I'm Not Ready to Leave Just Yet...

---

Waiting for the bus after our trek, I had the usual doubts about whether or not the bus would actually come, did we already miss it, etc. It always seems to happen. But it showed up, of course.

Arriving back in town and getting off at the correct bus stop (See? I'm learning...) we walked up to Hostel Achalay for two reasons:


• To see if they had any free beds (they did not)
• To sign up for the asado!



Ah asado! And the good people at Achalay didn't even mind that we wouldn't be staying there, but we were more than welcome to share their food. And they had also lent us sleeping bags for the trek, so this was even more proof that they're totally awesome.

We popped across the street to Periko's youth hostel, and managed to grab a few beds, some showers, and exchanged photos of our heroic expedition. But really, let's be honest. All of that was just to kill time until the asado started.

Meat!

So much meat! And so much wine! And so many good times. There was a good crowd of people once again. I must say, I wasn't expecting to like Bariloche as much as I have, but this hostel and the people have really made it a highlight.

Oh, get this: I got chatting with Pablo about soccer and learned that I may have been one of the last tourists to get to see the La Boca Juinors play.

Apparently the tour groups that bring tourists to the games are operating illegally... so I scored some badass points there. In order to attend a Boca match, you have to be a member and you have to have your member card with your photo ID. So it's kind of like being a season ticket holder, except that it doesn't guarantee you a seat. It's first come first serve and as soon as the stadium is full they lock the gates and no more members can get in. They limit the number of memberships sold as well, so they are a hot commodity.

The thing is, they're non-transferable. You're not supposed to use someone else's card. But there's a black market for these cards, and everyone knows that people are getting in using other people's cards but up until now they've mostly turned a blind eye. But they've recently decided to crack down, so the gravy train could stop for those that are making a business out of this.

It would seems odd that they can advertise their service so publicly at hostels and hotels given that it is technically illegal, but this is Argentina I guess. Bottom line, I saw La Boca play, and I can strike “buy something off the black market” off of the bucket list... even if I didn't know it at the time.

The next morning was my last in Bariloche, and I really had the feeling that the trip was winding down. I enjoyed a slow breakfast at the hostel and long conversations with the other Periko hostel guests, as well as Cristal and Ivi. We were also treated to some good stories from Tom, a retired American businessman who spends half the year volunteering at the hostel. Quite a character.

Part of the way he helps finance his travels is that he sells American dollars. So I should probably go ahead and explain a bit about the Argentinian economy to help explain that. Or at least, let me share the understanding that I've acquired, which might not be completely accurate.

Argentina, despite being very "Westernized" and modern and "European" (in a sense) has also suffered from some pretty suspect leadership, and the economy has been less than stable. Several of the Argentinians I've met on this trip have shared their lamentations about the economic situation in Argentina. When asked about how the global economic crisis has impacted them, they respond, half jokingly, "Crisis? What crisis? We've been in crisis for twenty years! This is normal!"

Things have fluctuated between periods of high inflation and hyperinflation, and to try and curb this, the Argentinian government has banned the free exchange of foreign currencies at its banks. So Argentinians are stuck with Argentinian currency. And with the high inflation, what they earned yesterday buys them less today. You can look at the prices listed in a lonely planet guidebook from one year ago and you might as well just throw them away, because they've gone up across the board, 10-20% in some cases. (UPDATE: In the eight months since taking this trip, the value of Argentina's pesos has deflated 17%) So nobody wants Argentinian pesos, especially not the Argentinians.

So there's really only two ways to get foreign currency. One is to apply through the banks or the government and complete a bunch of paperwork, but you'd better have a good reason. Not having any faith in the Argentinian economy is not considered a good reason. It can be for travel, or business, or things like that, but it's very regulated and very restricted.

The other way is to buy it on the black market, and in the case of American dollars, they go for nearly double the official exchange rate. That's the price that some Argentinians are willing to pay to secure their finances. American dollars are the most sought after, and Euros, Pounds, and to a lesser extent Chilean pesos are traded as well. No one is very interested in Canadian dollars, so I guess I won't be able to play.

So if you're willing to do something probably a little shady, perhaps unethical, and definitely illegal (but probably rarely prosecuted), you can actually finance a good chunk of your trip by bringing US cash with you and selling it on the black market for roughly double the official rate.

There are also heavy tariffs on most imported goods attempt to protect national interests, particularly on consumer goods. But the quality of the Argentinian goods is often not as good, if the products are even manufactured locally at all. A capitalist would probably (and probably successfully) argue that this type of protectionism means that Argentinian businesses don't have to compete which is why the quality suffers.

Electronics, like phones, ipods, etc. are not really manufactured in Argentina, and Argentinians want the same products that everyone else in the world can by from the Samsungs and Apples out there, but they have to pay much more for them using a currency that's worth less. This has actually created another black market for bootleggers bringing this stuff into the country. I met someone who's made a career out of travelling to Asia, buying these products at a discount (or rather their normal price) and then selling them on the internet through ebay and the like to Argentinians back home, and mailing them form Asia. I believe this somehow gets around the import laws.

It's kind of insane to think about. Argentinians are, to an extent, prisoners in their own country by virtue of the fact that they can't access foreign currency to travel, don't have access to the things they want, and their fortunes are always declining no matter how much they save. So in a direct and indirect way, Argentinians have their freedoms restricted by their government's somewhat failed attempts to stabilize the economy.

This is not something that you'd necessarily be aware of while traveling in Argentina because it's not right there on the surface. Argentinians are awesome people, very friendly, warm, and for the most part able to live relatively comfortably. But they're also ambitious, hard working, innovative, and entrepreneurial, and so they are frustrated with their economy and with the restrictions placed on them. I don't get the sense that theirs revolution in the air or anything like that, and people perhaps accept that their's no quick fix, but they are frustrated with the ongoing economic crisis and ineffectiveness of government to curb the problem. There's more an air of hopelessness, which is sad. But I'm rooting for them, because they deserve better.

But I've digressed, and I'll say again that I might not have it 100% correct (in fact it's impossible that I do) but I don't think I'm too far off the mark. And I don't want to leave you with a sense of negativity towards Argentina, because I feel very positive. I've loved visiting here, and these economic issues don't really impact travelers, much the same as the tumultuous partisan politics in the US don't affect travelers there. Go to Argentina. You'll probably love it. And you'll definitely love the people.

So back to my trip.With my trip winding down, there were some things I needed to check off my list before flying out of Bariloche that afternoon. Ice cream was on that list, and that's when Tom informed me that he “knows ice cream so good it'll change your DNA.”

That was too enticing to resist, and even Crystal and Ivi, who were not planning on getting ice cream at all became interested.

And let me tell you, it was most definitely the best ice cream I've ever eaten. There's not even a close second place, but even second place would be somewhere else in Argentina, and third, and fourth, etc.

Afterwards, I said goodbye to my ice cream and trekking friends and went and bought some chocolate for Vanessa (Bariloche is known for its chocolate). I picked up my bag at the hostel, and went back to Achalay to say goodbye to my friends there before heading off to the bus stop to make my way to the airport.

One of the most gratifying things about travelling is how hard it can be to say goodbye to people you've only known for a few days. I actually felt a little bit emptier inside walking to the bus stop all by myself, and it was hard to leave Bariloche behind. My trip was ending, and I was leaving behind awesome people, and I will not likely have the pleasure of their company again.

But this isn't a rare event for me when I'm travelling, and that's what's uplifting. No matter where I go or when I go there, I'll always find good people. Yay world!

And it's not over yet! I still have 24 hours in Buenos Aires...

---