Viva Argentina

Argentina: The land of Wine, Beef, and Dulce de leche.

It's been almost 3 years since I decided to leave the country of my nativity (U.S.A) and live in South America in 2015. All apart of a process called "Expatriation". I had often thought, planned and dreamed about retiring, traveling abroad and exploring the world. It became much more of a reality when I visited Argentina for the first time in December on 2013. That's when I made my first ever trip to this country that I been hearing about from some expats in this forum that I was apart of. I ended up visiting the provinces of Mendoza and Cordoba, I ended up totally falling in love with the country after this first visit.

I subsequently ended up coming back to Cordoba in 2014, which is when I purchased a piece of land or a Terrano.
Then in 2015, I returned to contract a architect to build me a cabana on that property. After that I made the big move with my wife and (at the time) two children.

With that said, i'd like to share my top 7 observations or things that you should know about Argentina...

1. Argentina is a huge Country
   Just take a look at a map of South America and you will see that next to Brazil, Argentina is right there dominating the other half of the eastern sea board. With somewhere around 40 million people living in this country and about half of that population living in or around the province of Buenos Aires, there are vast amounts of scenic landscapes filling this beautiful country. The country is so vast that it inhabits any type of environment that one can imagine, from the dry desert areas of the Northwest, to the Iguazu falls in the Northeast (which most will say are even more beautiful and breathtaking than Niagara falls). Then you have the golden coast of beaches all along the eastern coast in and around the BA province, to the very nice and sophisticated western side of Argentina near the area of Mendoza, where the dry climate is apt for the growing of olives and grapes. Finally there's the humble and hospitable hill country of Cordoba in the center of the country, trust me it's a very unique area in itself, from here you can take the main route to "The end of the world" (That's what I call it). Seriously going South in Argentina you can end up in what is probably the southern most point in the world without going to Antarctica, This entire southern area of Argentina is commonly referred to as Patagonia. To say that Patagonia is nice, or beautiful, or scenic would be an understatement, the entire ride down is totally stunning and breathtaking, you'll be taking pictures the whole way.

2. They Speak Castellano
   While most people might think that all Spanish is the same, even while understanding that their may be different dialects. That's not the case here in Argentina, they don't just speak a dialect of Spanish here. They speak a very special language developed to harbor power in it's words designed by alchemist (as I was told by a quaint old man I encountered). All I know is that coming from Miami, I thought I had a pretty good handle on Espanol but it ended up taking me a while to get used to the fast paced speech patterns of the natives along with the slang and even the different dialects that you'll notice from region to region. Despacio.

3. Argentina is famous for Beef
   Listen I'll tell you this much, it's totally delicious or rico. I'll also share with you that I didn't know much about it before I came to live here. Let's take shopping for beef for example, in America you want to get a steak for dinner or maybe a BBQ, you go to the store (let's say wal-mart) and you buy a piece of pre-packaged meat, I guess which ever one looks best or fits your need or purpose, if you know what your looking for. In Argentina, they do beef right. First off, if your looking for beef most likely you'll go to a carniceria (basically a butcher that only sells beef), literally a meat store. When you get in the carniceria you're sure to have a great experience, where the butcher ask you what are you planning to do and then will educate you on which cut is best for you, literally anything that you want to know. At that point, you don't just pick a pre-packed piece, they cut it off of one of the huge carcasses that they have in the fridge, to me it's as fresh as it gets without killing your own cow. Even if you did go to get it in the supermarket, there's still a butcher there too, giving you fresh ground beef, that they put in the grinder in front of you. Talk about being spoiled, there's no coming back from that standard of service.

4. People take Siesta in Argentina
   Think of siesta as an afternoon break, it's a phenomenon that takes place all across the country at about 1pm, right around lunch time. Siesta happens because most business owners get up to open their stores early in the morning, so by the afternoon everyone is ready to go home to get lunch and take a nap for a couple hours. Siesta usually lasts from around 1pm til 5pm. It's a pretty nice custom that you can appreciate if you're working, but it can totally catch you off guard if you don't know anything about it. Especially coming from the states where we're used to everything always being open. It's important to note that the word "siesta" is also synonymous for an afternoon nap, meaning if you took a nap today, you took siesta. This is a way of life in most of the country but if you're in one of the metro areas in the big city, you can expect to have access to your favorite stores through siesta.

5. The Inflation Rate is Crazy
   To the average American, Inflation may be just another term in economic theory. I seriously doubt anyone has seen inflation like the people experience in Argentina. I believe that these issues are due to an economic collapse that the country went through around the year 2001. I'm not 100% sure as I've heard many reasons for the inflation, like bad decisions from previous administrations etc. I do know and have witnessed inflation be as high as 10% year over year. I've even heard people say that it has been as high as 25-40% in years past. It really helps me to see the value in the dollar as the conversion rate continues to rise as inflation takes it course. I'm glad that I have dollars in these instances but it really seems crushing to the people who have to live with it.

6. The Wine is Divine
   Just like with the beef, I would say that wine was one of the things that I wasn't cultured enough to know about. A little time in Argentina will change all of that, as wine is one of the country's national treasures. You can't go to a social function or a BBQ without tasting some great wine. If you invite someone over to your home, they'll probably bring a bottle of wine as a gift, but it's almost like it's a show of respect. It'll probably be something red and strong or vino tinto as they say. My favorite at this point is the Malbec, a type native to Argentina that seems to equal parts dry, fruity, and bold. If you didn't know much about wine like me when I got here, If you were to visit one of the estancias in Mendoza, not only would they educate you, but they would let you taste wine until you heart was content. You'd be a connoisseur before you knew it.

7. They got me addicted to Dulce de leche
   Now I'll be honest when I tell that everything in Argentina isn't sweet. If you're not careful with your things they could get stolen, and if you get someone to do some work for you they may take twice as long as they told you it would take. But when it seems like the world is turned upside down you've always got dulce de leche. In fact I think that might be the single most important factor in me deciding to come back after my first trip. During my very first trip here when I was staying as this hostel in Cordoba, every morning they had this fresh baked bread on the table with butter and dulce sitting right next to it. It was delicious and needless to say they kept me coming back again and again. Now for those who don't know dulce de leche is, its basically this thick sweet caramel sauce, that if you're lucky you can find freshly made and it's affectionately reffered to as "farm gold" or "oro de granja". It is delicious, I tell you no lie, that alone is worth the trip.

All said and done, I've had a great experience here in Argentina and have certainly gained a lifetime of memories, as well as two children lol. I hope that you've enjoyed this and learned something new. Until next time, Shalom.

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If you have any experiences in Argentina or South America, be sure to comment and share.