Posts Tagged ‘Argentina’

Pack A Few Extra Panties & Boxers For Argentina

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Guest post by @hecktictravels

I am not one to easily give out travel advice.  I try to stay away from telling people what they must see and do because everybody is different…what I considered fabulous might be average or dismal to someone else, and vice versa.

But there is one particular question that I quickly give a bold response too.  For some reason, I get this one often from random people stumbling across my website:  I have one week to spend in Argentina, what should I do?

My response?  Don’t bother.

For anyone to spend just seven days trying to see the sights in this large and gloriously diverse country is to not do it one ounce of justice.  There are just too many jaw dropping wonders, adventurous activities, and immense cultural experiences to narrow it down – I think it’s a travesty for anyone to say that they’ve been to Argentina, unless they’ve seen and done them all.

Let me show you what I mean, with a rundown of all the best that Argentina has to offer.

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Buenos Aires

If you truly only have seven days to spend in the country, then plant yourself down in BA for the entire time.  The beauty of this city is such that each neighborhood has a completely different personality and feel to it.  Consider even splitting your time by varying your stay in different locations.  Make sure to visit the Recolleta cemetery, the colorful shops in La Boca, and eat your weight in steak at one of the fabulous restaurants in Palermo.  Don’t forget to search for an underground milonga (tango event), shop in the antique stores in San Telmo, and take in a futbol match if your timing is right.  See?  Your week is gone already.

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Iguazu Falls

A couple days are necessary to visit this world wonder (save one day for the Brazilian side!).  Be sure to take the zodiac ride right up to and under the falls to feel their awesome power.

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Salta

It admittedly took me a few days to warm up to this city, but when I did, I didn’t want to leave.  It’s frantic, it’s diverse, and it’s also cheaper then the rest of the country!  I loved to just sit in one of the many cafe’s at the main city square and people watch the day away.

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Cafayate

This tiny town about a three hour drive from Salta sits in a valley of the red shale Andes, and is home to the white wine region.  There are a lot of really fascinating little towns in this whole area, an exploration via car rental for a few days is one of the best ways to do it all.

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Mendoza

Welcome to the red wine region and another great people-watching stop.  The city is full of fantastic food, sprawling parks and great nightlife.  Nearby adventure parks also cater to everything from hiking to rafting to zip-lining to paragliding.

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Bariloche

Argentina’s lake district is best explored from this city, and best seen with a ride up Cerro Campanario.  There are also too many chocolateria’s here to keep track of, face-stuffing is necessary and encouraged.

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El Chalten

This quiet mountain town is a spectacular break from the pricey hiking offered in Chilean Patagonia.  It’s free!  And some of the sights are just as spectacular!

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El Calafate

Get up close and personal with Perito Moreno, one of the few advancing glaciers left in the world.  Spend a few hours being mesmorized by the sights and sounds as ice breaks off and you can actually hear the glacier creeping forward.

And it doesn’t stop here. Other notables include Cordoba (was named the Cultural Capital of Latin America in 2006), Alta Gracia (Che Guevara’s hometown), Ushuaia (the southermost point on the continent), Puerto Madryn (whale watching), and El Bolsen (laid back hippy town with great hiking).

One week to see and do the best of Argentina?  Impossible.

A month?  Now you’re talking (but still pushing it).

If you’re interested in becoming a contributor or guest blogging for A Pair of Panties & Boxers, please feel free to contact me.

Hecktic Travels

Dalene and her husband Peter sold all their belongings and have been traveling the world since 2009.  After a year traipsing around South America, they are currently house sitting in Honduras.  You can follow their adventures at www.hecktictravels.com

Photo Collection: Faces Of The Future (Part 2)

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

This is for everyone who found joy in the first collection of Faces Of The Future and for those who wanted to contribute their photos. I hope these photos brings a smile to your face because I couldn’t get rid of my Kool-Aid smile while I was putting this post together.

I received a large number of submission for this photo collection and I am very sorry to say that I was not able to use every single photo that was submitted. Please don’t hate me. Look at the babies instead!

Misones, Argentina

Michael Tieso

Michael Tieso started Art Of Backpacking with a vision of sharing cultural knowledge to the world and inspire more people to travel. He left the cubicle life to travel the world in May 2009 and he still continues the journey to this day with no end to it. He loves adventure, food, and music. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter @djskylab.

Guatemala

Photo by Halle Hughes, aged 10 traveling near Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Halle was on her first trip overseas with her 2 sisters and parents and said the best part of going to Guatemala was doing Dog Meets World and meeting other kids.

