Argentina (2 Viewers)

[Space]

I'm told these guys are the ones to talk to by my mate who spent the winter rafting/paddling in Chile/Argentina.

http://www.mendozarafting.com/

I've no Spanish and they only seem to have rafting on their site.

 

[plug]

need a translation?

 

[flashback]

So the lad I knew went just got back to me, he was with Expediciones Chile,
http://www.exchile.com/
The second time he just went with his own group.

 

[Gabbo]

need a translation?

it's cool, i speak the auld espanish.

that's real helpful lads cheers. we'll be definitely passing through mendoza so i'll email them and see what the story is. Found another company, but from what i've been seeing on sites is that they don't really run in winter which is exactly when I'll be there. They photos look amazing though.

I'm sure I'll find something. thanks again for the help.

 

[Gabbo]

these were the other guys I found. they do 1 day excursions which is handy. cheap too.

http://www.argentinarafting.com/

 

[Moods For Mallards]

I've plotted my Argentina route for October. I fly into Buenos Aires from Rio. A few days there (including Arg v Urg World Cup qualifier), then either a bus or a plane to Iguazu. I'm thinking a plane. Back to BA, another couple of days then head west on a bus towards Mendoza, stopping in the likes of Rosario, Cordoba, some Pampas towns, etc. From reading Lonely Planet, Mendoza and environs seems to be absolutely class so I'm determined to go there. Has anyone been in that neck of the woods? What are the outdoor activities like? I want to do some rafting in particular.
This is obviously leaving out some of the major attractions of the country, but I'm tight enough for time.

 

[Corrientes]

Im thinking about taking in Arg Vrs Paraguay on the 6th Sept if possible. You hardly know what the story would be with tkts...see when get over there i suppose....

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Well whaddaya know? River v Boca scheduled for the weekend of October 19th, slap bang in the middle of my holiday.

 

[flashback]

here, m for m, just a word, an english lad (black) I met in BA went to a Boca match, and got lost in the ground because his Spanish was shit, and there were fuck all signs or something, anyway, he came very close to getting the stuffing kicked out of him at the match.

Something about some lads thinking he was supporting the opposing team, and possibly being black, and I dunno, I forget. I remember him saying that that was about as near as he came to a massive beating without actually getting on as he's ever come. He reckoned they were about to use implements on him, and that the cops would have either done nothing, or not been able to do anything.
I forget how he got away. I think it involved going around a sharp corner and doing a Carl Lewis impression.

The Argie football fans can be a bit agro it appears.
Just putting it out there. Might not have been as bad as he said, I wasn't with him.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

here, m for m, just a word, an english lad (black) I met in BA went to a Boca match, and got lost in the ground because his Spanish was shit, and there were fuck all signs or something, anyway, he came very close to getting the stuffing kicked out of him at the match.

Something about some lads thinking he was supporting the opposing team, and possibly being black, and I dunno, I forget. I remember him saying that that was about as near as he came to a massive beating without actually getting on as he's ever come. He reckoned they were about to use implements on him, and that the cops would have either done nothing, or not been able to do anything.
I forget how he got away. I think it involved going around a sharp corner and doing a Carl Lewis impression.

The Argie football fans can be a bit agro it appears.
Just putting it out there. Might not have been as bad as he said, I wasn't with him.

Thanks, noted. I wouldn't be one to make an exhibit of myself at a match (hard not to do if you're a black guy in Argentina I'd say)... I'd be keeping a low profile. I've been to games in a fair few countries, at the odd club with a bad rep, and it's just a matter of having a bit of cop on I suppose.
I actually presented this well hard firm rivalries show on Bravo, you might know me...

 

[flashback]

Caaahhnt.

 

[coast to coast]

Well whaddaya know? River v Boca scheduled for the weekend of October 19th, slap bang in the middle of my holiday.

If you take it that football matches in Argentina are currently enduring their worst period of violence (well, for a while at least - its gotten a lot worse since I was there) and you take into account that the Superclassico is the most heated of all games in Argentina - it will be violent and hate-filled. I went to one in Boca in the away fans section (for River) - it was totally fucking psycho even within the River section, and I also didn't get to see much of the game for being stuck behind flags.


