The Dakar is a race for travellers. This year, it is readying itself to discover a 27th country, at the end of a fourth South American adventure that will take the riders and drivers to Lima, the capital of Peru, after having returned to the Argentinean and Chilean landscapes. The crossing of the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific appeals massively to rally-raid lovers who come to enjoy the thrills of the competition and wide open spaces. This year, 465 vehicles are expected at Mar del Plata for the start of the race, an increase of almost 15 % in comparison to the 2011 edition.

Sand and dunes will be on the menu in the three host countries of the Dakar 2012. However, between the ones in Fiambala leading up to the crossing of the Andes Mountains, the amazingly large ones of the Atacama Desert, or those in Peru which stretch out in long rows, their variation and the reoccurrence of difficulty they provide along the route means it is a fool’s game to try and predict just how the race will unfold. Furthermore, the numbers in the field have become denser, making predictions more and more random, starting in the two-wheeled category. Whilst Marc Coma and Cyril Despres are neck and neck with three victories each, it is by no means a sure thing that one of them will take a lead this year on the rally’s roll of honour. Among the serious rivals who can already boast podium finishes are Helder Rodrigues and David Casteu riding for Yamaha, as well as Francisco Lopez (Aprilia) or Pal-Anders Ullevalseter (KTM). However, in light of their promising performances, Portugal’s Paulo Gonçalves (Husqvarna) or even American Quinn Cody, best “rookie” in 2011 (9th, Honda) can also be granted the rank of pretender. What’s more, all eyes will probably also be on a handful of first-class newcomers, such as Brazilian Felipe Zanol (2nd behind Despres in the Sertoes International Rally), two times endurance world champion Johnny Aubert, or four times Bol d’Or winner Matt Lagrive.

The reshuffling of cards expected in the car category could also give rise to an intense battle. It will already be raging within the ranks of the X-Raid team, which will be racing five Minis, driven by two former rally winners, Stephane Peterhansel and Nani Roma (who triumphed on a bike), as well as the rising start of the discipline Krzysztof Holowczyc, victorious this summer on the Silk Way Rally. But the new context could also allow Robby Gordon to make a mark again, after a podium finish in 2009 behind the wheel of his Hummer. This is also a goal that Giniel De Villiers can legitimately hold: the winner of the first South American Dakar will be driving a Toyota Pick-up designed by Overdrive that could make a triumphant debut in the event. The state of the competition is also whetting the appetite of outsiders such as Christian Lavieille for Dessoude, Mathias Kahle behind the wheel of an SMG buggy, or the comeback kid Carlos Sousa, enlisted by Chinese constructor Great Wall.

In the quad category, the Patronelli brothers seem obliged to provide an excellent performance. The Argentine spectators, won over by the family saga that has witnessed the victories of Marcos in 2010, then Alejandro in 2011, will only content themselves with the best. However, on the tracks the duo will have to deal with Czech rider Josef Machacek, who picked up the last of his five titles in 2009, as well as a Polish onslaught that has been gathering strength for the last few years in the form of Rafal Sonik and Lukasz Laskawiec.

2012 will unavoidably be a turning point for the Kamaz team, since its star Chagin has left the cab to take on a role in managing the team. An air of youthfulness has been given to the team with Eduard Nikolaev and Ayrat Mardeev, son of Ilgizar, who both have the talent and machines capable of prolonging the Russian domination. That said, their failure at home in July in the SWR, along with the victory of Ales Loprais, allows the Czech driver to nourish hopes of triumph. The De Rooy team also has high hopes, with the return to the tracks of Gerard, but also the presence of Hans Stacey, the last driver to have beaten Kamaz on the Dakar, in 2007. Furthermore, the Veka team does not intend to be a mere spectator of this struggle, with Frantz Echter ready to get stuck in.
____________________________________________
SOURCE: http://www.dakar.com/index_DAKus.html

“The driving force, ‘education for social inclusion’ should become Latinamerica’s most important effort in helping the region take off in an area where it is lagging considerably”, said Enrique Iglesias, Secretary General of the Ibero-American organization.

