Buenos Aires in a really long, extended nutshell

Initially, I was just going to post some pictures from our DSLR with captions about our trip to Argentina, since I've already posted pictures from our phones recently.  But I wrote up a summary of our trip in a word document, kind of trying to journal my experience, and I thought I might as well share it for those who dare to read thousands of words about my experience. Please don't feel bad if you want to skip the summary as it is quite lengthy and I really haven't even proof read it because it is so long, so there will likely be grammatical errors and will likely be misspelled words.  Skip to the pictures if that suits you best :)

Here she is, in all her glory: my (our) Argentinian 2016 Vacation Summary

Truth be told, I wasn’t overly keen on traveling to Argentina. Sure I was willing to go (hey, I did book the tickets) but Argentina was not on the top of my priority list as far as South American countries are concerned.  Clark on the other hand has wanted to visit for years. Before we booked tickets I honestly, truly believed that the only reason he wanted to go to Argentina was for the world renowned steak. (Actually, I still kind of believe that.)

Really, we were able to visit Argentina because we got a screaming deal on airfare.  TAME Airlines was offering round trip tickets return from JFK for $775 per person.  Whaaaaaaaattttt?!??? You cannot beat that.  Back in September I had begun trying to plan a future trip, one that would take place sometime over Clark’s Christmas break.  I was looking at airfare to Peru (someday, oh please someday!), Columbia, Ecuador and Chile.  Everything was just a little more expensive than I was hoping, even directly following New Year’s.  But not tickets to Buenos Aires. Those tickets were priced just right.  When I saw the price, I knew we had to jump on them. I alerted Clark to the idea of going to Argentina and he was instantly on board. Of course. So we booked tickets that very day.

A few weeks following our big, exciting purchase (oh the exhilaration that comes with spending $1k+ in an instant!), TAME changed their times of departure from JFK, thus screwing up our layover and our ultimate arrival into Buenos Aires.  This occurred, and we received no notification that tickets would be changed to accommodate for a delayed but eventual arrival.  Since we actually had purchased tickets through Priceline, I was on the phone almost every day for THREE weeks trying to get the situation ironed out.  Eventually Priceline said that they could not make any changes without the airline’s consent, and they had not heard anything from TAME regarding an update in change of departure/layover.  Apparently Priceline had no control of the situation. So, I thought to myself: What would my Mom do?  This woman would not sit idly by. She would definitely call the airline herself.  So I took it upon myself to speak directly to the airline to fix this snafu. I ended up speaking to the nicest customer service representative who spoke broken English, but she understood the issue and was going to take it upon herself to ensure that our reservations would be amended in a timely manner.  It worked! Two days later we received updated email confirmations stating that we would have an extended, overnight layover in Quito, Ecuador.  SWEET.  We would make it to Buenos Aires a day late but we would also get the opportunity to very quickly see Quito!

Has anyone else flown with TAME before? It is a South American Airline company based out of Ecuador.  The planes are quite ancient and the interior of these aircraft have clearly been well worn and loved. Most of the arm rests on the seats still have cigarette ash trays and both Clark and I had seat cushions that kept sliding out from beneath us (i.e. they were not attached to the backrest and you could easily pick the seat cushion up off of the seat frame), which was kind of annoying.  Also there were many seats that were perpetually in a reclined position.  You could just watch people up and down the aisles struggle to get their seat to stay upright.   Nope.  That luxury did not exist on this airline!  Though the planes may have been purchased from other airlines that were like these planes are way too old to keep in our fleet, they still got us safely from one country to the next. We even got served meals and drinks, though the drink service only came through once per flight.  Clark and I always like to be well prepared with water/beverages on flights, but flying from JFK to Quito we ran out of fluids and were only given like a 4 oz beverage cup of our choice with the meal.  We arrived in Quito dehydrated and immediately sick from the high altitude. 

