SummaryRather hot in late February. NOT scenic along this long stretch of land, except near the border when crossing the Andes. The two capitals: Buenos Aires is prettier and more European like than Santiago, and has more things to see. But too big, streets too long and wide. Tiring. I love its San Telmo neighborhood. I like Santiago better if you want to stay a bit longer: smaller, more manageable, easier to get around, slightly cheaper. Chilean Spanish is more standard. Argentinian accent is hard to understand.
2/25-29 Buenos Aires and beyond
2/25 Saturday.
Dropped our bags at Los Patios de Montserrat B&B (wasn't even allowed to go upstairs). Breakfast at Cafe Torino, the oldest cafe in B.A. (1858). Frequented by luminaries like Alfonsina Storni, Jorge Luis Borges and celebrates like Don Benito Quinquela Martín, and Carlos Gardel. 
We walked along the stately Av. De Mayo to Plaza de Mayo. Visited Catedral Metropolitana. It happened to be San Martin's birthday. A ceremony accompanied by military band and sword-ed soldiers. San Martin's decedents, mayor and other officials paid homage to San Martin's sarcophagus.
At the end of the plaza is the rusty pink Casa Rosada, the government building. Weekends and holidays, free guided tours throughout the day. Both in English and Spanish. At the end of tour, our guide sang "Don't cry for me Argentina". She has good voice. You get to stand at the very balcony where Madonna sang this song as Eva Peron.
When we were resting in Plaza Mayo after the tour, a group of English walking tour came talking next to us. We followed them along Diagonal Norte to the Obelisk. The guide, a young enthusiastic girl, spoke out of her lungs (to overcome the traffic noise) on social issues and architecture along the way. Thanks to her, I saw a small house on top of a skyscraper. There're various free (by donation) English walking tours offered in the city at different spots.
The rest of the afternoon, we walked behind (west) Theatro Colon (no performance in summer, only pricy guided tours), passing Justice building (the lawn on the side) has grass on music stands), Plaza Libertad. Then caught a bus to Recoleta, a posh residential neighborhood, whose famous cemetery rests many famous dead, like Eva Peron (look for Durarte). There are big green open spaces outside of the cemetery, full of vendors selling all sorts of art objects as well as junk. Quite fun to browse. Outdoor cafes and exhibition spaces. Recoleta Culture Center is especially fun to walk around. Fine Arts Museum is free.2/26 Sunday.
After the breakfast (has one piece of fresh fruit) at the B&B, we headed to the Congress. At Plaza de Congresso (lots of pigeons), a middle aged man approached me calling out "Lady, it's not good, you need to clean up". Then he took out some paper napkin and a bottled water to wipe the green bird-dropping-like substance on my hat, backpack, shirt, pants. A bit smelly. Some middle-aged woman targeted dad who was ~20 paces behind me. I thanked the guy and told him I would go back to my hotel and didn't need his further assistance. Luckily, the Congress isn't far from where we stayed. We washed everything, changed. I threw away my backpack, instead, used a shopping bag. The owner told me that it's a well-known thieving scheme. Mustard based spray is used. While helping you clean, your pocket, handbags will be examined. Yes, my backpack's zipper was open. Fortunately, I had no valuable there, so nothing was stolen.
Manzana de la Luces is a block of buildings built in 16-1700s, steeped in history. Between Moreno and Alsina, between Bolivia and Peru. The first classical college, first pharmacy, First Assembly of the newly independent Argentina... Now partly occupied by souvenir shops. The guided visit advertised on the official website didn't exist. 
From here, we walked to San Telmo via Defensa. Sunday market was in full swing then. Performers and paddlers, antique or junk. Seemingly endless. I especially liked one marionette guy wearing the same clothes as his puppet who played a drunk and melancholic scene. Dad got tired of the crowd, so we detoured to a neighboring street. I like San Telmo very much. Many colonial buildings converted into restaurants or shops. Nothing grand, but old, colorful, and bustling. Its center, Plaza Dorrengo was completely covered with stalls. 
It's quite a bit of walk to La Boca, passing a couple of large sport fields and many fans in bright team T-shirts. Used to be a poor and industrial harbor, now somehow a tourist attraction. Maybe thanks to Quinquela Martin. The Fine Art Museum of Benito Quinquela Martin is a must see here. A cheaply built house, but full of characters. Its roof top sculpture garden is fun to walk around, good view to the surrounding area too. The restaurants and shops near Caminito is excellent to take photos. Extremely colorful. At this early dinner hour, every restaurant employs a couple Tango dancers in its patio to attract customers.
