Early June was an amazing time to travel to Argentina! It was winter but the weather was mild. We got very little rain and although mornings and evenings were chilly, we often wore short sleeves during the day.
We came across almost no bugs and reptiles. This is possibly because it was winter, but it was definitely great not to have to worry about mosquitoes! The downside was that Melina and I had hoped there would be geckos in Purmamarca or Iguazu, but we only saw one hanging out on a hot water dispenser in Iguazu (which hopefully means the others were hibernating due to the cold!).
Yerba mate is ever-present, everywhere. Locals carry around their giant thermos, tea pouch, gourd mug, and metal bombilla (metal filtering straw) everywhere they go. There are hot water dispensers in every public place to top off your thermos, and even tea leaf disposal containers in some places. I bought two bombillas so D and I can use them for loose leaf tea back at home!
I had been worried about using tiny regional airlines since the prices were insanely low (as low as $30/ticket) but Aerolineas Argentina was AWESOME. Check-in and boarding were super streamlined and efficient and our flights not only arrived at our destinations on time, but would even leave early if everyone was checked-in, and would arrive as much as a half hour early on the regular! Take offs and landings were super smooth. Even booking through Cheapoair and OneTravel worked great- despite our no-frills tickets, they let us choose seats for free when checking in!
Everywhere we went, especially outside of Buenos Aires (which has its trouble spots just like any city) felt very safe, almost to an extreme. For example, we were told we didn’t need bike locks in Mendoza by our bike rental company, except if we wanted to keep other tourists from mistakenly taking ours instead of their own! Our Airbnb host told us we didn’t need to lock our doors in Purmamarca. In Salta, a lady left her purse on a table at a restaurant when she went to the restroom without giving it a thought. In Iguazu, our taxi driver told us not to worry about walking around on the paths by our hotel at night. “It is very safe,” she explained, “if someone jumps out at you at night, don’t be scared! They are only walking home like you!” And of course, there was the lovely Jose in Buenos Aires, who so kindly returned Melina’s phone, bank card, and id.
We talked a lot about the cats and dogs here, but I can’t stress enough how pet-friendly this country seems to be! Even the street animals seem so well taken care of and friendly. This was a huge hit with the girls. We came across a dog in Salta wearing a jacket with a sign on it that read, “please don’t take my jacket! I’m cold, too!” In Buenos Aires we loved watching a border collie wait with her owner at a crosswalk. When we walked up there was a stick in front of her, and she was patiently looking both ways and at her owner while she waited. As we expected, as soon as it was time to cross, she scooped up the stick in her mouth and happily trotted across the street. There were so many examples of well-behaved city dogs like this in BA, but the most amazing was the guy walking EIGHTEEN dogs all at once!! There is no way he could manage this if they weren’t all very well trained. Although we did wonder, how the heck did he pick up after them??
One of the common chain restaurants in BA was called “Kentucky,” and it specialized in… pizza. This cracked us up.
The parakeets in all the trees in every city park were unbelievable. So cute and loud and beautiful! Why do we see these all over the world in every climate, but not in the US?
For some reason this turned out to be one of our best trips ever. We all got along and stayed happy about 99% of the time, and just about every place we went and every thing we did exceeded our expectations. Argentina is such a huge and varied country, and it definitely left us wanting more. Hopefully someday we will return to explore Bariloche, the wetlands of Corrientes, Cordoba, and more!
I try very hard to resist the temptation to go places on our trips just to check a box, and at first, taking a ferry over the Rio de la Plata to a tiny town in Uruguay seemed very much like a “let’s just do it to check off another country” day trip. But over and over again I read and heard about how lovely the town of Colonia del Sacramento is. So in planning this trip, the day trip to Colonia soon became a given. Of course, once we got to BA we found out that not only is the ferry *much* more expensive than we had realized, but the port is 30 minutes from our apartment and you have to get there two hours early to go through customs. Ugh. But we already had our hearts set on it so we bit the bullet and bought our tickets.
Our Uber driver that morning was uncharacteristically chatty. Since we don’t speak much Spanish, most have been completely silent and focused on their aggressively erratic driving, but Jose talked our ears off in clear, slow Spanish, and was very polite and patient with our stilted and grammatically-challenged answers. He told us that there are lots of immigrants here from his home country of Peru and also from Venezuela and other south American countries because the people born in Argentina “don’t want to work” so the immigrants have lots of opportunities! He talked about Millei and how he is a “mini-Trump,” but after I told him our general feelings about Trump I needed to quiet Melina down from getting too animated on the subject since I didn’t understand Spanish well enough to get whether Jose was a fan or not. Regardless, we definitely appreciated hearing his take on the neighborhoods we passed through. When he dropped us off, we walked in the door of the port and immediately Melina realized she had left her phone in Jose’s car. We ran outside but it was too late. As we made our way through the immigration lines Zach reached out to Uber customer service and I reached out to our bank to disable Melina’s online banking. Then, when we were just about to board the ferry, I couldn’t find my ticket anywhere. I had to seek out an official-looking person and explain my dilemma in panicked Spanish, and after waiting for him to discuss this with a number of different people he finally told me, no worries, it will be fine. Relieved but also slightly in disbelief that I didn’t need a ticket to board the boat, I went back to the family and immediately found my ticket folded up inside my passport. Doh. And in fact, when we boarded, no one checked tickets.
So it was a stressful morning. But the ferry ride was smooth and easy, and in about 75 minutes we were in Uruguay! We spent the next few hours strolling the streets of Colonia del Sacramento, which was originally settled by the Portuguese. The town is quiet in winter, and I think some of the beauty comes from the flowering trees and plants that were not in bloom when we were there. But the buildings are old and the shops quaint. The evocativally-named “Calle de Los Suspiros” (Street of Sighs) was underwhelming, but we still took pictures there and throughout the old town.
When we had searched online for things to do in the town, a church was mentioned that didn’t look particularly interesting, but a few reviews mentioned a basement with a creche and weird colorful strip lighting. Zach and Melina were determined to search out this “disco Jesus,” so when a quick lap inside the unimpressive church didn’t uncover any signs of it, Zach decided to ask the woman working in the gift shop. Diane and I fled the church in utter embarrassment, but Melina stayed while the senora assured them that there were no secret passageways, and even walked them in one suspicious door that was definitely… a closet.
With only one day in Uruguay, we were set on eating traditional Uruguayan food, so Melina found a great spot that was highly rated and full of locals and tourists. Uruguayan food is very similar to Argentinian food, with some twists. It was a delicious meal, and Zach and I were surprised when the “vaso de vino de la casa” was actually an entire bottle of wine and not just a small carafe. Sharing a bottle of wine at lunchtime is way more than we are typically able to drink, but we did our best! Zach and I also shared the gut-busting chivito sandwich, which helped to sop up the wine. The girls ordered passion fruit lemonade, which turned out to be completely unsweetened, so they had to add many packets of sugar. Diane managed to spill some of the juice and drop her knife on the floor at one point, so in typical sisterly fashion Melina teased her about her clumsiness. “Remember when D dropped her knife on the floor? Remember when D spilled her juice everywhere?” But in the interest of fairness, she added, “Remember when I lost my phone?” Zach, always the first to take the chance to make a good natured jab, replied with, “you should text your friends about it…oh but you can’t!” Diane jumped to finish this thought: “because you don’t have any friends!” We all cracked up at this scorching sister burn.
Most of the day we just explored the streets and parks. We climbed the steps to the top of a lighthouse for the views, and enjoyed a tiny origami museum. There isn’t much to do in this town, but it was a good break from the city. We capped it all off with a piece of a famous local cake, the Chajá, which is made with peaches, merengue, and of course, dulce de leche. Delish.
On the ferry back, we heard from Uber and they confirmed Jose had Melina’s phone – hooray! We were eventually able to arrange to get the phone back, and after we handed him a cash reward he showed us that he’d opened the case and saw that Melina’s bank card and drivers license were inside the phone. Well….thank goodness he was honest!! That could have been very bad otherwise!
We had five nights at our Airbnb in the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood of Buenos Aires. To throw us for a loop, for a day and a half of that time we had no power, and for 3 days we had no wifi. And for two days, we weren’t sure if we’d ever see Melina’s phone again…!
