Argentina – Maldo Travels

Iguazu Falls – Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Jean Maldonado — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 20:45:00 +0000

There’s a bus option that takes 18-hours from Mendoza to Puerto Iguazú, but we decided to take a flight leaving at 5.55 AM and arriving at 7.45 AM. The Puerto Iguazú airport is very small and being an internal flight, getting through customs was quick and easy. The airport is quite far from the town so you have to get a taxi or bus transfer. There’s no ATM at the airport and only some agencies take credit cards. Also, there’s bad network service at the airport so the sales rep had to try to take our credit card payment 3 times for it to go through. With that in mind, it would be best to take some cash just in case. Our bus transfer cost 200 ARS¹ each and it took about 30 minutes to get to the bus terminal in Puerto Iguazu. If you’re staying at one of the large hotel chains on the highway to Puerto Iguazu (e.g. Marriott), the driver will ask beforehand to drop passengers off there.

The Town

Since we arrived in the early morning, our room wasn’t ready at our hotel so we went for a walk around town. Puerto Iguazu is quite small with most of the shops and restaurants concentrated around the town center. There’s a boundary post mirador about a 30-minute walk from the town center which we visited. This is a tri-border point where you can see Paraguay and Brazil from the Argentinian side of the river. What’s most interesting here, is how the muddy brown waters of the River Iguazu and the grey/blue waters of the River Paraná merge. Other than the viewpoint, there are a couple of stalls at this site to buy drinks, snacks, and souvenirs.

On the way back, we walked by the riverside road and came across a small boat port. Here, there were boat tours available of the river and also boats to Paraguay. As we continued along the road, we went by a customs office. So if you came to Argentina by boat, that’s probably where you have to get your entry stamp. We continued further to the town center to find a restaurant for some lunch. There are several options around an area called 7 Esquinas (7 Corners). However, we found a lot of places didn’t accept credit cards, so we headed to an ATM first to take some cash out. By the time we were done with lunch, it was around 3 PM so we headed back to the hotel to get some rest. Later that evening we went for dinner in the 7 Esquinas area but this time walked further down the Avenida Brasil. There were several pop-up restaurants here serving mainly grilled skewers and steaks. It was very lively with musicians performing in the outdoor seating areas.

Iguazu Falls

At the terminal, we booked return tickets the day before for a bus to Iguazu Falls National Park for 260 ARS each (cash only). You can take any bus and we took one for the second departure leaving at 8.30 AM. It took about 30 minutes to reach the park entrance and at this time, there were already some short queues. We waited for about 15 minutes and bought our ticket for 600 ARS each which you can pay by cash or credit card. Once inside the park, there’s an information area, some shops, and restaurants. Going past all of these, there’s the platform entrance to take the train to different parts of the park. There are 3 main trails in the park; Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat), Upper Circuit, and Lower Circuit. The main site is the Devil’s Throat which is the biggest part of the falls. You have to get a (free) ticket first to get a time slot to board the train. We got our ticket for the train leaving at 10 AM, so we had about 30 minutes to check out the information center. There is also a trail to walk between different parts of the park but it’s really hot and humid outside.

Once on the train, it takes about 30 minutes to reach the station for the start of the trail to the Devil’s Throat. The trail goes to some wooden bridges that go over the River Iguazu to reach the Devil’s Throat. As you get closer, the roaring sound of the falls gradually grows louder. It takes about 10 minutes to reach the viewpoint and here, the sound is completely deafening from the power of the falls. You will also get wet since the water falls with such force that it creates a permanent cloud of mist above it which reaches the viewpoint. A section of the viewpoint is cordoned off by a professional photographer who takes an elevated picture from a step ladder. There is plenty of space elsewhere, although you may have to wait a couple of minutes to shift into an empty spot. We spent about 40 minutes at this viewpoint before heading back to the train station.

For the way back, there’s no need to get a ticket and it’s on a first come first serve basis. We got off at the next stop after a 20-minute ride which was in the center of the park. This is where the Upper and Lower Circuit trails start and we chose to first go on the Upper Circuit. This trail takes us through several falls with views from above. You can hear the thundering noise of the falls fade in and out as you go past them. There are several viewpoints along this route which took us about 45 minutes to complete.

Once back at the station at the center of the park, we were about to start the Lower Circuit trail but it started to pour down with rain. We took refuge in the food court for about 15 minutes to wait for the rain to die down before setting out again. The rain didn’t completely stop, but we set out anyway since the grey skies indicated it wasn’t going to stop raining anytime soon. This Lower Circuit trail overlaps with some of the falls from the Upper Circuit trail, but you get a view from a lower elevation. There are also several viewpoints and panoramic photo opportunities. The highlight of this trail is when you reach Salto Bossetti (Bossetti Falls). This is one of the bigger falls and the viewpoint gets pretty close. As you walk up to the end of the viewpoint, you’ll feel a gust of mist from the force of the waterfall literally take your breath away. Needless to say, you’ll get soaked from approaching the waterfall but it’s a great experience and my favorite part of the visit. From here, the circuit then leads you back to the station at the center of the park. It took us about an hour to complete this circuit so we were done at around 3.20 PM. There was still one more trail that goes through the rainforest, but because it was still raining, we decided to head back to the hotel.