Took a bus back to San Telmo. Plaza Dorrego, now cleared off the vendors, was transformed into an outdoor Tango venue. Anyone can join. If you don't have a partner, you can try to pair up with a stranger. Some nicely dressed. Some wear baggy pants and sneakers. We sat on the dirty steps, drinking expensive frappy and watched with others. As night fell, colored lights were strung across the plaza. Pure joy!2/27 Monday. Holiday. Tigre. Rain.
Train to the city of Tigre, ~1 hour north. The information office provides good map (one side is the city, the other side the delta, both with tourist interest labeled), information on which boat to take. Here is the starting point to visit the Parana Delta. Took one of the many Launcha Collectivas, Interisnia. A$29 RT to go to Rama Negra, an island. It's a slow transport, stopping on all piers (there are many) to pick up passengers. Most are restaurants, hotel complexes, vacation homes. Our transport only goes along the major waterways, fairly wide. Dirty brown water. I don't understand why it's a vacation destination. 
There're faster private yachts, large slower provision boats. Among the many houses on stilt, one notable one is caged in glass. That was Samiento's house, now a museum. ~1hr later, we disembark. Took a trail along a side canal on raised but some broken cement blocks to Alpenhause, a small resort. Expensive food. Decent but slow service. Sat outdoor right by water, watching small boats go by. Then waited at the pier for over an hour for a returning boat. It was very full. When we were back in town, it was very busy. People picnic in the park on both sides of the river. We walked around the town. Not bad, but nothing special. The most interesting thing I found are the parking garages for boats. They are elevated.2/28 Tuesday. Rain - cloudy. Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay.
Woke up by pouring rain. Had to put on my poncho just to use the toilet. Wasn't able to buy boat ticket to Colonia for yesterday, a holiday (flag centennial day). Taxi1 to Buquebus terminal. Dad found out that he forgot his passport when we checked in at at 9am. Had to buy both of us a later ticket (12:30), so we could fetch his passport at the hotel. The rapid boat (one hour) is smaller, with strong AC, wifi, a bar selling drinks and snacks. Not even 1/3 full.
Uruguay is one hour ahead. Bad exchange rate for Argentina pesos. I exchanged US$40 ($1=U18.5, or A$1=U3.4) for lunch at El Drugstore. The leftover is just enough to buy dad a postcard and a U22 stamp to send home.
Colonia is a very nice little Portugese town, little enough for a half day visit. The old town is bordered by water on 3 sides. However, the Plata River is dirty yellowish brown. A few old buildings or ruins left. Some has plants growing on their roofs. 
Quite some rebuilding as well, like the main gate and the wooden draw bridge (Portón de Campo). Green spaces. Little plazas. Big linden trees. Outdoor cafes. Many little old houses are now museums for various causes, each charges U50. The oldest church in Uruguay (Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento) looks brandnew, and equally disappointing inside. In fact, only the design is original, and a nave and some Portuguese wall of 1808. I paid A$4.5 to walk up the narrow staircase of a 1845 lighthouse in the ruin of a 1694 convent.Took a slow boat (almost 3.5 hours) back to B.A. after dinner. Much bigger, so long lines for immigration. AC is weak, no wifi. There was entertainment: singing and playing, doing a mighty good job. The boat was again less than 1/3 full. I managed to find a row of 4 seats, and slept for half of the journey.
2/29 Wednesday. B.A. Overcast - partly sunny.
Went to US Embassy in Buenos Aires to add passport pages. The embassy is located in Palermo, a nice neighborhood right next to a green park. But the building is modern and ugly. 2 lines outside for visa applicants. I had to wait a bit to be let in, because there was no one at the window for US citizens. All electronics (including my USB thumb drive) and liquid (a bottle of water) were set aside at the security check to be retrieved when leaving. Inside, get a number and wait. I had printed a form before hand, so I filled it out right there. After I was called, and my form checked, the nice lady suggested me getting 48 pages instead of 24 (only offered to those who have added pages before). So now my passport is 3 times thick. A bit cumbersome. I paid US$82 cash (credit card is also accepted + some fee) at cashier's window, and handed the receipt back to the lady, and was told to wait. When I was called next, it was only to inform me that I should pick up my passport at 14:30 the same day. I was given a printout of my payment receipt with a handwritten line, so I could come back in without my passport. The total time spent in the ambassy was ~1 hour. There are 5 windows processing visas, only one window for US citizen service.
