Buenos Aires and Beyond

Hello from the Atlantic, east of Argentina,

Judging by the weather forecasts we see on the Internet it would appear we timed our exit strategy from Canada pretty well. From the west to the east it sounds like it's been snarly. As you may know in the Southern Hemisphere it's currently summer and the temps are almost completely the opposite to everything east of the Rockies in Canada. Minus 30 at home. Plus 30 in Buenos Aires! That may sound like a pretty good trade off but keep in mind they measure humidity here like we measure wind chill. So with the humidex factored in that's up around +37. By the end of the day that's more than enough to take the starch out of us.

Downtown Buenos Aires is a great city for walking and M and I logged 10-15 miles per day. We burned through multiple litres of water a day each and that's not to mention the beer and coffee. My kidneys have never had it so good! 

To backtrack for a moment our trip from Winnipeg to Buenos Aires was long but went well. About 32 hours in total but that included a 4 hour layover in Chicago and an 8 hour layover in São Paulo Brazil. Marathon flights are not new to us, but this one was made considerably easier in that we flew 1st Class. Aeroplan required that we use up a substantial number of miles by the end of January, so we thought why not fly first class. That was new for us, but it provided access to the elite airport lounges plus the individual pods on the wide body Boeing 777 aircraft. Because of the ability of the seats in the pods to fold flat it made it much easier to sleep and you arrive much fresher. Margaret said we can fly first class from here on ----- but only if we win the lottery. 

Our 5 day sojourn in Buenos Aires was fun. We were here for 8 days six years ago with Sophie and Jim Munro. It's changed quite a bit in that short time. Of the 42.5 million inhabitants of Argentina, close to 14 million live in Greater Buenos Aires - big city. There is a street here that is 15 or more lanes wide and takes you 2-3 lights to walk across! It's always struck me as a very cosmopolitan city with a strong European feel to it. The Spanish colonial architecture and colourful mix of cultures is no doubt the reason. We really enjoyed wandering the various downtown districts, reacquainting ourselves with what we encountered 6 years ago. 

But the 'Paris of South America' is starting to look a little frayed around the seams. The Argentinian economy is in crisis and you can see and feel the city fighting a rear guard action against urban decay. You are obliged to pay close attention to where you put your feet. Streets and sidewalks, many of those modernized with handicap access corners, frequently fall into disrepair ranging from potholes to debris fields with little in the way of warning signs.

The Argentinian peso has dropped like a stone. The government rate is about 8.5 pesos for one US$ but the street rate called the 'Blue Dolar' is 13.2 pesos per US buck. That's more than a 50% difference if you are exchanging US currency for Argentinian ! You absolutely need pesos for the daily requirements of travel; taxis (~60 pesos for a fifteen min ride), lunch, coffee (~77 pesos for two lattes at Starbucks), etc. You get hosed using a credit card. 

Walking down the busy streets of Buenos Aires you constantly hear the word  'CAMBIO' called out as tho' by a hawker at a sideshow. They are like quasi legitimate black market currency traders. They buy US$ for pesos at the minute-by-minute going rate. Trouble is with them being unregulated they can salt it with counterfeit pesos. Pretty hard for a tourist to tell the difference. Tricky! Interesting to watch store cashiers hold larger peso bills up to the light to check for counterfeit.

To put it in perspective, prior to our leaving, Canadian banks and currency houses wouldn't even sell us Argentinian pesos due to the volatility, and the small family run hotel we stayed at in downtown Buenos Aires required payment in US$ cash for our whole 5 day stay. To avoid getting into trouble we arranged with our hotel owner to buy pesos from him. We split the difference with him - he bought them for 13.2 AR$ and sold them to us for 11.2 AR$ - way better than 8.5 AR$ if we went to the gov't regulated banks. The people of Argentina deserve better.

When we were last here people with dogs were not required to pick up after their pets. Sidewalks were littered with dog crap. That is no longer the case. I can only assume there is now a law. The dog walking business is still a big deal. It's not unusual to pass a dog walker with 20 dogs on leashes. #herdingdogs

Those of you who have had the dubious distinction of being on the receiving end of updates from our previous trips to South America may recall us writing about the plumbing and the culturally very different approach to toilet paper. If so the below may sound familiar.

Be warned this is more information than you may feel you need. I'd forgotten about this - until now.

In South American countries the plumbing systems are not designed to accept toilet paper! They just don't. They will plug up and overflow. Washrooms are provided with an inconspicuous little trash can into which you put any soiled TP. Yup, you read that right. They also have a bidet and/or a contrivance that basically is a flexible hose with a nozzle. I can hear all the OMGs about now.

Margaret is of the opinion that it's my job to figure out and field test anything that's remotely suspicious. So here is my advice gained from personal experience. Go in stripped down for action because there is a fair chance you're going to get wet. This next bit is VERY IMPORTANT. Make sure you have a very clear grasp of which knob controls the HOT water - and - which controls PRESSURE. Failure to respect these basic principles will likely mean you're in for a high speed hot water enema. Once you get the hang of it the bidet is quite civilized - the hose and jet nozzle on the other hand is positively evil.

We boarded our ship the Marina on Monday at noon and the ship remained in dock in Buenos Aires until 8:00 pm Tuesday night. We went ashore again to check out some places we missed and to buy some fabulous Argentinian wines at ridiculously low prices. Malbecs here we come.

Never Stop Exploring

M&H