Special Destinations Ms Alva Alvarez Mr John Weinacht (Group of 2) TRIP TO ARGENTINA Itinerary Buenos Aires (2 nights at Palermitano Hotel) Iguazú (2 nights at Puerto Bemberg) Punta del Este (4 nights on your own) December 27, 2011 – January 4, 2012 Tue Dec 27 USA - BUENOS AIRES 10:20am arrive at Buenos Aires International Airport on flight CO 53 Meet & Greet at Ezeiza International Airport After baggage claim, immigration control and customs, you should make your way to the meeting point stand located on the left side of the semi sterile area (see chart above). It is very important that you remain at the meeting point desk and do not exit towards the overcrowded public area where a million signs make it confusing and could result in meeting failure. After identifying yourself at this desk, you should request for the transfer service previously arranged by Mai 10. Your name will appear on an LCD screen and our driver or guide will be there to meet you and will escort you to your private car and transfer you to the hotel. Meeting Point can only be provided in Terminal A. For Terminal B & C arrivals, your driver will be waiting for you holdings a sign displaying your surname, following baggage claim. Our driver will transfer you to the Palermitano Hotel in Palermo Viejo (45 minutes). M A I T A B A R R E N E C H E A Av. Córdoba 657 3P (C1054AAF) Buenos Aires - Argentina - Tel: (5411) 4314-3390 - Fax: (5411) 4314-3290 E-mail: mai10 @mai 10 .com.ar - http://www.mai 10 .com.ar - E.V.T. Lic Nº 10.410 Buenos Aires : This complex, energetic, and seductive port city, which stretches south-to-north along the Rio de la Plata (the Rio Plate river), has been the gateway to Argentina for centuries. Porteños, as the diverse residents of Buenos Aires are known, have an elaborate and rich cultural identity. They value their European heritage highly- this is a city where Italian and German names outnumber Spanish ones, and the lifestyle and architecture are markedly more European than any other in South America. Once a suburb lying north of downtown (it is about 10 minutes by cab and 20 minutes by subway), Palermo Viejo has become in the last decade, the trendy enclave of Buenos Aires , yet retaining its friendly, laid back atmosphere. Its rows of two and three story early 20 th century houses, many with Italianate rococo façades, are being renovated, one by one, by young entrepreneurs. Boutiques that sell handmade shoes, designer home accessories or one-of-a-kind evening dresses elbow for space beside new restaurants, clubs and bars. The neighborhood boundaries have expanded -- there is a Palermo SoHo and a Palermo Hollywood , the latter, a district of thriving film and television production companies. Although Palermo Viejo is in the midst of a transformation, it is still a working class neighborhood, where fruit markets, schools and social clubs provide a solid contrast to the trendiness. So, it’s a terrific place to stroll its tree-lined, cobbled streets and enjoy the lively ambience. 2:30am : Our guide Beatriz Croppi (Cel: 15-4027-8775) will meet your for a Buenos Aires Northern Tour (4hs) The best way to get to know Buenos Aires’ distinctive neighborhoods ( barrios ) is “on the ground.” Open green spaces border this elegant residential and shopping district. Named after the barefoot Franciscan Recoleto friars who settled here in the early 1700s. The outbreak of Yellow Fever in 1871 in the south of the city caused the elite to swarm to this area, laying the foundations for a concentration of intellectual and cultural activity. We will walk though this sophisticated and beautiful neighborhood with its French architecture, Alvear and Quintana Avenues , the intriguing Recoleta Cemetery with its amazing mausoleums and statues, the lovely Pilar Church , Gral. Alvear’s Monument , Bourdelle’s sculptures the Alvear Palace Hotel and Alzaga Unzué mansions, the Vatican, French and Brazilian Embassies, the Jockey Club , the beautiful Pellegrini Square , and the Patio Bullrich Mall . 2 We end our tour at Palermo, with its beautiful parks, the Japanese and Rose Gardens , its imposing monuments and statuary. Get acquainted with the beautiful, quiet curvy streets of Barrio Parque , Buenos Aires most exclusive residential neighbourhood with its lovely town houses, grand mansions and embassies, tree-lined Ocampo Street, Grand Bourg Square. Dinner at Leisure, suggested at walking distance at one of the trendy restaurants in Palermo . Mai 10 recommends: La Cabrera , for great steak and Argentine cuisine, casual ambience and tables on the sidewalk; Bar Uriarte for local cuisine; Casa Cruz for a sophisticated and glamorous evening and gourmet cuisine; or Osaka for fantastic Japanese-Peruvian fusion. Overnight at the Pale rmitano Hotel in Buenos Aires . Breakfast included, other meals independently. Wed Dec 28 BUENOS AIRES B, D Breakfast at the hotel. 