Why Argentina? That’s what so many of you asked us before we left for our Argentina adventure. I confess I may have wondered the same thing as we got ready for the trip. Not just “Why Argentina?” but “Why anywhere?” I found myself thinking. I could hear my dad’s voice in my head. “I can read a good book and feel like I’m anywhere in the world.” Mind you, my mom was having none of that faux-travel-by-reading nonsense, so my dad put down his books, packed his bags - O.K. she had to pack his, too - and went all over the world with her.

These are the two travel sides of me. On the one hand, there’s my mom inside of me. She was up for anything, and planning her next trip as soon as she arrived back home. And I’m also my dad: nervous as hell up on that donkey, and clinging on for dea

These are the two parts of my travel personality. Inside of me lurks my mom: up for anything, and planning her next trip as soon as she arrived back home. I’m also my dad: nervous as hell up on that donkey, and hanging on for dear life. But somehow still enjoying the thrill. And looking forward to being back in his own bed always. There. I’ve explained the mysteries of genetics to you.

So back to the Why Argentina question. I’m still getting myself re-used to the brave new world of travel. Some thoughts swirled in my head. What about a good book instead? Argentina is so far. And involves so many logistics. I’d be lying to you if I said the pre-trip anticipation was all rosy. But thank goodness I didn’t talk myself out of this one. I’m not writing just to convince you to go. Or maybe I am. If you want a summary and dread reading this whole post, here is the list. Reasons to get yourself to Argentina: the people, the food, the wine, the music, the scenery (and the variety of beauty), the wildlife, the dogs. Now all you need are what one traveler called the three most important travel ingredients: good health, money, and time.

Horseback riding is a big deal in Argentina. We didn’t ride horses, but these guys were hanging around outside the inn we stayed in on the coast. And they followed us, as if they knew we weren’t horse people and wanted to mess with us.

First, a little bit of backstory. Peter planned the Argentina trip for my 60th birthday. And then Peter’s “little health issue” - as we like to call it - or heartbreak as I sometimes think of it - postponed the trip. And then Covid butted in. I hemmed and hawed about whether it was a good idea even now (3+ years after we originally planned it) to go so far away. Did I used to be this much of a scaredy-cat about traveling? I was afraid I had changed for good. And then I gave myself a good talking to about how life has to go on. So I called the company planning the trip - fabulous folks and I’ll pass on their info to you if you want - and they resurrected our itinerary. There was no turning back now.

When you do go to Argentina, prepare yourself for the long flight there. And for the possibility that the woman across the aisle on the plane may be flossing her teeth. I kid you not. And the fact that it’s a long, long country. To get from top to bottom, you have to fly. We flew five times inside Argentina just to get to where we needed to go. I worried about that. Believe me, I wished I was Sister Bertrille and could have avoided all that flying around on planes.

But was it all worth it?, you ask. Dua Lipa explains how I was feeling about the trip after it ended:

“Did a full 180, crazy
Thinking 'bout the way I was
Did the heartbreak change me? Maybe
But look at where I ended up.”

She was talking about a different kind of heartbreak than the one Peter experienced, but still her words ring true. And P.S. I have a new life goal. As a kid, I used to dream about being a back-up dancer for Diana Ross. Now I want to play the violin in the background for someone like this star. Anyone have any connections?

First stop: Buenos Aires (BA). It was a city crammed full of European architecture (it’s often nicknamed the Paris of South America), street art, traffic, and delicious food. And wherever we turned, there were homages to Messi. And stories about the celebration and relief when Argentina won the World Cup. And also so much dulce de leche, which holds god/Messi-like status in my book.

Our visit to BA started with a tour of the Jewish section of the city. Our guide told us 90% of the Jewish population In Argentina lives in BA. We saw murals in memory of the 85 people killed during the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, and the bombing of the Israeli Embassy two years earlier. Thankfully, the Jewish community there is thriving, despite the troubles there and - sadly -everywhere in the world.

The colorful Boca district will take your mind off any troubles taking up space inside your head.

“I had the blues so bad one time it put my face in a permanent frown
You know I'm feelin' so much better I could cakewalk into town.”