The program also includes a solidarity fund to compensate the poorer countries with resources from the richer members. Funds are also expected from banks and private corporations which should be signing their commitments during the Mar del Plata meetings.

The plan should concludes in 2021, anniversary of the last independence bicentennials celebrations of the region and by then “we hope all Latinamerican countries should have their education budgets growing at the medium expansion rate for the region (over 4%), which will more than comply with the 76 billion Euro commitment”, explained Iglesias.

The summit expects leaders from 19 countries of the region plus Spain, Portugal and Andorra, six associate observers and 9 consulting observers. Argentina currently holds the pro tempore chair of the Ibero-American conference, and is supported by Portugal that organized the previous meeting and Paraguay that is scheduled to host the conference in 2011.

As happens in these gatherings other out of agenda are expected to be addressed among which building a consensus for the nomination of a Unasur secretary general; analyzing the current financial situation in the Euro zone; the Wikileaks; regional cooperation; democracy and governance; ending the trade embargo on Cuba and Argentina’s claim over the Falklands and South Atlantic Islands and surrounding maritime spaces.

Most Latin American leaders have confirmed attendance as has the King of Spain Juan Carlos but not President Rodriguez Zapatero who is totally absorbed with the announcement this week of business confidence building programs in an attempt to prop the Spanish economy.
___________________________
SOURCE:
“Ambitious Ibero-American conference takes off in Mar del Plata”
Thursday, December 2nd 2010
http://en.mercopress.com
http://en.mercopress.com/2010/12/02/ambitious-ibero-american-conference-takes-off-in-mar-del-plata

They will face Argentina on Saturday 12 June in Tucuman, with the second Test being played in Mar Del Plata the following Saturday.

Argentina are in the same pool as Scotland for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

And the Pumas beat the Scots 9-6 at Murrayfield in November.

However, the Scots won their last match in Argentina in 2008, winning 26-14 in Buenos Aires, to square the series after a 21-15 defeat in the opening Test in Rosario.

Argentina, currently ranked seventh, two places above the Scots, also won their meeting in the 2007 World Cup 19-13 to reach the semi-finals in France.

The trip to South America will be Andy Robinson’s first tour since taking over as national coach from Frank Hadden in the summer.

Argentina able to name full-strength squad for visit of Scotland party

When Scotland head to Argentina next month looking for only their third international victory over their hosts, they now know they are going to have to do it the hard way against a full-strength Puma side.

With the matches not scheduled until the middle of June, the South Americans have been able to call back all their stars from France, meaning they should be able to field a stronger side than the one that won at Murrayfield last November.

From the touring party’s viewpoint, the encouraging aspect of the home squad announced by Santiago Phelan, the Argentina coach, in Buenos Aires yesterday, is that the Scots came away from that Murrayfield game feeling they had won the forward battle and lost only because of the number of chances they squandered. This squad includes every one of the pack that started the November match and the Scotland players will feel confident they can repeat their dominant performance.

That said, the Pumas are expecting to field a stronger unit this time with Mario Ledesma, the veteran hooker, who had been released to be at the birth of his third child, and Juan Manuel Leguizamon, the back row, who missed that tour, both available this time. Both are key members of Phelan’s squad.

The mini-revolution, however, is in the backs where there are seven players who were not involved in the November game, including Felipe Contepomi, who is likely to captain the side.

He missed the first half of the season at Toulon with a knee injury but now that he is playing again he duly slots back into the squad, where he is almost certain to return to his favourite role of fly half.

The only major absentee is now Juan Martin Hernandez, the other potential fly half, who is still recovering from surgery on a back problem, so though Contepomi will face some competition from Ignacio Mieres, the Stade Français playmaker, experience should make the selection close to automatic.