10:00am : Our guide Beatriz Croppi will meet your for a Buenos Aires Southern Tour (4hs) Plaza de Mayo with vintage subway to Cafe Tortoni, La Boca with stroll along the colourful Caminito street, San Telmo with visit to the workshop of renowned silversmith, Puerto Madero with walk over the Calatrava Bridge An overall acquaintance with old and modern-day Buenos Aires, discovering its characteristic neighbourhoods and eclectic architecture, its contrasting sweeping avenues, tree-lined boulevards and narrow streets, its domes, ornamented façades and balconies, parks and gardens, churches, monuments and statues . 3 On a private guided tour, we shall visit the Main Square, Plaza de Mayo , with its outstanding buildings: the neo-classical Cathedral , the colonial Cabildo, the old town-hall, and the Presidential Palace, the “Casa Rosada ”. We visit Avenida de Mayo with its Art-Nouveau and Déco buildings, its old cafés and the Congress House. We shall take a vintage subway to Avenida de Mayo and arise by the renowned Café Tortoni , where we will enjoy a snack and coffee or tea. This historic cafe has served as the artistic and intellectual meeting place of Buenos Aires since 1858. Wonderfully appointed in wood, stained glass, yellowing marble, and bronze, the place tells more about its history by simply existing than any of the historic photos hanging on its walls. We head further south to La Boca quarter, where Italian immigrants settled at the turn of the 20 th century at the mouth of the Riachuelo , with its picturesque multicolour tin-houses, the famed Boca Juniors soccer stadium, Caminito Street with artists exhibiting their works outdoors, and its lively atmosphere . We continue on to San Telmo neighbourhood, the oldest part of the city, with its bohemian atmosphere; narrow sidewalks; cobbled-stone streets; one-storey flat- roofed colonial houses; and windows with wrought iron railings. We browse around the Plaza Dorrego and Defensa Street with antique shops on either side. We may visit the workshop of a master silversmith, a deep-rooted craft in Argentina . On the way back, we visit the city’s old harbour of Puerto Madero with its renovated docklands and marinas, featuring a string of excellent waterfront restaurants housed in the old brick warehouses, posh yacht clubs, old cranes, historic tall-ships, the stylish silhouette of the Calatrava Bridge to the Woman, and the Costanera Sur nature preserve alongside modern urban development and designer hotels. 4 Afternoon at leisure. Met for a Milonga tour with dinner and transfers. Pick up time to be confirmed on site. VIP Milonga tour: This program is especially designed for those who want to unveil in only one night the secrets of tango, learning how to dance it, dinning in a typical restaurant and feeling amazed at the magic of the “milongas porteñas”. Bring shoes or something comfortable but nor sandals. Overnight a t the Palermitano Hotel in Buenos Aires . Breakfast included, other meals independently. Thu Dec 29 BUENOS AIRES – IGUAZU B, L, D Breakfast at the hotel. 8:45am Met at the hotel and transferred to Domestic Airport Jorge Newbery (15 minutes) to take flight to Puerto Iguazú (1:30 hours). Buenos Aires (AEP) – Puerto Iguazú (IGR) Flight LA 4024 Departure: 10:20am Arrival: 12:05am Met upon arrival and transfer to the National Park. (15 minutes) Morning activity: Excursion to Argentine Falls Eco-train to Devil’s Throat Fall and Upper Trail walk. We take the ecological train across the National Park skirting the Upper Iguazú River and dense vegetation to Puerto Canoas (20 minutes). We take a pleasant stroll over the modern catwalks that spread over the Upper Iguazú River to the most overwhelming lookout point offering a breath-taking sight of the falls, a balcony hanging over Devil’s Throat , the largest and most spectacular fall. Swifts dart in and out to their nests behind the powerful falls; rainbows form over clouds of steam; a water volume of approximately 400 m/sec during the dry summer and 10,000 m/sec during the rainy season plummets furiously 230ft to the deep canyon. The force of the water is so great that rising mist prevents from seeing the bottom; as you stand and watch the river fall into space, the awesome roar below is the only confirmation that the water has reached its destination. 5 We float softly back along the Upper Iguazú sighting flora and fauna, perhaps yacares (South American alligator) basking in the sun; howler monkeys climbing up the trees, huge butterflies and a colourful toucan perched on a branch. We walk along the Upper Trail for a close-up view of the falls and across the Iguazú River to the Brazilian National Park and San Martín Island . Lunch at La Selva , in the Park .