northampton, ma

I was reading in the guidebook yesterday that Argentina is only made up of 2% indigenous peoples (as compared to around 60% in Bolivia) and 15% mestizos (mixed indigenous and European descent). That means the other 83% of this country are full European - and it shows. As an ex-resident of Italy the Italian influence here is readily apparent. Here you see Fiat cars all over the roads, Ferrero chocolates in stores, gnocchi on every single menu (although they call it ñoqui), and bidets in every bathroom. Argentinians generally do not go out to a restaurant before 10pm and some slip Italian words in with their Spanish. Helado, or ice cream, is huge here, whereas in Peru and Bolivia and Chile there was hardly a heladeria to be seen. To top it off, the most popular alcoholic drink in Argentina is the one and only Fernet Branca of Milan.

As an Italophile I find all these occurrences and discoveries rather fun - and I am only in the far north of the country yet, where the majority of the mestizos live. In Buenos Aires (where I depart for tomorrow) the Italian population is huge, promising all sorts of good Italian cooking to go with my steaks and empanadas.

Coming from Bolivia (and Peru) this country is a modern marvel. Some say that many Argentines consider themselves still Europeans and not South Americans - and you can see why when you compare their daily lives to that of their northern neighbors. In Argentina you find hot water in your showers (hostel workers react in surprise if you ask of the availability of hot water, whereas in Peru and Bolivia it is the norm to ask, and the norm to be told "lo siento, no"), toilets that can have toilet paper flushed down them (in the other countries the pipes are too narrow and paper clogs them up, so you toss your paper in a bin), a "business sense" similar to ours in America (in the sense that transactions which logically make sense to us also make sense to the Argentines - you'd be amazed at how often stores/stands in Peru and Bolivia would not let you buy things from them), ATMs in every town (even the small out-of-the-way ones - something that you will never find in Bolivia), and police at road checkpoints who aren't carrying machine guns.

Not to down on Peru or Bolivia - I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing each of these countries. Obviously for different reasons. Argentina being much more modern is both good and bad: good in that I just spent two months in really poor countries, rendering very pleasant the amenities here; and bad in the sense that in Argentina you do not find a rich cultural tradition that is unique to this world. Meaning you find no ruins, new languages (i.e. Quechua or Aymara), or a sense of visiting a time outside of your own. Argentina is a simply great change of pace, keeping my vacation interesting at this late date, and letting me wind down and relax after my months of moving all about.

The idea is a week or more in Buenos Aires, followed by two weeks of snowboarding, then a week of wine and relaxation in Mendoza. That boils down to only three places visited in one month, which at this moment sounds quite all right.