Episode 27: Argentina Factfile

caution: not to be taken strictly at face value...

Country: Argentina
Population: 40 million. Vast majority of Italian and Spanish origin. Cerca 3000 brits, but not included in population. (see what i did there...).
GDP: 4 cows, 2 packs of Lay's ready salted and a pot of Dulce de Leche. (pesos don't count, you see).
Religion: Whatever the pope says...
Territorial claims: None (see, I did it again...)

Brief description: Wonderful scenery. Insecurity. Hot. Poor driving. Asado. Mate (instead of tea). Dulce de Leche. Arrogant males. Hysterical females. Corruption. Perito Moreno. Tango. Constant street repairs. Messi. Overly hot trains. Boca. Graffiti. Friendly. Football. Malvinas. Milongas. Abundance of natural resources. Maradona. Truco cards. Beef. Punta de Este/Mar del Plata. Floods. Penguins. The Pope. Democracy?

Fun Facts:
-Most streets here are 1 way, with the exception of main Avenues and a few others.
-The difference between Argentinian goods and imported goods (say, argentina olive oil vs imported olive oil) is likely to be at least 3 or 4 times the price.
industria
-It is 5 times cheaper to take the train across the whole city than it is to buy one litre of water.
-It is 10 times cheaper to take the bus (again across the whole city) that it is to buy 2 medium quality red apples. lets not even talk about green apples...
-Buenos Aires is slightly bigger than the whole of France, whilst you could fit a massive 11.45 United Kingdoms in Argentina.
-In the south of Argentina you will find lots of Welsh, whilst in the Mid-West (bariloche) you will find lots of Israeli's.
-Argentina was originally known for its large amounts of silver (plata - hence Rio de la Plata, Mar del Plata etc). The actual name comes from the latin word Argentum, thus giving a translation of Argentina as 'land of silver'.