So, my intention is not to put TAME down, though that probably seems to be exactly what I am trying to do.  It was a decent airline and much better than Spirit, at least!!  But let’s discuss Quito now. Our hotel allowed us to book a city tour later in the afternoon with airport pickup.  The airport is roughly 30-40 minutes outside the city.  We were picked up by Daniel, whom I had been in contact with via Airbnb regarding our stay at the hotel and city tour. I think he was the owner or co-owner of the hotel.  He would be driving us around the city for a few hours to check out the main attractions.  However, within 5 minutes of driving away from the airport it hit me.  Altitude sickness.  I was nauseous, my head pounded, and I just wanted an ice pack for my head and to lay down.  But I was in a stranger’s car and I didn’t want to be that American weirdo who does whatever she pleases. I really, really wanted to enjoy this drive as we were making our way up into a mountain valley and from what I could tell when I opened my eyes, the views were truly incredible. But for the majority of the drive, my eyes were shut tightly and my head was resting against the backseat window.  Clark must not have felt as ill as I did because he was able to carry on a conversation with Daniel, who was very informative about the origin of Quito and spoke excellent English. The city tour is supposed to be mostly on foot but I will admit I was happy to stay in the car for the majority of the tour due to the rain.  We saw the Basilica, and paid a couple of dollars (oh, and Ecuador uses American dollars, did you know that? Makes things quite easy!) to tour the inside, but I only lasted a few minutes because I thought I was going to throw up.  We drove around the Old Town, saw the Church of San Fransisco, Plaza Grande, and drove up to see the statue of the Virgin of El Panecillo.  I was able to snap a few photos, and I so wish we could have spent more time atop El Panecillo.  I also wish we would not have run out of daylight.  I wish a lot of things…….. The Virgin of El Panecillo was our last stop of the tour.  She stands tall atop a mountain in the city (said mountain is called El Panecillo), and the views from that vantage point were nothing short of amazing. The city is basically carved into the walls of the Valley and over sloping hills. I can’t even describe how beautiful the view was and my pictures do not represent what we saw accurately.   Anyway, according to Daniel, the Virgin stands just a couple feet taller than Christ the Reedemer statue in Rio, just to provide a little reference for her size.  On our way back down the mountain to the hotel, Daniel said he would get us some cocoa tea to help with our symptoms.  Clark asked how long it takes people to acclimate.  Without hesitation Daniel told us 2-3 days.  Damn. But at least now we know that if we travel back to Quito, we have to allot time for acclimation. Back at the hotel we asked Daniel for nearby food recommendations.  He recommended an Indian food restaurant just down the block.  It was so funny that he brought up Indian food because Clark had said earlier in the day on our flight how much he was craving Indian food.  When he said that I told him that we weren’t going to find Indian food in Quito.  Whoops. Look how ignorant I am now! There was also a street 4-5 blocks away with many restaurants that would be open, so Daniel also suggested that we try that area if we weren’t interested in Indian food.  Since we were in Quito for less than 24 hours, I wanted to find traditional Ecuadorian fare.  On our walk to find food we remembered that we missed out on an opportunity to try cocoa tea.  Still feeling horrible, we came across an Ecuadorian restaurant.  All the customers were tourists just like Clark and myself.  Hey, let’s go find traditional Ecuadorian food for an authentic experience!!  We ordered ceviche to start and I actually can’t remember what my entrée was.  It was a rice based dish, and Clark ordered a platter of various Ecuadorian fare, which should come as no surprise to many of you.  We devoured our food easily and I actually felt much better by the time we finished dinner.  Though Clark too felt a little better after the meal, he had a rough night.  It sounded like he had sleep apnea.  His breathing was irregular and he would often be gasping for air.  He said it felt as if his chest was restricted and he was having a panic attack.  Crazy how altitude affected us so much, and we’re in decent shape!

The next morning we awoke early and took a taxi back to the airport.  Of course we were leaving on a day of clear skies and a shining sun.  We were able to take in the city a little more as we drove away and on our way down to the airport we visibly drove through the clouds.  It was so cool.

Our flight to Buenos Aires was uneventful and we made sure we both loaded up with drinks prior to boarding.  We sat across from one of the most beautiful couples I have ever seen.  A tan, trim couple and if I were to wager a guess, they likely were traveling back from their honeymoon. They had a row to themselves and kept taking turns laying on each other.  I secretly was envious of the extra space they had.  Clark pointed out that she wasn’t wearing a bra and he spied a side boob on accident.  I’m sure he felt really bad about that.  We touched down after about a 5 hour flight.  Customs went relatively smooth and then we had to wait for our ride as we had contacted the hotel in advance to book a driver for us.  We waited for like 15 minutes and started to get a little worried.  As we wandered around I saw a man holding up the smallest sign with the name “Rachel Dabler” on it.  Yep, that was our guy.  He spoke little English and we spoke little Spanish. Match made in heaven.  The drive to our hotel was interesting.  We passed the LDS temple on the way, and all along the freeway there were vehicles parked and people were playing soccer.  All. Along. The. Freeway.  I have never seen such a thing.  Clark said he had read about this sort of thing, due to the lack of green space in the city people actually utilize the grass fields lining the freeways.  Good use of space, really.

