I have to write about Iguazu because it is just so powerful and amazing. It’s one of the 7 wonders of the world and I cannot tell you in words how amazing it is. You will have to see it for yourself. Buenos Aires has flights to iguazu daily so you have no excuse not to see it. Yes it touristy and yes it’s crowded but it’s also very very amazingly wonderful.

The Argentina side is a good 4-5 hour walk if you do all the trails. And you should do ALL the trails because it shows you everything the falls has to offer. This means the devil’s throat, the middle and lower trails. When I was there, it was raining the whole time so I couldn’t get any shots with rainbows. The falls are still amazing even when the water is all brown. Do wear a poncho because you are gonna get wet, very wet. If it’s not raining, you’re gonna get a lot of mozzies that are hungry and ready to bite. Bring insect repellent. I got bitten on my face even in the rain as it was the only part of me not covered by the poncho. 😱 the Amazonian mosquitoes are huge and vicious.

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other animal that may bite you especially if you’re eating would be the raccoon like Coatis. They look cute but are vicious. Please don’t fed them. I ate my empanadas in the shop they sold it as the coatis hang out outside. I saw one steal an empanada from a girl in the tram queue and luckily she didn’t get scratched.

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you fancy, you can also do a boat ride that takes you under the falls. It’s looks really fun but I didn’t do it as I felt waking the paths and feeling Iguazu in my face at the closest part at the lower trail was more than enough. I spent a long time there just stretching my arms out and letting the water from the falls caress my face.

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try for the Iguazu park on the Argentinian side is 500 Argentinian pesos, cash only. You can walk around on your own and just follow the signs for the trams and the trails. If you get a guided tour, it’s going to cost you more. During the full moon, they have special visits to the fall with dinner but that’s pretty expensive so I didn’t do it. You can take a bus from the Puerto Iguazu or you can take a share shuttle if you’re with friends. I booked a tour with ecoiguazu that comes with a guide and transport there and back from my hostel. El Bambu hostel was clean and comfortable and the fried noodles with chicken is amazingly delicious. I stayed in the hostel for my meals as it was raining the whole time I was there.

If you have time, I highly recommend a visit to the Brazil side Iguazu Falls, it’s called Foz De Iguazu. It’s only a short Taxi ride away and the customs are pretty fast and Singaporeans enter visa free! You only need to spend 3 hours there as it’s a shorter trail. You can pay by credit card for admission and it’s cheaper than Argentina,66 reales because it’s smaller. It’s also better run in my opinion. You just need to take the bus for 3 stops and stop at the pink house and follow the trail. It’s about a 1.5km trail and you get to see almost the entire 2.7km of Iguazu Falls and it’s 275 waterfalls from this side. You can also feel the power of the falls when you walk the bridge on the waters. When I walked it, I wonder how they even built the bridge for us to walk on. A few notable movies were filmed here, including Indiana Jones! I actually preferred the Brazil side as I could have my Açaí bowl here and also, the coatis were more tame here. You can take a bus or share a taxi with a hostel mate. You can also do the boat ride here and in this case, you get off at a stop earlier.

" poster="videopress://qPvcTGy9]" ] When visiting the falls, try to bring as little as possible. A poncho works better than an umbrella and a waterproof bag is highly recommended. Wear good shoes as the trails can get slippery. I wore slippers and my trusty havainans were non slip. Bring water or buy them from the park. They also sell food so don’t worry about bringing it. Do bring sunblock and mosquito repellent and apply then often.

After spending 2 full days at Iguazu, I headed for Buenos Aires. The city that has the largest flower in South America, Evita, the best steak you will ever eat, the theatre with the best acoustics because it’s made for opera and the very sensual Tango!

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en I arrived in BA, I had the hotel arrange a pick up for me from Ezeiza airport as I read that it was safer. However, after being there for a few days, uber works fine and the taxis will be ok, just that they may over charge you a little by going around the blocks to earn more money off you. Argentina is not a cheap place for taxis. A taxi cost 770 pesos to or from the airport. If you stay in the hostel, you have an option of hostel shuttles that is about 300 pesos. There are 2 airports. Jorge Newberry is the domestic that flies you to places in Patagonia, Iguazu, Salta, Mendoza and Bariloche. Ezeiza flies to international destinations and its further away from the city. So do go to the right one.

For getting around BA, I took the public bus and also the metro. You will need to buy a subte card from the metro station and then you top it up and you can use it for all trains and buses. The metro is useful for most places you need to go. The bus brought me to La Boca, the MALTA museum and Puerto Madero. I could also walk if I wanted to. The hotels are usually very good at which bus goes where but google maps will tell you the same thing.

Bus 152 goes to La Boca, Caminito. This open air museum is a beautiful collection of very colourful old houses and also, plenty of restaurants and shops. The balconies are very cute and it’s near the port that’s not really in use. It is a safe neighborhood in the day time but at night it could be a little dangerous as it’s the poorer suburb.