But even so, we enjoyed our time in the “Paris of South America,” and managed to not only see a wide array of the sights, but also made a day trip across the Rio de la Plata to Uruguay (I will put this in a separate post). Here are highlights from our stay in BA:
Palermo Soho was the perfect place to stay with tons of great street art, restaurants, coffee shops, and ice cream parlors. We spent one night strolling through the area while Zach told the girls stories of his “wild youth” and all of his ridiculously innocent police encounters while we ate empanadas and sampled the amazing ice cream at Rapanui, one of our favorite ice cream places ever.
We walked by the Casa Rosada and also visited the Evita museum where we learned what hadn’t made it into the Andrew Lloyd Weber and Madonna movie musical. The museum was simple and informative and definitely skewed Peronist, but regardless of any scandals and gossip, we couldn’t help but stand in awe of a first lady who rose up from a marginalized community and used the power of her status and position to tirelessly advocate for the people of that community. It was a stark contrast to someone in a similar situation (an immigrant, say) who marries a man of wealth and power and then stands silently while her husband uses his increasing power to attack and degrade immigrants. Hypothetically, of course.
We spent hours in the Eco Parque, which is similar to the upside-down-zoo under renovation that we walked by in Mendoza. This had been a traditional zoo but was taken over by an animal friendly group and re-dedicated to rehabilitation instead of exploitation. I love this concept, but I have to admit it was frustrating for a while, because although there were tons of free range birds and animals, it took forever to find enclosures with animals actually in them! Eventually we found capybaras, giant anteaters, Andean condors, pumas, giraffes, hippos, and more in the extensive and healthy habitats we witnessed. We capped off that afternoon with lunch and a stroll at the nearby Japanese Gardens. The lunch was notable for its delicious (and expensive) tiny portions of sushi and other Japanese fare, compared with the GIANT desserts.
It is odd timing that in the year where we have been more excited about soccer than ever, we traveled against the current, to one of the epicenters of the world for the sport at a time when all the games were happening back in North America. But the enthusiasm in BA for the World Cup was absolutely electric, nonetheless! Every shopfront and restaurant had blue and white flags and banners and “Vamos Argentina!” in every window. You couldn’t walk a block without seeing a giant rendition of Lionel Messi’s face plastered on a billboard or painted in a mural. It felt like every other person was sporting a #10 jersey and they were for sale in every store. There was no avoiding it, and we happily drank the Kool aid! We planned one of our days around the fan fest in Seeber Plaza, and had a fantastic time watching the first match of the Cup between Mexico and South Africa. We sat on our raincoats, which immediately became muddy and soaked through, and munched on crepes through the exciting match. The park was full of families and friends and snuggly dogs, and although there were a few South Africa jerseys in the mix, the crowd HEAVILY favored Mexico. That was perfect for us, because we love to root for teams from places we have been, so we threw our hearts into cheering for Mexico with the crowd. We gasped at the flagrant fouls (and well-deserved red cards) and teared up when Mexico’s star striker and captain, who had previously been sidelined for YEARS with a fractured skull and traumatic brain injury, scored with a spectacular *header* in the second half. At the end, the crowd went wild for Mexico’s win, and we went out for boba tea and waffles to celebrate.
We made a last minute decision to go to a tango show, and were all pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a really fun night! Zach did some research and found a great show amongst all the pricey tourist traps. His #1 priority was that the show have ZERO AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION, so as we waited for the show to start, the girls teased him mercilessly that they would volunteer him to get a tango lesson. Zach responded that if they ask him to dance he will say, “No. Mierda en mis pantalones,” but he said this at a moderate volume, forgetting that everyone around him speaks Spanish. We just about died laughing.
The dancing was flashy and fabulous, and there was a live orchestra on stage with two singers trading sets with the dancers. Melina was annoyed by the old guy crooning songs when she could have been watching more sexy tango dancers, but Diane only had eyes for the violinist. The tall, beautiful concert master was poised and engaging and absolutely killed it on the violin. We all agreed that it would be amazing to have a job where you get to get dressed up like a princess every night and play music while people dance and audiences applaud.
We explored some of the most famous neighborhoods in BA, one of which is the colorful La Boca. We were entranced at first by the beautiful buildings and art stands, but that quickly wore off when were realized the place was teeming with pretty aggressive touts. We bought some delicious alfajores (omnipresent cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche) and then picked up the pace and got the heck out of there. Once clear of the area, we stopped in a park to enjoy our alfajores. Side note: early in the trip, Melina pointed out that she kept hearing “alpha-whore” when the word was spoken in the singular, “you know,” she explained to us, “as if it is the one that is in charge.” Then we couldn’t unhear it, and laughed about this for the rest of the trip. When we had particularly bad alfajores on the airplane on the ride home, Melina leaned over and whispered, “this one is a beta-whore.” Love that kid.
In the San Telmo neighborhood we made fun of how Zach was determined to seek out the Mafalda statue. Mafalda is apparently an iconic Argentinian comic book character, who looks very similar to the old Nancy character in the US. We couldn’t get Zach to explain why he was so desperate to see this statue since 1) none of us had ever heard of Mafalda before this trip, 2) all her books are in Spanish and even while here we never cracked one open so we have no idea what the comics are about, and 3) there are mini statues of her *everywhere* in this neighborhood, but apparently they weren’t the “right one.” When we did find it, we waited for an unreasonably long time while tourists took multitudes of pictures on the bench with Mafalda and friend, in every pose and every combination of their group of posers imaginable. But we humored Zach, and Melina snapped our pics. Then we contemplated waiting for our Uber driver on the bench with Mafalda as if it were a regular bench, and acting as if we had no idea why all the tourists were lining up and staring us down. But of course, we didn’t.
Speaking of Uber, that was our primary method of transportation in this massive city. Distances were long and the metro limited, and buses weren’t cheap enough for four people to beat the low Uber prices. But we paid for it with our sanity… The Uber and taxi drivers in BA are INSANE. The lane lines are clearly less than a suggestion, and drivers straddle the lines, refusing to give up ground in either lane just in case one starts moving faster than the other. One of our drivers cut off a police car, squeezed by buses, and brazenly ran a completely red light, honking at the cars that clearly had the right of way.
Zach sat on a Miley Cyrus pillow in one of our Ubers
In swanky Recolleta we strolled through markets and enjoyed the giant parks and fancy Parisian buildings. But our favorite was the gorgeous old theater that has been turned into a massive bookshop! We ate breakfast at the cafe on the stage and then the girls delighted in finding the Spanish versions of their favorite books. We also marveled at the gorgeous cemetery where only the richest BA residents can afford family tombs.
Although Buenos Aires was too big of a city for any of us to want to live in, it is packed full of things to do and a great place to feel like an Argentinian for a while!
Wow. Just… WOW. The Iguazú National park and its eponymous falls absolutely blew our minds. As Melina put it, “waterfalls over rocks are just boring in comparison.”
We went from dry fall/winter weather to the humid (but still cool) jungle (note for the future: always travel to the jungle in the winter. It was in the low 70s and mosquitos were practically non-existent). We spent our first evening taking an Uber to the Tres Fronteras, the spot where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. This was way cooler than we expected! We watched the sun set over the rivers that make up these international borders, and oohed and ahhed as everything lit up in the darkness. Melina even realized that the lights on the bridge spanning the Paraná river corresponded to the national colors of the countries it touched: red white and blue in the Paraguay side, and green blue and yellow on the Brazil side. We also laughed about the differences between the three riverbanks: the Argentina side was full of tourists, calmly watching the sunset. The Brazilian side was a huge party with music and dancing at a bar and a giant psychedelically-lit ferris wheel. The Paraguay side had some fishing boats and a giant ugly factory. Guess which country doesn’t get the tourism benefits of having the Iguazu falls within its borders? (All joking aside, I would LOVE to go to Paraguay someday). Diane took some spectacular panoramic shots, and Zach took enough pictures to ensure he will be miserable going through them when we get home.
We then walked to the center of the town of Puerto Iguazú, which has a cute touristy center with shops showcasing the local gem mines and a fantastic street full of outdoor restaurants and street performers that is absolutely electric at the dinner hour. We had a late lunch so decided to skip dinner, but Diane got herself some gemstone pendants, and we all enjoyed gelato. Argentina’s ice cream is top notch, due to the influx of Italian immigrants, and always features something with maracuyá (passion fruit), multiple dulce de leche options, and tiramisu (Melina’s favorite).