Our hotel was called the Lemon Hotel and was located in the neighborhood of San Telmo.  A little South of city center.  A little run down (the neighborhood, not the hotel). Right up our alley.  I loved our hotel.  After we got the payment issue settled for the driver (I was supposed to pay the hotel and they were supposed to pay the driver, but the driver also wanted money for parking since he had to wait for us and incurred a parking fee……) we were given our room keys to settle in.  Our room was just amazing.  Now, this was by no means a five star hotel with amenities out the wazoo, but it was so perfect for us.  The hotel just opened in the spring of 2015, so everything was still shiny and new.  Our room was the perfect little space for a shorter stay.  We had a kitchenette, the headboard to the bed was really awesome (inspired me for a DIY project in the future) and there was a bidet in the bathroom.  I don’t know if I have ever voiced my affinity for bidets, but they are amazing and hygienic and America would be so much better if bidets came standard in homes/hotels/apartments. We had a balcony overlooking part of the neighborhood, and there was a much larger community balcony on each floor complete with lounge chairs, opposite the elevators.  The hotel had a pool and a little kitchen area on the first floor that you could utilize if you were getting together with a bigger group. All in all, I was so happy we stayed where we did. The first day we got in we could have wandered around to find food.  Could have. But we didn’t.  We unpacked, showered, and Clark took a little nap. By the time we would have been ready to go out to eat, it was already dark. We didn’t have any pesos at this time. We didn’t change money at the airport earlier because I had read that you can get much, much better exchange rates at change houses throughout the city.  This was a mistake, and I take full responsibility.  Because we didn’t know the neighborhood at all at this point, Clark said we could walk around a little, but we shouldn’t venture too far.  Every restaurant within 2 blocks was cash only. We were out of luck.  That night, embarrassingly enough, we chowed down on beef jerky and almonds leftover from our journey.  The next morning we were hungry, but not hungry enough to immediately seek out money so we could buy food.  We went running to familiarize ourselves better with the area, and we spent wasted time playing on public gym equipment that really didn't improve our workouts. The elliptical machine didn't, at least. We were able to find a change house later that morning, after much grumbling and arguing, get cash, and finally sit down for our first real meal in Argentina, consisting of steak, fries, and tango at Plaza Dorrego. 

Within the first couple of days, I came to a few determinations about visiting Buenos Aires.  Hotel accommodations and public transport are very affordable in BA. Our hotel was only about $28 per night for the both of us. Amazing, considering its proximity to the center of the city and how nice and secure we found it to be. Of course you could seek out the five star $200 + per night rooms if you really wanted to. But why pay so much when you can get a clean, modern, newer hotel for really cheap?  Taxis are really cheap, and can get you from one neighborhood to another, or roughly a 15-20 minute ride, for about $5. The subway only costs about $.50 cents per ride.  I think the city buses were literally $.10 - $.20 cents but we didn’t want to fuss with finding a map of city bus routes and timetables. Steak is cheaper in BA than in America, but I didn’t really think it was that much better or that much cheaper.  We went to a really nice steakhouse one afternoon, Don Julio, and the price of the meal was roughly $65.  It was a more formal, fancy place, but still.  I was expecting even nice steakhouses to run us $30-$40.  One thing we found quite odd is that wherever you went to eat, you would have to purchase a bottle of something to drink in order to have a beverage with your meal. We never once saw anyone drinking tap water, and of course we didn’t know how to ask for water from the kitchen faucet.  So of course just having silly water ended up making our meals more expensive. And even bottled water from convenient stores was not cheap!  I don’t even want to know how much we must have spent on bottled beverages alone and our contribution to the waste of plastic in Argentina. We would fill up empty bottles to take along with us during our daily outings, but no matter what we would always run out of fluids and need to purchase more.  Oh well. When in Argentina, I guess?  Oh, and we assume there must not have been an ordinance in San Telmo requiring dog owners to clean up after their pets because there was dog crap everywhere.  Like the sidewalks were literally littered with old and new canine poop.  It was so gross.    

