November 9th 2024 – Mendoza, Argentina

Dark clouds were rolling in from the east as we left Montevideo on dry roads heading west. We managed to stay ahead of the rain all the way to Colonia del Sacramento where we arrived around noon. Strong winds and the threat of rain resulted in relatively few tourists in town, making it a pleasure to explore the cobblestoned Barrio Histórico. I understand why it’s a popular destination.

An easy morning ride in gorgeous weather took us to the Argentinian border. The crossing went super smooth and only took 30 minutes in total. From the border it was only another 30 minutes to Gualeguaychú where we had booked an apartment. We took advantage of the weather and went for a long walk around town before dinner. It was a pleasure to learn that the price level in Argentina was about half compared to Uruguay.

The bikes had enjoyed a good night’s rest in the garage downstairs and were eager to see more of Argentina the following morning. The roads were mostly straight and often raised above the surrounding wetlands as we approached Rosario. We enjoyed the scenery while returning waves to hundreds of local riders out for a Sunday spin.

I was aiming for a pin on the map I had received from The Sailor a few days earlier.

The Sailer’s real name is Benny. He’s from Denmark and works as a marine engineer on tankers around the world for a Danish shipping company and have alternately 3 months on and 3 months off work.
20 years ago he decided to spend most of his time off in Argentina. There was a woman involved in that decision. Since then he has created a family and built a life in the country. We have a good friend in common and have met a few times previously. Now we had the opportunity to get to know him better.

The pin he had shared with me turned out to be a small walled compound in Pueblo Esther just south of Rosario. Every Sunday Benny, his family and closest friends use the place to have an “asado” – the Argentinian version of a BBQ. We arrived just in time to join them. Everyone was super nice. We had a great time while eating our way through a meat tsunami.

Aside from a traditional parrilla, the compound also had a pool and a small house. It would be our home for the next couple of days.
The place was still a work in progress. Benny and his friend Sergio came by every morning during our stay to get something done while the temperatures were pleasantly cool.
When they finished up around noon Katrine and I accompanied Benny back to his house in Rosario to have lunch with him and his family. The afternoons were spent playing tourists with Benny as a guide before returning to his house in the evening for a late home cooked dinner.

Benny also helped us get to grips with some of Argentina’s peculiarities. Getting local cash was one of them.
Withdrawals from an ATM is the worst way to do it. The fees are around 20% and you might get a bad exchange rate. There are no less than 7 different official exchange rates in play. It’s a jungle.
The best way to get pesos is to exchange dollars (or Euros) in cash outside of the banks. We got around it the easy way. We just gave some $$ to Leonardo, the oldest son in the house. He left for half an hour and returned loaded with 1.000 pesos bills. We would most likely not have been able to get as good a rate as he did.

Katrine and I had some interesting days in Rosario. It was heartwarming how Benny, his family and friends opened their home and hearts to us and did their utmost to make us feel welcome.

3 hours on the highway took us from Rosario to Buenos Aires.
We pulled up in front of the German school in Boulogne just as Kristian walked out the gate. He is another friend from Denmark. He and his wife Luli relocated from Denmark to Argentina last year. She is Argentinian and after several years in Denmark they decided to give her native country a try. Katrine and I were excited to see them again and learn how they had settled in.

Kristian had arranged for Katrine and me to stay with Harald, a fellow teacher from the school. Harald and his wife Doris lived in a spacious and cozy house nearby. Kristian led the way on his Vespa and introduced us to our generous hosts. They had prepared for our visit and told us to make ourselves at home. They were wonderful people and we had the pleasure of spending time with them several times during our stay.

In the evening we went to Kristian and Luli’s house for dinner. Kristian treated us with a Danish dish followed by a trip to their favorite ice cream parlor. We had heard several Argentinians brag about them producing the best ice cream in the world. It is definitely up there with the best!

We ended up staying in Buenos Aires for almost a week. It allowed us time to get a feel for the second most populous metropolitan area in South America. We spent our time mainly in the northern part of the city. It is where the traditional posh neighborhoods are located. The area was dotted with beautiful parks and prestigious country clubs. Polo and rowing were popular activities.
There is a saying about people from Buenos Aires: “They are Italiens who speak Spanish while believing they are Englishmen living in Paris”. We saw nothing to contradict that.

Interspersed between the wealthy neighborhoods were the “Villas” (the double l is pronounced like the g in Peugeot). It’s the Argentinian version of shanty towns. It created an interesting dynamic.
The chasm in wealth between neighbors is maybe one of the reasons why we experienced a higher level of anxiety than anywhere else in Latin America. Another ingredient could be that many Argentinians have lost faith in the banks after the financial collapse in 2001 and as a result store big amounts of cash at home. There was a pronounced focus on security among the people we talked with. We were asked to follow certain procedures and advised against walking outside certain areas.
Aside from the warnings and the anxiety among the wealthy we didn’t experience anything to trigger any alarms. We felt safe and met only friendly and kind people everywhere we went.

Katrine and I spent a whole day exploring the central part of the city on foot. Avenida 9 De Julio that cuts through downtown is the widest avenue in the world. The different parts of the city center all had their own flavor.
The oldest pizzeria in town provided us with lunch. Their wood fired oven has been going non stop since 1932. The pizzaiolo invited me into the kitchen to have a closer look at the heart of the place.

In the afternoon we visited an old theater that had been turned into the most impressive bookstore I’ve ever seen.
We finished our city walk surrounded by greenery as we made our way through the botanical garden, the former zoo now called the Ecopark and the rose garden at the heart of Tres de Febrero Park.

Kristian had set aside the weekend to introduce us to his favorite parts of town. We visited the country club He and Luli frequent.He also showed us the charming neighborhood Palermo Soho and took us to the beach where kite surfers were competing for space and the wind.

One evening we got invited to Luli’s parents place for an asado. I was in charge of the fire and did a damn good job if you ask me.

Eventually it was time to move on.
Katrine and I found hwy 7 and followed it west. It took us 3 days to cross the Pampas. We spent the first night in Junin and the second in Villa Mercedes. It was almost hypnotic to travel across the featureless plain while slowly gaining altitude. On the 3rd day the monotony was broken by snow capped mountains on the horizon.

We are now staying in Mendoza in Andean foothills for a few days, to catch up on some of the things we neglected while being social in Rosario and Buenos Aires. It will also allow us to have a closer look at the wine capital of Argentina and prepare for our return to the mountains that we left more than 6 weeks ago.