Easter traditions and religious art in Salta & Jujuy
This week, typically international guests of ours (on this occasion, it’s an Argentine woman from Cordoba who is married to a Brit, and they live in Switzerland) are visiting the Quebrada de Humahuaca for Easter week. As is a…
The rise and rise of Air bnb (and the problems it brings)
My 19-year-old son Calixto has just bought a flat in Cordoba, where one of the rules of the block is "No Temporary Lets". This seems like a sensible way to tackle the housing shortage, and reduce inequalities in a…
El Bordo de las Lanzas: a historic Argentine estancia
For our recent wedding anniversary, Alicia and I treated ourselves to a night at Salta’s most historic country house, once the home of the Güemes family who are intrinsically linked to the nation’s struggle for Independence. El Bordo de las…
How expensive will it be to visit Argentina in 2025?
I’m sure you’ve all been wondering how our new President is getting on. Trump’s best friend (now there’s a clash of weird egos and hairstyles) has now completed a year in office. As I said to many appalled progressive friends…
Travelling to NW Argentina just got even easier
This month, a new flight connection from Paraguay arrives directly to the airport of Jujuy, the gateway to the colourful canyon of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, and on to the Atacama in Chile, and Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni and Tarija…
The South American folk tradition of drinking maté
One of my favourite Argentine customs is the drinking of maté, a green tea which we offer all guests on tailor-made trips with Poncho Tours. People have said it tastes like lapsang souchong, or even tobacco: I can’t say I…
Off the beaten track in the Inca Sacred Valley of Peru
On our recent trip to Europe we stopped off for a week in Peru, a country which Alicia and I first visited in 1999. Twenty five years ago, we actually met on a bus from Copacabana in Bolivia to…
Don’t cry for the blue dollar (or Argentina) just yet
On my recent trip to Europe, it was difficult to avoid the subject of Argentina’s new President. As a new Labour government was elected in my beloved UK, with premier Keir Starmer heralding sensible rule after the mop-headed loon that…
Taxing the Tourist: can it ever be justified?
I am currently on holiday in the UK, having recently enjoyed a month-long tour of Europe with my wife Alicia and 19-year-old son Calixto. One thing we noticed, not only in highly touristy areas like Venice and Florence, but…
Oranges are not the only fruit, Champagne is not the only sparkling wine
For my mum's 85th birthday this month, among the green rolling hills of the Kentish countryside, I opened a bottle of "Pet Nat", a lightly fermented sparkling wine which we'd brought across from Argentina. For those of you who have never…