and not my favorite - also an acquired taste, like coffee can be. But I was invited countless times to drink matè with the locals and often did so just for the opportunity to share in a local custom and chat with the local people. To me, it's sort of a symbol of their generosity, openness, and social nature. Another good aspect is that it is enjoyed by all - north, south, east, west, rich, poor, young, old. That's a good thing in a country that has some major distinctions in the class and wealth of its people.

A huge national pastime - like all over the world - is following and playing football (soccer). The people are passionate about it - arguably fanatical. They follow their national team, the variety of leagues in Argentina, as well as all the European leagues. A tournament among club teams from the Latin American countries extending from Mexico through all of Central and South America called Copa de Libertador was taking place when we visited so it was great to watch some games and get some reactions from the local peeps. Boca and River Plate are the two most popular clubs and arch-rivals. They`re the Yankees-Red Sox of Argentina. We also witnessed people playing football all over the place - kids in the streets, organized matches on both nice and ragtag fields, and families in the parks with mom, dad, and kids all joining in. It was cool to witness their passion for the game - although I do wish they had better coverage of the NBA Playoffs.

The sport - family football in a Mendoza park on a Sunday afternoon

A crazy dynamic of life here is the hours that people keep. They enjoy a siesta from 1 to 4 in the afternoon, and therefore their work and evening hours are way different than in the U.S. They go home and sleep during siesta, then return to work until as late as 8, 9, 10 PM. It's impossible to get anything done during the early afternoon hours, as we learned on countless occasions because we weren't quite on the local program. Their dinner time is way late, usually 9PM or later. For my birthday, we made a reservation for 8:30 - relatively late for us - only to walk into a vacant restaurant and amused waitstaff. The place didn't get going until after 10 PM, and when we left tired and yawning (I am 32 now, after all), there were young kids aged 2, 3 and 4 strolling in with their families, wide awake and ready to go. The nightlife is even later. One night we wanted to share a beer with a British couple we met in Patagonia who were heading in a different direction the next day and searched for an open bar at 9PM, only to be told they don't open until 11 or midnight. And the young people stay out all night until 5 or 6 AM or later as common practice on the weekend.

Overall, the quality of life in Argentina is generally good. In both Chile and Argentina, I was surprised by how good it is. Both countries were also much more European than I expected, drawing huge influences from Spain and Italy and to a lesser extent other European countries. Argentina offers a good infrastructure as mentioned above; you can drink the tap water in many places, as one example. The education system seems pretty sound, with nearly full literacy of the population. But amidst this generally good environment, we witnessed and learned there is a major difference between classes. You can see the poverty in certain corners vie the ramshackle old jalopies that are amazingly still on the road and the rundown, adobe-style houses that leave a great deal to be desired. At one time in the first half of the 19th century, Argentina was one of the wealthiest nations in the world, even lending money to European nations after WWII. But the economy and the distribution of wealth has not been managed well since that time, and the economy and resulting welfare of the people have undergone some major ups and downs. At this juncture, there is a small group of very wealthy people, a reasonable middle class, but also about a quarter to a third of the people living in poverty. The country had a multi-year recession culminating in a currency collapse in 2001 that diminished the middle class and really hurt the working class. The country has rebounded relatively well since that time but is still struggling to reduce its huge debt load and has a widely diverging income distribution. From talking to some of the poorer working class people, we got a sense that they are very skeptical of the government's interest in helping their cause. This is a dynamic and sentiment which has been increasingly common in South America in the last 5 or 1o years and has led to the rise of leftist government leaders like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. For the first time, I am starting understand this dynamic more clearly, not that I feel it's the best way to go.

There is some degree of conservatism in Argentina, as well as Chile, due to the predominant religion being Roman Catholic, with over 90% expressing this as their faith. The predominance of Catholicism is true of many South American countries, including Bolivia and Peru where we`re headed next. There is also a degree of conservatism resulting from the military dictatorships that ran these country with a ruthless and violent means of quashing any opposition in the 70's and 80's.

And finally, some of my favorite memories of Argentina.
- Trekking in front of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre in Patagonia - unbelievable!
- Watching the monstrously big Perito Moreno Glacier spectacularly calve off in huge sections into a lake below
- El Pueblito Hostel in El Bolson - the staff, the breakfasts, the other travelers, the asados, the relaxing vibe, the extended stay
- A backcountry hut trip into the mountains above El Bolson with two 19-year old chaps from England
- Our plush 2 BR townhouse for around $22 a night in Bariloche in the Lakes District
- Sharing some home-cooked food and steaks and having some great conversations in Spanish and English with two working class Argentinian guys
- Enjoying the wines and bodegas of Mendoza and San Juan
- A great birthday meal with Erin of amazingly tender filets and red wine. Then being pleasantly surprised by a gift of a bottle of malbec from the hostel owner upon our return to our room. This crystallized my fondness for the generosity of the Argentinians.
- The charming city of Salta, my favorite in all of the country
- Staying up til 4 in the morning drinking fernet and Cokes with a party of 20-year old Argentines and exchanging our thoughts and perspectives on their country and mine in a combination of English and Spanish. A really cool experience.
- The amazing red-rock landscapes in the northern part of the country - stunning. This was the most unheralded part of Argentina for me. I just wish I had understood how amazing it was earlier so that we had more time to explore.

The landscape - Red rock country above Pumamarca in the north

That's all I can come up with at the moment. Hope that better colors your perception of Argentina, its food, people, and society. It's a great place, and I hope it continues to find its way and prosper in the future.

Drew