Our next stop after El Calafate was off to the bustling
metropolis of Buenos Aires. We were greeted by the hustle-bustle of the
domestic airport, thankfully leaving with all our luggage in tow, and into the
blistering 40 degree heat outside (although we were careful not to complain knowing
back home in Melbourne was sweltering through 46 degree days). The drive from
the airport to town shows the vast contrast of the city, firstly the absolute
slums of the outer suburbs – unfinished buildings, big rubbish piles
everywhere, washing strewn between buildings and generally a pretty typical
scene from a 3rd world country, which surprised me because I thought
Argentina was one of the more developed of South America.
Once in the (massive) city however, the site changed
dramatically and depending on which suburb you were in, you could mistake it
for the streets of Paris or Spain or Italy. Once we arrived at our hostel, we
were quickly informed of the ‘blue rate’ exchange rate, which, while I had
heard of it previously, was still a foreign concept. Basically the Argentinian
Peso is inflating currently at about 25-30% per year, with no end in sight,
making their money worth less and less every day, so everyone prefers to hold
their money in US cash rather than the local bank. So for us fortunate tourists,
we can exchange US currency with one of the hundreds of people yelling ‘cambio’
on the street for basically double what the banks will give you. While the
practice is technically illegal, the Argentinians seem to like loop-holes (such
as the floating casino to get around the law that no casinos are allowed in the
country) and police walk straight through all the locals yelling ‘cambio’
without a second thought!
Anyways, after being informed of this magical way to make
double our money, we quickly booked a day trip to Uruguay (an hour boat ride
away) as it is the only place you can get out cash in US dollars, with all the
other gringos at our hostel to make the most of this spectacular country.
Prior to this however, was the important event of Dave’s
birthday present – a polo lesson and day out at a typical Argentinian Estancia
(ranch). While for me, the idea of trying to stay on a horse and hitting a ball
at the same time seemed far too difficult to comprehend, it was just perfect
for Dave and it turned out he was a bit of a natural, (after he finally worked
out how to make the horse go when and where he wanted it to!)
After two full days in Buenos Aires without actually seeing
the town, we though it time to actually explore the city and see what it had to
offer. What did we discover? Steak, tango, icecream, markets, wine,
all-you-can-eat buffets, more steak, a crazy cemetery, amazing patisseries,
houses with hidden underground tunnels and even more steak! Unfortunately, we
missed out on increasing our cultural knowledge of the city with our usual free
city walking tour because it was so damn hot, the idea of walking around in the
sun for 3 hours made you want to sit down and have a nice cold drink! Instead
we just ate a ridiculous amount of food… PS – thanks Steve and Kathy for the
recommendations of the steak place with the 40% off happy hour menu +
patisserie, both were incredible.
First up, a tango lesson, as well as dinner and a show,
taught us who out of newly made friends from the hostel were dancers and who
were certainly not! From there we saw some incredible vintage markets in San
Telmo. It’s a pity my bag is already overflowing, otherwise I would have gone a
little crazy here! Dave was just content listening to the flamenco guitar
played in the street with some spontaneous tango thrown in!
Lastly, you cannot comment about Buenos Aires without
including a trip to the Cemetery. I still haven’t decided if I liked it or not,
but it seems that everyone with money who dies in this city needs a majestic
looking house/church to be buried in rather than a simple tombstone to make
your location. It was a bit of a ‘come look at me world – I had money’ kind-of
feeling, but to their credit, everyone was actually coming to look at them!
All in all, we fell in love with Buenos Aires, part Paris
with a bit more grime; the city was enchanting, we survived without getting
mugged and the food was incredible. We were thoroughly spolit! Now back to
northern Patagonia to some nicer weather, fresh air and a chance to ride and
hike off all our eating in BA.
Till next time,
Sharon
