Driving me crazy

This is slightly off piste for my blog which, naturally, is mostly about tourism: this might be of more interest to expats living in Argentina, or those looking to spend Sabbatical time here.   But since I know several Americans…

Best restaurants in Argentina

The new gourmet dining experience in Jujuy province is Flor del Pago, 10 minutes drive from the city of San Salvador, on Route 9, the main road north to Bolivia.   I’ve been following Flor del Pago on Instagram and…

Wine harvest 2023

Back in the days before the "gap year" became part of the leisure industry, one of the best jobs to pick up towards the end of the British summer holidays was grape picking for the wine harvest in Europe. I…

Atacama desert tours

After more than three years without visiting the Chile Atacama, we at Poncho Tours have now been across the Andes four times in three months (and I’m off again in February).   As you’ll already know if you read our…

Hiking in north west Argentina

"Before we go any further, we have to ask for permission". We'd just started hiking through some of the most spectacular landscape in north west Argentina, close to the famous Seven Coloured Hill in Jujuy province.   Oh yes, of…

Argentina's famous empanadas

Food again, after my ruminations on the Andean potato. (I try to write this blog first thing after breakfast, when I'm not hungry, but it doesn’t always work out that way).   Empanadas, as the Brits who have joined Poncho…

The sport of kings

My only experience of polo was as a young journalist when I was sent to cover Prince Charles in the first flush of his marriage troubles with Diana, and the press pack was chasing him around the country.   It…

How much does a dollar cost in Argentina?

UPDATE March 6th 2023: Latest government figures claim that over 800,000 visitors from abroad spent US$164 million on their bank cards, benefiting from the tourist dollar (at 360 pesos, as I write this).  That’s a fivefold increase on January 2022,…

Day of the Dead

As anyone who has seen the film Coco will know, today is the Day of the Dead. Celebrated most famously in Mexico, but also throughout Latin America, its traditions are particularly strong in countries with a large mixed-indigenous presence like…

Celebrate the humble spud

The humble potato gets a bad press. It's associated with unhealthy eating habits: eg crisps, often eaten by a couch potato while another member of the family is provoking a chip pan fire in the kitchen. There's the Irish potato…