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…
North West Argentina's new tourist train powers ahead
LATEST: THE SOLAR POWERED TRAIN IS DUE TO START RUNNING ON MONDAY 17th JUNE The most exciting new tourist attraction to emerge in northwest Argentina since… well, probably the Train to the Clouds in the 1970s, is…
Wine harvest 2024 in the Quebrada de Humahuaca
One of my favourite times of year for an Argentina wine tour is the Vendimia, or harvest, when you’re rewarded with the sights and sounds of wine production, not to mention the great smells and tastes. You can also pitch…
Extreme weather batters Argentina
LATEST: AFTER NEARLY TWO WEEKS, THE ROAD TO THE SALINAS GRANDES & SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA RE-OPENED YESTERDAY (Thurs 28th March) As I write this on 22nd March, the main road from Purmamarca to the Salinas Grandes salt flats,…