Backpacking South America

Buenos Aires is an incredible city that abounds with places to see and things to do no matter the time of day.  It is a huge city.  The closest thing we have in the States to compare it to is New York City, but Buenos Aires seems to be even more alive. It’s true that it is noisy, polluted, and massively populated, but it can also be very calm, beautiful, and you’re never alone.  It would definitely go into our list of the top places in the world to visit.  As we’ve moved on from Buenos Aires, we wanted to share some of our favorite things to do (in no particular order). 

1. Casa de Lili (aka living with a local) 

Some of our best memories were living with our hostess.  While not in the trendy or touristy neighborboods, we were able to enjoy and peek into the life of real porteño life.  From unforgettable, simple meals, late night conversations and afternoon mate with friends and family, our stay would not have been the same without our time with Lili. 

2. MALBA

A great introduction to the history and minds of great Latin American artists.  This museum was inspiring and captivating.  With a collection that is large enough to stretch your mind, but not so large that you feel rushed or overwhelmed. 

3. La Boca

While existing on the extremes of hopelessly touristy and extremely dangerous, La Boca was a surprisingly enjoyable visit.  While we can only recommend that visitors stay within the tourist areas or travel with local advice, it was fun to see the brightly painted buildings, the home of the Boca Juniors futbol club, and two wonderful museums (PROA and Belles Artes).

We have developed a small taste for empanadas.  Empanadas are essentially a small calzone-like pocket stuffed with different fillings, i.e., beef, chicken, ham & cheese, sausage and cheese, creamed corn and sweet potatoes, etc. 

During our stay in Buenos Aires, we soon discovered a popular lunch item among porteños – Empanadas.  They’re fast, cheap and filling.  We were soon addicted and began to search for restaurants with reportedly good empanadas and continued to return to those that did.  Eventually, I even learned how to make some of my own with our host, Liliana (video and photos below).

Empanadas were introduced to the Americas by the Spaniards, who incorporated the empanada in their diet during the Arab occupation of southern Spain.  In Argentina, empanadas take on certain flair depending on the region.  For example, in Salta (northwest corner), we’re told they’re spicy and very juicy.  In Cordoba, they are a bit sweeter with sugar and egg.  Tucuman includes raisins and olives and in Mendoza, they have equal parts meat and onion. Buenos Aires doesn’t seem to have a style of its own per se, but has taken aspects from the different regions. 

We’re excited to continue traveling through all the regions of Argentina so that we can taste and enjoy the many wonderful flavors.  I always find that one of the best ways to understand and connect with people is over food.  We agreed that we’re willing to sacrifice our trim physiques in order to experience the different variations of empanadas and to meet the people that prepare them.

Argentina is known for its meat.  In fact, they eat more beef per capita than any other country (Wikipedia has the amount at 68kg/year – that’s 150 pounds).  So, we knew we were in for red meat, but just how much is overwhelming.

Heap of Meat – Our First Night

It was late, and we were tired and hungry.  It was our first night in Buenos Aires.  We were still adjusting to this schedule of not eating dinner until around 9:30, which is still early in most restaurants.  We had actually reached a point that first night where we were beyond hungry and just tired, but we knew we needed to eat something.  So, we walked around San Telmo, passing by restaurants, peeking in windows to see if anybody else was eating.  We had heard that most restaurants do not open for dinner before 9, however, we saw a number of places open, but no one seemed to be eating food.  So, “when in Rome…do as the Romans.”  So, we did. 

Despite our ache for food, we popped into a bar and grabbed a drink.  Here were our options:

Water: AR$6
Coca-Cola: AR$6.50
Beer: AR$10
Glass of Wine: AR$5

We ordered our first glass of wine, a very generous pour for only $1.50 US and a beer – about the same as the states.  We thought, wow, this is going to be a great journey.  After passing the time, it was about 9:45; we thought for sure people were eating dinner, but just not in our bar.  So we decided to move on and find some place serving food.  We couldn’t possibly be the only ones eating food in a restaurant.  We finally stumbled upon a place where people were eating.  We checked out the menu, couldn’t really distinguish the different cuts of beef, so we decided to give it a shot and be adventurous. 

At this point, I was not very hungry…it was almost 10:30.  I’m not use to eating this late…it’s almost bedtime.   Jared convinced me to order a steak – so I opted for a “Bifecita,” whatever cut it is…it should be small.  I also decided to order some papa fritas.  We scouted the restaurant to see if we could determine portion size, but couldn’t quite gauge what to anticipate.  Jared decided to order “Asado.”   From previous research, we knew Asado was a type of beef, similar to a roast.  (Well, please read the fine print.)  The server asked “for one?” but after the fact, we believe he said “for one!”  My Bifecita was the size of a normal steak.  So much for small.  Jared’s Asado…was actually four steaks.  And the papa fritas, were a huge portion.  We laughed so hard. 

Apparently, Asado is something that is shared amongst the table.  It can be even larger than the meal Jared received, but Jared asked for an Asado portion for one.  It’s a very popular meal choice, but it’s usually a meal that everyone takes part in.  Needless to say, there may not be enough moneda, but there is plenty of beef. 

And the meat just keeps coming…

By the end of our time in Buenos Aires, we had actually grown to love our beef dinners… and lunches.  We just became wise on what and how to order.  We know our cuts and we know when it is appropriate to share an order.  Below are two notable steak dinners we would like to share, conveniently, both restaurants offered a penguin of wine (which is about 2/3 of a bottle served in a penguin pitcher where the wine comes out the mouth) for 10-12 pesos (about $3.50).

It was a hard, but necessary realization that guidebooks aren’t always right and that hostels are more apt to give you the safest, but not always the best advice.  In Buenos Aires, we’ve learned how to balance the information from guidebooks, hostels and local residents to get out and see things that one, or the other, may not necessarily recommend. 

While there have been numerous examples, there is none more obvious than La Boca.  On our first day, our hostel strictly advised, only visit the two touristy blocks in La Boca.  The guidebooks stated the same.  One informed us that we would most definitely be mugged and the other said, “You might be tempted to stray from this touristy area and find the ‘Real’ La Boca: don’t.  The surrounding streets are notorious for violent crime, you will almost certainly be a very obvious target…”

So, we had written La Boca off the list of to dos until we moved in to our homestay.  Our host was insistent that La Boca and the area around the tourist area wasn’t so unsafe, just go during the daylight.  After all, it was only 8 blocks away.  After a couple of weeks, we worked up the courage and decided to go against the advice of the guidebook and hostel advice and consulted Lili on our route.    She made a few recommendations on places to see, told us to go in the early afternoon and to not carry our passports or much money (camera was fine).

Perhaps you are familiar with that feeling you get when you hold your baby for the very first time or you see a love one you haven’t seen in forever.  Well, for me…it’s my hairdryer.  I heard it just the other day when Liliana used hers. 

Oh how my heart ached. 

But don’t worry, Emily came to the rescue and I found my love again.  We shall never again be apart for so long.