Argentina - South America Trip Part 2
For the Argentina leg of my trip, I visited two places – Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls. The falls were actually the reason I was going to Argentina in the first place, so I was there for 2 ½ days and in Buenos Aires for three days. Partially because I wanted to check it out and partially because since I had to transit through it anyways, I may as well spend a few days there. And I’m glad I did! Both parts were a lot of fun and Buenos Aires was a lot more relaxed than I had expected, which was nice. I will say, if I had to describe each in one word it would be Iguazu = Spectacular, Buenos Aires = Cool. So here are my impressions of Iguazu Falls and my top cool sites from Buenos Aires!
The Spectacular
Iguazu Falls
If there is one thing you need to see in Argentina, it’s Iguazu Falls. They truly are incredible beyond words. The first thing you need to know is it is not just one waterfall, but a confluence of hundreds of waterfalls. The biggest one is called the Devil’s Throat and its is a massive, almost circular (3/4s of a circle) waterfall. There are tons of other giant waterfalls as well, particularly a line of them a bit further away. There are three major paths to explore the waterfalls on the Argentinian side (you can see the falls from Brazil as well, as Iguazu is on the border of the two countries, but I did not). Take the time to explore as they are truly spectacular. You can also go on a boat that will take you into the waterfalls, which is an absolute must do.
Some practical notes: You can in theory do Iguazu Falls in one, very intense day, but I highly recommend against it. Overnight in Puerto Iguazu so you can spread everything out over two days. Also, there is a fourth, lesser used and longer trail to another waterfall, but it’s not worth doing. Finally, be prepared to buy your ticket in cash!! Specifically in Argentinian pesos. One of the two days I was there, the machines wouldn’t take either of my cards, the online system wouldn’t take either of my cards, the little store wouldn’t take my USD, and the ATM was broken. Have cash.
The Cool - Buenos Aires
Recoleta Cemetery
It seems strange to include a cemetery as one of the top things to do in Buenos Aires, but the Recoleta Cemetery is actually very cool. My tour guide described it as a necropolis, and it really does look like a little city for the dead, as most of the graves are in what look like small, one-story houses. Some of course are larger or more elaborate than the others, and some are well-kept, and others are in disrepair. You can wander around the cemetery by yourself but I recommend going with a guide, as they can give you a lot more context and stories. While you’re there of course you need to stop by the grave of Evita, which when I was there had flowers and other tokens from the still-appreciative public.
MALBA
Buenos Aires is a major center for arts and has a number of different art museums. I visited two and my favorite was the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano – Buenos Aires, aka MALBA. It’s a fairly small museum that focuses on modern and contemporary Latin American artists. They only had permanent exhibits while I was there, but it was extremely well curated. There was also an excellent audio guide that provided information on many of the paintings, and also both the guide and the placards (most of which had English in addition to Spanish) also provided historical context for the pieces. Honestly, this was my favorite art museum of the entire trip and one of my two favorite museums overall (the Origami Museum in Colonia was #1 of course).
Teatro Colon
If you ever want to see the true splendor of when Argentina was considered the richest country in the world, you have to visit the Teatro Colon. The opera house/theater was opened in 1908 and is absolutely stunning. You can only see the inside on a tour, which you should definitely do, but the architecture is beautiful even just from the outside. The style is “eclectic European” as my tour guide stated, which means there are some Italian Renaissance, French Renaissance, Versailles, and Art Deco elements all in the same interior. Weirdly enough despite the mishmash it doesn’t look sloppy on incohesive, also it is quite ornate. In addition to how beautiful the building is, apparently it has perfect acoustics. The location is a perfect encapsulation of the early 20th century European-facing Buenos Aires.
Conclusion
As you can tell, I loved Iguazu Falls, and honestly just that bit was worth adding Argentina to my itinerary. And I highly, highly recommend going if you ever get the chance. I also enjoyed Buenos Aires a lot. It’s a lovely city with lots of greenery and good museums. Personally, I felt perfectly fine with only 3 ½ days in Buenos Aires, but I can see doing a few more days in order to visit some of the museums or neighborhoods I didn’t get to. But I don’t feel like I really missed anything. Argentina is one of the few countries I’ve been to multiple times, albeit my last visit was over a decade ago, and both times I found the country relaxing, beautiful, and it had amazing food in addition to the sites I visited. I’m fully certain I’ll be visiting again in the future.
