In the imagination of writer Jules Verne, Fray Bentos was responsible for serving breakfast to the first travellers on the moon. For Jorge Luis Borges, it was the Uruguayan home town for the fictional Ireneo Funes, a teenager with impeccable memory. To the troops and Europeans of the World War I and II eras the name conjured up the image of food – tinned corned beef, OXO bouillon cubes and more than 200 other products which would emerge from “the kitchen of the world” until 1979.

While travelling in Mendoza, there is a never-ending list of exciting things to do: hiking, rafting, horseback riding, hot springs, paragliding, almost anything under the sun a tourist could desire. Hidden among these well-known tourist options lies the simple joys of Mr. Hugo’s bike tour. With little advertisement outside Mendoza, and running mostly by word of mouth, Mr. Hugo’s offers visitors the opportunity to bike through Mendoza’s most prized land: the vineyards of Maipú.

“Small tours, all kinds of activities, and the groups will be around eight people. Group size is limited so we have to book you ahead of time…” The words of the tour agent in Bonito surfaced in my mind as I plodded along on a packhorse behind a group of at least 14 horses with no other vision of wildlife than the horse’s ass in front of me. I considered myself lucky, however, as the group the day before had consisted of nearly 19 people.

Ask anybody about wine and tourism in Argentina and they will likely name Mendoza. But the province of Salta is going head to head with its southern sister, and its excellent wines and growing tourism infrastructure are putting it on ever more equal footing. Things are still more rustic than in Mendoza, but this is something that arguably adds to the desert provinces’ charms.

Compared to its neighbouring countries, Argentina doesn’t have ideal natural conditions for surfing and it isn’t particularly popular here. Nonetheless, there are spots in the country where the sport can be practised. Mar del Plata is Argentina’s surfing capital where it isn’t just seen as a sport, it is a passion, a whole scene and a way of life.