The game in October will be in River's (much bigger) stadium El Monumental so there should be more chance of getting a ticket. You can queue and try to get them on a certain or you can pay through the nose in a hostel and they'll organise a bus too and from. It not quite as "authentic" an experience but probably a much safer one (its what we did, as we couldn't get normal tickets they sold out) and its not like you don't get to experience the full blooded hatred that the match inspires. I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Right, I just got back from Argentina today (5 nights in Rio, then to Argentina for 3 weeks). Here are my thoughts, in point form:

- It's cold here.
- Rio is not so good when it rains every day that you spend there. It's an outdoor city.
- Still, it has so much going for it. Beaches are gorgeous, the Sugarloaf is simply amazing, Cristo looks spooky in the fog, the food & beer is good and cheap (nice chopp everywhere) and the women are very nice to look at.
- It's dangerous. There is almost no piece of high ground (and it's a very hilly city) without a favela on it. They are everywhere. They lurk close to even the most 'fashionable', rich areas. I got mugged in Ipanema, but luckily I was on the way back from the pub so only had a few reals on me.
- Found it hard to find lively nightspots during the week. Obviously.
- Long walks on the beach, dips in the sea, etc.
- Buenos Aires: One of the best cities I've been to
- For those of you who like to dance, it must be heaven
- Women even hotter than in Rio
- Recoleta Cemetery is very interesting. Go on your own. I went arounf looking for Irish names. Lots of them. We built the world!, etc.
- San Telmo antiques fair has literally everything ever. Old diving suits, old machines, old everything. I was engrossed. Bought a load of tango sheet music, for the covers.
- Argentina v Uruguay: not a bad game.
- River v Boca: Boca outclassed River. Went with a hostel, which was probably a bad move as we paid way too much, were chaperone there, and the tickets were underneath the Boca fans and couldn't really witness the banter, though we did witness their piss coming down and bags of shit being flung up at them. Still, great atmosphere, though it was a pity that River were so poor and gave their fans nothing to grab onto.
- Went to see some tango. Really enjoyable. Great songs.
- Iguazu Falls: unreal. The best thing on the holiday.
- Mendoza: pleasant town, lots to do outside it. Stayed in worst hostel ever here. Go to Mr. Hugo for wine. Did some rafting, but it was tamer than I'd hoped as the river hasn't quite risen enough yet.
- Cordoba: found some Coppers-esque nightspots. Quite a boring city, but perhaps I was just tired.

Argentina is noticeably a better organised, more equitable, more 'European' country than Brazil (if Rio is at all representative). It's infrastructure is quite good and sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking you are in Spain or Italy, rather than a 'poor' country. People dress well, they have iPods, they seem to lead similar lives to anywhere in the west. Apart from the shabby cars, you could be in western Europe. Then you see a shanty town and it is shocking. THey just appear under flyovers or near bus stations and you're taken-aback and realize that there are a lot of the same problems to the rest of the continent in a seemingly safe, pleasant and rich country.
In Rio, you can't escape the poverty or the extravagant wealth. THe contrast hits you in the face all the time.

Anyway, I'd love to go back and spend a bit longer, hitting Patagonia, Salta, and what not.

 

[Gabbo]

- Mendoza: pleasant town, lots to do outside it. Stayed in worst hostel ever here. Go to Mr. Hugo for wine. Did some rafting, but it was tamer than I'd hoped as the river hasn't quite risen enough yet.

We were planning on going rafting, but glad we decided not to. The wine was the best thing about Mendoza for me. We went on a wine tasting tour to a place called Maipú (pronounced my poo). People kept asking her questions about Maipú, culminating in one elderly man asking her: what is the oldest part of Maipú?

 

[Moods For Mallards]

We were planning on going rafting, but glad we decided not to. The wine was the best thing about Mendoza for me. We went on a wine tasting tour to a place called Maipú (pronounced my poo). People kept asking her questions about Maipú, culminating in one elderly man asking her: what is the oldest part of Maipú?

Yeah, Mr Hugo is in Maipú, in an area called Coquimbito. You have to get a bus there from Mendoza, and it's bit of a pain in the arse bus, but then you can bike around to the various bodegas before coming back to Mr. Hugo for lots of wine consumption, rather than tasting.

 

[coast to coast]

You hit the nail on the head a few times Moods For Moderns.
I'm fucking dying to go back as a load of my friends will be over in BsAs over the Christmas/January period.

If you do go back, I highly recommend Salta. A beautiful place and an awful lot of fun too.

 

[sparse]

I'm heading to Argentina in May. What's the best way to travel between places? Mainly just hoping to get to Buenos Aires, El Calafate & San Carlos de Bariloche. Does anyone have any experience of those places?

 

[Moods For Mallards]

I'm heading to Argentina in May. What's the best way to travel between places? Mainly just hoping to get to Buenos Aires, El Calafate & San Carlos de Bariloche. Does anyone have any experience of those places?

Buses. They're really comfortable if you go Cama or Semi-Cama (if I remember correctly). Your seat reclines, lots of space either side, they give you dinner and breakfast for overnighters.
There's no real rail network.