Our next day was a BIG one. It was our only full day in Iguazú, so the plan was to spend it at the falls, and boy, did we ever. We arrived at the park just after it opened, and didn’t leave until just before it closed! We saw more waterfalls and wayyyyy more wildlife than we ever expected. We walked miles and miles and had a great day!
The tourist train was frustrating and crowded in the morning. It was jam packed with tour group, who followed their guides blindly and didn’t look around them at all, mindlessly bumping into others, loudly talking over strangers, and taking up way more space than they should. Melina calls them “sheeple,” which feels exactly fitting. The train took us to the slick, metal walkway that winds over rivers to Devil’s throat, a dramatic spot where waterfalls converge in a semi circle. The sheeple were slow and careful, but we figured out the rhythm to hopping between the metal grates so that we could move quickly ahead of them without falling. On our way, Melina tried to teach me the capybara song, but I wasn’t into it and promised instead that I’d learn it if we saw a capybara. Soon we were overlooking the falls, with thick mist billowing around us and thoroughly drenching everyone on the overlook. It was spectacular!
We took our time on the walk back, enjoying the wildlife around us. We saw a cormorant catch a fish and then smash it repeatedly against a rock before swallowing it down. We got close up views of a gorgeous ringed kingfisher patrolling the waters. Hawks and vultures soared above the falls while a snail kite circled in the dense mist from the falls looking for a meal. Diane searched every crevice of the walkways for spiders that Zach could photograph, I kept my binoculars trained on birds, and Melina kept an eye out for coatis. We had heard that these tropical raccoon-like creatures were abundant, and signs all over the park warn you of the injuries that will occur if you touch them. Melina especially was super cautious given our record with too-close wildlife encounters, but was still excited when she spotted one climbing a tree ahead of us. Then we saw another… And another… And then we realized the trees were completely swarmed with them!
This created a problem, because the walkway is narrow and tourists were crowded around the coatis, ignoring all the danger signs, and trying to touch them. One tiny child lurched at a coati and its parents pulled them back just in time. Melina was a WRECK. We managed to scoot by without getting mauled, but Melina kept loudly commanding, “DON’T F***ING TOUCH IT!” to the other tourists. I’m glad we have managed to cultivate a healthy respect for wildlife in our kids, even if we’ve failed in the clean language department.
Soon after that we looked down from the walkway for an exciting treat: a huge capybara, asleep in the sun on a bed of grass! That is a first for all of us. And of course, I made good on my promise and have had Melina’s capybara song stuck in my head ever since.
For the next few hours we explored the other trails, and the views of the falls just got better and better. We were amazed at the lush greenery growing right in the falls themselves. We were surprised by how calm the water was just before it reached the massive cliffs and imagined what it must have been like as an early inhabitant to come up on them without notice in a dugout canoe…! We also saw agoutis, Brazilian guinea pigs, and tons of birds, including aracaris and a toucan. Diane lived up to her reputation as La Reina de las Mariposas by holding many more butterflies.
Cutest spider ever.
As a final treat in the park, we bought tickets for the high speed boat ride that takes you right into the mist at the bottom of the falls. It was a rollicking fun speedboat ride, and right before taking us close to the falls, they warned everyone to put their cameras away in the dry bags where we had already stowed our bags and shoes. “You will get soaked,” they told us, “it is like taking a shower!” We stupidly thought they were exaggerating. We had raincoats on, and were convinced that would be sufficient. We were wrong.
We left the park soaked to the bone and shivering, but happy and laughing and trying not to look so soggy so that our Uber driver would deny us a ride. We returned to our hotel and changed into dry clothes, then had our final dinner at an outdoor table in a mediocre restaurant in town with the BEST free entertainment: an adorable group of talented young adults danced spontaneously and skillfully in restaurant across from us, and we came up with storylines for all the local street dogs passing through. The dogs were all clean and friendly, and were obviously having the time of their lives. We called the roaming pack of dogs “the street dog gang,” and they were the happiest and least intimidating gang in the world. But our favorite was the yellow dog that Melina named “Chicken.” Chicken didn’t run with the street dog gang, but instead claimed a spot in the middle of the bustling pedestrian street, wagging her tail at passers-by. Anyone who paid her the slightest bit of attention got snuggles and a dramatic display of belly, ready for scritches. At the end of our meal, the girls saved her a piece of steak, but when they brought it to her she wasn’t interested at all in their food. She was apparently well fed, and just wanted their love!
We all wished we had more time in Iguazu, but the next morning the travel gods made sure we didn’t feel too bad about leaving. First, our clothes from the falls were still soaked. Nothing dries in the rainforest. This is especially difficult when you only have a few outfits with you. Second, when packing her backpack, Melina discovered that large black ants had invaded it and were hiding in every nook and cranny. We have no idea why they chose her pack as she didn’t have any food in there (Diane and I both had food in our backpacks) and she had put it up on a stool at the end of her bed, so wasn’t even on the floor like mine was. We had to empty every pocket, shaking out and stomping about fifty ants before repacking all of her things. Then finally, on the way to the airport, our Uber driver was pulled over at a police checkpoint where we were asked whether we had paid the tourist fee. I tried to explain in Spanish that yes, we had paid the tax at the hotel, but weren’t given a receipt. They weren’t convinced, so we had to pay it again. It was only about $7 so no big deal, but totally felt like a scam (and our Uber driver basically said as much). Lesson learned: when paying a tourist fee in Iguazu, keep the receipt with you.
The city of Salta is the hub of the northwest, and it has a very different feel from Mendoza. We stayed in a classic old hotel right on the main square, Plaza 9 de Julio (Argentina’s independence day, but also Zach’s birthday!). The bustling, green square is lined with orange trees and was always busy during our stay, bringing to mind the lively squares we visited in Mexico.
We did not have a plan for Salta. With only one full day, we didn’t have any “must dos” in this town, and none of the recommended day trips seemed worth the extra hours of driving (especially after our impromptu safari the day before!). But Zach did some quick searching, and we managed to cobble together a really fun and laid back day.
We started off by walking through a string of city parks to the teleférico (cable car). As we boarded, Zach immediately christened our compartment as “Gondoleeza Rice.” We rode up to the top of the Cerro San Bernardino, a lush green hill overlooking the city. This hilltop park was such a lovely and chill spot! We took our time admiring the views and the birds. When we started the walk back down, we were shocked to discover that our descent was through a lush forest absolutely teeming with hummingbirds. We spent ages watching these little guys, and Zach tortured himself trying to get pictures of them without having his long lens. There were other birds, too, and the people watching was also fun; this is clearly a favorite place to exercise, and one guy with weights on his legs even passed us multiple times, going up and down the steep 3 mile trail again and again.
When we reached the bottom we were famished, so we stopped into the highly rated Gertrudis Cafe. WOW. This turned out to be one of our favorite places ever! Melina won in two consecutive heated rounds of Uno while we sipped our smoothies in this adorable cafe and ate the BEST meal of our trip so far (Melina’s slow-cooked beef being one of the most spectacular dishes I’ve ever had!).
Speaking of food, Salta is famous for its empanadas, and we tried two different places where they didn’t disappoint. I had imagined empanadas as grab-and-go street food, but that is not how it works in Argentina. Empanadas are ordered as a main dish at a restaurant in large numbers and are usually oven baked and not fried (although fried is also an option). It is not uncommon to see a giant platter of empanadas brought to a table where each person will consume 4-6 of them as their full meal. At our first empanada restaurant, Doña Salta, we did this wrong. We wanted to try more items so we ordered three empanadas, a humita, a tamale, and a giant steak to share. It was all good, but we probably should have just stuck with empanadas, since we were totally stuffed afterwards. But our biggest mistake was encouraging the girls to order a dessert to share. It was MASSIVE and on fire. We all shared and still barely made a dent in it when we gave up and left. The waiter heckled Melina about not eating more, but it was all we could do to waddle the two blocks back to our hotel.
The empanadas were even better the next night at La Salteñeria. These were maybe the best empanadas I have ever had! They also had the Bolivian version of empanadas (salteñas, which we fell in love with years ago), but they did not hold a candle to the ones at Cinthia’s in Arlington, VA.
Plaza 9 de Julio became the site of a car show on our second night, where seemingly anyone with a clean car could pull up and show off their ride. There were a few classic cars, some crazy paint jobs, and some fun after-market lights and sound systems, but a surprising majority of the cars were just… cars. Like, the equivalent of a Volkswagen Jetta or a Toyota Corolla. And people crowded around, taking pictures. We were totally baffled. But the people-watching was fabulous, and Diane was thrilled to see Bumblebee from Transformers (in his robot form).
