Argentina - Steak with wine, you’ll be fine

October 26-31

Hello everyone!

Argentina’s reputation for its food and drink is strong. You won’t go hungry here…unless you’re a vegan, maybe…

Meat. So. Much. Meat.

Argentina's beer game: quite strong

Mafalda drinking mate. I don't need to drink it ever again.

Dulce de Leche: food of the Gods

The country is renowned for steak. Quite interesting that cows haven’t been in this part of the world for that long, then! They were introduced by the Spanish when they arrived to this part of the continent in 1536.

As you'll see later, most of the cow is up for grabs

Not a cow from 1536 - this sculpture is outside a theatre

Of course, there are cows in other parts of the world. So why is Argentinian steak so revered globally? It may be to do with the land. The Pampas Plan is a fertile grassland found in central Argentina, as well as Uruguay and the southern part of Brazil. The Pampas are seen as ideal for raising cattle.

Consistent rain throughout the year
makes Pampas good for agriculture

Beef being cooked on the asado

The Pampas also evoke thoughts in Argentina about the people who lived there in the past: the Gaucho. Originally deriving from an indigenous language meaning ‘lazy person’, the term soon came to represent the cowboy spirit.

What was described by our guide as a 'big
fabric diaper' is called a chirripa

Not necessarily a Gaucho, but there are a few
statues of folk on horses in the capital

We spent a day at a ranch outside Buenos Aires to learn more about Gaucho culture. We were told about the tools they used, the struggles they have had and the way they have been portrayed in modern culture.

The balls are heavy, and designed to be thrown
around the legs of an animal to ensnare it

Like cowboys, Gauchos often duelled: winning
meant getting a coin to add to your belt

The 300 hectare area has many owners and many animals, including horses. Whilst not riding in the style of a Gaucho, we took the opportunity to trot around some of the grounds on horseback. My horse was keen to get going before everyone else was ready!

My horse eventually settled for being second in line, right behind the guide

Dad's horse was also erratic, stopping at one point to eat leaves

Gauchos looked after livestock. That livestock was then cooked and eaten in the form of asado: Argentine barbecue. Whether one cow produces this much barbecue is questionable…

A long charcoal grill!

Here there are chorizo sausages, innards and morcilla: 
blood sausage, which is like British black pudding

With new technology allowing refrigeration over long distances, Argentine beef started to be exported to other countries. It is the 4th largest producer of beef in the world. The stuff they keep in the country isn’t too bad, either…

Bife de Chorizo at Cafe de Los Angelitos

Filet mignon at the gaucho farm

My favourite place was where we ate on our first night together in Buenos Aires: a relatively small spot with a local feel called Santos Manjares. Most Argentines actually eat their steaks well done, but you can order redder by asking for ‘jugoso’. Perfection on a plate, this.

It is a short walk east from the huge Avenida 9 de julio

Steak is relatively cheap: this was less than $20

Argentina actually ranks highly for a lot of agricultural exports, not just beef: the most soy, the third-most corn, the sixth-most wheat globally. We were told that its lack of a secondary industry is what explains its relatively poor economy. 

A field of soy, most of which goes to China

For those who need a cheaper eat, a choripan is a short of hot dog

Empanadas are always available and very tasty

I didn’t eat any soy or corn, and probably a tiny amount of wheat. I did have more of another thing that Argentina exports in vast quantities: red wine. 

Enjoying a Pinot Noir in a field of grapes

That is quality Malbec being sold for
less than $3 a bottle in a supermarket

Wine from Argentina is usually associated with the city of Mendoza, further to the west. The reason there haven’t been wines from Buenos Aires is because it was illegal. In 1934, a law was passed prohibiting wine being made in certain provinces, including Buenos Aires, so that business could be decentralised. This vineyard opened around a decade ago, with its first wines being bottled in 2021.

The distance between them is linked to humidity

The vineyard also grows white wine: Chardonnay is popular here

This vineyard is small, bottling 20,000 wines last year in comparison with the millions bottled annually from larger Mendoza vineyards. It was a beautiful setting for quaffing malbec.

The grapes are grown on the bottom two levels of the
plant, with the third level being leaves for shade

This was the warmest day of our trip, being over 20'C

Wine isn’t the only drink in Argentina, of course. There are many beers, and a growing cocktail scene. We found a secret bar in the basement of a flower shop. With the volume of the music downstairs, I’m surprised it was ‘secret’.

What seems like an innocent flower shop...

...then has a fridge door...

...leading downstairs to the bar!

The main drink here is actually something non-alcoholic: mate. It is a herbal infusion drunk which originated in the northeast of the country from a bush that grew in the area. It apparently gives an energy boost, is drunk by people of all ages, and is regularly topped up with hot water. It also tastes like grass. Not a fan.

The cup is traditionally made from a gourd

The cherva is pushed to the side, with hot water added
from a flask to the other side of the cup

The straw has a filter so you don't
drink this green stuff, called cherva

Those of you who know me well will be aware that I have a very sweet tooth. Argentinians seem to enjoy dulce de leche, which is a slightly runnier version of caramel. When put between two biscuits, and the combo smothered in chocolate, you get something called an alfajor. Scrumptious.

