Blogs from Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, South America - page 2

Arrived in Rosario, 12th March, following a 4 hour bus ride through flat, green and fertile agricultural land. After checking into our Hostel we went straight out for a walk down the pedestrianised central street down to the river for a walk and meal. You can not move for people jogging, cycling, skating and enjoying the public parks and walkways it gives the town a lovely atmosphere. Second day we saw the colossal monument to the designer of the argentine flag (Manuel Belgrano). He is buried beneath it, overlooking the Parana delta which Rosarinos are very proud of along with the fact that Che Guevara and Lionel Messi were both born here. Day three we found a wonderful Parrilla (steak house), which was taken over by the staff after the owners went bust and is now ... read more

Šiandien paskutinė mano diena Buenos Airėse, tad reik nuvažiuoti į miestą ir išsikeisti daugiau pinigų. Pinigus geriausia keisti miesto centre, pagrindinėje pėsčiūjų gatvėje, nes ten gatvės prekeiviai siūlo geresnį kursą. Oficialus valiutos kursas 1eur=6,5 peso, tuo tarpu gatvėje 8,5 peso. Skirtumas toks yra todėl, kad infliacija šalyje dabar labai didelė, apie 30%, o šalies vyriausybė riboja kiek užsienietiškos valiutos gali išsikeisti vietiniai gyventojai ir apskritai, norint nusipirkti užsienietiškos valiutos reikia užpildyti krūvas popierių. Tad visiškai normalu, kad atsirado juoda rinka. Einant pagrindine gatve, maždaug kas 40m stovi žmonės ir šaukia "cambio, dolar, euro, real". Taigi pasiklausiau keleto tokių "pardavėjų" kokį jie kursą siūlo, tada suradau kitą prekeivį ir su juo šiek tiek pasiderėjęs dėl kurso sutariau išsikeisti 100 eurų. Jis mane nusivedė į šialią esantį pastatą,... read more

Not every blog has to be about an amazing place...not every blog has to be about another exciting experience... This blog is simply about another week in Buenos Aires and our nice week-end in Rosario....but what makes this blog better, is that Leslie is now 12! Happy birthday big guy...you are soon on your way to be a fully fledge teenager...and me...an happy father! Imagine, this week-end, it was not only Leslie birthday, but also the birthday of our first month in Argentina! First, and most important, Leslie! Well...the place was not the right one for a birthday celebration, and Leslie did understand this. He would simply consider Rosario as...a slightly boring city...you and I in the adult world would call it a pretty quiet provincial city...perception...who is speaking of perceptions.... We did not figure out ... read more

Despite their reputation, we found most of the locals in BA to be helpful and kind, but that didn’t help ease the shock of how expensive everything was. We did our research from a Lonely Planet guidebook that was five years old (oops!) and it seems Argentina is not as affordable as it was. Prices have at least tripled and in some cases are up to 10 times as much as we’d expected. So after one night we hopped on a four hour bus to Rosario, a small city on a wide river. It was here that we noticed everyone, and I mean every single person, was carrying a small pot and a thermos. We asked the guy at the hostel what it was and he said ‘yerba mate’ - a strong herbal tea that Argentineans ... read more

Escapada bicentenaria... read more