Argentina
 Home Up

Home
What's New
Travel
Consulting
Patz Etc.
Search/Site Map
Contact Us

 

 

Argentina is a country in South America situated in the south central and east coast area. Its name derives from the Latin word "argentum" - silver, because of the legend that its mountains were made of the precious metal. Argentina is the 2nd largest country [after Brazil] in South America, and is the 8th largest country in the world.

Locator Map for Argentina

Click on any picture to enlarge it.

Overview map of our South America cruise

This is an approximate overview map of our itinerary. We started in Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile and headed south through the Chilean Fjords, the Strait of Magellan to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. From there, we rounded Cape Horn, visited the Falkland Islands, Montevideo, Uruguay, and ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

And here is  a map of the county. The southern island is Tierra del Fuego ("Land of Fire" because  Ferdinand Magellan believed he saw fires when he made a transit through what is now named the Strait of Magellan in 1520) whose capital, Ushuaia, is the southernmost city in the world.
 map of Argentina  

   Map of Argentina
Seal of the Province of Tierra del Fuego This is the seal of the Tierra del Fuego Province.
Our first port in Argentina was Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Territory. Many desolate areas are described as not being the end of the world, but a place from which you can see it. Ushuaia is one place that can literally be described as the "end of the world" . Ushuaia means "the bay that looks at West" in the Yamana language. Here I am overlooking the Ushuaia Harbor, part of the Beagle Channel.
  "Jerrold Patz"  photo Jerrold Patz     		Jerrold Patz overlooking Ushuaia Harbor
The Ushuaia Skyline   Ushuaia International Airport [code USH] The Ushuaia skyline as seen from Deck 11 of our ship, and the Ushuaia International Airport [airport code USH] with a single runway).
Naimah standing at the small Ushuaia obelisk at the harbor.
   photo Naimah in Ushuaia    		Naimah at the Ushuaia Harbor Obelisk
Detail of Ushuaia sign: End of the World, Beginning of Everything The welcome sign at Ushuaia, in Spanish and English -
 "Ushuaia End Of The World, Beginning Of Everything".
We found the town of about 40,000 people to be very friendly and pleasant.
We left Ushuaia and began our journey around the Horn. Cape Horn (known in Spanish as Cabo de Hornos) extends into the Drake Passage which connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Passage around the Horn was at one time quite hazardous because of storms, strong currents, and icebergs. The Cape was named by William Schouten who navigated it; his hometown was Hoorn, the Netherlands . Approaching Cape Horn   Approaching Cape Horn
The Albatross Sculpture on Cape Horn Although Cape Horn is mostly a desolate rock, it has one characteristic piece of sculpture, an outline statue of an albatross, among the largest flying birds in the world. It is a superstition among sailors that it is very unlucky to shoot or maim an albatross.

My certificate after sailing around the Cape Horn.

Certificate after Sailing Around the Cape Horn
Fishing Boats at Puerto Madryn A view of the fishing fleet in Puerto Madryn harbor.

The mausoleum of San Martin at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires

The Mausoleum of San Martin   The Mausoleum of San Martin
The Casa Rosada ("Pink House"), the Seat of the Executive Branch of Government   Naimah at Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo The Casa Rosada ("Pink House"), the seat of the Executive Branch of Government. Right - Naimah at the Plaza de Mayor.

It would appear that no visit to Buenos Aires would be complete without a visit to the Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron  is buried. Here are two general views of the necropolis.

View of the Recoleta Cemetery   View of the Recoleta Cemetery
Tomb of Eva Peron   Detail of the Tomb of Eva Peron

Naimah and others taking pictures of the Tomb of Eva Peron

 The tomb of Eva Peron (Evita) (more info). Thousands of people line up to visit this unremarkable tomb every day. Because of the fear of grave robbers, the body is encased in cement and buried some 9 meters (28 feet) deep.
  photo Naimah "grave marker"  "Evita tomb" "Evita grave"  "Eva Peron grave" "Eva Peron tomb"  tourist attraction 

Calle Florida (Florida Street) is a pedestrian mall in central Buenos Aires. The right two photos show some of the shops and restaurants there. It is an up-scale shopping area where we shopped (shoes, T-shirts) and ate a fantastic meal.

As we live in Florida, we decided that a visit here was required.

Street Sign for Calle Florida   Street Scene on Calle Florida

Street Scene on Calle Florida
The Falkland's War Memorial, Buenos Aires The memorial to the Falkland (Las Malvinas) War. There is an eternal flame, ceremonial guards, and the names of the 600+ Argentines who lost their lives in this ill-fated and totally unnecessary 1982 military escapade.

Caminito Street and details in the former Italian-immigrant neighborhood La Boca (the "mouth" as it is near the river's end). This was a very colorful but touristy area.

Caminito, an Area in La Boca, Buenos Aires   Detail at La Boca, Buenos Aires
Orthodox Church in Buenos Aires While there was no shortage of churches in Buenos Aires, this one is said to be the only Russian Orthodox one in the City. Its architecture is reminiscent of that found in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

 

Here is a montage of additional pictures.

Mouse over any picture for a description. Click on any picture to expand it into a larger view.

▲to top of page▲

Jerrold Patz Naimah Zakaria   "the end of the world"  "fin del mundo"    tourist attraction  tomb of Eva Peron  "Evita tomb"   "the bottom of the world"  "recoleta cemetery"   "Falkland War Memorial" Millennium "Cape Horn"  "commemorative postal envelope"  "Cape Horn" "rounding the Horn" Ushuaia  falkland war memorial   english tower  shopping bag  sea birds plaza de mayor