(bueno, let´s start at the very beginning. a very good place to start. when you read you begin with A b C , in argentina you begin with jujuyyy jujuyyy. you can follow along with this map)
just from the sound of the name (hoo-hui) you feel the contaigious cheeryness of this province. it is the northern point of Argentina, bordering with Bolivia at La Quiaca. The most common attraction is it´s incredibly colored mountains (that sport a palette from brown to red to orange to green) .
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SALTA
Salta surrounds jujuy from the south and is famed for its churches, empanadas, and folclore culture. Folclore (foak LOH ray) involves many of the andean instruments - flutes, drums, noisemakers made from the nails of goats. The dance includes hand-kerchiefs, stomping feet, swirling skirts, and typical gaucho wear.
Link to video
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MISIONES
Northernmost province in the east, bordering with Brasil and Paraguay. Home of the Iguazu Falls, one of the 8 wonders of the modern world. We share them with Brasil, but in Argentina you can get up close and personal with the IMMENSE waterfalls, and even take a boat beneath them and get completely (and i mean completely) drenched. The two other attractions are the Minas de Wanda (precious stones) and the Jesuit Ruins (the namesake of the province... Misiones = Missions).
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LA RIOJA
In some parts, La Rioja looks just like Arizona (desert, cacti, canyons); in others, it´s a little greener and has vineyards (like right outside our hotel).
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CORDOBA
Hilly, green, swiss lakes, and smack dab in the middle of Argentina. we passed through shortly, but i have friends who live in this province so i hope to go back and spend some more time there. Maybe have the Cordoba Camping experience that the Argentines enjoy so much.
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CAPITAL FEDERAL
80% of the population live in Capital Federal (Buenos Aires). Unlike typical US Cities, all of the people with money live in the city or in private neighborhoods, and the poor population lives in the suburbs outside. It´s a metropolitan, modern city, full of culture and life. Every barrio is different, but they share some common threads: art, music, tango, style, and life.
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LA PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AIRES (represent!)
My home sweet home. Flat, kind of empty (like the vast vast majority of Argentina) and full of giant, beautiful, take-your-breath-away campo (definition: farmland/countryside). To the east - the ocean, to the west - the barren endless Pampas. see this post for details.
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NEUQUEN
Big lakes, big mountains. A really chill spot, and by chill I took a dip in one of the glacier lakes and afterwards i was so numb i couldn´t walk. Yeah, chilly.
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RIO NEGRO
Famous for the vacation spot Bariloche (best nightclubs and skiing in the country). Every year, the graduating class of every high school takes a trip to this town so it is always completely full of students. It is incredibly beautiful, one of the most "i can´t believe it´s real" places i´ve ever been. I climbed an Andes Mountain here.
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CHUBUT
The farthest south I went. Really REALLY empty. On the east coast, you can hang out with penguins and whales. It did take us 6 hours of empty to get there though :P
Provinces I passed through:
Catamarca, Tucuman, Corrientes, Entre Rios, San Juan, La Pampa.
But this was basically all i saw:
which led to a lot of modern art like this :
:)
