Argentina!

Tuesday I fly to Buenos Aires. I'll be staying with my good friend, Matias Hodara, his wife Flor, and their three kids. Its been eight years since I saw Matias and Flor so its about time we caught up! I'll also be catching up with Javier Dborkin (although I'm lucky to see him fairly regularly in Boston). Matias, Javier, and I got our MBAs together at Babson College. 

After a couple of days in Buenos Aires, Matias and I fly to Salta in north-western Argentina for a 5-day mountain biking trip. We will be following the Calchaqui Valley circuit (Spanish: Vuelta de Valles Calchaquies). The route is approximately 400-500km through mountains, desert, sub-tropical forest, and colonial towns. 


Our route will look more or less like the picture below. (The first leg from Salta to point B is closer to a straight line as we'll be riding off-road).

And in the bigger picture, this is where we will be:

Matias has booked us into some beautiful colonial hotels. And even better, most have a bodega. Mountains and Malbec. Perfect.


By the way, we looked into cycling in Mendoza and the Seven Lakes (in the southwest) but recent volcanic activity and ash makes it a no-go.


We'll be back in Buenos Aires for a few days before heading to Uruguay. Colonia is just a one hour boat-trip. We'll also spend a couple of days in Montevideo and Punte del Este.


Big thanks to Matias for doing all the homework and making the bookings.


Goals for Argentina:
1. Visit old friends (Matias and Javier and their families).
2. See Buenos Aires (Microcentro, San Telmo, La Boca, and Palermo)
3. Eat asado at a parrilla
4. Reach serious altitude (3,000+ meters) in the Calchaqui Valleys
5. Tango!
6. Eat bon o bon, marroc, alfajor cookies, and Volta icecream
7. Party like a Gaucho
8. Visit Argentine vineyards 


Stay tuned!