Taj Mahal said it best. Imagine me at age 15 or so singing this song with my friends at top volume. What did we know about the blues back then?

Time to hit the road again. Next stop: Puerto Madryn. First a flight, then a two hour drive, most of it on a gravel road. We really felt like we were on the Road to Nowhere. And that we might soon be not-so-gently separated from all the U.S. dollars we were toting around. And left on the side of the road. With no cell service. Or clothing. One slight downside to a trip to Argentina is the need to travel - as our travel company advised - with wads of cash due to the raging inflation rates. Your USD are greeted with huge smiles and many, many, many graciases. To be fair, the smiles came freely in Argentina even when we weren’t paying for anything. They seemed genuinely delighted to welcome travelers from los Estados Unidos. And patient with the very minimal Spanish we spoke. And generous with their praise for our efforts. Let’s just say we weren’t in the Netherlands anymore, Dorothy, when it came to trying out a foreign language and encountering enthusiasm.

Here is that road to nowhere. I knew you would need to see it for yourselves.

I learned early on in this trip that although Argentina is a big country, we live in a small world. How else do you explain that also staying at this inn in the middle of nowhere, there was a Dutch couple, planted there just so I could speak some Dutch? Or a couple in our hotel in Buenos Aires who were from West Orange, just down the road from where we lived for 20 years and raised our kids? And in addition to those small world encounters, what about the omens that were plunked down in front of me throughout the trip to reassure me everything would be OK? More on those later.

We were so grateful for the chance to stay for a few days in this remote area on the east coast of Argentina. We spent it getting to know the penguins and elephant seals, hiking to some glorious spots where we were the only ones in sight, and seeing stars at night.

Like father, like son? Don’t they sort of have the same posture?

After a few days with our penguin friends, it was time to hit that road to nowhere again and get back on a plane. Next stop, further south in Patagonia and a chance to befriend some glaciers. The town, El Calafate, where we stayed was full of others making that same pilgrimage. Plus lots of restaurants, and outdoor clothing stores.

I loved hearing music in a few of the restaurants. One classical guitar player with a lovely voice made a delicious dinner even more perfect with classic songs like Bésame Mucho. And for the record, we didn’t have a single non-delicious meal during our 2 weeks stay. The climate is similar to California’s. That explains the perfect peaches, the walnuts and almonds, and of course, the wine. But back to the music. We chatted with the musician while he took a break, and when he found out I played the guitar, he insisted I treat the audience to my “expertise”. I politely declined. Quick question for my music friends: Why did we hear so little original music (even of familiar American pop tunes) on the radio during our many car rides to and fro? Instead we heard so many covers of American songs. What’s the story there?

And yes, we did see a little tango dancing. We also enjoyed this gentleman, who danced with a bottle of Jack Daniels. With all of the bottles of alcohol he could have chosen as a partner, he chose one produced in Tennessee. Now, there’s a small world for you. Whenever we told people we were from Nashville, they all smiled in recognition. Johnny Cash! Dolly Parton! Taylor Swift! They knew them all and looked at us like we were celebrities, too.

I beg your pardon. I promised you some food. Yes, there was a lot of beef, but we also had wonderful fish. And they are very proud of the lamb in Patagonia, which was also really good. I was delighted to find out that the Argentines have a sweet tooth. The desserts were perfection.

By this point in the trip, I was pinching myself. And thinking, I’m actually forgetting all about my Argentina/travel doubts. I’m actually good. Time to cue up this quirky but oddly addictive song I heard on the TV show Better Things with the lyric: “I am actually good. Can't help it if we're tilted.” Quick aside: watch the show. It’s about an actor mom raising her three teenage or almost-teenage girls and the assorted funny and sad stuff that flows from that. Or you can just watch the episode where the mom, the two younger daughters, and the grandmother perform this song for the eldest daughter’s birthday. Genius.