Buenos Aires – Football and the City

Jean Maldonado — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 22:50:25 +0000

It’s about a 13-hour bus ride from Mendoza to Buenos Aires but we opted to take a flight for this journey. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9 PM but it ended up being delayed until 11.40 PM. The flight time was only 1-hour 30-minutes and we arrived at the El Palomar Airport in Buenos Aires at around 1.10 AM. Getting through customs was quick and we managed to use the airport WiFi to order an Uber². The city is quite big and the Airport is located in the outskirts of the city. Our hostel was in the Monserrat area of the city center which took about 30 minutes to get to with no traffic and cost 360 ARS³. It was now around 2 AM so we checked in and went to get some sleep.

The City

Since we were staying close to the Boca Juniors stadium La Bonbonera, we decided to head there first. We took a quick 10 minute Uber ride there for 67 ARS. On the way, the Uber driver turned out to be a Boca Juniors fan and was telling us many stories and history about the stadium. He recommended we check out El Caminito after the stadium but told us to be wary of pickpockets and scam artists. He dropped us off at the museum entrance and at the ticket office, there are 3 types of tickets – Museum Only; Museum, Stadium, and Locker Room Tour; and Museum, Stadium, and Locker Room Tour plus a walk into the pitch. We chose to get the Museum, Stadium, and Locker Room Tour which cost 410 ARS each. The next tour was scheduled to start at 1 PM so we had about 20 minutes to wander through the museum. There are lots of memorabilia and footage of historic matches playing on several screens. The footage which has sound allows you to picture the energy at the games played in the stadium. Being on the opposing team must be truly intimidating.

You can also step outside from the museum onto the south stand for a view of the pitch. Once we were done exploring the museum, we headed to the meeting point a couple of minutes before the start of the tour and the guide starts the tour promptly. First, he takes you to the east stands and on the way, he gives a history of the stadium and the team. At the stands, we get some time for pictures before walking over to the north stands. Here we can walk out onto a part of the pitch behind the goal for some pictures. We then head up the stands for a couple more pictures before continuing to the locker room. At the locker room, there is a professional photographer who takes your picture sitting at your preferred player’s locker. This is then the end of our tour and we’re directed back to the museum. Those who bought the ticket for sideline access are taken to the pitch. When we left the museum, we headed to El Caminito which is a short walk away from the stadium.

There are several shops and restaurants in this area. Many of the restaurants have Tango shows while you eat. We picked a restaurant which had the famous Churrasco steaks and a Tango show. A thing to note is that nearly all the restaurants only accept cash, so make sure you take some with you. After lunch, we took a 10-minute taxi ride to Plaza Dorrego for 190 ARS. From here we walked to the Puerto Madero area which is a nice riverside walk. After resting at the park in the area, we continued up the riverside and passed the presidential office – La Casa Rosada. Next, we followed a road that took us to the Obelisco which had some scaffolding on it for an event that weekend. From here, we then walked to the Torre Monumental, stopping at the shopping center Galerías Pacifico. By this time, it was dark so we took an Uber back to the hostel. It was a quick 10-minute Uber ride and cost 149 ARS.

Mendoza – Termas de Cacheuta

Jean Maldonado — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 21:49:58 +0000

Buses depart from the bus terminal in Mendoza. The thermal baths open at 10 AM and we took a taxi to the terminal from Plaza Independencia which cost 43 ARS¹. The next bus leaving towards Cacheuta was at 10.30 AM and a return ticket cost 84 ARS. We grabbed some breakfast at the station while waiting for the bus. Once the bus arrived, it left promptly and took about an hour to reach Cacheuta. From the bus stop, you walk down a road for about 5-10 minutes to get to the entrance. The entrance ticket costs 240 ARS for access to 3 levels of pools and they accept credit cards without additional fees. There’s a changing room with showers at the site and locker rentals cost 50 ARS which you can get from the shop. The first level has a couple of indoor pools with temperatures ranging between 28 and 43 degrees Celsius. One of the pools has hydro massaging bubbles which are nice to relax in. The second level is outdoors going down some steps. The water temperature here is also between 28 and 43 degrees Celsius and there was also a polar pool with cold water.

The great thing about this level was of the landscape views from the balcony like pools. There was also an indoor room with streams of hot water falling like a shower. The third level is going down some more steps. On this level, there are some more pools, a lazy river, 2 water slides, and a 10-meter water fountain. The water is much colder here and the level is aimed mainly for children. Overall, the water park is a great place to relax for a couple of hours enjoying the peaceful mountain view. Once we were done bathing in the pools, we got changed and left our swimwear to dry in the sun for a while. We then went for a walk around the area whilst we waited for the bus back to Mendoza. The bus stop was opposite where we were dropped off and the bus arrived around 3.45 PM.