Contepomi had been named as captain for the autumn tour but failed to recover in time from the injury he picked up playing for Leinster in their Heineken Cup semi-final victory over Munster last year. He is now back playing and in the Toulon squad for the Amlin Cup final on Sunday, after which he will head home to join the rest of the squad.

In all, Phelan has named 23 players who ply their trade in France alongside five from English clubs, two who play in Italy and Eusebia Guinazu, who is in the Stormers squad in South Africa.

He also has the option of calling up Argentina-based players having at the same time announced another group of 15 home-based players, including Martin Rodriguez, who kicked all the points to beat Scotland last year. They are expected to be the core of the side that is to play a France XV on the eve of Scotland’s second international.

Argentina squad (to play Scotland): Backs: H Agulla (Brive), L Borges (Albi), R Carballo (Begles), F Contepomi (Toulon), J I Gauthier (Roma), L G Amorosino (Leicester), A Lalanne (London Irish), F M Aramburu (Dax), I Mieres (Stade Français), G Tiesi (Harlequins), N Vergallo (Dax), M Viazzo (Bourgoin). Forwards: A Abadie (Rovigo), P Albacete (Toulouse), M Ayerza (Leicester), A Campos (Montauban), M Carizza (Biarritz), J M Fernandez Lobbe (Toulon), J Figallo (Montpellier), A Galindo (Racing), J Gomez (Leeds), E Guinazu (Boland), P Henn (Brive), M Ledesma (Clermont), J M Leguizamon (Stade Français), E Lozada (Toulon), J P Orlandi (Racing), R Roncero (Stade Francais), M Sambucetti (Bristol), M Scelzo (Clermont), A Vernet Basualdo (Toulouse).

Scotland name squad to face Argentina

Scotland coach Andy Robinson has named a 27-man squad for next month’s tour of Argentina.

Leinster lock Nathan Hines was a notable omission from the squad that will tackle the Pumas in Tucuman on June 12 and again in Mar Del Plata a week later with the 33-year-old granted compassionate leave to spend time in his native Australia helping care for his sick mother-in-law. The door has been left open for Hines to join the tour if he should decide to do so.

“He’s going back to see his wife, who has been over in Australia nursing her sick mother,” head coach Andy Robinson told PA Sport. “It’s time for him to be there and if Nathan feels he can come across to Argentina at a later stage then we will leave that open for him to be able to do.”

Injured trio Chris Paterson, Thom Evans and Rory Lamont will also miss out while another notable absentee was centre Ben Cairns, with Edinburgh team-mate Jim Thompson preferred. Thompson was the one uncapped player in the squad as Robinson stuck with the 22 who won March’s final Six Nations match in Ireland, with five added to that number.

“We are really looking forward to playing against Argentina,” commented Robinson. “We have a lot of respect for the way the game is played there and we want to improve upon our success in our most recent game in the Six Nations.

“As well as our two Test matches in Argentina, we will prepare for those contests with our game at Murrayfield against a Japan Select. In addition, there are matches against Georgia, Namibia and Argentina Jaguars for Scotland A in the IRB Nations Cup. So, from my perspective, we are playing six Test matches this summer and that will be reflected when we announce the Scotland A squad next week.”

Robinson, who revealed he would consider adding a further player to his squad, has selected three scrum-halves for Argentina, Mike Blair and Rory Lawson joining captain Chris Cusiter. “We want to involve all three. Rory has been playing well and both Mike and Chris have been bothered by niggling injuries over the last few weeks,” he explained.

In related news, Glasgow Warriors’ head coach Sean Lineen will lead Scotland A in their defence of the Nations Cup, which was won when Robinson was at the helm in Bucharest last June. From the squad that defeated Uruguay, Russia and their French counterparts last year, Alex Grove, Richie Vernon and Kyle Traynor went on to win Scotland caps in the past year, underlining Robinson’s stance on the importance of the Scotland A team.