Where are we on our list? I’ve talked about the people, the music, the food, the wildlife. Let’s check out some more scenery, shall we? Here’s the part of the trip I was both excited and scared about in equal doses. The chance to see glaciers. And walk on them. With something called crampons on the bottom of our boots. Not to worry. I was reassured by the travel company that as long as I was under 65, I was good to go. Plus, there was a picnic lunch dangled in front of me as incentive to finish.

I thought of this song during our glacier walk, especially this line: “Show me how big your brave is.” I love Sara Bareilles voice, and the show-tune vibe this song gives off. I think someone could build a whole Broadway show around this song, about the challenges faced by introverts. Want to reserve a seat?

Photo credit to Peter, showing you just how big my brave was that day. And by the way, the grey on the ice is not from pollution. That’s dust that blows down from the mountains. It’s very windy up there.

I think we can call this glacier porn. Enjoy it. It was stunningly beautiful in this national park. I felt like I was walking on a blue moon. Afterwards, my legs were exhausted from trying to follow the guide’s instructions to the letter: when you walk downhill, squat as if you are using a public toilet. Good advice that did the trick: kept me from sliding into a crevasse and never writing again.

During the hike, at one point I looked up to see Peter striding up that glacier and it felt like he - and we - had achieved the ultimate triumph. I thought back to the note I saved that he scrawled on a paper towel in 2019 soon after emerging from a coma, but still critically ill. “I planned a trip to Argentina for Suzanne’s 60th. Probably have to cancel.” We were gifted a story with a miraculous happy ending. What better place to celebrate than on a glacier?

I mentioned omens popping up on this trip. The first came while we waited in Houston to board the flight to Buenos Aires. A lady from New Zealand standing next to us told us she had planned to go on the trip with her husband who had recently passed away. “I’m taking the trip for both of us,” she told us. That could so easily have been me, I thought. I remembered this while on that glacier with Peter. Being out in the middle of a blue moon gives you permission to think the thoughts you don’t usually dare to.

There’s no way to smoothly transition here. I won’t even try.

Dogs - if you are fans, of course - is maybe another reason to get yourself to Argentina. They were everywhere, wandering up and down the streets as if they own them. Our wonderful guide in El Calafate, Tim, reassured us they are not homeless, but just free spirits. It was hard to walk anywhere without a dog catching up to us to tag along.

Roaming dogs are one thing, but horses just hanging in front yards? This was surprising.

Yes, I know the book is about cats, not dogs, but I kept thinking about it on our walks. A childhood fave.

From hats and gloves and glaciers, we moved on to sun and swimming and wine. Next stop Mendoza. Our hotel, Entre Cielos, was the most White Lotus-like place I have ever stayed in. And if you don’t understand that reference, please treat yourself to this show. This season’s episodes are set in Taormina, Sicily, and the scenery is the star. But you’ll also enjoy the way the show shines a very unflattering light on the wealthy Americans who descend on a luxury hotel there. In preparation for your binge, listen to the opening credits theme song. So many TikToks about it. So much time to be wasted laughing at each one of them.

Our room was like a little shipping container, right in the middle of the vineyards. The views of the Andes were breathtaking. And the pool! And I often had it all to myself. I am one lucky gal.

I promised you wine, and I haven’t forgotten. The Argentinian wines were delicious and affordable. We spent our last full day in Mendoza exploring a few wineries. The six-course lunch with wine pairings represented a challenge along the lines of that glacier hike. You can do this, I told myself with a little pep talk when we entered the first winery at 10:30 a.m.

Yes, Sheryl Crow! “Hit it!….All I want to do is have some fun. I have a feeling I’m not the only one.” Plus how can you resist a song with the lyric, “Apropos of nothing…”?

More omens and symbols of good luck greeted us on these last legs of the trip. At the first winery we visited, we were informed that the owner is a cardiologist. I think someone was smiling at us, reassuring us we were in good hands even in Argentinian wine country. And then I found a four-leaf clover at our hotel. A rainbow spread out in front of us on the drive to the glaciers. And then we saw this Casey look-alike at the airport. You can call them coincidences, or you can call them lucky charms. I say the world is a small place full of messages just for you, just when you need them.

L’chaim! To life! To Argentina!