Rosie and The Operator are off to Buenos Aires Argentina for a two week break. Its, June and why you may ask are we leaving one winter destination and heading for another? As Rosie sits in New Plymouth airport, shivering from the cold and watching the rain blow horizontal past the window as we wait for our weather delayed plane…The Operator is kind of asking the same thing.
Our criteria for picking Buenos Aires in Argentina as a destination for such a short trip was easy…the flight had to be direct and no longer that 12 hours so as not to waste time getting there. Bonus, this is a destination that is so European reminiscent…yet so close to home and without the price tag of Europe. But its winter Rosie, why are we winging our way to wintery Argentina when we could be sunning ourselves in warm Hawaii, California or Bali. Let’s face it, somewhere even in Queensland would be a lot warmer than here. The answer is, why not!
Anyway, that would be way too easy and sensible…..so, here we are on our way to Buenos Aires, taking advantage of the ‘off season’ as we like to call it.
It is Rosie and The Operators first time in South America and this trip is only a small foray with bigger and better journeys to come next year, (watch this space). We are super excited and not really sure what to expect when on the ground. Rosie does know she will be rocking her terrible Spanish again and regrets that she never attended Spanish language classes when she stayed for a month in Mexico and in Spain but promises to herself that she will diligently attend on her next long term Spanish foray. Rosie has heard rumors that the version of Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires is dialectly way different to any other Spanish speaking country….that could be interesting.
What does Rosie know about Argentina and what are our expectations?
Well, Rosie has seen the beautiful photographs online of the amazing Argentinian salt flats, the rolling Mendoza wine valleys and followed her bosses travels on a multi day trek across the jaw dropping Patagonia Mountain Ranges and glaciers from her armchair at home….all of these places we are not visiting. We are hanging closer to Buenos Aires and only have one far flung excursion to Iguazu Falls in the North of the country.
Rosie knows from experience that all Spanish speaking peoples are hot blooded, passionate and have rhythm, hence the origins of the Tango are deeply rooted in this country. This also translates into their passion for football….everyone knows about The Hand of God and Maradona’s fall from grace. Rosie also knows about Lionel Messi thanks to her nephew Josh and hey, since we are talking sport the All Blacks play the Jaguares whilst we are in town.
Rosie also knows that she will not go hungry in this country as lets face it, there is always an Argentine Steak House everywhere in the world. Perfect for us meat lovers! The Operator loves his big bold reds and knows he will not go thirsty as Argentina is the home of the famed Malbec Reds of which Rosie is sure he will sample a few.
Alpacas! Said The Operator, yes, he has just seriously come up with the thought that every rural household in Argentina has alpacas. Rosie scratches her head, The Operator solemnly nods. Cant confirm that one said Rosie…we are not going anywhere rural. Plus, don’t forget the Argentine Ants he solemnly adds…those buggers have nearly invaded everywhere in New Zealand. Rosie hates ants, especially those big, aggressive buggers and hopes her accommodations do not get ‘visitors’. Thanks for putting that in my head!
Sadly, once again, Rosie and The Operator are heading off not knowing a lot and looking forward to learning a lot more about this country. That’s what a holiday is all about!
Check out our itinerary tomorrow on what we will be up too for the next two weeks.