Preparations for both the tour and the IRB Nations Cup will include a Scotland XV against a Japan Select at Murrayfield on June 1.

Backs: Mike Blair (Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors, captain), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Graeme Morrison, Dan Parks (both Glasgow Warriors), Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais) and Jim Thompson (Edinburgh)

Forwards: John Barclay, Johnnie Beattie, Kelly Brown (all Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Jim Hamilton, Allan Jacobsen (both Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Euan Murray (Northampton Saints) and Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester).

____________________________________________
SOURCES:

“Scotland confirm Argentina tour”
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
BBC Sport
http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/scottish/8428707.stm

“Argentina able to name full-strength squad for visit of Scotland party”
From The Times
May 21, 2010
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article7132309.ece

“Scotland name squad to face Argentina”
Scrum.com
May 12, 2010
http://www.scrum.com
http://www.scrum.com/scotland/rugby/story/115462.html

If that figure is confirmed, the number of tourists in January 2010 will rise by 10.2 percent relative to the same month last year, and would be the largest total during that month in the past decade, tourism secretary Enrique Meyer said in a statement Saturday.

“The outlook for February and March is similar, so we’re looking at the chance of a record summer season,” Meyer said.

The number of summer tourists in Argentina rose 32 percent from 2003 to 2009, while the results of the 2010 summer season are expected to top those of the two previous years, buoyed by an improved global economic situation and competitive prices at the country’s different destinations relative to those of its neighbours, the statement said.

___________________________________________________
SOURCES:

“Argentina eyes new summer tourism record”
January 31st, 2010
Thaindian News
http://www.thaindian.com
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/argentina-eyes-new-summer-tourism-record_100312349.html

“El verano en la costa atlántica”
INFOBAE.COM
04-01-2010
http://www.infobae.com
http://www.infobae.com/imagenes/939-1-El-verano-la-costa-atlántica

About 280,000 people visited Argentinean tourist destinations in the first two weeks of January, which is 9.6 percent more than in the same period last year.

This important rally is the result of the economic reactivation in the country, the Argentina National Secretary of Tourism Enrique Meyer told to media on Friday.

The official added that it is a good beginning to the summer season with high levels of reservations for the whole Argentinean destinations.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, 8.600.000 tourists visited the country in December 2009 and the first two weeks of 2010, representing a 6.1 percent rise on the same period in 2008-2009.

The Atlantic Coast of Buenos Aires, specifically Mar del Plata, registered the main flood of people with 667.260 visitors in the first two week in January, rising a 8 percent on the same period in 2009, said the official note.

The province of Cordoba, famous for its landscapes, rivers and lakes, kept the primacy among the non-seaside destinations with 787.951 visits, a 3.25 rise on the first two weeks in 2009.

Argentina’s Secretary of Tourism supports José María López to compete in Formula 1

Argentinean José María López has been officially presented as one of the drivers for the new US F1 Team on Monday afternoon in a press conference that took place at the presidential house of Argentina after a meeting with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

López, 26 years old and former Renault F1 Team test driver, reached an agreement with Peter Windsor, US F1 Team Executive Vice President, on Friday after several weeks of negotiations that ended when the Argentinean presented the sponsorship guarantees of eight millions dollars that will be given to the team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Of those eight millions dollars, two million will come from the government of Argentina through the Secretary of Tourism.

That’s the reason why the presentation of López was held at the Casa Rosada, in Buenos Aires, with the presence of US F1′s Windsor, along with Florencio Randazzo, Ministry of Internal Affairs; Enrique Meyer, Secretary of Tourism; Claudio Morresi, Secretary of Sports; and Carlos García Remohí, President of the CDA division of the ACA (Automóvil Club Argentino).

Windsor, who postponed his return to the United States from Friday to Monday so he could be present at the press conference, showed that he was very happy with José María López as driver of the new Formula One team. “I believe that López has won more races in these three years than any other driver in the world”, he said in reference to the success experience by López racing in Argentina — where he was champion of TC2000 Series in 2008 and 2009 and of Top Race V6 Series also last year.