Costa Rica

Photo by Kathryn Rouillard, a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica took pictures in Playa Panama and said that practicing DMW was "one of the highest highs I have experienced thus far as a PCV in Costa Rica.

Dominica Republic

Tanzania

Haiti

Taken by Carolyn Lane, founder of DMW in Lacul, Haiti in a village along the sea. None of the children had ever had their photos to own!

Carolyn Lane

Carolyn Lane is the founder and president of Dog Meets World, nonprofit organization seeking to put a photo in the hand of every child in need in the world.

The Caribbean

Taken at Grand Anse Beach, Grenada, Caribbean

Maharasthra, India

Taken in Ellora, Maharasthra, India

Cairo, Egypt

Taken at an engagement party held on the street, Cairo, Egypt

Connie Hum

Connie HumConnie Hum is a bit of a loose canon. She gets an idea in her head and she just goes with it. After making the decision to live the life she’s always wanted, Connie left her amazing apartment in New York City and job at an international consulting firm in February 2009. Since that time, she’s lived in Istanbul, sailed in the Mediterranean, slept in a Bedouin cave in the mountains of Petra, bellydanced her way through Cairo, drank afternoon tea in London, danced with young Buddhist monks in Burma, learned the art of Vipassana meditation in an ashram in India, trekked the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal and sunbathed in the gorgeous beaches of Thailand. And this is only the beginning! You can follow her travel (mis)adventures on www.connvoyage.com or on Twitter at @connvoyage.

Sapa, Vietnam

Hmong girl with baby brother

Little Hmong girl carrying her baby brother. Click on the photo for the story.

Laos

Hmong girl from Laos

Hmong girl from Laos

Hmong girl from Laos 2

Another Hmong girl from Laos

Belaga, Borneo

Kayan mother and child

Kayan mother and child

Theodora Sutcliffe

Theodora Sutcliffe is on a longterm round the world journey with her nine year old son. Since leaving London in January 2010 they’ve visited Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia: next stop Indonesia Visit www.travelswithanineyearold.com for more travel pics and stories.Theodora is a single parent from London, England traveling around the with her son Z. Follow her on Twitter @Mummy_T.

Bangkok, Thailand

From a train ride from Bangkok to the border of Cambodia. It was a 5 hour train ride on wooden benches and cost 50 cents so we were the only foreigners on the train and no one spoke English. Unlike in North America where we'd never give our children to strangers, we were greeted warmly by the people on the train who offered their baby to hold. Although we didn't speak a common language it was one of the most memorable events of my trip.

Baby on the train from Bangkok to Cambodia 2

Ayngelina Brogran

Ayngelina left her job, apartment, boyfriend and friends to travel solo. You can read about her adventures at Bacon is Magic, as she eats her way through Latin America and beyond.

Granada, Nicaragua

Guatemala

Mexico

Lainie

Miro and Lainie (mother 43 and 11 year old son) share their adventures from the road of life, discussing issues of humanity, global citizenship, slow travel and living in the moment as they backpack through the world.Stay up to date with them on their blog & podcast at RaisingMiro.com which chronicles their nomadic adventures, Raising Miro on the Road of Life.

Cambodia

She was just a cutey. She has a huge smile on her face in every, single picture we have of her.

A couple of the younger boys just thought it was hilarious to use me as their own personal jungle gym. It got quite tiring after a while, and of course everyone wanted to try when they saw these two, so the next thing you know, I had 15-year-olds not much shorter than I trying to hang on me.

This is my boy again. It started pouring rain, and they all wanted to go out and play. In typical SE Asia monsoon season weather, it just POURED down buckets of rain, and they all had a blast.

You obviously can't tell it from this picture, but this little guy was the most surly and mad looking for the first couple hours after we arrived. Once he warmed up to us, he was like he is in this picture. Adorable.

This was the youngest girl, Nita, who was about 2 years old and as you can see, simply beautiful. Everyone was her bigger brother or sister, and they all took care of her and watched over her.

Adam & Megan

Adam and Megan set off on a year-long RTW trip in October 2008, touching down in eleven countries and ninety cities over three continents. Now back home in St. Louis, Megan is back at her career as an attorney, and Adam is trying to bust into the travel writing business. You can check out Adam’s brand new site, still a work in progress with new content being added daily, at www.worldtravelforcouples.com, or you can follow Adam’s journey to become a travel writer at www.journeyofatravelwriter.com. Adam and Megan also kept a blog of their RTW trip, at thewanderyear.com. They are both on twitter, @aseper and @wanderyearmeg.