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Published: July 13th 2009
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We arrived in Buenos Aires 2 days ago to an airport that I think is best described by the word "vague". It wasn't really clear where we should go or what we should do. At one point there was a sign that said "Customs" with a bunch of x-ray machines with employees. They were all looking at us and we were talking to ourselves asking "are we supposed to do something here?" We just kept on walking figuring someone would stop us if we were supposed to get our things scanned. As we slowly stepped through the room the employees starred at us but didn't say a word. We went through some automatic slidind doors to a room full of enclosed booths with shadowy figures behind the glass. As we passed each one we would here a click of an intercom then a loud voice saying "Taxi?". By the 3 time I stopped saying no. Outside of the airport we were waiting for a friend to come pick us up. While we made this extremely clear to everyone that asked, the independent taxi drivers (who charge twice as much for the same service) practically demanded that we get in their cars.
"Estamos esperando a una amigo, no necesitamos un taxi!"
"Vengan, hombres! Vengan!"
"No, no necesitamos un taxi, gracias!"
(Grabbing us by the arm) "Vengan, les llevo a su hostel."
Finally, we met our friend and headed to the bus stop. We had to wait at the stop for a bit and the ride itself took longer than the plane ride from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires. But we got there. I had some trouble with the hostel when I arrived. I had thought that I had prepaid but apparently I had only paid a small fee for pooking online. I didn't have enough Argentinian pesos to pay so we went to the
Casa de Cambio (Money Exchange) to exchange our money but it was closed. We returned and realized that the next day would be Sunday and that we wouldn't have a chance to exchange our money until today, Monday. So that's where we're headed now (well, after I finish writing this).
Yesterday was a day jam-packed with
Ferias (open-air markets) and bus rides. One thing to know about Buenos Aires if you ever go is that the buses (called
colectivos here in Argentina but not to
be confused with the colectivos in Chile which are taxis) only take
monedas or coins/change. Additionally, the government doesn't produce enough coins so the search for monedas can lead you to 4-5 different stores to get change after buying small things. The bus ride itself only costs about $0.30 but the amount of goods you have to buy to get that change adds up!
The Ferias were beautiful and fun. We stopped in La Boca, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires famous for colorful (and I mean colorful) architecture and Tango. Tango was invented here by the lower class then shipped to Europe and sent back to the upper classes in Argentina.
I'm not sure what the plans are today, but I think tomorrow I'll head to Uruguay for a bit (it's just across the bay).
Oh, Valparaíso...and the reason this blog is titled the way it is.
So I was sick for 2 out of the 3 days I was in Valparaíso. I had a fever of 38.7 degrees Celsius (I'm not sure what that is in Fahrenheit but it's over 100). I was in bed for a day and a half straight. At one point we
thought it was H1N1 and we went to the doctor. The hospital was...an interesting experience. The were pretty rude and the place was pretty dirty but it turns out I didn't have H1N1. I got some medicine and felt better pretty quickly. However, I arrived in Buenos Aires and discoverd that I'm basically allergic to the city. My sinuses felt like they were going to explode. Oh, well. I'm staying in some pretty amazing places so I can't complain too much.
Hope all is well with everyone!
Talk soon!
Zach
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Emilie
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That sounds like some top quality security going on there, ROFL. We miss you and your pretty face! I'm SO glad you didn't have swine flu "H1N1"!!!! Yikes! XOXO -Em