Up early to have breakfast – check this out:
and then a moment at the Falls before anyone else. An uneventful ride over to the Argentinean side and airport. Unfortunately, we learn upon arrival that our flight has been cancelled, so we’re put on the next one. As we hear more about the situation, we decide that Aerolineas Argentina’s flight seems to have less of a chance of leaving on time (and if the one we’re now on is cancelled, then our only other option is 9 at night), so we purchase a one-way ticket on LAN. Of course, both flights are delayed now, and we spend a couple of hours in a humid, crowded airport (one of the few that isn’t air-conditioned like a refrigerator) until our flight finally leaves, about 3 1/2 hours later than originally scheduled.
We land in the beautiful, sunny, spring weather of Buenos Aires. Andrea, our guide, is delightful and whisks us off to our hotel, where Miguel is sitting in the lobby and waiting. Such a joy to see him! Our guide leaves us until the morning, and Michael heads off with some of our cash to get us pesos at the “blue market” rate. The official rate is about 8.46 pesos to the USD, and the blue market is about 13.3. While he does that, mom and I take a walk to get some ice cream and see the hood. We return after about 30 minutes, and Michael shortly after.
We have dinner reservations at I Latina, something I read about in a few places, and it’s a lovely restaurant run by two brothers who specialize in Latin American, and particularly Columbian (from whence they hail) food. It’s a seven-course degustation menu, and I choose not to look at the menu, and be surprised with each course.
The food is wonderful, as is the company. We share a bottle of wine and great conversation. Some of my favorite courses were the amuse bouche, white corn aniseed arepas with a spicy avocado mousse and chicharron, and a patacon with hogao and goat cheese:
second course, caramelized prawns with spicy pineapple and fennel:
third course of Baru-style ceviche with seasonal fish, mango biche and coconut (eat ceviche first, then drink remaining tiger’s milk, then eat the pickled green papaya in the dish on the left):
and fourth course, a unanimous favorite, peruvian seafood soup with grilled octopus (slide charred octo into soup and consume):
Palate cleanser of mojito ice, then the fifth course of braised pork in Colombian coffee and sugarcane reduction. Incredibly tender, but also an unusual sauce that didn’t sit well in my tummy. Sixth course, the pre-dessert, ecuadorian cacao truffle with sea salt and olive oil (hard to believe how the salt and olive oil balanced the intense chocolate):
Then the dessert of avocado ice cream with various and sundry daubs of flavor. How many desserts do we need? 3, evidently, as you can see what was served with the final course of typical Colombian coffee infused with cinnamon and cardamom:
One of the most interesting things about dining there was that after the selection was served and described, they then “suggested” the best way to eat it, which I included above. Whether that was the order of ingestion or the method of mixing together, it made for an interesting experience. After dinner, we hopped in a cab, and headed home to catch up on our sleep and prepare for a half-day of touring (without Michael).