Argentina Countrywide offers comprehensive and knowledgeable Argentina estancias, travel and tours consultancy. 

Sunflowers, we are surrounded by a carpet of beautiful Sunflowers for a far as the eye can see on a bright, warm and sunny (a touch overcast and changeable) New Year’s Day 2010 Argentina. 

We are just 50 kilometers from Tandil in Buenos Aires Province, just 310 kilometers from Buenos Aires City.

We are in the heart of Buenos Aires’ Pampas, the fertile and lush flatlands that makes Argentina South America’s bread basket, or more accurately, South America’s ‘Soy Bean Capital’.

We have spent most of the festive period reviewing estancias in Buenos Aires Province and latterly we have been guests of David Cummings, “the English Gaucho”, at La Margarita, one of the most rustic and beautiful estancias we have visited this year.  More to the point, David’s La Margarita estancia is the only one of three estancias we visited that will feature on our website.  We are not about quantity, we look for quality and value. 

David an ex-musician, an earthy bohemian type, farms soya and ‘lords’ over a late nineteenth century French style Argentine estancia surrounded by nothing, that’s right, nothing, for a far as you can see, walk or ride.  This is a truly idyllic getaway with horse riding, small game hunting in season and comforts of country home for under USD100 a night!!!  Fantastic value!!!

The feeling of space (a very precious commodity) and being at one with nature are key components of David’s estancia experience.  This is not a five star estancia, David has got this just right for those of us who are a little bit country and maybe not quite as rock ‘n’ roll as in the past.

We have eaten well, very well, and enjoyed early morning and late afternoon horse riding every day and lounged ‘like mad dogs and Englishmen’ with our books and mate by the pool.

Our able and loving guides Hero and Jak (two wonderful Pointers) have been our constant companions and showed us every nook and every cranny of the La Margarita estate.  

It is Argentina 2010, we feel at perfect peace, well rested and ready for the next part of our journey to Tandil and then on to Carilo and Pinamar on the Atlantic coast of Argentina.

Next week, check out our blog for further information and our comprehensive review and photo gallery of estancia La Margarita Buenos Aires, Tandil and Buenos Aires’ Atlantic coast where the Argentina Countrywide team will stay just meters from the beach in a luxury cabana.

Argentina Countrywide has stayed at every estancia we recommend.  If you want to know about Argentina ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ speak to us for comprehensive and knowledgeable Argentina travel, estancias and tours consultancy.

Happy New Year!  Argentina 2010!!

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Iguazu Falls is one of the most visited places in the Argentine province of Misiones and one of the most amazing natural attractions in the world.  In the local language, Guaraní, the term “Iguazu” means great waters.  Discovered in 1541 by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and established in 1984 as Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Iguazú Falls, called Cataratas del Iguazú in Spanish, lie on the border between the Brazilian state of Parana and the Argentine province of Misiones surrounded by two National Parks, one in each country. Both are subtropical rainforests that are host to hundreds of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna and are home to the typical wildlife of the region: tapirs, giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots, jaguars and cayman.

Iguazu Falls is one of the most magnificent and largest waterfalls in the world.  Iguazu Falls extends over 2,700 m (nearly 2 miles) of the Iguazu River and includes 275 cascades spread in a horseshoe shape.  Devil’s Throat is the tallest at 80 m in height.

The falls are the result of a volcanic eruption.  During the rainy season, the flow of water over the falls can reach 12,750 cubic meters per second.  However, these details do little to describe the actual grandeur of the falls – tremendous amounts of water thunder down 269 feet prompting Eleanor Roosevelt to exclaim “Poor Niagara” her visit.  Taller than Niagara Falls and four times its width, Iguazu falls are divided by various islands into separate waterfalls.  In addition to Devil’s Throat, other notable falls include San Martin, Bossetti and Bernabe Mendez.

