Patagonia at last

This afternoon I finally landed in Patagonia, the highlight of my South America visit. I must say that I was a little sad to leave Buenos Aires in the end. The weather was so nice and warm and sunny, with a cooling breeze, and I really appreciated all the green areas in the city. Architecturally, it strongly resembles Paris, and it has been called the most European city in South America. What ever that means. Europe is not a homogenous continent. I also met some really nice people in BA, and it's always sad to leave people knowing that you are very unlikely ever to see them again...

But I had a very pleasant surprise at the airport this morning! When I checked in online yesterday, I suddently found out that there was a 15 kg checked bag limit on domestic flights, and 5 kg for carry-on! I can tell you that I am hauling a lot more than that around the world! I couldn't find anywhere to pay for excess baggage on Aerolineas Argentinas's web site, so I was dreading a hefty surcharge at the airport. But bless the very nice man who checked me in. The suitcase weighed 25 kg and he didn't even bat an eye-lid before handing me my boarding pass and wishing me a pleasant flight! No one bothered about how much my cabin bag weighed.The latin desmadre can certainly work either way. 

The suitcase in question was brand new by the way, bought in Buenos Aires yesterday. KLM/Air France had managed to damage the suitcase I brought from Europe, but unfortunately I didn't notice that before I left the airport. I don't think there is any point trying to e-mail them for compensation, I'd just be wasting my time and raising my blood pressure unnecessarily. My blood pressure did go up a bit when paying for the suitcase though. Yes it wasn't cheap, but that was not the reason. When I handed over my credit card, I was also asked for my passport, which I don't normally drag around with me. But I had no choice but go back to the hotel and get it, otherwise, no sale. Even when I came back with the passport, it took forever and a day to close the sale. And this was in a large supermarket, kind of a Tesco Extra, so people in line behind me just wanted to do their grocery shopping while the cashier was faffing about with all sorts. Apparently it is normal to ask for ID when anyone pays with a credit card, even the locals. So be warned. 

At the same time I was reminded how long it takes to get through the check-out in Latin America. I'm not sure why that is. It seems customers here are unusually inquisitive about the prices charged and the cashier also usually packs the bags for them. Well patience is one thing you must muster to survive here.

I was really kicking myself when we came in to land in El Calafate this afternoon. During the approach I had a spectacular view of Lago Argentino and the mountains in the background, and it would have made a stunning photo. But - my camera was in the overhead locker and the seatbelt sign was on. So if you ever get to fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, be sure to book a window seat on the right side of the plane (looking forward) and hope for a clear day! And this picture is nicked:

What I saw of the landscape between the airport and the town was not unlike Iceland. Tall mountains and largely treeless steppe. The town of El Calafate supposedly has 21,000 inhabitants, which is not too bad, but the main thoroughfare is lined with shops catering to the tourists. I saw two shops displaying both The North Face and Timberland logos... No, I didn't take a picture.

I arrived rather late on a Sunday afternoon here so I'll have to go and sort out my glacier experience tomorrow. I also have to nail down the precise itinerary for the remainder of my time in Patagonia, and book accommodation. I am not looking forward to the long bus journey to and from Ushuaia! No matter where I start from, it seems an 11-12-hour stretch there and back is inevitable... But I can't miss the southernmost city in the world.

P.S. Still dogged with slow internet, so the pix will have to wait for now...

Liking Buenos Aires more today

What a difference a day makes... The temperature has cooled down quite a bit, and with a nice cool breeze, it's really pleasant to be outside. The first thing I would recommend anyone visiting BA is the green spaces! I have been to the Reserva Ecologica near Puerto Madero on Rio de la Plata. It's a peaceful, green oasis still within sight of the high-rises in Buenos Aires's Docklands. Well worth a few hours. The second area I would like to recommend is the parks in Palermo. From subte (underground) station Plaza Italia, the Botanic Garden and the Zoo are just across the street. At the bottom of the Zoo starts the Parque 3 de Febrero. Altogether I would recommend spending several hours in these different places to get away from the big city hustle and bustle.

I don't know if I can add much to the general tourist guides on BA. It's a big and busy city, it reminds me very much of Paris. It has a very southern European feel to it, and I quite like it. People are also quite nice overall, but of course, you need to speak Spanish! Yesterday I had my first Argentinian parrillada, or barbeque, a traditional meat orgy. Very nice and at only 280 pesos for two, you can't complain. There was certainly plenty of it.

