7 Things You Learn on a Trip to Argentina
Whether exploring the windswept pampas plains and sky-piercing peaks of Argentine Patagonia or learning to tango and dine late into the night on the sultry streets of Buenos Aires, traveling in Argentina overwhelms all of the senses – and leaves you immediately booking your next visit.
A bewitching country that combines a variety of traditional and modern cultures, delectable cuisine and magnificent landscapes, visitors to these shores leave having learned the following seven crucial lessons about Argentina.
1. Asados and red wine are the culinary symbols of Argentina
2. Yerba mate is the national drink
A non-alcoholic beverage favored by the general population, mate (pronounced maa-té) is a bitter drink prepared by steeping the dried yerba leaves in hot water and is drunk from a hollowed out calabash gourd through a special metal straw or bombilla. Exceptionally rich in caffeine, many Argentines drink copious quantities of the stuff to maintain their energy levels throughout the day.
3. The landscape will get your pulse racing
4. There’s no time to rush
South America is known for its lax attitude towards timekeeping, and Argentina is certainly no exception. Visitors here soon learn that buses do not leave on time, an arranged hour of meeting will rarely be met and that if you’re hoping to enjoy one of the country’s numerous high-quality restaurants, don’t expect them to be open before 8.30pm. In fact, most locals don’t start dining until 10pm or later, particularly during the summer months, so adapting your eating habits to make the most of long, warm evenings is your first step on the road to becoming a true Argentinian.
5. Ushuaia isn’t actually the “end of the world”
6. Welsh Patagonia is almost another world
Visiting the infamous Patagonian tea houses in Puerto Madryn, you soon learn that Argentina is certainly not home to one homogeneous culture. In this and other small towns in Welsh Patagonia, the walls of the tea houses are lined with Welsh Dragon tea towels, Welsh dressers storing fancy family china, and home-knitted tea cozies to keep the tea pots warm. The settlers who came here from Wales in the 1800s might now speak Spanish, but they’re fiercely proud of their roots.
7. You have no choice but to fall in love with Buenos Aires – and Argentina
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