Anuva Vinos founder Daniel Karlin speaks of his first Malbec as if it were a high school kiss. “I fell in love with Doña Paula, a 2004 Malbec. Wow, it completely blew me away.” That experience moved the Portland native to start his own distribution company, providing limited production wines to the US, Europe and locals for the last two years.

It’s best not to talk, in fact, don’t make a sound. The only noise should be that of your paddle softly slicing the shallow, dark water. As your canoe forges onward along the swampy river it noiselessly parts the endless green mass of camalote. Bid farewell to civilisation and discover a world removed in the swamplands of Formosa.

If you’re feeling restless in the city, and are looking for a cheeky week away from ‘Malas Aires’, or maybe an alternative investment opportunity in Argentina, why not try the Lake District?

Ladies and Gentleman, I present: Bariloche.

In a recent statement, the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) announced that skyrocketing food prices is putting unbearable pressure on the world’s poorest. With no respite to high prices in sight, the UN is cautioning that an additional 100m people are in danger of going hungry.

Jazz clubs, record labels, and underground jam sessions are cropping up all over Buenos Aires. In the hopes of giving a rounded impression of just what propels the jazz world here, The Argentimes looked at three very different places where the music is alive, growing, and taking risks.

The resignation of economy minister Martín Lousteau marks the first major departure of the Kirchner government and increases worries regarding the government’s ability to repair the country’s growing economic problems.

In 1965 Che Guevara travelled to Africa with the aim of triggering a revolution in the Republic of the Congo. What was the result of his trip? A resounding and embarrassing defeat for the Argentine icon.

In a groundbreaking case, a couple have been jailed for illegally adopting a girl born to parents disappeared by the military government in Argentina. Even more intriguing is that it was their adopted daughter who championed their imprisonment.

Thirty kilometers east of Punta del Este, the tiny hideaway of José Ignacio nestles in the sand dunes along the Atlantic coast of Uruguay. A coastal resort now favoured by those for whom Punta del Este has lost its allure and exclusivity, José Ignacio is overrun by the beautiful people from December to February: the author Martin Amis and the singer Shakira are said to have homes here, while stars of the fashion world Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Cambpell and Mario Testino have all frequented these Uruguayan shores.

Having experienced the beauty of José Ignacio over New Year, I was keen to return under less hectic circumstances and enjoy all that the fishing village had to offer.

If you’re beginning to feel a tad claustrophobic in the bustling streets of Buenos Aires, then by all means strap on a pack and head down to El Bolsón. Take a breather with some small town tranquility and big time mountain climbing.