Bao Sandra - Argentina

Get a few people free associating on the word Argentina, and its quickly apparent why the country has long held travelers in awe: tango, Patagonia, beef, football, Tierra del Fuego, passion, the Andes. The classics alone make a formidable wanderlust cocktail.

Just wait till you get here. Arriving in Buenos Aires is like jumping aboard a moving train. Outside the taxi window, a blurred mosaic of drab apartment blocks and haphazard architecture whizzes by as you shoot along the freeway toward the center of the city. The driver probably driving way too fast while chain-smoking and talking incessantly about government corruption finally merges off the freeway. Then the people appear, the cafes, the purple jacaranda flowers draped over the sidewalks, porteos (residents of Buenos Aires) in stylish clothing walking purposefully past the newspaper stands and candy kiosks and handsome early-20th-century stone facades.

Despite the enormity of the capital city which is home to a whopping 30% of the countrys population visitors seem to find its groove with surprising ease. The real shocker, after experiencing the art, music, cafes, shopping and all-night revelry of Buenos Aires, comes when you leave it. Aside from a handful of cities such as Rosario, Crdoba, Mendoza and La Plata, Argentina is pretty darn empty. Population centers are small, and even provincial capitals can have the feel of a friendly town. While these places can be worthy destinations in themselves, their real purpose is usually to springboard people into Argentinas greatest attraction: the natural world.

From the mighty Iguaz Falls in the subtropical north, to the thunderous, crackling advance of the Perito Moreno Glacier in the south, Argentina is a vast natural wonderland. The country beholds some of the Andes highest peaks, several of which top 6000m near Mendoza and San Juan. Its home to wetlands that rival Brazils famous Pantanal, massive ice fields in Patagonia, mountains painted in rustic colors, deserts dotted with cacti, cool lichen-clad Valdivian forests, glacial lakes, Andean salt flats, a spectacular Lake District, penguins, flamingos, caimans, capybaras and more.

But Argentinas cosmopolitan and natural marvels are only part of a very complex equation. Visitors will also experience a country at odds with itself a potential economic powerhouse not fully in control of its destiny. Argentina dips into an economic crisis every dozen years, frustrating its citizens to no end. This has manifested in the recent low approval ratings of Cristina Kirchner, the countrys first elected female president, who took office in 2007 (following in the footsteps of her husband, Nestor Kirchner). This country, like most of the rest of the world, is currently down but not out. Argentines do have an overly healthy dose of skepticism, but its tempered by a hope their country will one day pick itself up and leave its erratic reputation behind.

Travelers who dig beneath the tourist-office version of Argentina will find a country full of passion and beauty. Theyll find amicable, seductive and engaging people fascinated with strangers who visit their land, many from countries they want Argentina to aspire to emulate. You can be one of those lucky enough to know the Argentine people, their land and their culture. This is a place people dream about visiting, and many fall in love with it once they arrive.