Local legend tells of a large snake called “Boi” who lived in the river.  To calm its ferocity, aborigines used sacrifice a woman annually as an offering.  As the story goes, once a brabe guarani aborigine kidnapped the woman marked for sacrifice and saved her by escaping down the river.  Boi burst into anger and bent its body splitting the river into cataracts separating the kidnapper from the rescued woman.

Visitors can access the falls from the two main towns flanking them:  Foz do Iguacu in Brazil and Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, and the Ciudad del Este in Paraguay is nearby.  The Iguazu National Park of Argentina and Iguacu National Park, Brazil shares the falls, but two thirds of the falls are on the Argentinean side of the river.

On the Brazilian side of the falls there is a long walkway along the canyon that extends to the lower base of Devil’s Throat.    From the Argentine side, access is facilitated by an environmentally friendly train, the Rainforest Ecological Train (Ecologico de la Selva) which takes visitors to various walkways overlooking the falls.  The train can transport up to 120 guest at a time over nearly 5 miles to the Cataras and Garganta Stations (the Waterfalls and Devil’s Gorge Stations).  Presently, nearly a million visitors use this train annually.  There is also the Paseo Garganta del Diablo, a one-kilometer-long trail that brings visitors directly over the falls of the Devil’s Throat. Other walkways allow access to the elongated stretch of falls on the Argentine side and to the ferry that connects to the San Martin Island.

From the Argentine Visitors’ Center, visitors can walk down trails separated into two basic circuits: an upper path and a lower path.   The lower path leads to the base of the falls, where the spray dampens visitors. It is a unique experience and well worth the effort and inconvenience.  From this route, visitors may also take a boat to Isla San Martín.  The upper path offers unforgettable panoramic views from a footbridge.

Adventure lovers can find access to more intense circuits.  The jungle surrounding the falls offers many opportunities for tourists to enjoy them including the Macuco Trail, a 3 km. walking path meandering through the dense jungle.   Almost 500 species of wild fowl inhabit the area long with 80 species of mammals along with an extraordinary variety of reptiles, fish, insects and butterflies.

Private operators in the area offer 4×4 excursions into the jungle and semi-rigid rafts with powerful engines are available to take visitors upstream into the mists created by the cascades.  Another option is to take a rowboat in the upper river region to view the wildlife and foliage surrounding this delta region.

The best time to see Iguazu Falls is in the spring and autumn as in winter the water level is substantially lower and summer is sweltering with heat and humidity.  There are hotels on both sides of the falls and Argentina Countrywide can assist you with finding suitable accommodations and arranging tours.

Resources:

(Spanish) Official Government Website
(English) World Heritage Site
(English) The New 7 Wonders of the World
(English) Video of the Falls
(Spanish) Ecologico de la Selva (Rainforest Ecological Train)

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This city stands at the foot of the Sierra Velasco. It was founded by Juan Ramírez de Velasco on May the 20 th of 1591, and it was first named as Ciudad de Todos los Santos de la Nueva Rioja by its founder, in honor of a Spanish region.

It is the Capital City of the province of La Rioja and for that it was renamed with the same name.

La Rioja displays an uneven geography characterized with a mixture of mountains and plains; it also presents green and black hills and ocher valleys, tinted by the polychromic of its plantations.

Its architecture aspect presents the combination of ancient and modern constructions.

The city presents low constructed buildings and narrow streets ornamented with green spaces such as squares that exhibit the old orange trees an old characteristic of the city.

The commercial centre of the city is quite active and it is mostly concentrated around the main square.

La Rioja is also well known for the celebration of some traditional festivities such as The National Festivity of The Chaya and The San Nicolas and the Mayer Child festival which represents a popular religious ceremony that goes back in time till the year 1953.

However, visitors can find relax as well, near by are located The Llacampis Park, Los Sauces Dyke and Mount La Cruz.

La Rioja invites you to discover the gentleness of its people who day after day build its own feature with work and help the development of the city itself.

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