Weeks 3 and 4 - Buenos Aires

I had a wonderful time visiting my friends in Córdoba, Argentina this past weekend. We spent our time exploring the city, eating delicious food, and just hanging out. I got to meet my friend's families and spend time with them alongside just catching up with my friends and talking about what had happened in our lives recently. The friends I was meeting I had not seen since my high school study abroad in Belgium five years ago. I'm so glad I got to spend time with my friends and experience a city other than Buenos Aires so I could get more of the “small town” Argentina. In Córdoba, we visited an art museum, the city center, my friend's apartment, and the area near the university. Afterward, we went to Villa Carlos Paz, a small coastal town, to eat sandwiches de miga (sandwiches with no crust) and drink mates together. After I said goodbye to my two friends, I definitely cried a little as I was so happy to see them and so sad to leave not knowing when I would see them again, but that’s the beauty of long-distance friendships. 

Through the week after my trip to Cordoba, I spent a lot of time with my friends here to plan our next upcoming trip to Salta which is in the north of Argentina. It is known for its colonial architecture, scenery, vineyards, and canyons. Two other students and I traveled to Salta after putting together our plans. The town of Salta itself was cute and I had the best beef empanadas I have tried so far in Argentina and locro (a stew with potatoes, vegetables, and meat). The real gem was traveling outside the city to both Jujuy and Cafayate. 

In Jujuy, we traveled to Purmamarca, Salinas Grande (also known as the salt flights), and the mountain with the seven colors. In Purmamarca there was a huge market with many handmade goods at a very reasonable price. My favorite part of the tour was visiting the salt flats as I have always wanted to travel and see them in person. They were white and blinding. In Cafayate, we spent our time walking around the center which was very small, and visiting a local winery for a tour of the winery, a history lesson about wine and how it is made, produced, and sold, and then a tasting of the local wines. Cafayete was a tiny town and we did not regret visiting it. Unfortunately,  we were unable to visit the canyons due to logistics with our bus back home and timing alongside the availability of tours. I would love to return to view the canyons however it did not ruin our day and we found plenty of other things to do there.

We had an amazing time in Salta and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful, culturally rich, and delicious destination. The north is definitely different than the south of Argentina and much different than Buenos Aires and I really enjoyed comparing the differences in the cities.