Argentina is a country of extreme contrasts, a reality vividly displayed even in the international city of Buenos Aires. As Fendi-clad locals and international jet-setters prowl the high-end restaurants and clubs, on the other side of the sidewalks the poor walk the streets pulling carts, sorting recyclables from the garbage and scavenging useable items. Although this country has a long history of economic divide, the crash of the peso in 2001 exacerbated social problems.

Quequen is home to dreadlocks, para-gliders, and Quilmes drinking Moondoggies; for reality surf and turf, Quequen is your Argentine summer destination. Located along the Atlantic coast, Quequen is a quiet beach town with a bullet - surf school. Wide beaches and consistent wind combines for an ideal place to study surfing. Leave your pocket protector and glasses at home, Marvin, this class requires no textbook and assigns no homework - you hardly even have to know how to swim since shallow waters extend out to the deep-breaking waves.

Finding a good bar in downtown Buenos Aires is not a hard thing to do. Pubs and cafes line nearly every main street and plaza, catering to a vast clientele of both locals and tourists alike. Finding a truly unique nightlife experience, however, is decidedly harder. Even the most casual traveler will tell you that they want to do something different then they’re used to at home. They want good drinks, atmosphere, music, crowd, and most of all fun. If that’s your idea of a good time, then look know further than “The Spot”, Recoleta’s best kept secret.

Nestled behind 15-foot steel gates, through a dark Fourier on a quiet street in the posh Recoleta neighborhood, “The Spot” can be tough to find. There’s no sign out front, no advertising, and the bar doesn’t open until 10pm. This bar is no frills, all fun, and you can expect something different every time you go.

I have never seen anything quite like El Niño Bien, a famous milonga located on Calle Humberto Primo in Constitucion. One door down from a small restaurant of the same name, the entrance to the milonga is a wide double door which opens to an empty foyer. Follow the sound of music up the stairs and you find yourself paying your twelve pesos and walking into a large dance hall which at first seems like the antithesis of tango. The room has a high ceiling dotted with spinning fans and a few ineffective air conditioning units; the walls are covered in panels of yellow wall paper, outlined by gold molding. These panels are separated by tall mirrors, and all remaining exposed plaster is painted a deep salmon pink. The room is well lit; the dance floor is a little tightly constrained by dining tables on all sides, most of which had reserved signs on them by the time my friends and I arrived, early, at eleven.

In the heart of San Telmo, across from Park Lezama, lies the elegant tango room El Tasso. El Centro Cultural Torquato Tasso - commonly known as El Tasso - is a supper club with tango orchestras, tango classes, and performances. This month El Tasso hosts their fourth annual Tango Festival with live bands and dance performances.