Thanksgiving in Buenos Aires
Written: Dec 12 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful, inexpensive (at times absurdly cheap).
Cons: Many hours in the sky
The Bottom Line: Go there now! You will get the most for your money.
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| AlexG's Full Review: Buenos Aires |
Go figure, apparently there is life 12 hours flight time south from New York, and now I can personally say that the maps don’t lie. Argentina does exist.
I'm back from my Thanksgiving 5-day trip to Buenos Aires. Leaving sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures and getting into freezing New York is no fun. Anyway, in a nutshell...
Why go to Buenos Aires? For me, the decision to go was very simple--"why the hell not?" And so, once again, armed with Kurt Vonnegut's philosophy that "Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God," I packed my backpack and stepped into the unknown. Now, looking back, I realize that I could have hardly picked a better place in a better time.
a) It's beautiful and very interesting with lots of things to see and do.
b) It's sunny and warm (but not hot!) this time of the year.
c) It's very inexpensive, and at times absurdly cheap.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the trip was a 10. Tremendous experience!!! I got a chance to learn and experience so much in a relatively short period of time. First, shame on the news media and whoever says that Buenos Aires is not safe. I found the place no more dangerous than any other big city. By comparison, I felt a lot more uncomfortable for my wallet walking in the middle of Barcelona (La Ramblas and surrounding narrow streets in the center at night) than anywhere near the center vicinity of Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires is very cosmopolitan. It's a blend of Europe and South America. 85% of Argentineans are of European descent, and unless you wear a camera on your chest, it's relatively easy to blend in with the locals. Some neighborhoods reminded me of Paris, some of Barcelona, and some looked like one would expect in South America.
Some highlights of the trip included:
1) Seeing Verdi's Rigoletto at the famous Colon opera house ($12 for great seats)
2) Going to a tango show --a pickup/dropoff from the hostel, a three-course meal, including a gigantic steak, unlimited red wine and the best tango in town--all for $25 (insane!).
3) A half-day trip to the Pampas-horse back riding for 2 hours, seeing the countryside, BBQ, unlimited wine, transportation, not to mention the priceless inside look into Argentinean culture from the locals--all for $25.
4) Attending Boca Juniors (Maradona's team) soccer game and being a part of 66,000 crazy Argentinean fans; it's like being in the epicenter of an earthquake. Indescribable experience--center seats for under $10.
As a side note, Buenos Aires and Thanksgiving is an ideal place and time to do your Christmas shopping. Your savings will probably pay for your trip and then some. With Argentinean economy suffering a major crisis (22% unemployment!) US dollar goes a very long way.
Argentineans must be on the Atkins diet or something like that, because they eat meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and generally they are not overweight. 133 pounds of meat per person per year, or so says the Lonely Planet. Food is so cheap in Buenos Aires that many times I left tips worth half or more of my meal. On Saturday night I went out with some friends I made at the hostel to a very nice restaurant on the waterfront (Puerto Madero section of BA), and a three-course meal with a bottle of wine came out to about $10 per person.
I only had 5 full days, which was not enough for 2 major things I wish I had time for in Argentina.
1) Patagonia. All the travelers I met were raving how beautiful the place is. I wish I had time to do some trekking. From what I heard it can be done in combination of hiking and horseback riding.
2) Iguazu Falls. An hour flight time from Buenos Aires. It was particularly interesting to hear about Iguazu Falls from people from Toronto, who were unanimous in saying that Niagara Falls is like a "faucet" in comparison.
But, there is always the next time…
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
AlexG
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 237 members
About Me:
Alex has a voracious appetite for travel. Travel hasn't satisfied an appetite. It's created one.
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