Argentina - general stuff
Feb. 5th, 2006 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inulroI think I'm going to do this thematically rather than chronologically and may, and apologise for my usual bad style.
If you're not too familiar with the geography of Argentina (and even I wasn't before I went), a half decent map can be found here.
I don't know where to start - it's a huge, diverse country that I didn't really have enough time to begin to get to grips with. In order to meet both sets of relatives and see San Ignacio Mini and Iguazu Falls in the time available necessitated keeping to a punishing itinerary, which didn't allow for much sleep.
All the literature says the population is friendly. This is the biggest under-statement in the world. Public places are always packed with people except during siesta (and at those temperatures you can see why). Even though crime is supposed to have risen since the crash four years ago, I felt safer everywhere there than just about anywhere in England. In places where they get few tourists, everyone wants to know where you come from and how you like Argentina so far. The few people who know any English have to try it out on you.
Buenos Aires is easy to deal with - it's essentially a huge European city (a bizarre cross between Paris, Spain and Italy). I was expecting things to get a little more exotic as we moved out of the city, but that wasn't initially the case. The landscape looks like North America. Our next stop was Rio Cuarto in Cordoba province, a city with a population of 300,000 that feels much smaller. As you leave the countryside and get into the city, you're back in Europe. It wasn't until we got up to Posadas and north to Iguazu that it really felt like South America - the big terminte mounds and jungle helped, and the population features more of the Guarani indians (there are indigenous populations in the far north east and north west, but the rest of Argentina is the whitest country in the new world).
Culturally, it's European except for one thing - the yerba mate ritual. Mate is sort of like tea (you can buy a version in tea bags). Everyone in Argentina drinks it all the time - when going on a trip, they have nifty portable kits. You can't order it in cafes but have to be invited to take part. I was lucky enough to get to try it at my cousins' house. I found it quite pleasant. I'd read about the ritual aspect and was a bit intimidated (there's pages of etiquette) but I don't think most people are too picky and it's more about taking a break and being sociable than any rigid rules. I got myself the requisite kit and a big bag of mate and can demonstrate for those of you who are tea-partying on Sunday.
We travelled by bus, which is the best way to get around. Buses are cheap, fast, air conditioned, comfortable (overnight ones have enormous seats that completely recline) and sometimes your fare includes a meal. National Express and Greyhound look decidedly poor in comparison. The down side is that there's hundreds of companies and it's hard to work out who will take you where. This keeps the travel agents in business.
I did OK with my bad Spanish. What I failed to plan for was how much worse my Spanish would be while sleep deprived and disoriented. My major problem was that whenever I went into "foreign language" mode, French came out. On the other hand, when in doubt I'd use the French word with a Spanish pronunciation, and that works more often than not. Outside of the major tourist areas there is not much English, but because the people are friendly and want to help you, it was not as hard work as it could have been.
Argentina is essentially a civilised first-world country with some pockets of poverty. They have brand-name everything if you want it, and even though we stayed in cheap hotels with very few stars, I never felt like I was going without.
Incidentally, it's another country where all the literature says you can't be vegetarian but that's a complete lie. Most restaurants have a variety of salads and pizza and pasta options. Cheese sandwich is never on the menu at snack bars, but they will always make you one if you ask. I noticed in the supermarket that they have veggie burger and frozen meal options, though that was in the posh bit of Buenos Aires.
That's a bit much for tonight - my next installment will involve stuff I actually saw.
If you're not too familiar with the geography of Argentina (and even I wasn't before I went), a half decent map can be found here.
I don't know where to start - it's a huge, diverse country that I didn't really have enough time to begin to get to grips with. In order to meet both sets of relatives and see San Ignacio Mini and Iguazu Falls in the time available necessitated keeping to a punishing itinerary, which didn't allow for much sleep.
All the literature says the population is friendly. This is the biggest under-statement in the world. Public places are always packed with people except during siesta (and at those temperatures you can see why). Even though crime is supposed to have risen since the crash four years ago, I felt safer everywhere there than just about anywhere in England. In places where they get few tourists, everyone wants to know where you come from and how you like Argentina so far. The few people who know any English have to try it out on you.
Buenos Aires is easy to deal with - it's essentially a huge European city (a bizarre cross between Paris, Spain and Italy). I was expecting things to get a little more exotic as we moved out of the city, but that wasn't initially the case. The landscape looks like North America. Our next stop was Rio Cuarto in Cordoba province, a city with a population of 300,000 that feels much smaller. As you leave the countryside and get into the city, you're back in Europe. It wasn't until we got up to Posadas and north to Iguazu that it really felt like South America - the big terminte mounds and jungle helped, and the population features more of the Guarani indians (there are indigenous populations in the far north east and north west, but the rest of Argentina is the whitest country in the new world).
Culturally, it's European except for one thing - the yerba mate ritual. Mate is sort of like tea (you can buy a version in tea bags). Everyone in Argentina drinks it all the time - when going on a trip, they have nifty portable kits. You can't order it in cafes but have to be invited to take part. I was lucky enough to get to try it at my cousins' house. I found it quite pleasant. I'd read about the ritual aspect and was a bit intimidated (there's pages of etiquette) but I don't think most people are too picky and it's more about taking a break and being sociable than any rigid rules. I got myself the requisite kit and a big bag of mate and can demonstrate for those of you who are tea-partying on Sunday.
We travelled by bus, which is the best way to get around. Buses are cheap, fast, air conditioned, comfortable (overnight ones have enormous seats that completely recline) and sometimes your fare includes a meal. National Express and Greyhound look decidedly poor in comparison. The down side is that there's hundreds of companies and it's hard to work out who will take you where. This keeps the travel agents in business.
I did OK with my bad Spanish. What I failed to plan for was how much worse my Spanish would be while sleep deprived and disoriented. My major problem was that whenever I went into "foreign language" mode, French came out. On the other hand, when in doubt I'd use the French word with a Spanish pronunciation, and that works more often than not. Outside of the major tourist areas there is not much English, but because the people are friendly and want to help you, it was not as hard work as it could have been.
Argentina is essentially a civilised first-world country with some pockets of poverty. They have brand-name everything if you want it, and even though we stayed in cheap hotels with very few stars, I never felt like I was going without.
Incidentally, it's another country where all the literature says you can't be vegetarian but that's a complete lie. Most restaurants have a variety of salads and pizza and pasta options. Cheese sandwich is never on the menu at snack bars, but they will always make you one if you ask. I noticed in the supermarket that they have veggie burger and frozen meal options, though that was in the posh bit of Buenos Aires.
That's a bit much for tonight - my next installment will involve stuff I actually saw.