Salta is called “Salta la Linda” (“Pretty Salta”), but honestly, it did not meet our expectations for being particularly pretty. The cathedrals were gorgeous and there were some nice neighborhoods and squares, but otherwise it was just a medium sized city in the middle of nowhere. But it is safe and welcoming with a great atmosphere, and we had a fantastic time here. I’m glad we spent time in Salta! Oh, and the most magical thing of all: our rental car was returned covered in mud from our safari, but my new favorite company Sixt was totally fine with it 😀
Yesterday we drove from Purmamarca to Salta. This should not have been eventful. In fact, we had been warned to avoid the “Cornices” road that winds through the cloud forest as it is notorious for its hairpin turns on wet, slick asphalt over dangerous cliffs with no guardrails, so we were actively avoiding adventure. Google had led us on the safest route on our way north, so we plugged “Salta” into Google maps and headed south back to the city.
It didn’t take long before we started seeing birds from the highway. When we spotted two toucans soaring by, it was too much for me and Zach, and we were forced to stop in a lush neighborhood for some very rewarding bird watching. We spotted a chimango caracara, a hepatic tanager, and more! Zach is lamenting that he didn’t bring his birding lens, but I am so glad I packed my binoculars at the last minute.
The views weren’t nearly as dramatic as they had been around Purmamarca, but they were still beautiful and kept us entertained while singing along to a random sampling of the music on Zach’s phone. The girls would groan and Zach and I would giggle gleefully anytime one of his dad joke songs would come on; for some reason, singing along to “I used to hate facial hair but then it grew on me” just felt right in this land of gauchos and caballeros.
When we got to the city of San Salvador de Jujuy, Google told us to turn into an exit, and at the last moment I noticed the exit was for “Salta (via cornisa)” …”DON’T TURN,” I yelled to Zach, “IT’S THE CORNICE ROUTE!” Thankfully he managed to safely swerve back onto the highway, saving us from what we could only imagine was certain death. Whew. We all sighed in relief and cursed out Google when our route change also shaved 45 minutes off of our drive! Why on earth was it leading us on the longer, more dangerous route, we wondered?
But we quickly recovered and realized that now we were set to arrive in Salta long before we could check into our hotel. To find a good place to stop and pass the time, we asked AI to find us a nice cafe on the way into town, and we rerouted to the town of Vaqueros. Google Gemini described a highly-rated smoothie shop in a pretty garden filled with birds. It sounded like perfection. We didn’t even bat an eye when it added another 30 minutes to our trip. The smoothies would definitely be worth it.
We drove through the town of General Guemes, and delighted at all of the horses! They were clearly the preferred method of transportation in this town, where they were frequently seen tied up in the shade by the road. The riders must “park” them like this while at work or running errands in town. This was so charming, that we barely batted an eye when Google prompted us that there was a route with tolls that was 30 minutes faster. “Nah, let’s not take it,” we all agreed, “we’d rather take the scenic route!” But then our road turned from asphalt to dirt, and from dirt to rocks and mud. Then it narrowed to one lane. Oh, no. “Google, what have you done,” we asked, and checked the map. We had been routed down a tiny side road, when a parallel, bigger road was clearly the better option. I said we should turn back, worried about carsickness on the bumpy ride, but was surprised when the girls piped up cheerfully and said, “No, let’s go this way! It will be fine!”
Omg. The next 30 minutes were spent with the girls laughing and singing and dreaming of smoothies in the back of the car while Zach and I were both white-knuckled balls of nerves. He splashed our tiny rental Renault through muddy potholes and over sharp rocks that reminded us of the road to Turtle Ridge, but without 4WD. There were no houses on the road and no other cars around. We both silently prayed that we would not break an axle or get stuck in the mud here, miles from anything, with no cell service. “Gee, it’s a good thing we didn’t take the ‘dangerous cornice route,'” Zach mumbled sarcastically.
None of our pictures do it justice. This road was ROUGH.
After a half hour of this torture, we were only halfway down the road. But then suddenly we saw something on the road: birds! A flock of yunga guans lightened our mood, and as we stopped to take their pictures we realized that right ahead was a police checkpoint. In the middle. of. nowhere. “Ahhhh,” we realized, “this must be a drug-running road!” The police offer that stopped us was kind-eyed and knew right away we were tourists (did the fact that Zach was hanging out the window with a camera snapping pictures of birds give us away?), and he gave us directions in Spanish to our destination (as if there were any options other than continuing on this one dirt road). The officer behind us just stood there, blatantly laughing at us. We were surprised they didn’t just ask, “um, why are you on the drug road?”
But. That is when everything got really, really good. All of a sudden we were surrounded by exciting birds! We saw two different kinds of owls (three owls in total!), chaco chachalacas, a grey cowled wood rail, southern lapwings, crested caracaras, and more! We even stopped at a muddy spot where what must have been thousands of beautiful butterflies swarmed, drinking minerals from the muddy ground. Zach was in heaven taking pictures, and Diane was in heaven enticing butterflies to land on her hands. Melina and I had to practically drag them away.
We had so much fun on the second half of this impromptu safari that we all agreed it was totally worth the stress and extra time it added to our trip. But even so, it was now 3pm and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. We were all dreaming of relaxing with delicious smoothies when we pulled up to the cafe and… it was closed for siesta time. I can’t describe our shared disappointment adequately. Poor Melina was in denial. “No! It’s not closed! No! See, let’s just try the other door! No! How about the other door! NOOOOO!” Now it was our turn to drag her away.
We did eventually find a tiny cafe next to a construction site that was open, and we all enjoyed smoothies and milkshakes and snacks before heading to our hotel in Salta. And while we sat and relived the ordeal, we realized what had happened. We had Google maps set to “avoid tolls.” This is why it kept routing us on seemingly illogical routes. Thankfully, it all worked out wonderfully in the end, and we saw a side of Salta we never expected to see!
Argentina is a gigantic country, so we are using internal flights more than we usually do on this trip in order to see as much as possible. Unfortunately, for our flight from Mendoza to Salta there were no direct options, so we needed to change planes in Buenos Aires, which required a six hour layover. This ate up an entire day with travel. But we managed to make the most of it regardless. First things first: Zach beat Street Fighter 2 in the free arcade (because, priorities). Then we camped out in the Hard Rock Cafe and watched the French Open and pre-World Cup soccer friendlies, and stocked up on the cheapest Argentinian candies we could find in the airport shops (imports are crazy expensive due to tariffs). At 7pm we arrived in Salta, where we had the quickest and most efficient car rental pickup ever with Sixt. Soon we had a bag of empanadas norteñas (and one with queso for Diane) and were headed to our destination in Purmamarca, three hours north.
Unfortunately, the drive was quite stressful and a bit harrowing! It was after sunset, so the entire drive was in the dark. Our route wound through the city for the first hour, where it was anyone’s guess how many lanes of traffic any given street was meant to hold (no dividing lines!) or whose right of way it was at any intersection (no lights or stop signs!). Pedestrians in dark clothing and motorcyclists with no lights appeared out of nowhere. Zach did a stellar job navigating the city driving, only to be rewarded with another two hours of driving on mountainous unlit roads full of trucks, police stops (his first breathalyzer! They tested every driver passing through), and construction zones. We were all relieved and exhausted when we arrived unscathed at our swanky Airbnb in Purmamarca.
Arriving in the pitch black night had one huge advantage: Zach and I were completely shocked and amazed by this gorgeous town with dramatic surroundings when we woke the next morning! We let the girls sleep in while we explored. Not only are the multi-colored mountains right on top of us, 360 degrees around, but the town is absolutely adorable! It is definitely run on tourism, but without aggressive touts or big crowds (at least now, in the winter) so it is absolutely delightful! We walked up to an overlook and waited for the sun to rise above the ridge for the best views. We also explored a beautiful cemetery right by our Airbnb.
Once the girls were up we explored the town some more with them. Everything here is clean and beautiful and the people are friendly. English is very rare, so just about every exchange we have had here has been in Spanish, even at the tourist information office. It is great practice, but quite humbling! Thank goodness for Google translate, which we use frequently when we get stuck.
