Flashback: February in Argentina. Iguazu Falls & Misiones Province.

It's almost winter here in Buenos Aires. Yesterday it was 37F/3C and that's a bit too cold for me. Gavin and I are flying back to the US in just a few days, but before we leave, I have a few blog entries to write.

Back in February, Jeff H and Keven H made their way back to Argentina for one more visit. (They just couldn't get enough during their previous visit in November.) This time around, we didn't waste anytime playing tourist in Buenos Aires, but rather, we explored the the northern province of Misiones and Santa Cruz to the south.

At the same time, our friend Jason E from London was in Brazil celebrating Carnival and decided to fly down to BA to visit us and also check out Iguazu Falls. It was great seeing Jason again. The last time we got that opportunity was in London, last September. Jason is an amazing guy and he's always up for a pint of beer, so as you can imagine, we're natural friends. (Hmm ... it's 5pm. I think it's time for a cold one.)

It was a blast living it up in BA with Jason, Jeff and Keven. Fancy dinners, champagne, late nights out on the town and much much more.

We flew from Buenos Aires to Iguazu, which is located in Misiones Province. Misiones borders Brazil and Paraguay and is in the northeast corner of Argentina. It was a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of BA, but the heat and humidity was a bit much.

The actual Port of Iguazu didn't have much to offer, but that wasn't the reason why we were there. The gem of this corner of Argentina is Iguazu Falls. Vastly larger than Niagra Falls, Iguazu Falls rivals Victoria Falls in Africa and is one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Truly stunning.

In addition to the falls, we took a day trip to visit some stupid mine and also the ruins of a Jesuit mission. I would not recommend this day-trip, since it was close to a 4 hour bus ride in each direction and incredibly boring. (Not to mention that Argentinean drivers are crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy!)


Gav, Jason & Jeff in Jorge Newberry (Aeroparque) Airport, Buenos Aires.


Iguazu Falls.


Gavin in the ruins of the Jesuit mission.

Iguazu Photo Album

Feliz Navidad

Christmas 2006 was spent in the beautiful suburb of Buenos Aires called San Isidro. Our friend Ezequiel invited us over to his sister's house (which he was house-sitting) to lounge around the pool and to have Christmas dinner with. It was great to get out of the city and to learn how Christmas is celebrate in Argentina. Here's a quick rundown of the holiday:

1) The whole family gets together and tons of food is eaten.

2) At midnight, there's a champagne toast and the kids open their presents.

3) After midnight, it's party time! The celebration lasts until dawn.

4) Fireworks, Fireworks, Fireworks. The city turns into a War Zone!

For dinner, we fired up the parilla, the Argentinean bbq, and grilled a few beautiful steaks. We drank copious amounts of fantastic red wine and enjoyed a mid-summer meal in the backyard. Not a bad way to celebrate Christmas!


"Ever-lasting" Christmas Trees are so much better for the environment than real ones.


Zeque firing up the parilla.


Gavin with a bottle of bubbly and the pan dulce.

Feliz Navidad