Back to hotel to fetch dad. We visited Cabildo Museum. According to "las leyes de Indias" (laws in el Rio de la Plata), a city was considered as such only if it had a cabildo. The word Cabildo derives from 'Capitulum' (at the head). It governed the city and was made up of the Regiment (Regents) and Justice (Mayors). Their sessions were called Cabildos Ordinarios or Cabildos Cerrados. When discussing important issues, neighbours were summoned, and those were called Cabildos Abiertos. Cabildo's main duties were judicial, executive, administrative and electoral. The Buenos Aires Cabildo distinguished itself from others by its famous Cabildos Abiertos where discussions went beyond their legal capacity.The building is located in the same place once chosen by Juan de Garay when founding the city in 1580. The original building had adobe walls and a straw roof, a large conference hall and a smaller room used as a jail. It was remodelled in 1621. The current building was designed by Andrés Blanqui in 1724. Construction was finished in 1751. Since then, many modifications, with the latest in 1939-40. The museum is now dedicated to the May 1810 revolution. On May 22nd, a Cabildo Abierto was summoned, after the news of Napolean conquering Spain. On May 25th, the Primera Junta was created, and viceroy was dismissed. The museum exhibits timed documents, clothings, painting, furniture.
Next we visited the City Museum 2 blocks away. It was in an impressive building above an impressive staircase. Museum space is very small, only a couple of rooms. At present, showcasing toys of ordinary people in recent history. Very boring.
After picking up my thickened passport, we strolled and rested in the free Botanic Garden close to US Embassy. Its museum was closed, so was the green house. Still the park is green and plenty shade. Temperature is much cooler inside. Name cards in front of some plants. Nice classic sculptures. This is the only place I see with some effort to recycle plastic bottles.Last: Carlos Gardel's house which he bought for his mother and later resided himeself. It's an ordinary house. Nothing interesting. The original toilet and kitchen were very basic. Phonographs, photographs, movies, newspaper (after his accidental death) were showcased, and inumerable things with Gardel's face or name on it. In the neighborhood (quite ordinary), there's a short street called Carlos Gardel, but his house is on a street called Jean Jaures, #735.
Even though it was 5pm, and our bus wouldn't depart until 21:15, my paranoid dad is anxious to get to the terminal. We were to head west to Chile.
3/1-2 Cordoba + Mendoza
3/1 Sunny. 14-28°C.
Arrived in Cordoba in darkness, ~6:30. Decided to go to Carlos Paz first on a 7:00 bus2. A resort town 37km west, next to the big artificial lake San Roque. over rolling hills, and cultivated fields. Blue sky with no cloud. The town is bigger than I thought, sprawling. Its town center isn't interesting, but plenty wooden bench for the tired legs. The cuckoo clock is tacky and disappointing: just one little bird comes out at 10:00 when we waited. Photographers occupy the prime spot to sell photos of old ladies using point-and-shoot cameras. 
The riverfront (Rio Antonio) is pleasant, enough shade, quite a few stone lounge chairs and chess boards. My favorite is a modern bridge: Puente Uruguay. Unimpressive from the outside. Vehicle traffic goes on top, and pedestrian walks along a windowed gallery with views of both sides. Not shops! But free temporary exhibition of local artists. The left evening photo on the Spanish wiki showcase the windows better than I can. Caught a 10:30 minibus back to Cordoba.
Cordoba, the 2nd largest city in Argentina, capital of the province. Its historical center is compact and lovely. Many pedestrian streets. Very lively. Listed by UNESCO for the University, Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, Colegia Monserrat. Many beautiful old churches and buildings. One nice looking synagogue just off the center, where a security guard stop me from taking a photo across the street! Gee, what a paranoia. Outdoor cafes, pedestrian streets, bustling and clean. Plenty green shaded space. However, impossible to find a spot to sit: all densely covered with pigeon dropping. The main square with the cathedral is interestingly paved with the shadow of the cathedral and the Cabildo. The Fine Arts museum Dr Genaro Pérez is not bad, housed in an old mansion. Free!
Upon reading a sign at the regislative building of a public tour, I inquired about it with my broken Spanish. A security guard accompanied us to the 2nd floor, showed us the unicamera house chamber. There used to be two houses in Cordoba province, which merged in 2001. 2 librarians showed us books and court records, all in fast and to me, blurry Spanish. The Dr Arturo Torres Legislative Library has an English brochure. It dated to the end of 1800s, but no official record of the foundation date. In 1966 it became a public institution. Anyone can access its 28000 volumes free of charge. It also has a legislative historical archive (e.g. the first bylaw of the city dated 1791/2 signed by Marquis of Sobremonte), and a legislative newspaper library (e.g. complete "Cuadernos Americanos", "La Opinion", ...). Contact bibliotecalegislatura@legiscba.gov.ar, or 4203516/18.Had an early dinner at !O!, a modern shopping mall in an 19th century dome building. Head to the bus terminal for Mendoza.