The television commentary/journalist who has covered F1 events, Windsor, proved to be very comfortable in Argentina. Windsor is a close friend of Argentinean Carlos Alberto Reutemann, former runner-up champion of Formula One in 1981 and current Senator. Reutemann was another important part in the negociaations that ended with López landing into the cockpit of the first Formula One team from the United States.

The US F1 Team will make it debut in Formula One next season, along with three other teams: Campos Meta 1, Lotus F1 Team and Virgin Racing. That’s why López believes the team will need some time in their endeavors, a learning curve, before they start to show important results.

“The objectives are important, but we must know which objectives we put to ourselves”, he said before adding that “being ahead of the new teams” should be the aim of the team.

“We know that we are with a new team, that is starting from zero, but this is a great team and they are working in a fantastic way”, López said.
_______________________________________
SOURCES:

“Tourism Industry grows in Argentina”
Inside Costa Rica
?Jan 23, 2010?
http://www.insidecostarica.com/
http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/january/23/latam-10012302.htm

“Argentinean Jose Maria Lopez notches US F1 ride”
Motorsport.com
Federico Faturos
20-01-2010
http://www.motorsport.com/
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=355662

There are no stoplights in Jose Ignacio, which sits at the tip of a peninsula that’s 40 kilometers north of Punta del Este. There’s only one grocery store and barely a coffee shop. The town is six streets wide, with few buildings taller than two stories. The place falls asleep after 9 p.m. and hibernates from March to December. Up until two years ago, there were three hotels to choose from, including the Posada del Faro, which sits on the peninsula’s southern side, surrounded by mega-mansions. However, a gleaming new luxury hotel called Playa Vik is scheduled to open in March, a sister property of the Estancia Vik, which opened last year.

Just a few streets over is another new hotel, the Casa Chic, which offers apartment-style rooms around a sleek pool with an all-white design. The hotel seizes on the true beauty of Jose Ignacio, which lies in its walkability.

Locals can enjoy the packed beach club scene at La Huella by day and then walk almost-deserted streets at night. It wasn’t long ago that La Huella occupied a lonely spot along a dead-end road, but now it shares an expanding cluster of buildings with shops and fine restaurants.

Hollywood is part of the new glitz. Restauranteur Adolfo Suaya, the man behind the Los Angeles hot spots Geisha House and now-defunct The Lodge, has opened the resort Casa Suaya and its restaurant Butia.

If the new, starrier Jose Ignacio has you longing for the city’s days of obscurity, just head up the coast or inland. Just up the highway, travelers will find the eateries Marismo and Namm, and an eight-room inn called Arenas de Jose Ignacio. Guests can enjoy laid-back decor and old-fashioned prices.

High-heeled guests make their way to dinner at the new Sarava, a restaurant with an outdoor garden. The restaurant will soon get a new neighbor when the waterfront resort Laguna Escondida opens. Also new for 2010, or at least under new management, is La Caracola. A short 10-minute drive away from town leads to a small, unmarked parking lot filled with vintage cars and suave visitors. Across a saltwater lagoon, a single rowboat paddles guests back and forth to the island beach club that is home to a small eatery and bar.
__________________________________
SOURCE:

“Uruguay Town Becomes Hip New Vacation Spot”
By Michael Martin
01/11/10
The Street
http://www.thestreet.com
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10659064/1/uruguay-town-becomes-hip-new-vacation-spot.html

____________________________________
SOURCE:
“El verano en la costa atlántica”
INFOBAE.COM
04-01-2010
http://www.infobae.com
http://www.infobae.com/imagenes/939-1-El-verano-la-costa-atlántica

The U.S. has one contender among the 14 pics in the official international competition — Todd Solondz’s family drama “Life During Wartime.”