I'm still unable to upload any photos, so I have borrowed from the internet in this post.

Buenos Aires - trying my patience!

 
Time for a good, long moan! When reading the rest of this post, please bear in mind that it's 33 degrees today which is not a good environment for a Scandinavian.

Before leaving Montevideo, I had researched online how much a taxi fare should cost from the boat to my hotel. It should be around 60 pesos. The taxis inside the perimeter of the terminal asked for 180! I was told however that if I went out on the street, it should be much cheaper. So there was another taxi driver waiting just outside - he wanted 240 pesos! This was during rush hour so taxis were not plentiful. After about 10 minutes I managed to flag one down - 200 pesos! I told him to f off. Another 10 minutes later I finally got an honest one who was happy to charge the metered fare. I told him about the offers I'd had and he was shocked. Always a pleasure to meet honest people who don't take advantage of tourists! And thank goodness I did my research! And indeed, the fare came to 56 pesos. Quite a lot less than 240!

It was impossible to buy Argentinian pesos before leaving, and during my layover at Buenos Aires airport a week ago, the cash machine refused me point blank. Luckily I had some Uruguayan pesos left so I changed those for Argentinian ones, so I could at least pay for the taxi to the hotel. Before leaving Montevideo, I found a discussion board online that made me very nervous. Since the new President came to power, they have started rationing the cash you can withdraw per day in Argentina. But this being Latin America, no one of course knows the limit! One person had managed to get 2400 pesos in one go, but most of them had only managed 2000 (there are 20 pesos to the pound FYI). After arriving at my hotel (more about that later), I went to three ATM's in the neighbourhood which all rejected my attempts. I then went out with a friend for a couple of drinks, and as it was happy hour, a caipirinha was only 55 pesos so I could just afford that! And believe me, it was strong! After that, my cash had run dry.

This morning, I searched for an HSBC branch, which was the bank that saved me in Uruguay. And sure enough, I got my 2400 pesos no problem! I asked a lady at the bank who confirmed that there was indeed a daily limit, but she couldn't say what it was. She said I should try again tomorrow. I'll raise the stakes and go for a higher amount tomorrow! Fingers crossed. If I'm having this much trouble in the capital, I'd better get plenty of cash before I head down to the wilderness in Patagonia.

So about the hotel. I can't for the life of me understand why it was rated 7 out of 10 on booking.com. Now, I have nothing against basic accommodation on a trip like this, I certainly can't afford to stay at the Sheraton everywhere. Bearing in mind that it's unbelievably hot, I do need good a/c however. This hotel was supposed to have a/c, but in fact, all they had was some kind of ventilation system that made no difference what so ever. Plus the dreaded ceiling fan. I made an executive decision to find something else, and this morning I moved over to an apartment instead. Costs a bit more of course, but it's a matter of survival.

The fact that I had to go to three different places before I could buy a plastic card to use the public transport system, and the fact that I landed right in some communist revolution with thousdands of demonstrators blocking the streets around the Parliament when I got out of the metro, well, what can I say. This is Latin America. Don't ever expect anything to work or run smoothly. 

I'm glad that I've been to Buenos Aires before (in wintertime), so I've pretty much seen everything already. In this kind of heat, I won't be wanting to be very active. I'll make a careful selection of some places I might want to visit and plan how to get there, as in this heat it's not pleasant to just wander around which is otherwise a nice way to see a city.

 

Montevideo Part II and Astonishing Airfares

I have never been committed to blogging in my entire life before. I hope I'm not turning into one of those people who feel compelled to share every intimate detail of their mundane lives with all and sundry online. But I suppose this blog is as much to be a lasting memory for myself as it is to keep friends and family updated on my YOLO-trip, so probably I shouldn't worry that I'll suddenly turn into "one of them"! (If I do, you have my permission to shoot me when you see me next.)

I will revise my previous judgment that Nottingham has more going on downtown than Montevideo. Now I'd say it's about equal. Only difference is that almost all the commerce in central Montevideo takes place along one street, while as in Nottingham it's more spread out. Oh, and of course, the sun shines here!

