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Lego-colored slums, dogs with the smoky smell of barbecue and porteños with silver tips practicing a steaming tango in the street; If there’s one position that can banish my near jet lag, it’s La Boca, the liveliest and most colorful neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Now a snapshot of life in Buenos Aires, La Boca was once the poorest neighborhood, traditionally where immigrants settled.
Founded by Spanish settlers in 1536, it was technicolor in the 19th century, when Genoese fishermen smeared their ruined houses with the remnants of paint from their ships’ decorations.
The birthplace of tango and home of the legendary Boca Juniors football club, where Diego Maradona rose to fame, you should not be carried away by La Boca’s love for this beautiful game.
It’s also where I discovered the most productive alfajores, the chocolate-dipped cookies interspersed with dulce de leche (which, frankly, are illegal). Just a few hours after my first foray into South America, it has already captured and embraced my heart. .
And I’m not the only one in love. Our organization of 4 agents (Lisa, Hannah, Toni and Isobel) led by Gaynor Atherton, Head of Sales at Latin Routes, fell in love temporarily.
Tango in Argentina
Buenos Aires is already very charming. Shining under a sky as bright as the blue and white of the Argentine flag, this sprawling city boasts vast green parks, towering palm-fringed boulevards, and an abundance of neoclassical architecture, making it simple to see why. It is known as “the Paris of the South”.
While avoiding jet lag, we head to San Telmo, the city’s bohemian community that shines alive at the Feria de San Telmo, the Sunday flea market that sells everything from old mates to original gaucho boleros.
To enhance their charm, the playful septuagenarians play a tango that is already the best, while young mustachioed men accompany them with the accordion. Tango has been an integral part of Argentine culture for approximately 150 years.
A “secret danced between two people”, the movements come from the center and not from the feet. That night, we enjoyed first-hand his hobby at La Ventana, one of the oldest milongas (tango houses) in the city.
Highlights of Buenos Aires
When porteños (local residents) want a break from the city, they head to Tigre in the Paraná Delta, earning it the nickname “The Hamptons of Buenos Aires. “From Puerto Madero, we take a river boat along the Tigra Delta for lunch at El Descanso, a beautiful personal island noted for its beautiful wild gardens and sculpture trail.
Three days scratch the surface of Buenos Aires, but, on the way back to the city, we visited the Recoleta Angels Cemetery and saw large marble mausoleums, open crypts with dusty coffins, and the tomb of former first lady Eva Perón, of Evita fame.
There was just enough time for a tour of Teatro Colón, the 19th-century opera house renowned for having the best acoustics in the world, and a feast of the finest Argentinian beef from an eight-course asado (roasted meat) tasting menu at Fogon Asado in Palermo Soho.
Trips to Patagonia
Although I’m reluctant to leave BA, seven thousand miles is a long way to travel a city. A two-hour flight from the capital is Bariloche – the gateway to Argentinian Patagonia – where I get my first glimpse of the beauty of the world. Longest mountain range, the Andes.
The dark, snow-covered dogtooth-shaped peaks of early spring are found in the shimmering waters of Lake Nahuel Huapi — the Andes are everything National Geographic promised they would be.
We’re staying at Villa Huinid Bustillo, where the best rooms overlook the range – I’m late for breakfast every morning. A half-day Circuito Chico trail is an easy way to get a sense of the area.
Stopping at Mount Campanario, we take chairlifts up to the top and gaze as the world unfurls like a diamond-dusted map of shimmering glacial waters, snow-dusted mountains and thick Patagonian cypress forest.
On our last day we will enter the “Total Patagonia” with a horseback riding excursion to the estancia La Fragua. Hand in hand with the gaucho Jesus, we end the morning riding the tame horses through the coves and canyons of Patagonia, while the Andean condors jump on us. Leaving six women in love speechless, it was the calm and rainy end to a fantastic Argentinian adventure.
Hannah Porter, Journey Through Hannah
“Argentina blew me away. I see it as an alternative to Canada or New Zealand. It’s got the buzz of Buenos Aires, but in just a couple of hours you can be on a gaucho ranch in the pampas.”
Toni Sharp, vacation please
“Argentina welcomed us with incredible landscapes, Malbec and some of the vegetarian food I have ever tried. It is a destination of contrast, adventure and discovery.
Lisa Russell, Wanderluxe via Lisa
“From tango in San Telmo and art installations in Tigre to horse-riding with gauchos in Bariloche, we didn’t waste a single second. It’s left me wanting to go back.”
Isobel McCardie, Rock My World
“Living in Scotland, I’m used to impressive landscapes. But nothing prepares you for the breathtaking views in Bariloche.”
UNESCO has designated two new World Heritage Sites in South America. The ESMA Museum and Place of Memory in Buenos Aires was a place of detention and torture during the military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.
The Jodensavanne Archaeological Site, in Suriname, one of the earliest sites of Jewish settlement in the Americas, is home to a synagogue and other 17th-century buildings.
Chile has created a new national park less than 65 kilometers from the capital Santiago. The Santiago Glacier National Park – which covers 75,000 hectares – is home to 368 glaciers that supply water to the region’s ecosystem, including the Olivares Gamma Glacier, the Juncal Sur Glacier and the Tupungatito Volcano. It is also the habitat of pumas, condors, peregrine falcons, Chilean eagles and guanacos (camelids).
New air routes are making South America more accessible. Latam Airlines, which last month introduced a five-times-a-week direct service between Heathrow and Lima, announced it would offer one million more seats from February to the same month in 2023, up 16%. Virgin Atlantic is expected to start flights between Heathrow and Sao Paulo in May.
Gaynor Atherton, Sales Manager, Latin Routes
Do your homework on destinations: You can be very knowledgeable about the regions of Latin America, even if you haven’t traveled there yourself. We have wonderful teams in our agent center to help you, as well as instructions on how to do it. to sell’ a hands-on consultant that helps agents see each country’s key strengths, as well as useful data such as the most productive time to travel.
Have detailed conversations with consumers about their requirements: the more data you have, the less difficult it will be for our team of experts to create an itinerary that matches your customers’ requirements, interests, and desires; they can even set up a Zoom meeting to answer questions or bring up life’s itinerary.
Keep an open mind: There are plenty of opportunities to include compatible activities in an itinerary and it’s conceivable to mix culture, adventure, and beach in one trip.
A 12-day Highlights of Argentina trip with Latin Routes starts at £3,899 per person, including international and internal flights, nine nights’ B&B and all tours. The itinerary takes in Buenos Aires and Bariloche, a winery tour in Mendoza and a trip to Iguazu Falls.latinroutes.co.uk
PHOTOS: Shutterstock/Alexandr Vorobev, sunsinger, gvictoria, Jess Kraft
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