Argentina is repped by Israel Adrian Caetano’s marital problem tale “Francia” and Jose Campusano’s “Vikingo.”

Other pics in contention include two Oscar foreign language hopefuls — Alvaro Brechner’s comedy “Mal dia para pescar” (Bad Day to Go Fishing), repping Uruguay, and Bong Joon-ho’s “Mother,” repping South Korea.

Eight features will compete in the Latin American section and nine in the Argentina section. There also will be a retrospective on Jim Henson, creator of “The Muppet Show” and “Sesame Street.” Fest closes Nov. 15.

International Competition List for the Mar Del Plata Film Festival:

“Francia,” Israel Adrian Caetano, Argentina
“Vikingo,” Jose Campusano, Argentina
“Mother,” Bong Joon-ho, South Korea
“Horn of Plenty,” Juan Carlos Tabio, Cuba
“V.O.S,” Cesc Gay, Spain
“A Serious Man,” Todd Solondz, U.S.
“Letters to Father Jakkob,” Klaus Haro, Finland
“The Time that Remains,” Elia Suleiman, Israel
“Dogtooth,” Giorgos Lanthimos, Greece
“Nothing Personal,” Urszula Antoniak, Holland
“A Man Who Ate His Cherries,” Payman Haghani, Iran
“Five Days without Nora,” Mariana Chenillo, Mexico
“Room and a Half,” Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, Russia
“Bad Day to Go Fishing,” Alvaro Brechner, Uruguay

About Mar del Plata:

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the Buenos Aires Province, 400 km (249 mi) south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is one of the major fishing ports and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina. With a population of 541,733 as per the 2001 census [INDEC], it is the 7th largest city in Argentina.

As part of the Argentine recreational coast, tourism is Mar del Plata’s main economic activity with seven million tourists visiting the city in 2006. Mar del Plata has a sophisticated tourist infrastructure with countless hotels, restaurants, casinos, theatres and other tourist attractions. Mar del Plata is also an important sports centre with a multi-purpose Olympic style stadium (first used for the 1978 World Cup and later upgraded for the 1995 Pan American Games), 5 golf courses and many other facilities. These chalets are comprised of stone façades, gables roofs covered with Spanish or French tiles, prominent eaves and front porches. This gives the town some distinctive urban character compared with other Argentine cities, despite the fact that the growing mass of tourists in the ’60s necessitated the construction of large apartment buildings and skyscrapers as the predominant architectural style downtown.

The development of the city as a seasonal resort in the early 20th century led upper class tourists from Buenos Aires to build a European-inspired architecture, based mainly on the picturesque and later on the art deco styles. This gave Mar del Plata the nickname of the Argentine Biarritz.

During the ’30s,’40s, and beyond, local architects and builders, like Auro Tiribelli, Arturo Lemmi, Alberto Córsico-Picollini and Raúl Camusso recreated and transformed the picturesque values into a middle-class scale, marking the beginning of the so called Mar del Plata Style, consisting in small samples of the luxury-laden summer residences of high society, built for the summer visitor as well as for the local resident.
___________________________________
SOURCES:

“Mar del Plata fest gets ‘Serious’”
Wed., Oct. 14, 2009
By CHARLES NEWBERY
Variety

http://www.variety.com

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118009936.html

“Mar del Plata”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_del_Plata

Ecclestone said that discussions were ongoing with representatives of the Argentine government and that a race could be held there either next year or 2011 if the two sides can reach an agreement.
“As soon as they give us a yes, the sooner we can have the race there,” Ecclestone told reporters from the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.

“I’m in serious conversation with somebody who wants to put the race in Mar del Plata.”

Champagne on ice: Michael Schumacher was
last driver to win in Buenos Aires Photo: AP

Ecclestone said that he was engaged in direct talks with a representative of the government and not the national motoring federation.

Buenos Aires held a grand prix 20 times between 1953 and 1998. The last was won by Michael Schumacher.

