Argentina Tips and Observations

We loved Argentina, but it’s a weird mix. On the one hand the architecture is stunning and it does look like a European country. On the other, you are definitely in South America and in a 2nd world country.

In Mendoza City there are all these irrigation canals in the streets; the government controls the water very tightly because it is a high dessert and is sunny 330 days a year (they had not had rain in 9 months!).

A man, a plan, a canal - Dan in a Mendoza irrigation ditch.


The water melts of the mountains in the spring and they use that all year, so each house has it’s own water tower on top of it and water is very regulated. In the city all of the houses have iron bars on the windows on the first level and in the country the houses either had bars on the windows, a huge pointy fence around the whole house, or they are part of a gated community with really huge beautiful houses that you would see in the US- - - but by gated, I mean topped with barbed wire fence! There are really cute stray dogs everywhere (though they were all friendly, I gave them all names like Empanada and Tostada) and there are a ton of open plazas and parks that they people are really proud of.

The city of Mendoza feels like a very small town. It took maybe 3 hours to find my way around and then we never needed the map. There were 3 main streets that had lots of bars and really trendy restaurants on them, one by a college. Dan said it felt like Ann Arbor, MI to him. Once you get the outskirts of town it instantly feels more rural – the streets are often dirt and no one has a yard (that whole desert thing) and I even saw several donkey pulled carts on the streets! Stop signs are pretty much suggestions, not really instructions, and no one wears their seat belt. And on the main streets the exhaust was pretty bad – I think there is no such thing as emissions standards here! Most of the cars are small and are like Peugeots and Citroens or old Fords and Chevys.

We instantly fell in love with Buenos Aires. Our new dream is to move here and open a small Bed and Breakfast. Though we had some low points, like our not so great B&B, Dan getting sick, and one night with bad weather, overall it was awesome. The shopping was great and so cheap and the food was spectacular (with the one exception) and wine was plentiful and also cheap- the exchange rate was just great. We saw so much and enjoyed the city, even though there is still a lot we didn’t get to see. When we come back, hopefully soon, we will definately tango, go to Teatro Colon (closed until 2010 for renovations), shop more in San Telmo, go to a nightclub, eat at La Brigada (a famous steakhouse), go to La Boca, and see a futbol game. We'd also like to go to Iguazu Falls, Salta, Bariloche, and Patagonia.

I really loved the city, not only for the great food and great prices, but also for the culture and the history. It was such a mix of old and new, beautiful parks and historic landmarks with the more gritty parts of living in a city. Everyone was very stylish (all the women wore skinny jeans and boots) and I never felt unsafe at all and carried my purse everywhere. The people were helpful and friendly when we asked for directions or tried to shop or order food in our broken Spanish. It pretty much felt like New York, with everyone speaking Spanish!

And speaking of, I’d heard that a little bit of Spanish was all that was needed so I didn’t bother to learn any, since Dan knew it from high school. Well I greatly underestimated how much we would need and overestimated how much Dan knew. It was tough at times but we got by. After a while figured out as long as we could convey verb and noun, we could get our point across, and not worrying about looking like an idiot helps!

People had also said not to dress flashy and not to carry a purse. I was prepared to follow that advice until I got here and saw that people dressed just like us, actually even a little more dressy. And every woman carried a purse. I had left my wedding rings at home (just to avoid the hassle) but other than that I didn’t really take any precautions. I put my money in an inside pocket in my purse and kept aware of my surroundings, but, I never felt unsafe and we had absolutely no problems at all. And I was mistaken for Argentine a few times and Americans came up and asked us for directions in Spanish.

And yes, everything is super cheap. You get $1 for 3 pesos and the average cost of a dinner entree is about 30 pesos, so $10. It did not take me long at all to get into the mindset of what a normal price was. It got to point that when we’d pass a touristy restaurant and the cost was like 30 pesos for a burger I’d be like “NO way that should be 15 pesos!” which is the difference between a $10 burger and a $5 one!


Tips:
- Argentina is a huge country, with no extensive rail system. Unless you want to take a 24-hour bus (which I read was actually quite nice) you’ll need to fly to cover any real distance. All domestic flights connect in Buenos Aires, and the intra-country flights are expensive. Our round trip from BA to Mendoza was $700. We flew on LAN, an airline out of Chile because though it was slightly more expensive, I’d heard they were much more reliable than Aerolineas Argentinas. And for both of our domestic flights, we did notice that the AA flights were all delayed.

- When you arrive in BA from another country you will land at the international airport, about 45 minutes from the city. If you are flying from BA to another city in the country, you will leave from the domestic airport, in the city. We were told the minimum connection time needed was 2.5 hours, though some people recommended even more. Our plane was 10 minutes early and we made it off, through customs (with just carry-ons) and into a taxi by the time our plane was scheduled to land. There was no traffic and we made it to the domestic airport in 40 minutes. We had pre-booked a driver service, but they did not show up so we arranged a taxi at the desk in the terminal.

- There is so much to see and do in BA, and so many side trips you can take for a day that you need about 4 days at a minimum, though you could easily spend 10 here and not see it all. We have a lot to see still when we return!

- Most hotels and tour excursions ask for payment in US dollars, but all the local restaurants, bars, and stores take Argentina pesos. When we went the rate was $1 equaled 3 pesos. A big steak at a nice restaurant was about 30 pesos ($10). We took some cash in US dollars for our hotels and excursions and then hit the ATM for pesos. The limit at most ATMs is 300 pesos ($100) which was found was generally enough to cover 2 days. A single person could easily get by on $30 a day for food and drink here!

- BA is huge, but incredibly easy to navigate. The Subte is safe, fast and cheap. It does get crowded at rush hour; just keep a hand on your bag or wallet and you’ll be find.

- We were constantly warned about pick-pocketing and scams in BA, but we had no problem. We tried to blend in, dressed like the locals, and stayed aware of our surroundings and we were fine. Don’t go flaunting your money, and just use common sense. Only take a “Radio Taxi” and when possible, have your hotel call one for you rather than hailing one on the street.


Lessons We Learned:
- When booking any tour find out exactly how many stops it makes, where, how much money you need to bring, and what time it ends. Getting this info could have save us a lot of annoyance on our mountain trip in Mendoza!

- If there is something you really want to do, do not wait until the last day to do it. As with my big night out and going to tango, that will inevitably be the night something goes wrong.

Approximate Trip Cost:
2 round trip tickets (via Mexico City) on Mexicana from Chicago to Buenos Aires - $1800
2 round trip tickets on LAN from BA to Mendoza - $700
3 nights hotel in Mendoza - $240
Wine tour - $130
Horseback riding - $60
Mountain tour - $60
Food and drink for 3 days in Mendoza – approx. $140
6 nights hotel in Buenos Aires - $360
Cooking class and transportation - $110
Estancia day and transportation - $220
Boat to Uruguay - $120
Food and drink for 6 days in Buenos Aires – approx. $180
Misc. transportation (Subte, cabs) - $20
Total for 10 nights in Argentina (not including shopping): approx. $4150