Córdoba

Argentina in general, but especially Córdoba was full of gorgeous looking women. After a typical breakfast (crackers with dulce de leche), Pelado showed us the glamourous house which was turned into a museum, the school which was turned into a shopping mall, and the artificially drawn shadows of buildings in the centre. Gera and his family showed us true Argentine hospitality with delicious food (lots of meat!), great wine and amazing company.

La Quiaca and Villazon

The change from La Quiaca in Northern Argentina to Villazon in Bolivia was not a noticeable one - that tells you something about how different Northern Argentina was from the South. From there on I met some very cool Australians before heading over to Tupiza.

Salta

It had the usual: the plaza, the museums, the cathedral, the churches, the cerro, and a lively shopping street - but the atmopshere was what made Salta so much better than expected. Before leaving Argentina for Bolivia, I already knew that I would miss the very comfortable long haul buses in Argentina.

Buenos Aires

It was difficult not to fall in love with Buenos Aires, or at least with one of its many faces: the bustling city centre, the posh Recoleta, the green Palermo, the artistic San Telmo, the colourful La Boca. At times it almost felt like just another city in North America or Europe but the next second something would immediately remind you of its Latin touch. The longer stay there also meant more time for exploring the city 's real faces. Highlights included seeing Aditi, Gitti, Mitch and Nacho, numerous tango shows on the street, tango show over a great dinner... before Valtti and I went our seperate ways.

Uspallata and Mendoza

After crossing Parque Provincial Aconcagua (Uspallata) with the breath-taking scenary of mountains, we arrived in Mendoza, which was characteristed by the craft market, the wineries and the wide wide streets with trees on both sides. We made our stay at the tiniest hostal room I have ever seen great with some very good dialogues.