Three months flew by and before I knew it, I had to renew my tourist visa for Buenos Aires. The wonderful thing about Bs. As., other than the beef and beauty, is that the city is across the river from Uruguay. A one-hour ferry ride got me and my friends to Colonia, but we didn´t want to stay in the quaint town. We wanted beach.

From Colonia we took a 5-hour bus ride to Punta del Este, a well-known vacation spot for the porteños (Argentines). What I saw of the countryside was nothing short of breathtaking. It´s humble with small hills, a few trees, lots of cows, sheep, and horses. But something about it made my heart warm. Maybe it was the tiny towns we passed through, the kids playing football, the adults sipping mate. Or, maybe it was seeing what a country truly looks like, how the people truly live, on the inside.

We checked into our hostel, El Viajero, around 6 p.m., took a siesta, showered and were pumped to start the weekend. When we were about to hit the town, we walked outside and saw that it was pouring rain. What a bummer. We asked one of the ladies at the desk where to go and she said El Puerto, the Port.

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Your guide to heading out of the city and exploring what lays beyond Buenos Aires.

By Katie Hammel

For the ambitious traveler, the best of Buenos Aires can be seen in a few days, and even those who want to take a more relaxed approach can get a good feel for life in the city in about a week. But chances are you shelled out a good amount of money for those tickets to Argentina, so taking a short trip is hard to justify. Luckily, there are plenty of other areas in Argentina worth visiting nearby. During a recent trip to Argentina, my husband and I decided to spend a few days in Mendoza, then take a couple of day trips to the Pampas and to Uruguay, all doable side trips beyond the border of Buenos Aires.

Mendoza

Two hours by plane from Buenos Aires, Mendoza City sits at the heart of Argentina’s wine country. The area’s high desert climate at the base of the Andes mountain range is responsible for the uniqueness of the wine produced here. The city itself is small enough to explore in an afternoon, so you can devote the rest of your time to wine tasting or taking advantage of the region’s outdoor activities. For our first day, we chose to concentrate on the wine.

We’d booked a room at a bed and breakfast in the center of town. The owner’s son, Javier, offered to arrange a day of wine tasting for us. Since planning tastings in Mendoza on your own can be a little daunting for newcomers — staff at many places don’t speak English and reservations are mandatory — we decided to take him up on the offer. (more…)