3/2, Friday. Sunny. ~30°
No service, but a cookie and a glass of soda after boarding, and the same cookie and a cup of hot sweet coffee in the morning. The bus didn't provide a blanket. Both of us got cold.
Mendoza is the biggest wine region in Argentina, maybe even the biggest in South America. Walked about the downtown area, much newer than Cordoba. Visited Casa Civit, now a museum. Sarmiento also stayed here in 1884. The ugly municipal building, many plazas with red fountains. Lots of people, due to the Vendimia Fiesta this weekend. 
When walking by the provincial government building, I saw a sign for Mendoza Bandera, used by San Martin and his Army of the Andes in the famous Andes crossing. So we went in and looked for it. It was covered with red velvet when we arrived (after noon). I asked the lady at the information desk what the flag look like. She couldn't produce any picture to show me, so decided to unrolled the cover. Boy, I like Latin American rules!In the afternoon, we went on a bodega (winery) tour. Visited 2 vineyards (one small family-run traditional vineyard, one modern mid-size operation) and 1 olive oil factory. Flood watering here. A couple of weeks before harvest, no more water is given to allow the sugar concentration. If you've never been to a winery tour, then, this tour is good. Here, during tasting, each wine was poured into the same glass, no water was offered to cleanse the palate. I bought some olive oil and tomato paste at the olive oil factory.
Overnight at Hostel Suite, only half a block from the parade route. At 10pm, 17 queens of 17 towns in Mendoza province, each on her float with friends tossing goodies to the crowd. Loud music, some dancing, colorful costumes. Some spectators came well prepared: a simple basket fastened to the top of a long pole (for catching the goodies), other than the usual: lounge chairs, food and drink.
3/3 Saturday. Sunny.
10:30 semi-cama bus to Santiago. Good scenery.
Had a short glimpse of Aconcagua, ~2km west of Puente de Inca.Long wait at the border (2.5 hours). ~2000m high. Once on the Chilean side, 180° turns coming down the steep slope. Slightly greener, still very desert looking. Arrived at Santiago ~7pm.
3/4-8 4 days in Santiago, Chile
3/4. Sunday Sunny. 33°
Forecast 33°. I decided to go to Valparaiso. It's by the ocean and much cooler. Took a 10:40 bus (among many3), arrived ~12:30. It's a huge bustling city sitting among many hills. Almost chaotic. Brightly painted walls, even colorful stairs sometimes in narrow steep alleys. Quite some abandoned houses, litter, graffiti walls, together with modern wide boulevard. Helpful tourism offices.
Cheap and short funiculars run continuously up and down the hills. We took 3 of the oldest Ascensor: Artilleria (1893), Peral (1902), Conception (1883).
Took a shared taxi to Pablo Neruda's house on Florida Hill, Museum La Sebastiana. Great view of the harbor and surrounding hills on each floor: 5 floors.We caught bus O outside of Neruda's house for Vina del Mar, the neighboring town, more modern and posh. Listen to a rehearsal in a church. The park behind the church is closed for some reason. Taxi4 to waterfront, the American Beach, with a floral clock. Catch a bus back to Valpaiso's bus terminal. Got home ~9pm.
3/5. Monday Sunny. ~30° Santiago
Walked all day. 10:00 guard changing ceremony outside of Moneda Palace. At least 100 soldiers. The band played one classic tune, 2 jazzy pieces. Quite entertaining.Walked by Palacio de los Tribunales, ex-Congreso Nacional (Pinochet moved the National Congress to Valparaiso). The latter has an ornate garden with fountains.
Plaza de Armas is the center. Pedro de Valdivia, who conquered Chile for the Spanish crown, founded this plaza in 1541, surrounded with Royal Court of Justice (now History Museum with an unadorned court yard), the Governor's Palace (now the post office after a fire), Metropolitan Cathedral. The green was added later.
The churches here are better than other Chilean cities we saw. At least with painted ceilings, gilded alters, marble columns. Some with nice stainless glass window. Basilica de la Merced has a small museum attached to it (its cloister), housing a small and uninteresting religious collection. Being Monday, this is one of the few that's open.
Santa Lucia Hill is very pleasant. Even though you can still hear the car noise, this small yet steep hill provides a green space full of benches and shades, fountains and castles.Visited the National Library for a rest and bathroom need. Walked by Municipal Theatre.
