Reflections on Argentina
Every December we find a place somewhere in the world to hideout and rideout the year-end holidays when no matter the culture or religion there’s an uptick in travel and often in prices for hotels, flights and other travel costs. For 2023 we chose a month-long Airbnb apartment stay (with a monthly discount!) in Buenos Aires (December 8, 2023 - January 8, 2024), with a respectable discount for a month’s stay, to combat the pricey year-end crazy-making.
So we dropped into the big city, on the very edge of the upscale neighborhood of Recoleta. It was often hard to see that 40%, or more, of the country is officially in poverty with inflation running upwards of 150%. Argentina is gripped by an economic emergency. Upon arrival we watched their new, controversial president being inaugurated. The vibe of the people on the street was a little shell-shocked, we thought, with a sense that things were about to get much worse. And they apparently have since our departure with massive cuts being made in government spending and our new friends concerned they can make their monthly rent payments. We didn’t feel the inflation while we were there shopping in the supermarkets and eating really good food in many delightful restaurants.
With these dire economic undertones, we explored just a few spots beyond the city, visiting Mendoza (February 28-March 7, 2024) to celebrate the year’s grape harvest, including at our very special visit to Sposato Family Vineyards, and to the famous Iguazu Falls (February 23-27, 2024) where we amped up our energy in the powerful healing waters. If we ever return we’ll discover Patagonia and visit the great friends we made there too!
Below find the Argentina hotels/apartments where we stayed, in reverse chronological order. In most locations find a carousel of hotel pics and a carousel of activities pics.