Restaurants here are touristy and expensive, so street food is the best way to eat in Purmamarca. Vendors sell tortillas rellenas on grills all around the main square. These are thin, pizza-dough-like wraps stuffed with meats, cheese, corn, and veggies in all sorts of combinations, then grilled to perfection. They are delicious and cheap. Zach wants to eat them exclusively while we are here.
Also, dogs are to Purmamarca what cats are to Mendoza. We have patted so many sweet, friendly perros, and even were invited by a shop owner to meet her brand new litter of ten German shepherd puppies!
This doggie saw us and immediately rolled over for belly pats!
We were all extremely excited about our one pre-booked excursion in Purmamarca: the Llama Walk! This was billed as a walk with Llamas on the trails in the mountains just outside town, and with just that description we were sold. But when we arrived a few minutes early at the meeting place I had been given, there were no llamas in sight. I won’t go through the entire ordeal, but a half hour, 2 confusing conversations, a WhatsApp call in Spanish, and a half mile walk to the outer edge of town later, and we were finally on our way to meet our llamas. But we were still a bit unsure…”llamas” is also the Spanish word for “flames,” so when the tour guide used Google translate to message me, they would often say things like “walk with flames,” or “when you get to the gate you will see the flames.” The girls were convinced we would get there and be handed fire-lit torches for our walk. Zach and I laughed, pretending we weren’t also worried about this possibility… thankfully, all worked out in the end!
We each were given a llama to guide, and our guide also had a llama mamma with her llama baby tied to her. This was the baby’s first walk with tourists, and although she didn’t like being touched or being harnessed by a rope, once we were away from the main paths (and specifically, away from dogs) our guide untied her and she pranced alongside us, happy and free.
Melina’s llama was Patcha, but she also spent a lot of time guiding the llama mamma and baby. Diane’s llama was Rica Rica, who kept trying to steal bites of every piece of vegetation we passed, and who liked it when Diane sang to her as they walked. Zach’s llama was Mocho, the only male. He was apparently young and frisky (our guide described him as “a teenager at a disco, always getting distracted”) and advised Zach to keep him away from the lady llamas. Zach called him “Mucho macho bueno Lorenzo llamas.” My llama, Copo, was the sweetest. She obeyed me completely and even nuzzled me a few times. At one point Diane held her for a moment and she whined and tried to break away to get back to me! I told her over and over that she was “la llama más buena.”
That night, we waited until what we thought would be a respectable dinner time, and walked into town a little after 8pm. The spot Melina had chosen for us was unfortunately closed, so we all agreed to eat at a pasta place that had good reviews. But at the last moment, I pulled an audible and allowed myself to be swayed by a tout urging people towards a restaurant with authentic local food and live music. We were ushered inside to discover that yes, there was live music and also that… we were the only people there. Melina and Diane were utterly mortified when we were seated all on one side of a table in the center of the restaurant, directly facing the pan flute and acoustic guitar duo. The musicians then proceeded to ask us over their microphones in Spanish where we were from and other questions about our trip. As if this wasn’t enough to prove that we have a very tenuous grip on the Spanish language, they introduced each song with an uncomfortably long explanation (at least 2 minutes, maybe more) about the song’s origin and meaning, of which we understand close to zero. We all tried to make our faces into shapes that could be perceived as amused or sad or interested or neutral, guessing at which one was warranted during the monologue we couldn’t understand, and trying to nod at appropriate times. Zach and I were close to bursting with laughter at the ridiculous situation, but the girls were absolutely horrified! Melina said she was so uncomfortable that she was actually shaking. The girls ate their food as fast as they possibly could, hoping to get out of there as soon as possible. But by the time they finished their pastas (which were pretty good) and Zach and I finished our locros (local stews, which, at this restaurant, were utterly and completely bland, tasting only of the salt we added to them), some more people had arrived. The girls asked Zach if we could please pay and leave, to which he replied, “are you kidding? I’m getting dessert!” At first they thought he was kidding, but when they realized he was relishing their embarrassment they quickly acknowledged the humor in the situation and we had a lot of fun giggling about how ridiculous it all was. With the comfort of other guests around us, we all finally relaxed and enjoyed our flan topped with dulce de leche. But when we eventually got up to leave, Zach couldn’t resist getting a selfie with the musicians. That was too much for the girls! Diane and Melina practically RAN out the door. We all laughed the whole way back to our room.
For our second day in Purmamarca the plan was to head west to the salt flats. The nearest gas station to us is 30 min in the opposite direction, and there isn’t a station on the route to the flats, so in an abundance of caution, Zach and I took an early morning drive to fill up in Tilcara to ensure we had enough for the drive to/from Salinas Grandes. The incredible landscapes made the long side trip totally worth it!
The road to Salinas Grandes is a well paved zigzag of switchbacks climbing up the mountains to over 4,000 meters, then descending slightly to the white expanse of salt flats. Zach maneuvered the roads beautifully, and we all gawked at the impossibly gorgeous scenery.
I have wanted to see salt flats for years, and they were even cooler than I’d anticipated! Since it is winter here and the dry season, the salt on the flats has dried into hexagonal shapes that crunch under your feet as you walk. We paid a fee to drive into the flats and our guide drove in front of our car to guide us to two different stops. At the first he explained (completely in Spanish) that the flats were once a salty lake formed by rain washing salt down from the surrounding mountain, then evaporating over millions of years. Salinas Grandes is the third largest salt flat in South America and the fourth largest in the world. There are different sections of the flats where salt is harvested differently and for different purposes (food for humans, food for animals, and industrial purposes). We stopped in the section where canals had been cut out of the crust by machines and had filled naturally with perfectly clear water and crystallized salt. This is where the salt for eating is collected. We were able to touch and even taste the salt right from the canals!
Then the guide lined us up for a string of hilarious and mind-bendingphotos. The large, flat, continuous expanse allows for some fun with perspective, and our guide had brought along toys and props to make the best use of it. We laughed as we tried to understand what he was asking us to do in Spanish, but were delighted with the ridiculous pictures. No Photoshop here!
Setting up some of our own photos
Our second stop on the flats was a natural lake. This area has been closed since December and just reopened yesterday, so we lucked out on timing! Apparently the salt crust around the lake is too fragile in the rainy season, so you can only get up close to the lake once things have dried out. The crystal clear water was beautiful, and the multi-colored salt formations inside resembled coral reefs. I was dying to swim in it, and almost got a chance at one point when my foot crashed through part of the salt, making a hole to the water below! Thankfully, only the sole of my shoe got wet, but I stepped much more carefully after that. Melina loved breaking off chunks of salt crystals and crumbling them in her hands. Back in the car, Diane and I desperately tried to keep Melina from licking the salt off of her hands. “Too late!” Melina told us, smiling, while slowly sneaking another salty finger towards her mouth.
After our tour we had a picnic lunch at the flats on a table made out of salt, and surrounded by buildings made with salt bricks. There was even a salt llama and a salt cactus sculpture. Melina considered rubbing her food on the table before eating it, but we talked her out of it. Our picnic included our balsamic vinegars and a Malbec jelly from Mendoza, plus some items we picked up in Purmamarca, including a batata paste (similar to quince paste but with sweet potatoes) like the one we had with Chef Flor. Yum!
Despite her willingness to eat unpurified salt off of the ground, Melina was horrified at first when I bought some coca candies for the ride back. She was convinced they contained cocaine and we would be high as kites if we ate them. Although they are from the same plant used to derive cocaine, they are harmless. Zach and I had learned in Peru that they help with the altitude and are actually quite tasty, and the girls did end up liking them. Diane would periodically ask politely for, “more cocaine, please!” each time she wanted another. Along with the coca products, there are many other things that remind Zach and me of Peru, and we were delighted to see that they were selling Agua de Florida at Salinas Grandes, just like in Ollantaytambo!
Back at our Airbnb, the girls rested while Zach and I took another lap around the Paseo de los Colorados, the circular walk through the hills that we had done with our llamas. One entrance to the loop is right by our apartment, and walking the path in reverse with the late afternoon light made for a completely different experience. We were also thrilled to spot a number of new birds! Patagonian mockingbirds, rusty vented canasteros, and lots of different hummingbirds. But the biggest treat was the Andean Condors! We saw four soaring in the distance. It was the ultimate cherry on top for this perfect visit in Purmamarca.
