We cannot believe that Argentina and Brazil are neighbors. They are so close, yet so different. We have heard that Brazil is completely different from the rest of South America, and so far this definitely seems true. We are looking forward to traveling to other countries in South America to compare them with Brazil.
It was so nice to get away from the oppressive heat and humidity of Brazil. We had some warm days in Argentina, but nothing like what we experience in Brazil (plus they have air conditioning in Argentina!).
We realized on this trip that our Spanish is definitely not what it used to be. We also realized how much Portuguese we understand and how comfortable we have gotten with the language. At times we struggled with menus and understanding what people were telling us. However, a lot more people speak English in Argentina, which helped us survive the two weeks!
The driving (even in BA) was so much calmer than what we are used to in Rio. The biggest issue we had while driving is that there are no stop signs and you pretty much just have to watch out so you don't get hit in an intersection where there would usually be a four-way stop. It was nice to drive on an actual highway again and to drive over 50 mph.
On the weekends in Rio, people flock o the beach. In Argentina, people flock to the parks. We were surprised to see so many large parks in all the places we visited. It seems the popular thing to do in these parks is to either have a serious make-out session or sip some matte (a popular hot tea that you drink out of a metal straw that you share with your friends). Either way, swapping spit in the park is the thing to do in Argentina.
The food in Argentina is SO much better than what we are used to in Brazil. Granted, it didn't live up to my American standards, but it was definitely a few steps above what we've been eatting for the last year. It was so nice to get away from rice and beans for two weeks! Where the meat in Brazil is similar to eating a rubber tire, the meat here-especially the beef-was amazing. The food had flavor and they actually used spices. In Brazil when you order a chicken sandwich you get a piece of chewy chicken on a roll and here they actually put vegetables and sauce on it, what an amazing concept! Dean was very excited to eat his first "real steak" in a year. It was about the size of his head and he managed to eat every bite!
Overall, our impression of Argentina was wonderful! We can see ourselves coming back to explore more of this amazing country.
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