A wonderful place to have lunch is Don Carlos, near the Boca Junior stadium, a short walk from Caminito. If you’re lucky to meet Don Carlos himself, he will bring you plates and plates of delicious food that he thinks you will like. Do not stop this man! His food is delicious! I paid about 1300 pesos for me and my friend and we had wine and drinks. We ate so much our stomachs almost burst but the food was excellent. We were the only tourists there. Everyone else was local and they were boisterous and friendly and we cheered everyone in the restaurant. His daughter and him runs it and he will be very proud to show you photos of him with Francis Ford Coppola and Anthony Bourdain. Very nice man and very good food. If you go there for dinner, Taxi there and back as it’s not the safest place to be and it opens at 8pm.

My favorite neighborhood is Palermo. This is a more artsy and richer suburb and it’s relatively safe at night. The street art is very pretty and there are many restaurants, cafes, helado (Ice cream) shops, clothing and furniture shops, even cross fit gym.

The food to try is BurgerJoint. Apparently, the Mexican burger is the 25 best burgers to eat in the world. I had it and it was good.

< very good Parrilla which I recommend you make a booking is Don Julio. It’s very crowded at night and the food is excellent. They know how to do steak very well and although they didn’t have the rib eye, my second choice, the T-bone was done right with the fats charred and the meat Jugoso (juicy medium rare) wine selection was good and the Chard was very delicious. It’s a bit more expensive and 2 of is paid 1700 pesos for our meats and wine.  a href=”https://stellagoeswest.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/img_9289.jpg”&gt;

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ad a nice lunch at UCO restaurant  in Palermo Hollywood and it was good! The set lunches are worth it.<
ried the all you can eat restaurants at Puerto Madero and the meat is only ok although you get a great selection of food for about 400 pesos. If you can eat a lot, this is your best option. I had mine at Porteno and it has a great selection and the rib eye was juicy but I think the meat at Don Julio and Don Carlos are more flavorful. Another good Parrilla I liked was La Churrasquita at Corrientes. Very old school waitstaff and many locals eat here. The steak was flavorful.

As a nerd, I love museums. And Buenos Aires has many. I loved MALBA because it’s a beautiful building and it has works from Frida Kahlo and other Latam artists. The museum of Bella’s Arts is also good and it’s free! Evita Museum was also great for understanding why Argentinians love her so much, rightly so. Even I like her after I understood what she has done for her people. Most museums are closed on Monday.

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eaking of Evita, you can visit her grave at La Recoleta Cemetery. It’s a pretty cool cemetery and in fact, one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. Her grave is under her maiden name Duarte. Have fun finding it. Hint: It’s the only one with fresh flowers all the time.<
you happen to be there on Sunday, walk the parks. It’s bustling with people and families and it’s really nice to just walk around the avenue that connects all of them. The largest flower of South America is also here, the floralis generalis. When I was there, it was Spring and the purple Jacarandas flowers were in full bloom making the avenues and park really really beautiful. I visited the Japanese gardens and cherry blossoms were in bloom! Sunday is also a great day for the Sunday Markets. St Telmo has a very lively one but beware of pickpockets. Palermo also has one at plaza Serrano and it’s more hipster and it also opens on Saturdays!

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caption width="3018" id="attachment_1794" align="alignnone"] The largest flower [/caption]<

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ngo! It’s so quintessential Buenos Aires that your visit will not be complete without it. Have it with dinner or without, its very tourist yes but the dance moves are sensual and amazing. If you love Gotan Project like me, you will tapping your feet throughout the show. I watched mine at La Ventana with dinner. They pick you up and drop you off, works well for me as show ends at 1130pm. My friend watched hers at Tango Porteno and it’s really good too.

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you love opera or theatre, you’re in luck! Teatro colon is the third best opera house in the world and has the best acoustics in the whole of South America. I watched a musical performance and it was really good and the theatre was beautiful. If you just want to do a tour, the English tours are at 11am, 1 and 3pm and it’s 300 pesos.

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alking along Puerto Madero was very enjoyable on a sunny day and if you venture to the park nearby, it’s also beautiful. High end shopping and restaurants line both sides of the river. Plaza de Mayo and the surrounding areas are also nice and you highly likely will see a protest on a weekday. Apparently, there is a protest almost every week. I saw one on my first day there and all the roads nearby was closed. Thankfully I stayed at Nh Florida and it was very convenient.

 Buenos Aires is quite safe but like any city, you have to be street smart. Do not wander around after 9pm especially in neighourhoods like St Telmo and La Boca. At night, if you’re crossing Avenida 9 de Julio, which is a big avenue, cross the whole street at one go as you may get mugged if you stop in the middle.<
asily spent 5 days strolling the streets of Buenos Aires so I could eat the amazing steaks. 😂 <<b
e you go, my Argentinian adventure started and ended with Buenos Aires. Because it’s such a big country, it has a good mix of everything so if you have the time, don’t just do Patagonia. Do the rest of Argentina too!

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ver stop exploring and don’t believe what I say. Go see it for yourself. <<b
Stella