Argentina
South AmericaLevel of surfing
Advanced
Quality of surf
Excellent
Call code
54
Net code
ar
Area
2766890
Coastline
4,989 km
Climate
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Hazards
Extreme Heat, Extreme Cold, Coup / Civil Unrest
Best Months
May - September
Population
40301927
Currency
Peso (ARS) Argentine pesos per US dollar - 3.0543 (2006)
Time Zone
PAPA (UTC-3)
Special Requirements
introduction
Michael Angelkovich: Location Argentina; 3 August 2007
Argentina (officially the Argentine Republic) s a large South American country, neighbouring Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay to the north, Uruguay to the north east and Chile to the west. In the east Argentina has a long South Atlantic Ocean coastline.
Argentina is constituted as a federation of twenty-three provinces and an autonomous city. Being the eighth biggest country in the world, it occupies a continental surface area of 2,766,890 km² (1,068,302 sq mi) between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south.
Argentina is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country (by the World Bank) with its nominal GDP making it the 31st largest economy in the world.
history
Andre Engels: Toortse Rio de la Plata; 22 December 2004
Argentina has a long and colourful history. In the beginning of 1500, before Argentina existed as a country, Spaniards arrived to the land seeking world, silver and other treasures. The first navigator who arrived was Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516 and he died in a fight with the natives shortly after his arrival.
In 1520 Fernando de Magallanes stopped there during one of his voyages around the world. Sebastián Cabot arrived in 1526, naming Rio de la Plata in hopes that it would make him wealthy. Unfortunately, Cabo found neither treasures nor wealth, however he was lucky to returne tho his homeland safely.
Even though the Spanish navigators did not find wealth, they claimed the territory for their king. During 300 years Argentina, as well as most of South America, was a Spanish territory. Thousands of Spanish settlers arrived to build houses, forts, mines and ports. The founded the city of Buenos Aires, which today is the capital of Argentina.
The Spanish integrated Argentina into their system by establishing the Vice Royalty of Rio de la Plata in and Buenos Aires became a flourishing port.
In 1806 British forces arrived the land, but their invasion failed. That boosted the confidence of the colonists who sought independence from Spain. Buenos Aires formally declared independence from Spain on July 9, 1816.
Current president of Argentina is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (from December 10, 2007), who claims to create a new ministry for science and technology to boost innovation and make "neccessary corrections" to help the inflation problem in Argentina.
surfing
Leandro Kibisz: Mar del Plata; 2004
Argentina always had this unique blend of European comforts and pursuits wrapped up in a utopian new world backdrop. Rugby, kilo T Bone steaks and fine red wine. If at least one of the above doesent appeal to you then you are a hard man to please. Oh yeah and then there's the surf.
Being on the west coast of the Atlantic does limit the availability of regular groundswell, typically the area around Mar del Plata offers the best mix of favourable windswell from the south east spinning off the back of the monsterous lows spiraling through Drakes Passage to the south. The raw frontier of Argentinian surfing however lies to the extreme south of Patagonia. It is here that the storm cells resulting in 50 foot + seas pounding the west coast of Chile manage to refract around the cape offering solid experiences on the sheltered east facing Argentinian coast.
The prevailing westerly wind blows straight offshore. Surfing Patagonia is not something one embarks upon lightly. Water temperature in this part of the world rarely exceed 10 degrees, bring all your rubber, a guide and a mountaineering hypothermia kit in case it all goes pear shaped. This really is the end of the world, it's worth bearing in mind that that whitish glow you see low in the sky to the south late in the afternoon are the glacial ice shelves of Antartica.
what to pack
Flashdance: A pair of very simple Moroccan flip flops called "Cabjuks"; 25 May 2007
A small backpack makes a good carryon bag and will be useful in daily
life. Women: remember to take a good flat pair of shoes.... And for
everybody: pair of comfortable walking shoes will be great for walking.
Beach clothing & sandals will be useful if you are going in the
warm season.
Take a few light and casual things, Try to choose classics, and items that you can mix and match. Have at
least one set of nicer clothing for more formal occasions. Cotton is
the best.
Camera, adaptor, good books to read and music. Oh, yeah, booties, helmet and top will be useful on the reef break, as it can get quite shallow.
Take a very good sunscreen with high level of protection. It is absolutely essential, as well as sunnies and hats. Repellent might be useful as well. Medicines – as usual.