Falling for Empanadas in Argentina

After saying farewell to our Antarctic travel crew, it was time to head North to a warmer climate. I created a map below of all the places we visited in Argentina. To get an idea of the scale, Argentina is 2360 miles from its northern to southern most points. That’s like driving from the border in Minnesota, to the southern tip of Texas, and back to Oklahoma again!

Since we spent so much time in cities last year, we decided not to explore much of Buenos Aires. So, we headed straight for the small city of Puerto Iguazu on the border with Paraguay and Brazil. The major attraction here is Iguazu Falls, which is larger than Niagara Falls!

Puerto Iguazu

We had one quick night in Buenos Aires where we relaxed in the hotel near the domestic airport. We were able to take advantage of the lounge for some dinner snacks as well as our breakfast the next morning.

It was about two hours to Iguazu and we found a shared shuttle for the 30 minute drive to our hotel. We didn’t realize just how far out of town we were. It isn’t too large of a city but we were a good 20 minutes walk on dark streets to the nearest restaurant. 

Thankfully our hotel had their own restaurant and they were open that evening. The hotel was renovated from the site of a Jesuit mission built in the 17th century. It was part of the Spanish Catholics attempt to spread Christianity around the world. Some of the buildings were set up as a museum, with exhibits talking about the mission in this area. Finally we found our way to the restaurant and ordered some empanadas, of course!

Right as our main course arrived, a Tango Demonstration began. They started off with several different paces of tango, and potentially different styles, he spoke mostly in Spanish in this part, but it was fun to watch.

Most of the way through they decided to interact with the audience and asked where different people were from. Some willing participants even participated in a free lesson.

The travel day plus lack of sleep on the Drake passage made us quite tired, so we went to bed shortly after dinner. We had a few days where we decided to mostly relax at the hotel and and catch up with family. I have to admit, it was taking me awhile to get used to the heat. It was about 95F (35C) and humid, what a change from Antarctica!

We were able to get our meals from the snack bar on site. It was a little more casual and had a really nice view over the river towards Paraguay.

Iguazu Falls

After hiding in the AC for a few days, it was time to venture out to the main attraction, Iguazu Falls. It has been declared one of the new 7 wonders of nature and a UNESCO world heritage site. It is both taller and wider, and with more falls than Niagara, however Niagara does have more volume. The other big difference is Niagara is built up into a tourist destination right in the middle of town, whereas Iguazu is still hidden in the jungle.

We purchased our tickets to the national park online, and hired a transport to take us to the falls. After arriving at 8am, we walked directly to catch a train to the farthest point, Devil’s Throat. Unfortunately, we had to wait until 9am for our appointed ticket time since several big tours got the first few trains. While we waited we enjoyed some cold water and people watched.

You could definitely tell the tourists from the locals not for the more common reasons, but because the locals all carried a thermos full of hot water despite it being 95F outside! Many carried them in the crook of their arm, with that hand holding their cup of Maté (pronounced Ma-tay). Maté is a tea made from the plant Yerba Maté and is nearly a religion throughout Argentina. So many people carry it with them everywhere, some with fancy cases or straps for the thermos. I’ll go more into it later when we got to try some for ourselves.

It took about 30 minutes to go the 7 miles to the last station. We managed to walk quickly enough to stay ahead of the big tour group that was on our train. The boardwalk sits about 6 feet above what looks like a lake, but it’s really a very wide river. There are little islands in spots with trees and the water is clear where you can see some fish swimming.

It is about 0.7 miles (1.1 kilometers) walk to the main attraction, and soon we were seeing the mist rising in the distance.

The boardwalk brings you right to the very edge of where the waterfall is going over the edge! Sorry mom, you might want to skip the next few pictures ;).

You can see across to the Brazil side where other tourists are viewing the falls. I really loved these little falls coming out of the foliage to our left.

Thanks to the 360 camera and it’s long selfie stick, I was able to get some pictures and a video way over the edge.

We got the occasional shower from the mist as the wind blew it into our faces.

Finally we made it over to the throat, where it looks like the water drops off into nowhere. Not too soon we decided to make our way back to the train as a few tour groups arrived. The boardwalk was quite clogged with tour groups on our way back, glad we got there when we did!

We got out at the next stop, which was near the beginning of the superior and inferior loops, meaning upper and lower hikes. We started with the upper falls loop that was just under a mile (1.5 km) long and took you along more of the edges of the falls like where we were by the throat. You really get a glimpse of how many falls are here as the cliff edge under the river winds its way back and forth. This was a bit calmer of a hike, much fewer groups were here which we appreciated.

On our way back to the start of the loop we had to share the path with a few South American Coatis. It seemed a whole family was wanting to use the boardwalk.

We ran out of our water during this loop so we stopped at the little convenience shop to get more and use the facilities. While sitting in the shade we noticed not only had garbage and recycling, but there was a special one just for Yerba Maté, likely so it could be composted.

Rested and cooled off, we made our way to the lower falls, taking the route of the stairs, working our way down where we could see some of the falls from the bottom. It was barely shorter than the upper falls but it was much busier.

This area was my favorite part of the day. To me, it’s more interesting to see the falls from farther away than from on top, and I especially liked the ones that were stepped.