Ecclestone couldn’t confirm whether the race would be held on an urban circuit at the Atlantic resort city of Mar del Plata or return to the at the Autodromo Oscar Alfredo Galvez in Buenos Aires.

A return in 2010 would coincide with Argentina’s bicentennial celebrations.
________________________________________
SOURCE:
“Bernie Ecclestone: Formula One could return to Argentina in 2010″
By Nelson Clare
23 May 2009
Sport
Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/f1news/5374833/Bernie-Ecclestone-Formula-One-could-return-to-Argentina-in-2010.html

Buenos Aires: The capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, is an excellent tourist destination. Explore the unique neighbourhoods, socialise in the outdoor cafes, and take in a tango show on your visit to this beautiful city.

Patagonia: Patagonia is a very large region in the south of Argentina. The region offers numerous sights and activities.

Iguazu Waterfalls: Explore one of the world’s greatest waterfalls on foot or from a boat that gives you a view of the water falling from below.

Salta: Salta City is the best preserved colonial city in Argentina. The province of Salta has a number of great attractions to the visitor.

Mendoza:  Argentine wines are world famous and most of the vineyards are located in the Mendoza province.

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay: Colonia is a very unique colonial town with narrow cobbled streets flanked by whitewashed buildings.

The Atlantic Coastline: Just a few hours drive South from Buenos Aires lies the city of Mar del Plata and the pretty towns of Pinamar, Carilo, and Villa Gesell.

Cordoba: Although there are not many tourist sites, the colonial architecture and surrounding sites will make the trip worthwhile.

Antarctica: Antarctica is the continent of ice around the South Pole of our planet. Although it is not located in Argentina, most trips for Antarctica start from Ushuaia, Argentina.

FOR THE FOCUSSED TRAVELLER

Argentina offers a lot for the traveller who’s focussed on specific tours. Here’s what is on offer:

Ecotourism: This is one of the most popular activities in Argentina. The most interesting activities in terms of ecotourism are hiking through national parks and natural reserves, and bird sightseeing, with nearly 1,000 identified species. The most important bird sightseeing areas are Esteros del Iberá in Corrientes and the national parks Iguazú, El Rey, Calilegua and Laguna Blanca, among others. Scuba diving can be practiced in Península Valdés, and also in the lakes and lagoons in the provinces of Córdoba, Mendoza, Neuquén and Río Negro and in the coasts of Tierra del Fuego.

Language Tourism: Studying Spanish and fully enjoying the “criollo experience” makes Argentina a fascinating place to discover. Living in its cities, discovering the warmth of its people, and immersing in its culture are some of the possibilities this destination offers, and some of the most entertaining ways to learn Spanish, the official language of the Argentine Republic.

Tourist Trains: Tourist trains is a different way to travel around Argentina. Amidst the amazing Argentine landscapes, still today the railroad system offers a different trip across the beautiful regions of the country. Its tourist trains, which multiply from north to south, allow visitors to enjoy the magical combination of history and nature. Each itinerary is a fascinating challenge for visitors, who can travel in steam locomotives, high-altitude trains, and enjoy itineraries through the forest or in the southernmost areas in the world, among others.

Wine Tourism:  Wine tourism in Argentina is a valid alternative that combines beautiful landscapes with typical local wines and gastronomy. Unlike other wine-producing countries, and due to its large territorial extension, Argentina offers a non-linear wine route, scattered in beautiful wine-producing oases almost parallel to the Andes Range. From the northern provinces of Salta and Catamarca down to Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut in Patagonia, crossing Córdoba in the heart of the country and the Cuyo region — a wine producer par excellence — with the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja, each place is worth discovering.
________________________________
SOURCE:
“Amazing Argentina: Heaven on earth”
The Economic Times
25 May 2009
http://www.indiatimes.com
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/ET-Cetera/Amazing-Argentina-Heaven-on-earth/articleshow/4573324.cms