Laura Mojonnier heads to Eco Yoga Park for a weekend of yoga, meditation and some unexpected spiritual enlightenment.

So this is silence. It sounds peculiar to a city slicker accustomed to the constant hum of the metropolis. My first instinct is to listen intently for something, to relieve my ears from the nothingness…

As Argentina is famous for its horses, it seems only natural that bronc-riding takes precedence over bull-riding. Venture into Las Pampas to see bronc-riding at a gaucho rodeo. You can sample Argentine culture that isn’t aimed just towards the tourist crowds and watch a rough and rural equestrian sport.

Do you like horse riding? Have you ever wished you could be a gaucho for a day? Have you secretly had fantasies about recreating scenes from Brokeback Mountain? Were those fantasies about riding through dramatic mountain scenery on horseback, rather than doing sexy things with Heath Ledger in a tent? If the answer to any of these questions (apart from maybe number three) is yes, then Cabalgatas Haneck is what you are looking for.

At 9am my head was still foggy from the previous day’s cycle through the vineyards and too many misguided attempts to abuse the bodegas’ good will by feigning interest in purchasing their wares. It was also the precise moment that the punctual-by-Argentine-standards Rafting Expeditions van rang the doorbell of my hostel, ready to take us out into the Andes for immersion into both the Rio Mendoza and the joys of white-water rafting.

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.

Good hotels are places to which you plan on returning. Great hotels are places in which you dream of living; forcing you to rethink your vision of home. Casa Calma sits in the heart of Buenos Aires and aims to be “a home from home”. Argentina’s first eco-hotel is devoted to a philosophy of wellness and organic living; making it an oasis in the womb of a heaving metropolis.

It is known as ‘the game of kings’, not to mention that of idle aristocrats, Argentine dandies, Persian princes, and the model Katie Price, also known as Jordan. Nevertheless the glamour model has not quite made it in the stuck-up circles that frequent the game: she was turned away from a prestigious polo event attended by royalty for being ‘too chavvy’ despite knowing her forelocks from her fetlocks, and having written 11 books on ponies.

We watch a boat lazily meander through the delta. From above the islands look so small, such little pockets of green between the criss-crossing stretches of water. Further out, over the river, there are bizarre formations – islets that are perfectly rounded. We circle them for a closer look.

It’s 5:30 in the morning and I feel kind of strange. All my life I was used to put on my skies in front of my porch in the Tyrolean Alps. Now I am standing at the corner of Parera y Quintana in the middle of Recoleta, dressed in a skiing outfit, with my backpack and skis in my hand, waiting for a taxi.