Mendoza – Bodegazo (Wine) Tour

Jean Maldonado — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 21:20:14 +0000

We arrived at the Mendoza bus terminal at around 5 PM from Valparaiso, Chile. From there, it was a 30-minute walk to our hostel near Plaza San Martin. Being unable to get cash out at the terminal’s ATM for a taxi and without internet access to get an Uber, we ended up walking to our hotel. On the way, we passed a shop that was selling promotional SIM cards for a budget network operator called Tuenti. In this offer, the chip was free for a top-up of 50 ARS¹ which included 1 GB of internet for 1 week. Since we were only planning to be in Argentina for a couple of days, this was a bargain. After we checked into our hostel and dropped off our bags, we headed into the city center to look for tours. It was around 7 PM and we found that several tour agencies had already closed. We managed to find 2 that were still open but were closing soon at 8 PM. We also found that some tours were only available on certain days, so our only options were a Bodegazo (wine) tour or a gaucho tour. We had 2 days in Mendoza, and on one of those days, we wanted to go to the Cacheuta Thermal Baths. Since they didn’t have a tour for our dates, the sales rep said we could head there on our own by public transport. With that in mind, we decided to do a wine tour the next day and go to the thermal baths by public transport on our last day. There was a half-day and full-day wine tour and we chose the full-day which cost 950 ARS each. There’s a 4 percent charge if you use a credit card so it’s better if you have cash.

Bodegazo Tour

It’s a late morning start with the tour minibus picking us up at our hostel at around 10.30 AM. After picking up other groups, we headed to our first bodega (winery) – Bodega Lopez – arriving there at around 11.15 AM. The bodega guide was finishing up with another tour, and whilst waiting, we were told we could walk around the small museum. They have several vehicles and equipment used in the fields on display. Once the bodega guide was done, we were taken on a tour starting in the storage room making our way through to the distillery and bottling rooms. Throughout the tour, the guide explains the ingredients, their processes, and the equipment they use. The tour then ends in the basement with a wine tasting. The guide shows everyone the proper way to taste the wine before getting everyone to repeat drinking rhymes before tasting. There’s a spit bucket available if you want but everyone just drinks it. Once the wine tasting is done, we go upstairs to the store for anyone who would like to purchase some wine bottles.

The next stop is a 15-minute drive away at Bodega Familia Cecchin. This is a smaller bodega where they grow their produce organically. We’re taken around quickly and then into a warehouse for the wine tasting. Again the bodega’s guide shows you how to drink the wine properly and then it’s onto the store for anyone wanting to buy. This one was a much quicker visit before heading to Bodega Vistandes for lunch. This bodega has an onsite restaurant where we have lunch. This is followed by a wine tasting in a separate building. This bodega is surrounded by vineyards with a view of the Andes in the distance. After the wine tasting and a browse through the store, we were taken to Pasrai Olive Oil Factory. The guide in this tour takes us through the factory and talks about the process of making olive oil. They also said that they make raisins and other dried fruits. The tour ends with an olive oil tasting and trying out some of their other products. We visit one more winery and end the tour in a lady’s home who makes alcoholic beverages. One of the interesting drinks there was absinthe and she prepares it the proper way by setting it on fire with some sugar. The tour bus then drops everyone off at their hotels or near the Plaza Independencia. Overall, it was an interesting experience but if you’re not too fond of wines, then the half-day tour is probably enough.

Valparaiso, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina

Jean Maldonado — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 20:58:18 +0000

Initially, we planned to make this journey overnight since we read up that it was around a 9-hour trip. However, whilst on the Uyuni Salt Flats tour, we met an Argentinian traveler who recommended we do the trip in day time instead since the landscapes were beautiful and we were not disappointed. When we arrived at Valparaiso, we bought bus tickets for Mendoza leaving the following day at 8.30 AM costing 15,000 CLP³ each. The bus departs from the main terminal and it takes about 2 hours 30 minutes to reach the Chilean customs control point at the border. On the way here, the bus goes up meandering roads to climb up the Andes mountain. It starts with rocky mountains but then we start to see some snow and by the time we get to the top, the landscape is completely white covered in snow. There was a queue of vehicles at the customs stop so it took some time to get the Chilean exit stamp. From here it was then another 20 minutes to reach the Argentinian customs control point.

Again there was a queue here so we had some time to leave the bus and take some pictures. Once it was our turn to go through customs, the group from the bus is put in a queue. The officials unload bags from the bus and inspect some at random. If you see your bag on a table, then you have to approach the customs official as they go through your bag. Otherwise, you just pick up your bag from the pile it’s left in and proceed to get your entry stamp. Once the group is back on the bus, we continue to Mendoza. Again the landscape of the Andes here is beautiful as we descend the meandering roads. It takes about 2 hours 30 minutes to get to Mendoza and we arrived at around 5 PM.