Archives mensuelles : août 2003

I have decided to stay one week more in Buenos Aires. I think this is the
place where I’ll most enjoy practising my Spanish, and also I can jump up from
20 to 40 hours of Spanish private lessons.

Then, I’ll fly up to Salta for 10 days, and concentrate on the Argentine
sector of the Andes. The Salars of Uyuni in Bolivia and Atacama in Chile do
sound like very attractive places to visit, however, I decided that I did not
want to plan too much. Keeping the rest of another visit, that’s what we always
say…

After that, I’ve booked a flight to the Valdes Peninsula in Northern
Patagonia, in order to do some whale-watching, penguin-watching and so on.
Again, the Perito Moreno Glacier is another unmissable sight I’ll miss and keep
for the next time, as again, it’s either hours and hours of bus or loads and
loads of dollars for the flight. And it’s winter here. Again, next visit…

Finally, I’ll fly to what is called here “las Cataratas”, i.e. the Iguazu
Falls. They are considered as one of the three most impressive ones with
Niagara in North America and Victoria in Southern Africa. At least one
unmissable sight I won’t miss!

It will then be time to head back home…

I can confirm:

1 Argentine stamp for Europe = 5.25 Pesos

1 basic meal in a BsAs restaurant with drink = 10 Pesos

1 short taxi ride in Buenos Aires = 4 Pesos

1 hour in one of the many Internet cafes (locutorios) = 1 Peso

Knowing that the Peso to Swiss Franc exchange rate is approximately 2.1, and that in Switzerland a meal costs 20 Swiss Francs and a taxi ride 15 Francs, following this logic a stamp from Switzerland to Argentina would cost between 12 and 18 Francs!

I just read that the Argentine Post (Correo) was one of the most bankrupt companies of the country.

Luckily the Internet exists to connect Argentina to the world.

Of course, one of the main excitements here is that (nearly! see post above) everything is so cheap. Marvellous, you would say.

However, it is important not to forget that the Argentine Peso tumbled from parity to the dollar to nearly 3 to 1 now. That means that some imported goods increased by 300%.

Easy I thought, well, the salaries in consequence went up a minimum to compensate that. Well, not automatically, and having a 15% increase can be considered as a maximum.

Of course, not everything went up, the Subte (Underground) ticket price remained at 70 Centavos for instance. To the opposite, appartment rents and insecurity peaked.

That’s how some people end up checking out rubbish at night for recycling.

I smile when I think about complaints I heard because the general yearly salary increase in the company was of only (e.g.) 2% when prices went up by (e.g.) 1%. Some don’t realise how lucky they are. Maybe sometimes I don’t neither.

I am sure that there are loads of cities that boast themselves as the one “that never sleeps”. I don’t know if Buenos Aires does, but it deserves it.

On Friday I beat my Salsa dancing record as I was still at it at 5.30 in the morning and the the bar was not shutting yet. However my legs are not ready to carry me until 8 in the morning or later. Yet. And I also want to enjoy SOME daylight the next day.

By the way I changed Hostel. Mine DID never sleep, and my room was next to the common bar, open 24 hours. Weird waking up when some are still in the beer phase. I can’t remember if it was 10 in the morning or 10 at night when I got interrupted brushing my teeth by a girl escorting her drunk friend to the toilet. Although I can understand these hard moments of life, I didn’t think they could or should occur at 10, whether a.m or p.m.!

It’s really nice and so relaxing to be in a country where you are not uniquely of interest because you are a source of income. Although I understand these cases as well.

On my way to San Telmo I started chatting (in Spanish, yes!) with a man walking his dog, and he was very helpful. Being so used to it in other places I started wondering, even if he was really very nice, how I would get rid of him, and what he wanted from me. We then reached a corner, he asked my name, said with warmth “Nice to meet you”, and he went his own way. Genuine people, cool country. I like Argentina despite the fact that I am always either too warm or too cold.

I then met at a Tango demonstration una Argentina de Mar del Plata. Again, so nice, she gave me a specialist insight on Tango, that she practiced herself. Here, interestingly, as for some Salsa classes in Europe, Tango teachers insist that dancers change partners in order to improve their guiding skills. In Switzerland, I have the impression that some are reluctant to do this, that dancing with a partner is exclusively a “couple” thing. It’s true that Tango does ask to reach high levels when the two dancers should only make one.

I then finished my afternoon with an unplanned Spanish practical training. I like Argentina.

Today, I was buying a few postcards in a little shop of San Telmo, and I had the immense idea of buying stamps to send them to Europe. The lady told me, you need one of 5 and one of 25. I summed up, that’s 30 Centavos, less than 15 Swiss Centimes. That is really cheap, cool!

(Effectively, everything is really cheap here. One basic take-away pizza costs 3.40 Pesos, that’s 1.60 Swiss Francs. And I couldn’t finish it.)

Well, no.

After being close to making me faint announcing me the total I should pay she explained me, that’s 5 PESOS and 25 Centavos, equivalent to 2.50 Swiss Francs! To send a ridiculous postcard to Europe! This suddenly calmed down my motivation for writing postcards.

Unless I seek postal asylum in Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay or Brazil. Or Roma Fiumicino Airport Transit Zone?

Unless she wanted to make extra money with me, as the Argentine I met afterwards suggested. I’ll enquire in an official Post Office and at my Youth Hostel.

I am still traumatised by buying stamps in Cuba, where an identical stamp costed 27 times more in a Tourist Office than in a Post Office for locals. And I did pay 27 times too much for the first ones I bought.

By the way, finally I didn’t buy any stamps here yet.

Avenida 9 de Julio effectively has 9 lanes in each direction, and two parallel avenues of three lanes each on either side. To be able to cross the 18 main lanes in one go, it is necessary to keep up a good rythm to reach the other shore before the pedestrian lights go red and free the crocodiles again…

Hoooooray! I’ve just posted by first prose all on my own!!! Gosh that was
hard, but I did it! I must admit it’s the first time for very long that I am
writing something elaborated and consistent.

And it does take time.