Back at Moneda Palace, visited its culture center, a large underground exhibition space with audio/visual facilities. The only exhibition today is a small room dedicated to Violeta Parra's painting and paper mache. Very primitive. In front of some paintings, there's a round speaker sign on the ground. When you step on it, a loud speaker on the ceiling will direct a sound recording to you. At the entrance of the exhibition room, the only English short description on Parra's life. 2 LCD screen with touch screen introduction to Parra's works. Very simple and nicely done. Along one of the walkways is a long poster exhibition of Roberto Matta's life and historical timeline during his life.
3/6, Tuesday. Sunny with haze. ~16-31°
Pablo Neruda's Santiago home La Chascona (unkempt hair). English tours are only in the afternoon. So took a guided tour in Spanish which runs every 15 minutes for ~10 visitors. It was built as a secret love nest for Matilde when Neruda was still married to the 2nd wife. There used to be a small canal next to the the lower building. The conceptual idea is a ship. The 3rd building has a room with slightly slanted floor for everyone to get some unstable feeling. Amoung all the collection, Neruda's Nobel medal is showcased in a glass window together with other honorary medals.
Walked in the so-called Forest Park to Fine Art museum. Free. But most was closed. Still, saw some nice Chilean painters' works. I like Pedro Lira the most, and painters in early 1900s. The visual room has 8 14' TV screens with headset playing some uninteresting short films, and a large screen playing another low resolution short film (looks bad and dizzying).Back to Plaza de Armas. Visited the Cathedral again, and then the History Museum which is not interesting and Spanish only.
Back to the hostel ~3pm. The kind receptionist gave dad a towel, so he could take a shower, then she called a private taxi with fixed price: C15000. No AC. We arrived at the airport way too early for check in. Ate the rest of pistachio I bought in Seattle and bought some drinks. Once dad passed the immigration, I headed back to town on the Centropuerto bus. C1600. AC full blown. However, no space for big luggage. It made many stops along O'Higgins road (next to the red metro line). I got off at its terminal Los Heroes. After picking up my own backpack, I took my first metro ride here (C650) to a cheaper hostel5 which provides dinner at 9pm during weekdays. Tonight was thin chicken paddy, rice, lettuce and carrots. Not enough, but a nice feature. A glass of red wine was even offered.
3/7. Wednesday. 33°
After emailing to visitas@presidencia.cl, I received a confirmation for a guided tour of Moneda Palace at 9:30 today (not of my choosing). It turns out that I was the only guest of this tour. I left my passport at the door (central south entrance facing ave o'Higgins). The guide was very nice and speaks English (only Spanish brochure). However only 2 rooms were shown, 2 small plazas and a chapel. The guide told me the authors of each painting, which I forgot in the next minute. Saw the presidential flag with the slogan "with reason or force" under an huemul and a condor, a glass cabinet with coins for all the president (no Pinochet). Total less than 30 minutes. The palace was designed by Italian architect Joaquin Toesca y Ricci. Construction started in 1784, originally as mint. Only became the presidential residence and the government office since 1846 during Manual Bulnes Prieto's presidency. Now, the ministry of interior and public security, ministry of social affairs, secretary general are all housed here.
Walked inside the stock exchange building by leaving my passport at the door. A guide took me into the trading room. Only 2 people were working on their screens. The large monitor on the wall flashes maybe every minute with updated prices. Seems slow to me. I didn't dare to walk to other rooms.The Tribunal scanned my bag and didn't check my ID. I was left free to wander. Lots of people in the building. Quite nice inside. On the far end, a few cushy leather chairs and public bathroom are available.
Checked out the Mapocho Station, used to be a train terminal, now an exposition site. Most was closed for staging the next show. It's not far from the Central Mercado. Only 2 fruit stands. Most are fish stands and restaurants showcase seafood. Lots of shared taxi in the area.Back to San Francisco. It's open 10-1pm, and 3-6. The ceiling is nice. No stainless glass window at all. South of here is the Paris-London quarter. Small, with cobble stone streets, old buildings. Very nice.
Downtown Santiago is very lively all the time. Many passages with shops on both side and some with roof (always between two large buildings). Inexpensive food and merchandise everywhere. I bought a pair of water shoes for ~C3000, and scissors for c350 (everything in the shop is c350, including nails, hair accessory, kitchen utensil. I saw 2 of these in one block, one on o'Higgins, just across from San Francisco, another one on Passage United States). There're also major drug stores and grocery stores here. I bought some food for lunch at Lider Express.
Notes
Omnibus CoataCordoba from Cordoba to Carlos Paz (and further): nice double deck, semi cama, assigned seats. Only A$10. Scheduled for 45 min, but took longer. On our way back, we took a more frequent local minibus, which has more stops, smaller seats, and costs A$13.