Andean condor in the distance
Some final thoughts on this leg of our trip: this area of the world is unbelievably gorgeous, and very different from anywhere we have been. The landscapes are so varied, and largely undeveloped. The countryside is shockingly clean and free of the trash and debris that typically gets caught in roadside shrubbery in dry areas, and beautiful murals proclaiming “Cuidado con agua- Agua es vida!” are common. It seems like a place with a proud heritage that greatly appreciates their natural surroundings. The people we have met have been unfailingly friendly, happy to chat with us despite our poor Spanish. I hope that we get to return here again someday to see more of the Argentinian northwest!
Oh, and there are friendly kitties here, too.
This one was desperate to get in our apartment! This trail cat jumped on Zach’s lap and gnawed on his knuckles.
If someone had told us that Mendoza was a mecca of balsamic vinegar, dulce de leche, tea, and cats, in addition to being a world class wine destination, we would have come here a LONG time ago! Now that we are in the know, we all are wishing we had booked more time in this lovely city.
We left Charlottesville at 4:30am on May 30th and arrived in Mendoza, Argentina at 1am on May 31st. It was a loooong travel day! The girls were rock star travelers, as usual. Melina practiced her Spanish with the flight attendants and even watched her in flight movies in Spanish. On our surprisingly delightful Copa flights, we all relished the guava pineapple juice available in the drink service. Both girls helped the entire plane by entertaining the toddlers in the seats in front of us (much to the relief of their parents). It was a stark reminder of how difficult long, late night flights were when the kids were little! We have come so far since then.
The biggest hiccups in our travel was that the one ATM in the Mendoza airport was out of cash, and our driver didn’t show up. We were nervous to take a cab since we didn’t have Argentinian pesos and weren’t sure if we could pay with a card. Thankfully, it all worked out; the company responsible for the no-show driver spoke to our cab driver on Whatsapp and paid him directly, and the owner of our lovely inn (Posada de Rosas) stayed up until 3 am to check us in and give us a tour. We all crashed and slept late.
Our inn is perfection. Adorable, full of character, and run by the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Plus, there is an adorable cat in residence (more on that later).
We explored some chocolate shops and wandered the squares of Mendoza, which has a big-city feel, but no skyline to speak of other than the surrounding foothills of the Andes mountains. Zach and I are agreed that it seems like it would be a great place to live. We took an uber to the monument at Cerro de la Gloria, where the views, food vendors, and lunch at this lookout spot were a perfect intro to the city. Melina discovered limonada con fruitas rojas, and Diane savored the tea and proveleto (melted cheese appetizer).
On our walk back we passed a zoo in the middle of a massive renovation. It was closed, but as we walked by we marveled at the strange animals within, which just got stranger and stranger. All resembled common farm animals and wildlife we are accustomed to, but were just a bit… off. There were deer that looked suspiciously like someone painted fake spots on them, and strange white herds of what appeared to be sheep/cow/deer hybrids. We were laughing at these and admiring the black chested buzzard eagles when Melina saw what she thought was a stray cat outside the enclosure of black chested buzzard eagles. “Ps ps ps,” she called to it, and it came closer…at which point we all realized that there were more of them…and that they were not cats. Apparently, this zoo has been taken over by Culpeo foxes. Then we turned and saw what looked like two baby kangaroos staring at us, also not in any kind of enclosure. A quick Google search identified them as Patagonian maras, odd mammals that look like bunny/deer hybrids. These animals were not part of the zoo, but were wild animals that had made their homes in between zoo enclosures. It was so strange! We felt like we had been dropped in the world of Avatar the Last Airbender with all the animal hybrids! We dubbed it “The World’s Most Confusing Zoo.” We got so many laughs out of this experience, but in hindsight I’m just glad we didn’t have another dangerous wildlife encounter…! Those have become all too common for us.
At one point walking through the park, Diane got a glimpse of a man selling green cotton candy and was determined to try some, desperate to know whether it was green apple, lime, melon, or some other interesting flavor. We tried to buy some from one guy but he didn’t have change for 10,000 peso bill (sounds like a lot, but is less than $10 USD). Then the next guy we saw selling it ahead of us practically ran in the other direction! But finally she found someone to sell her the green spun sugar and announced that the flavor was… green sugar.
Another highlight was the family cooking class we had pre-booked with Chef Flor at her home where we made empanadas, salsa criolla, chimichurri sauce, steak and sausage asado, grilled veggies (including eggs cooked in bell peppers, a surprising hit), cheese with quince and sweet potato paste, and a cinnamon pancake dessert. We had so much fun and stuffed ourselves with food and wine! Flor was delightful, and it was really cool to participate in an authentic Argentinian asado.
We spent our second day in Mendoza biking in Maipu and tasting wines, olive oils, and vinegars. It was amazing! Melina was less than thrilled on the ride to our first stop, tiring quickly while biking on what was described to us as a flat 5-mile ride. Zach was also struggling a bit, so he was happy to encourage Melina to take extra breaks so he could snap photos of the tree-lined streets and rows of grape vines, while surreptitiously resting his legs. Thankfully, on the way back we discovered that we had apparently been riding slightly uphill the whole way, because we were able to coast for much of the return trip! M&Z were much happier after that.
We only made three stops, but they were all wonderful. We especially loved Laur Olivicola, the high end olive oil and balsamic vinegar factory. Zach and I have toured about a million wineries, but this was a first for all of us. Our delightful tour guide at Laur taught us that black, red, and green olives can come from the same tree, but are harvested at different times in the year. We learned that it takes 8-10 kilos of olives to make a liter of olive oil, and that using the traditional method requires 15 years to make a small barrel of high end balsamic vinegar. We also learned that light and age (once opened) are the enemies of healthy and tasty olive oil; it’s apparently best to buy olive oil in smaller, opaque cans rather than large glass bottles.
Later, we stopped at the adorable outdoor wine bar at Bodega Tempus Alba for a tasting and more snacks. Between these two stops (plus our quick tapenade and oil tasting at Entre Olivos), we ate VERY well! We munched our way through a wide variety of delicious cheese plates and sampled multiple different alfajores. None of the wines were quite as good as the Salentein Portillo Malbec at Chef Flor’s, but they were all big, smooth reds so we enjoyed every sip. Laur had a smoked balsamic vinegar that was like barbecue in a bottle. We also were introduced to cafe oleato: a deliciously smooth espresso drink with milk and olive oil mixed in! It was spectacular. (Although the best foam art was in our breakfast lattes: a bunny and a cat! This was paired with medialunas and tortitas, which are rounds of dense biscuits, resembling lembas bread. YUM.)
Diane is obsessed with the tea here, and tries a new one everywhere we go. She adds dehydrated apples to the tea for an extra treat. But our favorite tea experience was trying yerba maté, Argentinian-style, at Chef Flor’s house. A round-ish mug is filled to the brim with tea leaves, and hot water is added from a thermos. Then you sip from a metal straw containing an internal filter until you hear the slurping sound indicating that the water has been emptied. Then you add more water and repeat over and over, using the same leaves and passing from person to person. The tea is slightly bitter but we all enjoyed it, and you can see people here carrying the thermos, mug, and bag of leaves wherever they go, sipping maté all day long. Chef Flor says all Argentinians are obsessed with maté!
I did not expect this to be a birding trip, but there we have been pleasantly surprised with monk parakeets squawking from every treetop. We have also seen many hawks, some gorgeous green-barred woodpeckers, and the dramatically loud great kiskadees, among others. I’m going to need to start bringing my binoculars everywhere. Zach did not bring his birding lens, so bird pics will be sparse.
Oh, and Mendoza has the BEST CATS. Seriously. Argentinians clearly love their pets, but the cats here especially are insanely cute and friendly everywhere we go. Literally every single place we have visited has had a beautiful and gregarious cat that the girls promptly have fallen in love with. They are in heaven. One particularly adorable kitten at Mr. Hugo’s bike rental planted herself in Melina’s lap, intending to stay there for all of eternity. When it was time to head out on our bikes I tried to pick her up but she dug her claws into Melina’s jeans and when I let up for a second she pulled herself back into M’s lap and curled up tighter. This process was repeated at the end of the day when we returned our bikes. Melina was so sad to leave her new feline soulmate! But she didn’t need to mourn for long; when we returned to our inn, the resident kitty led us directly to our room and pushed her way inside, falling asleep against Melina’s legs for hours. Heaven.
