When the economy minister Martin Lousteau announced a new regime of export taxes for agricultural products, he should have anticipated some grumblings in the countryside.

What he probably didn’t envisage was Argentina’s longest ever farming strike, the severing of the country’s main transport arteries, and the noisy return of cacerolas (saucepans) to protests on the streets of Buenos Aires for the first time since economic collapse in 2001-2.

The Argentine government has begun taking emergency action to restock the nation’s shelves after a 3 week strike left stores empty.

Presidential daughter Florencia, affectionately referred to as Florkey, has been raising eyebrows with her salacious fotoblog. Interspersed with images from her mother’s inauguration and the goings on inside the Casa Rosada were photos of drunken nights out with friends, usually in poses that would make any unelected parent cringe.

While most people head to Punta del Este, Punta del Diablo, or Cabo Polonio those adventurous few who are not deterred by unreliable bus companies and useless park rangers head to the blue waters and soft rolling dunes of Santa Teresa, in the Rocha province in Uruguay. Each summer visitors are drawn to its beaches and the park’s other main attraction, it’s namesake.

Nestled in a river valley with the granite peaks of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitzroy looming in the distance, the Patagonian village of El Chaltén has quickly become one of the most sought-after spots in the region. Yet despite it’s recent surge in popularity, El Chaltén remains pristine – an idyllic counterpoint to its bustling, more tourist-centred cousins like El Calafate and Bariloche.

Boca Juniors football club from Buenos Aires are renowned for having some of the most passionate supporters in the world. Every other Sunday during the season, the concrete stands of Boca’s La Bombanera stadium reverberate in a riot of noise and colour. Now the passion of their fans has transcended the stadium, and some are taking their affection to the grave in one final act of support.

The streets of Argentina’s capital are filled with the barks, whines, yelps and smells of dogs. With a healthy proportion of the city’s residents occupying apartment buildings, the logistics of keeping large breeds content and healthy are sometimes problematic. It is for this reason that the sight of professional dog-walkers (paseaperros) is common on the roads and avenues of the metropolis.

Ushuaia, the last town at the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, quickly became just a tiny bright spot behind the stern. The MS Hanseatic was heading south, towards Antarctica, towards the cold. In the coming three weeks, she would steer us through the icy waters that surround the Antarctic Peninsula, on to South Georgia, and finally the Falkland Islands.

Traditionally, carnaval is a period for people of the Catholic faith to let their hair down and enjoy the vices they are going to be giving up for the 40 days of Lent. Nowadays the religious roots of carnaval are arguably taking more of a back seat, meaning that carnaval typically extends well into the Lenten period. It is not uncommon for festivities to take place throughout the first three months of each new year. See carnaval celebrations in Argentina, Brazil and Boliva for the complete experience.

Arriving alone and under cover of night at the bus station (which is never the nicest place in Brazil to be), I began to think I had committed a grave error. Little did I know that in Florianópolis (or Floripa as it’s affectionately known by locals) I would find some of the nicest scenery, best beaches and friendliest company in all of Brazil.