I have a desperate urge to visit Argentina.

I’ve never been, but I’ve been within spitting distance: at the Chilean border on the Altiplano. I was so tempted to keep driving along the dirt road. Luckily Joe is more sensible than I am.

I want to visit the southernmost city in the world. I want to dine on tender grilled steak drizzled in fragrant chimichurri and wash it down with a generous glass of Mendoza Malbec. I want to camp and hike in Patagonia and peer down at glistening glaciers from the mountaintops.

There is however another reason I want to better understand Argentina…

Like most British people, one of the first things which comes to mind when thinking of Argentina is the Falklands conflict. Although the UK fought off the Argentinian invasion, we’ve been left with an enduring antagonism between Britain and Argentinia.

For me, there’s a weirdly appealing thing about visiting countries which don’t have good relationships with my own - perhaps to explore and understand the roots of the conflict? Maybe it’s a desire to build bridges? Perhaps I’m just a contrarian?

Either way, none of this really matters. Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that the UK and Argentina actually have more in common than what separates them.

They have both at one point been the most wealthy countries in the world.

Both countries subsequently adopted and clung to political ideologies that actively made them actively poorer and more isolated. In Argentina’s case Peronism, and in the UK’s, Euroscepticism.

Both make territorial claims to shore up populist support for ineffective governments. The UK obsesses over fishing rights, while Argentina obsesses over the Falklands.

Both have been home to the department store Harrods.

Both have Welsh speaking communities.

Argentina, next time I promise I will cross the border.