Final thoughts on Argentina

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This was our first visit to South America, and we came away with a good introduction to the culture and life in Argentina. Our 10 day trip consisted of 8 days in Buenos Aires and 2 days in Puerto Iguazu. All in all, it was a great trip! Visiting a new continent for the first time, we were a bit nervous, but we realized life there is much like it is here, people are working hard and trying to get by. At a human level, we all have the same goals. However, life there did seem a lot more relaxed and slower paced. They really take their time during meals instead of rushing through them and really slow down on the weekends to enjoy time with family.

Buenos Aires is a huge city...they have all the modern conveniences and it proved to be a sophisticated metropolitan comparable to the likes of New York City.

Puerto Iguazu was a bit more rural and we were exposed to more of the humble and simple ways of life there. We were blown away by the beauty of Iguazu Falls...the sheer force of nature is hard to fathom, even when you're standing right next to it.

We look forward to returning some day!

Observations:

• BA is a very dog friendly city and because of that, there's dog poop all over the place...seriously. Next time you're in BA, be sure to watch your step ;-)
  
• Girls wear really tight jeans…I mean really tight. Luckily, not so much for the guys. But hey, if you got it flaunt it!
  
• Trains get crazy crowded during rush hours. Sometimes you have to let a few trains go by before even attempting to shove yourself in to the masses.
  
• Chori-pan is delicious! We didn't eat any from the little stalls on the streets, but we had some in a restaurant (El Hornero in Tigre), which was simple but delicious! Ask for chimichuri sauce if you like it spicy…this place had a different kind of sauce than were available in other restaurants.
  
• Graffiti, graffiti everywhere. You get used to it after a while, but the first couple of days we walked around, we were pretty surprised to see most of the statues in plazas, several historic buildings and government buildings were tagged.
  
• I love the understated significance of the main attractions in Buenos Aires and Iguazu to some extent as well. I don't know if it was the season we had gone or if that's the case always, but we often found ourselves looking for certain places thinking there would be big signs and a certain amount of "hoopla" around the buildings or monuments, but that wasn't usually the case. Things were, as I said, understated, and though we did find tourists around taking pictures, it was not the norm. Having a map is key to finding these landmarks and attractions…we recommend "The Golden Map of BA" which you can get from a hotel in town.
  
• Taxi drivers are nuts, but they have great reflexes…they can swerve in and out of traffic and stop on a dime. Really scary if you're looking ahead, so I suggest looking away or shutting your eyes ;-)
  
• There are tons of pizza joints there! Easier to find than a parilla sometimes.
  
• The locals like to bundle up and sport big coats, even in mild winter months… we found it amusing that Shel was walking around in a shirt, but others hat boots and several layers of clothes 😊
  
• Local transportation is very affordable for tourists, however, domestic flights are comparable or more expensive than in the U.S. This is partially due to the fact that there isn't enough competition as there are only 2 airlines, Aerolinas Argentina and LAN, which is a Chilean company. In addition, Aerolinas Argentina has been very unstable and unreliable over the years.
  
• We did find some folks there that spoke a bit of English there, and some were very fluent, however, on a normal basis, it really helped to know a bit of Spanish, as most locals didn't know English. This was a challenge for us, but I like the fact that I was forced to communicate in Spanish…really helped me improve it.
  
• They play so many American TV shows there (CSI, House Hunters, Letterman, etc)...many dubbed in Spanish, but some are in English with Spanish subtitles. Good way for us to learn Spanish ;-)
  

Things we didn't get to do:

We felt like we were able to do a lot in the short span of 10 days in Argentina, however, these are some of the things we never got to, which we'll have to save until next time:

• Go to a milonga, which are tango parties…they host them at local dance halls and clubs, we never stayed up late enough to go to these as they supposedly start late and end in the wee hours of the morning. It may also be more helpful to get some tips from locals on where to go for these as they're not well advertised.
  
• Attend a futbol match…they're supposed to be insane since the local fans are die hard. Quite an experience we hear
  
• Go to a tango show…they have these tango shows and dinner combination at various venues…some of the ones that we had heard of are Senor Tango, Tango Porteno (by Teatro Colon) and Madero Tango.
  
• Visit La Boca…this is the authentic part of BA that we were warned not to roam alone, especially at night. It's in the hood and a bit rough around the edges we hear, but this is the area of town with all the colorful buildings that are featured in all highlight pictures of BA. It is also the hometown of Maradonna, the best known (and most controversial) Argentine futbol player. They actually have organized tours of La Boca, but we never looked into it and it's unfortunate that we didn't take the chance and go on our own…next time ;-)
  
• Visit Colonia del Sacremento in Uruguay…it's a short ferry ride away from BA, and makes a good day trip. We've read that it's a great little Portuguese influenced town, with cobble-stoned streets and historic buildings.
  
• Visit an estancia (ranch) in the countryside...and basically just visit all the other areas of Argentina. It's so vast and there is much to see and explore...Salta, Bariloche, and of course, the glaciers down south.
  

Some tips/suggestions:

Restaurants/bars we liked:

• Romario in Palermo Chico… great empanadas and pizza (Cabello/Ugarteche)
  
• Green Bamboo in Palermo Hollywood….Vietnamese, great ambiance (Costa Rica/Carranza)
  
• Cielito Lindo in Palermo Soho…Mexican food (Costa Rica/Humbolt)
  
• Aqva in Puerto Iguazu…Parilla (this is not in BA)
  
• Terra in Puerto Iguazu…Chinese and parilla…got for just drinks as well (this is not in BA)
  
• El Hornero in Tigre…Parilla…get the chori pan, it's not on the menu, but they have it (this is not in BA)
  
• Milion in Recoleta…Parilla and a great place to get drinks in the evening…sit in the garden in the back (on Parana)
  

Transportation:

• Taxis are safe to take, but just make sure they are metered. Radio taxis were reliable for us. You can usually just hail them down on the streets since there are so many of them around. Look for the "Libre" sign in the front to see if they're available. No need to tip the drivers, but you can just let them keep the change up to the nearest peso (like if the ride was $9.66, just give him a $10). They don't expect a larger tip and we've heard some even find it insulting if you do. Also, you know tell them the cross streets of the place you want to go to…that kept things simple, especially since most don't speak English.
  
• when you take the bus, you need to have coins, but you don’t need exact change.
  
• Subways, or the Subte, are safe but you need to use your common sense like in any big city around the world. There are pickpockets and such, but just make sure you keep your belongings close…for guys, keep your wallets in the front pocket, and for ladies, keep you purse in front of you or between you and your travel mate. During rush hour, these subway cars get really, I mean REALLY crowded, expect to stand up during the ride and be prepared to get up close and personal with the others on the car.
  
• Remise: These are a different kind of official taxis. They don’t use meters, but have a fixed price, depending on the length of the taxi ride. We used a remise only when traveling to/from the international airport. We used taxis to/from the domestic airport as that was almost half the price of a remise and since it was not too far from the city, it was fine.
  

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