A taste of Argentina in Wimbledon

Chango, Wimbledon

Wandering through Wimbledon Village over the Easter weekend, it was with great delight that we discovered 'Chango' an Argentinian cafe, serving up 'empanadas' and 'alfajores'.

South American craft beer

The craft beer industry is booming in Europe and the US. During our trip around South America, we were pleased to find its popularity on the rise there too. So, during our 7 months in South America, as well as supping on the national drinks of each country, we also spent some time seeking out the local craft beers. Here our our favourite beers, microbreweries and places to drink.

1) Bogota Beer Company (BBC), Colombia. We found the BBC bar in the Candelaria area of Bogota on our first night in the city and were impressed with the range of different beers on offer from a porter to a honey ale to an amber ale. I particularly enjoyed their 'Candelaria Clasica' - a kölsch beer, which was a bit fruity but not too hoppy and gentle on the tongue. It was also very refreshing in the Colombian heat.

The big fat guide to South American bus travel

Long distance bus travel is likely to form a central component of any South American trip. 

For cash-strapped backpackers, an overnighter also helps save money as it gives you a nights accommodation as well as the means to get from a to b.

The level of comfort (and safety) of South American buses depends on the country you're in and the bus company you go for. On one bus, we were served champagne (yes! champagne) after our meal (yes! we were served a meal), while elsewhere, there wasn't even a toilet to use on the bus and the freezing temperature on board meant that we had to seriously layer up (and were still a little cold). 

Here's our guide on how to know what to expect and where! The countries are shown in the order we visited them in.

Crossing Borders: In pictures

We crossed a number of land borders throughout our 6 and a half months in South America - quite a novelty for two Brits! Here are some of our border crossing photos. 

Leaving Peru, we were pleased that the border crossing was well marked with the iconic Peru sign and a big bottle of Cusquena beer!

South American top tipples!

Pisco Sour: Peru and Chile

One of our favourite foodie discoveries from South America was the Pisco Sour. Pisco is a grape brandy made in both Peru and Chile. In Peru, lemon, angostura bitters, sugar or syrup and egg whites are added to the brandy to make a Pisco Sour. Traditionally in Chile, the egg white and the bitters are not added. 

First Pisco Sour!

Being vegetarian in Argentina

I may have been able to seek out more vegetarian options in Argentina, if James hadn't been on an ongoing mission to find the best steak in the world. 

Luckily, because of the Italian influence on Argentinian cuisine, pretty much every restaurant in Argentina (including the steak houses) do serve meat-free pasta dishes. However, generally these options are either pasta with a nice (but not especially inspiring) tomato sauce or pasta with a good (but again not particularly varied) cheese sauce. 

To avoid just eating pasta covered with tomatoes, here are some of our top tips for being vegetarian in Argentina:

Where we stayed - Argentina

Mendoza: We very much enjoyed Mendoza and stayed there three times while in Argentina - each time renting out a room at Federico's house, who we found through Air BnB.

We had a lovely stay at Federico's house. He was very welcoming and generous. He cooked a traditional Argentine barbecue for

Watching the World Cup in Argentina

Is that James...? Or Lionel Messi??

James and I are not really football people. However, we couldn't help but get into the spirit when spending the whole of the Brazilian World Cup in 2014 in neighbouring football mad Argentina.

Living in England, I thought I knew what a football mad nation looked like. How wrong could I be?

The Three Frontiers

The Iguazú falls are in the border of Argentina and Brazil.

Paraguay is also nearby - just over the bridge from Foz

Chasing Rainbows at the Iguazú Falls

Drawing a rainbow in the sky

In the weeks leading up to our visit to the Iguazú falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil, I was worried. There had been massive flooding in the area and the falls

A quick guide to the quirky towns of Las Sierras de Córdoba

The best way to see the towns and the countryside around Córdoba is to hire a car and go exploring! But where to go? Here is our quick guide to the towns and villages in the Sierras. 

The open road

The towns are listed in the order we visited them. We hired a car for 4 days (3 nights).

We spent most of the first day in Alta Gracia and the night in Belgrano. The following day we were in La Cumbrecita for the day. We spent our second night in Belgrano. 

Las Sierras de Córdoba - Part 2: Little Germany, pretty views and some wine!

Chairlift up the Sugar Loaf Mountain near Cosquin

While in Córdoba - Argentina's second city, we hired a car to explore the surrounding countryside, which is dotted with interesting villages as well as beautiful landscapes.

We spent most of our first day in Alta Gracia, exploring the Jesuit Estancia and at the Che Guevara museum. To read more about our time in Alta Gracia see this post.

Las Sierras de Córdoba - Part 1: Che Guevara

James hanging out with Che

We’d heard that the countryside surrounding Cordoba was worth a visit, both for the beautiful landscapes as well as the quirky

Learning about the dictatorship in Córdoba

Like many (all?) countries in South America, Argentina has a pretty brutal history.

Although we’d had some idea of the events of the late 1970s and early 1980s during the time of the military dictatorship, the guide on our walking tour in Buenos Aires really brought home the brutality of the regime, when he highlighted that from 1976 to 1983 up to 30,000 people were ‘disappeared’ by the military.  

Skiing in Las Leñas

A central error in our destination choices for this trip has been that we are following winter around! 

We left the UK in early March, at the beginning of Spring and travelled further south in South America as their winter approached. We return to the UK in September, just in time for autumn!

A day trip to Tigre

Pretty walkway in Tres Bocas

An hour's train ride north out of Buenos Aires and you find yourself in a completely different world. 

Finding Evita in Buenos Aires

Painting of Juan and Eva Peron in La Casa Rosada

La Casa Rosada

Anyone who has watched Evita will remember seeing Eva and Juan Peron making impassioned speeches from the balcony of the ‘pink house’ or Casa Rosada – the presidential offices - to thousands of adoring supporters in the Plaza de Mayo.

Photographing Palermo

On one of our afternoons in Buenos Aires we went on a Foto Ruta Iphoneography workshop and tour to help us to better

Fuerza Bruta - Brute Force

On our first night in Buenos Aires, we headed to see the Fuerza Bruta show. I’d first heard of this from some fellow travellers in Sucre, who had managed to describe it as a bit like

Starting our week in Buenos Aires

Argentine National Congress

Buenos Aires was fun and interesting city to while away a week. There was so much to see and do there, we could have