Clark has said that if anyone were to ask him what he thought of Buenos Aires, he would tell them that Beunos Aires is a city built from the ground up to look and feel like a European city.  Lots of European influence all over the city from landscaping to architecture.  His description is pretty spot on.  (But the floralis generic is a huge steel/aluminum flower that opens and closes and was gifted to the city by an Argentine architect.) I think we hit all the main neighborhoods in the city, and each was distinct.  San Telmo, Palermo, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, La Boca, Retiro……. I think we did a dang good job of covering these main neighborhoods in the city.  We had contemplated taking a day to travel over to Uruguay via a ferry.  But it turned out we were so content staying in one place that we didn’t even feel bad about not seeing another country even though we were so close.  I think highlights from our trip would definitely have to be the Buenos Aires city tour bus, running around Puerto Madero, visiting El Caminito, visiting the Recoleta Cemetery, the street fair on Defensa street, randomly approaching and witnessing a government protest, watching a drum circle and dancers near Parque Tres de Febrero, and seeing tango dancers perform in public spaces.  Yeah, I guess there were a lot of highlights!  We tried to visit a different neighborhood each day, and then over our last few days we really tried to cover ground we had missed.  In San Telmo we focused on Plaza Dorrego where we ate our first meal, watched tango and bought Clark a hat so he wouldn’t get roasted in the sun.  We also walked through the San Telmo Mercado on several occasions but not every vendor was open at the same time during the weekdays.  We would get our medialunas from a European bakery just around the corner from our hotel and get milk, juice and other essential grocery items from a small grocery market one block up on Chacabuco street.  We ate a decent steak meal at El Desnivel (a highly esteemed steakhouse) and also indulged in many other local eateries. On our very last day, we spent the entire day spending the last of our pesos at the street fair on Defensa, an incredible open air market that seemingly stretched on for miles.  The famed Plaza de Mayo was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel.  This is where the Casa Rosada (Pink House) is located, along with many protesters who were camping out long term.  The day we visited the Pink House, we ventured across Avenida 9 de Julio, an alpha street some 24 lanes wide to Plaza del Congreso. Plaza del Congreso is where the big government protest was held on a different day.  Many of these places we ended up visiting several times, just because that’s how it goes when you are a tourist. We walked around the super neat parks of the Retiro neighborhood where Clark saw a businessman laying down and asked on multiple occasions if we should go nudge him because he never moved.  As I mentioned above, we ran all around Puerto Madero, “exercised” on public gym equipment, walked the Puente de la Mujer (bridge), and visited the Buque Museo de Corbata ( ship museum) where all plaques, everything, was written in Spanish without any English translation and we basically just toured a ship looking at old equipment and Clark educated me on ship communication devices. Because I was not ever a little boy and I didn’t learn those sort of things, I guess.  This particular ship had sailed the world many times over, been to Antartica and had been part of the Argentine Armada. It was also in this neighborhood where we saw a street rotate to allow yachts to depart from the dike into the Rio de la Plata, and Clark nearly peed his pants with excitement. We took way too many pictures inside the Recoleta Cemetery, including pictures of Eva Peron’s mausoleum.  We walked all around Parque Tres de Febrero, through the Paseo el Rosedal and watched the drum circle and dancers on the corner of Avenida Sarmiento and Avenida Berro Adolfo.  We at ate the upscale Don Julio steakhouse in Palermo.  We took a taxi through the rough streets of La Boca to get to the ever colorful El Caminito, and bought a watercolor from a street vendor. We took the city tour of BA and got to see all these places all over again, and focus in on specific areas where we may have felt a bit rushed. (Like Chinatown. We even visited all two blocks of Chinatown in BA!) We got “meated” out.  I thought Clark would eat meat every single day, but even he couldn’t endure the meat sweats day after day.  We went to church on Sunday and understood about 5-10% of what was going on.

We had a fantastic trip.  Though I was a super reluctant visitor prior to our trip, I can honestly say now that I am happy we were able to experience “The Paris of South America.” My only hope is that next time we visit a Spanish speaking country, we will be able to communicate better!

Quito, from the Basilica, before it got too dark. Like I mentioned above, absolutely none of our photos of Quito do the beauty of the city justice.

The Virgin of El Panecillo.   You can get much, much closer to her but we opted to find bathrooms/beverages instead. And by the time we were done doing that it was already getting dark.

 

The Basilica at night.

Our hotel room in BA! Like I said, we LOVED it here!

That headboard. Great DIY project, am I right?! 

Our first steak.  Clark thought it was great.  I was indifferent. 

Tango during lunch at Plaza Dorrego.

 Plaza de Mayo

Casa Rosada

Protesters camping out at Plaza de Mayo.

Taking a break at the Obelisk.

Plaza del Congreso

Wandering through the streets of San Telmo.

El Caminito in the La Boca barrio. Very colorful and touristy, but we loved it!

Enjoying the view from our hotel balcony

El Desnivel steakhouse.

Not the greatest presentation, but our typical breakfast.

The Don Julio steakhouse.

Produce arrangements were top notch in Palermo.

Resting in Parque tres de Febrero.

Paseo el Rosedal, where a friendly couple offered to take our picture!

 

Drum circles and dancers. So cool that we basically stumbled upon this. I should have taken a recording of it but I didn't even think about it at the time.

Protest going on around the Congress house. We stumbled upon this, too, and still have no idea what was actually going on.

 La Recoleta Cemetery.

Clark helping to hold up this tree's enormous branch.

Plaza San Martin

Sunset from the hotel.

Bus tour of the city! 

Riding down Avenida 9 de Julio, the super wide road in BA.

Floralis Generic at Plaza de las Naciones Unidos.

Lone kayaker in a dike in Puerto Madero.

 Puente de la Mujer (bridge) and I think this was the ship museum saw on one of our runs.

Leaving the dike.

 Beautiful bottles at the market in San Telmo. 

 Buenos Aires is great. You should go if you ever get the chance.