Originally from Spain, they have been
popular here since the mid-19th century

Argentines consume more than 1 billion alfajores each year

This shop, outside of the city, has won awards for its alfajores

Even thinking that I have a separate dessert stomach, it was difficult to have room for delights such as alfajores after having so much sumptuous steak. I’m writing this a week after leaving Argentina, and I think I have just about digested all of the cow that I have eaten over the past seven days. How gauchos weren’t obese is beyond me…

Enjoying our asado

Maybe the poncho is to hide the meat belly?

Cheers Argentina!

Love you all,

Matt

Argentina - Tigre, Tigre, Burning Bright…

October 27

Hello everyone!

Buenos Aires is a huge city. Whilst it does have many parks and tree-lined streets, at other times it can have the feel of being in an architecturally interesting concrete jungle. Luckily for the locals known as porteños, there is a haven a little bit to the north…

Tigre, in Buenos Aires Province

Paraná Delta

This area is known as the Paraná River Delta. It’s one of the largest delta complexes in the world, and the only major delta that doesn’t flow into a sea or an ocean. Instead, it exits into another river, the Rio de la Plata or River Plate.

The water is brown due to sediment deposited

from the rivers that join the delta

The estuary is over 200 kilometres wide. For context,

Wales from north to south is 270 kilometres.

There are many ways to get to the delta from Buenos Aires. We had opted to travel by boat. This meant hopping down to the capital’s arguably most expensive neighbourhood of Puerto Madero. What used to be a rundown, disused industrial port has been modified and gentrified in recent decades to become one of its more attractive areas. 

The Industrial Revolution allowed ports to ship Argentine beef and other products to Europe, resulting in an economic boom for the country

Boats also go to neighbouring Uruguay

Probably more attractive in the sunshine. This wasn’t that day, the weather instead being overcast and chilly. I genuinely think that this 11°C day is the coldest I have experienced in 2025. Kayaking in the delta had been discussed: I’d probably still be shivering if we had opted for that.

The historic minimum and maximum temperatures in Buenos Aires in October are 10°C and 21°C. So this day was at the lower end…

Red: Tigre. Blue: first section of Paraná Delta. Uruguay is on the right.

Soon after bumping along in the mouth of Rio de la Plata - the river with the largest mouth in the world - we reached the ‘First Section’ of the Paraná Delta. This section is relatively small, at only 221 square kilometres, yet by far the most affected by human traffic.

It was a little over an hour by boat from the big city to the delta

Boats are the main mode of transport up here

As you move out of the Plata and into the delta, shacks on houses start to emerge on the banks of the river. Many of these initial homesteads are off-grid and look a little bit ramshackle, though this changes as you progress through the delta.

Some places still don't have electricity

Some boats have fared better than others...

About 4,000 people live in these initial islands in the Paraná Delta. Almost everything is done by boat. ‘Boat buses’ transport people to different areas. There is a school, which children get to and from by boat. Groceries are delivered by boat on large private vessels.

Not likely to be my next teaching post...

Key supplies. Like Coca-Cola. Lots of Coca-Cola.

The water seemed pretty high, with wakes from the bus boats in particular going quite close to the more elegant houses found deeper in the delta. We were told that the level can change quite radically depending on wind direction, and that it was at its top level.

When the water is lower, that will look more like a bridge

Houses are raised on stilts to prevent surge damage

Of those more elegant houses, one in particular stands out for its eccentricity. It belonged to Argentina’s seventh president, Domingo Sarmiento. He became known for his work in the country’s education sector, including driving teacher training and guaranteeing schools being free. After leaving the presidency, he lived in this house in the later part of the 19th century. The house is historic but a bit of a relic; it now sits in a glass case to protect it from the elements.

He also opened many free libraries

The house became a National Historic Monument in 1966

Eventually the mainland side of the river morphs into the city of Tigre, a city with more than half a million residents. It was named by Spanish colonisers because they saw an animal that they thought was a tiger. It wasn’t. You don’t get tigers here. It was more likely a jaguar, but the name - Tigre is Spanish for tiger - stuck.

Jaguars inhabited the delta area until the beginning of the twentieth century

Tigre is also easily reached by car, bus and train

The city is a popular weekend getaway from the big smoke of Buenos Aires. We didn’t go on a weekend, so didn’t see it at its most vibrant. There is a large market and the city hosts some interesting buildings, many of which are connected to rowing. 

Tigre's Art Museum is a spectacular building that
wouldn't be out of place in Las Vegas or DisneyWorld

Rowing is huge here, with the number
of clubs in double figures

The Italian organisation was where we stopped for these delicious empanadas

I can see why Tigre and the Paraná Delta are advertised as escapes from the hustle and bustle of Argentina’s capital. Trundling through the delta on the river felt a world away from the traffic and construction in Buenos Aires.

The tiger / jaguar

Moody Monday weather in Tigre

Chilly but lovely day!

Love you all,

Matt