We are home now, and have mixed feelings about that. We are SO HAPPY to see our sweet kitties, and the girls have a lot of exciting stuff on the horizon, with school starting for both, plus Melina begins the craziness of her junior year, is joining an a capella group this fall, and is gearing up for the play she is directing this winter. All while Diane will be starting eighth grade and is beginning travel soccer this year (she has team commitments on four of the five days the first week of school!). But…this was an absolutely amazing trip, and it was very difficult to leave Lisbon. All of us, but especially Zach, Diane, and I could have stayed much, much longer. There is just so much that we didn’t get to see and do, in Lisbon and beyond in other parts of Portugal! We will definitely be back. But for now, here are the adventures from our final days in Lisbon…
Zach and I enjoyed exploring the Campo de Ourique neighborhood in Lisbon, a dog-friendly family neighborhood. Especially the tram car ride out there. We had thought the trams would be stuffy but with the windows wide open they are cool and quite comfortable. The trains barrel up and down the steep and winding hills at speeds that make you feel like you are on an amusement park ride, all while dodging cars, tuk tuks, and camera-wielding pedestrians. The tram drivers work a series of dials and pulleys and levers that look like something from a cartoon or fantasy movie. The tram that runs this route is the #28, which is apparently a highlight on the tourist circuit due to stops in Baixa and Chiado, and because of one gorgeous viewpoint that it passes by down a steep hill to the river. As a result, our ride back to the apartment started to get pretty crowded, and when the train was full at one point Zach turned to me and whispered, “She’s holding onto the door!” I didn’t know what he was talking about at first until he pointed me to the back door of the train, and there was a young woman there holding onto the *outside* of the back door of the tram, risking her life for a free ride. I couldn’t watch, but when we got out at our stop Zach snapped a quick picture.
Beautiful flower wall at our tram stopDog parking at the Aldi
One afternoon Melina stayed back to rest while we took Diane up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge at the top of Alfama, only a few (steep, uphill) blocks from our apartment. The trek up is made a bit easier by the elevator in the building of our favorite grocery store. When we got in the elevator with a couple of other people, Zach leaned against the wall to let two more people inside, and an alarm started sounding. A man in the elevator started yelling in Portuguese at the last two people who had gotten in to get out because we had hit the weight limit, which was 800kg! Zach tried to tell everyone that no, he had just accidentally bumped into the alarm button, but they didn’t understand him and we had a spacious ride with only 7 people up to the top. It was a pretty good scam, if you ask me.
We had taken the girls to the Castelo overlooking Lisbon when they were little and my memories of the place are so vivid that being back felt like it had been just weeks since we were navigating the cobblestoned walkways with a stroller, rather than 11 years. We lingered in the shade of the castle and admired the views. We also admired the gorgeous peacocks, peahens, and peachicks! As we left we got Diane a virgin pina colada to beat the heat, and when Zach heard that refills were a fraction of the original price, he insisted they stay until they had finished and could get a refill, of course. That meant that I could linger in the ceramics shop nearby, which turned out to be my favorite one in Lisbon.
While the girls took their siesta one day, Zach and I had our own ginjinha fiesta… we went to a tiny little hole-in-the-wall bar where for a couple of euros you are given two shotglasses of this delicious cherry liqueur. You can then stand in the middle of the street, in view of the nearby tourists and police officers and churches, and sip your shot of ginja. We enjoyed it so much that we went to another bar across the square and did it again with a different brand of ginja!
One thing Diane had been interested in doing on this trip was going up to the top of the Ponte 25 de Abril Bridge for views. This bridge bears a striking resemblance to the Golden Gate Bridge and dominates views of the Tagus River. Unfortunately, we learned that the elevator going to the viewpoint on the bridge was broken, and reviews seemed to agree that without the elevator ride, climbing the stairs in the heat wasn’t worth the trouble. So as an alternative, Zach offered up the Aqueduto das Águas Livres (the Lisbon Aqueduct) and Diane agreed on this plan. So we all took the tram across town and hiked up a big hill to get to the park where you walk across the giant 18th-century aqueduct that towers above the Pont 25 de Abril Bridge, and the rest of Lisbon, for that matter. It was spectacular! Definitely worth the hike, at least in the earlier part of the day when we had some shade on the walk (not sure if it would be worth it later). The views were absolutely amazing, and it was mind blowing to learn that even when the entire city was leveled by the earthquake of 1755, this aqueduct suffered almost no damage due to some brilliant feats of engineering, and it continued to supply to parts of the city until the late 1960s.
After seeing the Aqueduct, we were convinced to walk a bit farther to the Reservatório da Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras, the reservoir in the Amoreiras neighborhood that was fed by the aqueduct. It was a worthwhile stop, and the reservoir was a hidden oasis that allowed for a cool and quiet break from our walk. Unfortunately, we were too early in the day to catch the immersive art exhibit inside the reservoir in the evenings, when they project impressionist art on to the walls of the reservoir. But we did also enjoy the adjacent shady park and the nice and peaceful neighborhood.
From the reservoir, we took our first car ride of the trip (using Bolt, the most common rideshare in Lisbon). The plan was to drive over the Ponte 25 de Abril Bridge so we could still see the views that Diane wanted, and have lunch at a seafood restaurant across the Tagus River from Lisbon and then take the ferry back. However, our 6 euro ride turned into a 30 minute ordeal due to Friday midday traffic, with everyone leaving the city for the beaches! We were stuck in gridlock for while, surrounded by cars loaded up for beach weekends with surfboards on the roof and dogs grinning in the backseats. While we inched forward in the congestion, our driver kept himself entertained by watching videos on his phone on social media. While he was driving. Melina and I exchanged worried glances, but I was relieved to see that when the traffic finally cleared and he was moving mover than a few feet a minute, he turned off the videos and kept them off as we sped over the giant suspension bridge. Whew. Our seafood lunch was amazing and enormous, as for once we each ordered entrees (rather than sharing small plates) and each entree was clearly meant to be shared by multiple people. The views of Lisbon and the light and refreshing cervejas made for a lovely and relaxing lunch.
Our favorite street for dinner was Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, a small, less crowded pedestrian-only street with seafood restaurants, wine bars, and a sardine shop (which are always insanely ornate and beautiful here). This street gets breezy and shady just in time for dinner at 8pm and there are always street performers. We came here for dinner so many times that the waiters and performers recognized us. The girls adored the hot bread rolls at the Maria Catita Tapas & Wine bar so we went twice, and the manager/waiter loved to joke with Zach. Melina was chosen as a volunteer from the audience to help out the shirtless and muscular Brazilian acrobats (she is so generous to help out, I know) and then when they recognized her on a different night then grabbed her from the audience to do it again without question. Even the talented singer who crooned hits from U2 and Louis Armstrong (imitating his gravely voice and everything) waved hello to us. It was fun to be “regulars” for a bit!
At one of our dinners on this street, Zach asked for a glass of 10 year port wine after dinner. Our waiter (who Melina referred to as “pookie” and who reminded her of Hank Azaria’s character in “The Birdcage”) was learning English and seemed confused. “I have nice moscato, maybe a moscato spritzer?” I tried in my poor portugues to ask for “Porto dez anos” and the waiter perked up and said, “I’ll bring two glasses!” We were confused as he left, not sure why he said two glasses when we’d asked for one. Zach half jokingly said, “Oh, he’s bringing us something to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.” The possibility of this being the misunderstanding had me completely mortified. I must have been red as a beet, and was so stressed out that I couldn’t enjoy my dessert. The girls were laughing so hard at my embarassed state that they couldn’t breathe. Zach and Melina kept joking that the wait staff was going to come and circle up around us and clap and sing for our anniversary, as I shrunk into my chair in anticipation. To my great relief, none of this happened, and sweet “pookie” had just split the one glass of port between two glasses so that we could share. It was very thoughtful of him (and the port was delicious!).
To wrap up this trip, there are a number of things that have changed since we were last in Lisbon 11 years ago. Some differences are predictable and not specific to Lisbon (where cash was once king, it is completely cashless now and we pay for everything using our phone; in fact, we did not need to use an ATM even once on this entire trip). But many were striking: in 2014 there were hardly any Americans, no tuk tuks, and far fewer touristy gifts such as pastel de nata flavored liquor, cookies, tea, etc. There are even pastel de nata-flavored milkshakes now! I didn’t remember the gorgeous sardine shops, but at first assumed that they had to have been there, but that maybe they were just too beautiful for me to risk going inside with a two year old and a five year old. But I just looked it up and apparently the trend started in 2012 with one shop in particular, so it is likely we didn’t come across them on our first trip, whereas you can’t miss them now. Prices were much lower across the board, although you can still find great prices if you stay out of touristy areas. Pastries are still the best deal around. On the negative side, the airport has definitely not been able to handle the influx of tourists, as the lines at the airport are absolutely unbelievable.
