Thursday was Argentina‘s national independence day, when celebrations and pomp and ceremony brought parts of the capital to a standstill.
Wales, meanwhile, decamped to San Juan on another two-hour flight.
It is a much quieter destination that is a stark contrast from the bustling Buenos Aires streets.
San Juan is situated at the summit of the Andes mountain range and is famous for its wine, with Mendoza 100 miles away.
This will be Argentina’s eighth official match in the city and the second time they have faced Wales here, with the tourists winning 23-10 in 2018.
It is an intimate venue that features about 25,000 seats decked out in the traditional blue and white of the home side and the unique fencing which provides a caged effect and separates the supporters and the players.
The stadium is located on an industrial estate with the mountains looming beyond and stray dogs strolling around as natural inhabitants.
That Wales victory eight years ago was Aaron Wainwright’s debut, with current squad members Adam Beard, Dillon Lewis, Ryan Elias, Tomos Williams and Josh Adams also part of that victorious tour.
Further knowledge of playing in Argentina comes from Tandy, who toured with Scotland during his stint as defence coach.
Lake captained Wales Under-20s to a notable win against New Zealand in Rosario in 2019, with that squad including Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Ben Warren, Sam Costelow and Teddy Williams.
The limited air time given to rugby in this footballing week has included discussion of the fact that Argentina are notoriously slow starters in these campaigns, as demonstrated last week when they lost 47-38 to Scotland in Cordoba.
Tandy and Wales will need no reminding of the heartache caused by Argentina in the nations’ two most recent encounters.
Wales’ 2023 World Cup quarter-final defeat in Marseille was followed by Argentina ruining Tandy’s first game in charge with a record 52-28 win in Cardiff last November.
Wales have just mustered a mini-revival, having beaten Italy and Fiji to register back-to-back Test wins for the first time since the World Cup.
Tandy’s side are still ranked 11th in the world, four places below this weekend’s opponents, but can climb into the top 10 if they win.
They are chasing a breakthrough victory in every sense.