We were able finish all three hikes and get back to the restaurant before they were overrun with tour groups. Of course we had to get some empanadas, and we found a few refreshing juices and a dessert to round out our lunch.

Instead of sitting on the busy (and sometimes hot) train, we opted to walk the short distance back to the main area. We stopped off at one of the cafes near the entrance and got a few beers and some snacks while we waited for our transfer. We were thankful to get back to our hotel where we could have a cooling shower and relax in the AC before dinner.

Argentine Experience

The following night we booked an Argentine experience located in the center of Puerto Iguazu. We opted to walk there since we knew we’d have plenty of food so we wanted to work up an appetite. Also, we were trying to save our cash since it was difficult to find ATMs that would work for us.

The experience began with a wine tasting and introduction into some wines from Mendoza area. We were given a plate of cheeses and some Yuca fries to try our own pairings with the wine. He served us a Chardonnay, a Merlot Alta, and of course the national gem, Malbec. It was an interesting Chardonnay but I still liked it. The Merlot surprised me, I am usually not a fan of Merlot but as it is grown in a desert at altitude, it changes the flavor of the grape, and therefore the wine.

This is similar to the story of the Malbec grape. It is a grape that originated in France, but it was not known for eating or wine making, as it’s name literally translates to “bad in the mouth”. Malbec was brought by the Spanish to Argentina, but when it was brought to the high desert of Mendoza the characteristics completely changed and it became a wine that is sold and enjoyed all over the world today. It is Mr. Wander’s favorite, as well as one of mine. Theirs they had was particularly excellent, and it was from one of Mendoza’s highest altitude vineyards.

The wine tasting was just the beginning, soon we were brought into the next room full of wine bottles. They told me to knock on the door at the end of the hall, and say the password. Suddenly it wasn’t the door opening, but the shelf of bottles next to me! It opened to a dining room with two long tables that could seat about 20 each.

After we donned our chef hats we were brought a welcome cocktail to enjoy while we waited for others to arrive. The cocktail was made with white wine and citrus, it was very refreshing.

The first thing we did after our intro learn to make another cocktail, called Malabeca, as it is made with malbec wine. It was the right combination of sweetness with depth that went down very easy.

Next we were given a few appetizers, a salad similar to pico de gallo but with more peppers that was put on a small toast. As well as a chipa, which is a small cheese bread.

Next was learning how to fold empanadas. The instructor taught us how to stretch and pinch to create the twisted edges that signify a beef empanada, at least in Argentina. They gave us little flags so we would be getting our same empanada back to us. 

Our next course included some chorizo medallians, smoked chicken pieces, and little rolls of blood sausage with a bit of jam on top. They gave us bowls of their garnish that is popular in Argentina, called criolla. I did manage to try the blood sausage, it’s always scared me, but it wasn’t as bad as your brain makes it sound. It doesn’t have any particular flavor so I was thankful for the jam on top. They also brought out little trays full of melted cheese and more toasted pieces of bread. I was very tasty to put the chorizo and cheese on the bread with the salsa on top!

Finally it was time to taste our empanadas. The filling was very tasty, and so far it is still in my top 3 empanadas. While we didn’t learn how to make the filling, we did still get the recipe. Next they brought out the main dish, a steak with a ton of roasted root vegetables for the side. I really enjoyed the beets and sweet potatoes! I must have been too excited for the steak and we both forgot to take pictures.

Next up were a few desserts, a bowl of dulce de leche mousse, and the fixings to make alfajores. You take two shortbread cookies, fill with dulce de leche, and roll in coconut sugar. Often we’d find this at breakfast buffets along with little pots of dulce de leche to put on toast. Dulce de leche is to Argentina is what Nutella is to most of Europe, or Peanut butter to the US, it was everywhere!

Our last step was learning how to prepare our own cup of Maté. It’s more than just a drink though, there is a whole ritual and traditions that go along with it.

First in your cup you put the mate leaves. Then you cover it with your hand, and vigorously shake, making all the loose powder stick to your hand to remove it from the leaves. The straw used is a metal filter straw, not unlike what we used for the Tongba back in Nepal. You insert straight down right next to the wall of the cup, with the bent part facing outwards. Once you hit bottom, you push the bottom of the straw across, keeping the top in contact with the wall, so it sits in the cup at an angle.

Our guide told us that in Argentina, it’s rude to move the straw, that if you do move it, you will feel a pain in the back of your neck, and that is all Argentinians hating you. Now it’s time for the water, which is poured right on top of the straw and only there, until you notice the leaves have started to float. You can let it steep for a minute or two, and then you enjoy until there is no more water. You can keep refilling with hot water until all the leaves were wet or until the flavor is too bland. Then you dump it out and start all over again!

I learned from others later that in other parts of South America, such as Uruguay, you can move the straw, but only if it is your own cup and only in quarter turns to “refresh” what leaves are used since you only pour water near your straw. Similar to Tongba, the second pouring of water was better than the first, and it is a bit of an acquired taste, but I enjoyed it by the end. 

We had the company call us a taxi and it was time to head back to the hotel. We had one more day to relax before we headed off to another area in Argentina.

Next Time

We leave the humidity of northern Argentina and travel Southwest to the desert that is Mendoza. It has another claim to fame though, it is where Malbec became not only drinkable, but also a delicious wine! We also learn about olive production and visit the tallest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere! Until next time, Ciao!