The line to get our passports checked to *leave* the country. Don’t let the one guy’s smile fool you, no one was happy about this- tempers were running hot!
One final fun item to finish out this trip journal: as we waited for our ferry ride across the Tagus River, we glanced up at an electronic board that had annoucements for events happening in the area. It was listing performances for a festival that was going on from June-August, and was including some performances that had already happened in June. “Look,” I told the family, “a choral group from the United States! Wait a second…what the…?” Then, I swear, it was like slow motion as we all read the line after that one and let it sink in. We couldn’t believe what we were reading, and before I had the presence of mind to pick up my phone and take a picture the screen switched to another announcement, and it was gone. Then our ferry started boarding! I waited as long as I could to see if it would reappear, but it did not and I had to get on the ferry. But later I found the website and took a screenshot…this was the next group on the schedule that we had all seen as we stood waiting for our ferry:
Our time in Lisbon so far has been both relaxing and exhausting. The heat is unbelievable from about 11am to 7pm, but earlier and later than that it is absolutely wonderful. There is no humidity at all, and the cool sea breezes catch aromas from all the local pastelarias (pastry shops) and marisquieras (seafood restaurants) and carry them up and down the winding, cobblestoned streets. Even at midday the shade is quite pleasant, but in the direct sunlight it feels like you are roasting on a spit over an open flame.
To avoid the heat, our days have been spent mostly like this: Zach and I get up early and make the most of the gorgeous morning hours walking in a different neighborhood each day, ending with coffee and pastries at a cafe. Then we head back to the apartment and rustle up the girls to take them out for some kind of daily adventure. We all head back to our spacious Airbnb after lunch for siesta time (Melina calls it “fiesta time”) to laze away the hottest hours of the day. Then when the sun has mostly set, we head out again for a long, slow dinner, then stroll the streets for views (and often gelato). It is a good routine.
Here have been some of our favorite adventures of the first few days:
Zach and I explored the Barrio Alto, Chiado, and Estrela neighborhoods, but the most interesting may have been the tiny pedestrian-only alleyways of Alfama. The baby bibs on clotheslines and sounds of young kids playing and crying in the narrow streets made us wonder what it would be like to grow up in such a unique kind of neighborhood.
When exploring as a family, we spied a sign for “The World’s Sexiest Bathroom” in the tourist center of Baixa, at first we laughed at the marketing genuis. Then our curiosity got the best of us and we shelled out 4 euros for Melina to try it out. It was TOTALLY WORTH IT for the entertainment!! She said it was lit like a disco club inside with dance music blaring. When she was done, she got to pick out a roll of toilet paper from a giant wall of multicolored tp, which I then carried around in a reusable bag for the rest of the day. The best part was that when Diane and I saw Melina leaving with a mischievous grin and a roll of hot pink toilet paper, we thought she stole it! We were mortified, and were watching out for the attendant to come running after her, and it took a couple of minutes for her to convince us that no, the roll was actually included in the price of admission.
We took a lunch break at the Time Out food court and sampled some local dishes (the girls again chose Thai food, their fave). Lisbon tends to have lots of mocktails on their menus, which is great for the girls but also for me since I’m always worried about alcohol causing migraines. This way I can still have fun drinks, even during the hottest parts of the day! And as a bonus, passion fruit is hugely popular here, so it is featured on every drink menu.
At one point while walking through Lisbon, Melina saw a sign advertising a Bansky museum and immediately perked up with interest. We later tracked it down and it turned out to be a great find! It was all replicas (understandably, Banksy’s work being mostly street art), but each piece had a thoughtfully written Portuguese and English description, and we spent a lot of time reading through each one. They ran the gamut from amusing to poignant to downright disturbing. I think we will all remember that museum for a long time.
On the hottest day of our trip, when it was forecasted to hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we plotted on how to beat the heat and came up with what turned out to be a very successful plan. Part One: we spent half of the day in the Lisbon Oceanarium (Aquarium), which was even better than I remembered from 10 years ago. This is officially my favorite aquarium in the world. The giant central tank is mind blowing! Our favorite inhabitants were the sharks, the baby sunfish that followed the biggest shark (so cute!!), the weirdest-looking flat fish, the sea dragons, the jellyfish, and the many types of sting rays. But it was the sea otters that truly stole the show for us! They were unbelievably adorable and we could have watched them for hours. They have a huge area to roam, including plenty of space where they can get away from the crowds, and even outdoor space as well. But thankfully, for much of the time we were there they enjoyed showing off for the guests. They flipped and rolled and somersaulted and dived. When they were given crab “popsicles” (crab legs in ice cubes) they delighted in gnawing and cracking them. They even had multiple rocks stashed away in their “pockets,” and we watched them take the rocks out to play with them, and then stash them back in the pouch under their arm! It was so cute we couldn’t stand it. Zach took a bajillion pictures.
The lump under his left paw is from the rocks in his “pocket!”
On the hottest day, Part Two: We went to the movies! There is a modern mall next to the Aquarium, so we saw “O Quarteto Fantastico” (“The Fantastic Four”)! It was a really fun way to experience some modern Lisboan life, but also to stay cool on a dangerously hot day. And as a bonus, we all really enjoyed the movie! It was in the original English with Portuguese subtitles, so we got a kick out of seeing some of the words I’ve been learning and occasionally teaching the girls. It was “fixe!”
Ice cream in the food court of the mall
One night for dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by our Airbnb host. There was a gorgeous view, and we ogled this for a while, then had a great time and a lovely meal. At the very end as we were paying, our waitress turned to the girls and told them, “You know, this is a circus school! The kids here had trouble in regular school but had other gifts so came to this school. They just started a break last week so aren’t here right now, but usually they use this patio as their practice space and they work in this restaurant.” Somehow we had totally missed this, despite noticing that there was a circus tent over the patio area of the restaurant! As we left we also noticed the pictures of alumni and posters advertising the performances that the current students were going to be in around town. Boy, all it takes is a good view and a language barrier and apparently we miss a LOT.
One day we took a day trip on the train to the seaside town of Cascais. We explored the port, shore, and historic town center. The town is beautiful and has a very “rich California” vibe. Melina made her own tiled souvenir out of tiny tiles that she can take home that says “Portugal” on it. Well…in all honesty, this was her third choice, after I wouldn’t let her tile “No shit” or “Bite me” into the cute little coaster in the nice Portuguese lady’s craft shop. But later I was a bit vindicated in my puritanical decision, when we were contemplating ice cream flavors in a gelateria. The same nice Portuguese shopkeeper came inside for a cup of coffee and chatted a bit with me about how this was the best ice cream shop in town, that it was from Porto and that everything they made was Portuguese. I probably wouldn’t have learned all of that if instead of the sweet American family who was trying to speak Portuguese and loved Portugal, we were the ugly Americans who made the obnoxious sign!
We have eaten SO WELL here. We share a lot, and linger over meals. We also have a very nice grocery store just steps from our apartment, and have self-catered a few meals in our beautiful Airbnb kitchen. The girls are officially in love with Portuguese bread, and our grocery store sells delicious rolls for 11 euro cents apiece, which Melina can’t get enough of. The girls both loved pasteis de nata (what’s not to like?) and so far we haven’t tried a single pastry that wasn’t amazing.
Our kitchen
I’ve also had a great time going in and out of shops. Zach and I perused the azulejos (hand painted tiles) at Fábrica Sant’Anna and picked out some to use as trivets at home.
I haven’t had much of a chance to practice speaking Portuguese here because everyone we have come in contact with speaks beautiful English, but I have had a few interactions in coffee shops or stores where I began in Portuguese and when I eventually stumbled, the cashier was so kind and helpful and complimented my Portuguese and asked if I lived in Lisbon … And in every single case this was the point when I was unable to utter a single other word in Portuguese and barely even remembered English for the rest of the conversation, finishing the exchange practically grunting like a cave person. Sigh. Some day, I will have a chance to practice enough to get over the brain freeze I get when I am put on the spot.
Traveling Together 