I finally succeeded in booking my domestic Chilean flights as well. Goodness only knows how much I'll have to pay for the phone call to Chile, that'll be a surprise for when I check out tomorrow! But I reckon I'll still be up on the deal. The very lowest fares that made me salivate before the weekend were already gone today, but by booking the flights over the phone directly with Sky Airlines I paid a total of US$190 as opposed to the nearly US$391 on despegar.com or nearly US$600 that skyscanner.com had to offer! That covers two flights, from Punta Arenas to Puerto Montt and from Puerto Montt on to Santiago. Even if I had flown non-stop Punta Arenas-Santiago, it would have cost more to book online. Just goes to show what a little shopping around can save you, folks!

Montevideo

So a couple of days in the Uruguyan capital... It's been around 30 degrees, but often interrupted by a blessed cool breeze. No sign of any clouds, unlike in Punta. Montevideo has 1.3 million inhabitants according to Wikipedia, so comparable to Amsterdam or Stockholm. The feel however is very different. There is no bustling shopping disctrict downtown, and the public transport system consists only of buses. There is also a notable absence of any international chains, apart from McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and some hotels. There are some malls dotted around the neighbourhoods, but the overall feeling is not that of a major city. Even Nottingham has more going on in its city centre!

My lasting impression of Montevideo: shabby. Practically all streets are lined with trees on both sides, perhaps to disguise the decaying facades all over the city. There are large parts of the city centre that are so badly neglected the buildings are crumbling, despite their prime location. Seems like a huge opportunity for cash-rich property developers to come to Montevideo and upgrade the city. Uruguay is supposedly the safest country in South America (I do believe that), plus also the gay-friendliest (upon leaving my hotel on the first day, I saw two young men holding hands on the street! And later also two women holding hands. Can't remember when I last saw that in Britain!). Small quantities of marijuana are legal, the economy seems healthy, and winter temperatures don't normally dip below 15 degrees. And should you get bored with Montevideo, Buenos Aires is only 2 hours away by boat.

For the tourist, there is a circular open-top double-decker bus that takes you around the main sights in two hours. I sometimes use these buses when I visit new places, as it can be much more convenient to pay the high price of a day ticket than to figure out the local public transport system. Yesterday I did actually try a local bus as well, however, to get back from the Pocitos beach to my hotel. It was absolutely fine, although I think it went around the entire city instead of taking the shortest route.

The downtown hotspot is basically just one street, Avenida 18 de Julio. Most shops were already closed on Saturday afternoon when I arrived, and of course all day Sunday. You also need to plan your meals. Most restaurants close between 4 and 8 pm, so if you're accustomed to having your dinner around 6 after your sightseeing is done, you have the choice between two international hamburger chains. Speaking of which, your McReporter can inform you that a Big Mac meal is only 210 uruguayan pesos in the capital! 120 pesos less than in Punta, but at £4.65 still a bit pricier than the UK! I however plumped for a double Quarter Pounder. This is after all beef country, and it would be offensive to the country not to indulge in dead cow. If you manage to hit a restaurant while it's open, the local specialties include the chivito, a beef sandwich with a variety of fillings, milanesa (breaded chicken or pork fillet), fresh seafood, and of course pizza, pasta, and hamburgers.

I am very happy with my hotel room! Much airier and more modern than the one in Punta. The bathroom is huge, there is a safe and a phone, and I'm within a few minutes walking distance of the main drag. For all this, I am paying the princely sum of £22 per night! So I can put up with slow wi-fi (I still managed to watch the latest Simpson and Family Guy episodes today) and lacklustre breakfast service.

I am learning some valuable lessons about air fares. Booking a flight with Aerolineas Argentinas was signficantly cheaper on Expedia than on their own web site! Now I am trying to book a domestic airline in Chile, whose air fares are much cheaper when booking in Chilean pesos than in other currencies. The only problem is their web site doesn't accept foreign credit cards! I have read online that you can call them and they can take your card details over the phone, but this morning's attempt ended in a disconnected call after 10 minutes of waiting for their call centre! 175 pesos down the drain. Yes, this is still Latin America, don't expect too much.

Having a lazy day today as I've already seen the city and it's still 30 degrees outside. Signed up for some summer university courses in Sweden, and will try to finish an article about South America for a Swedish online newspaper that I've been putting off for far too long. I'll probably get around to booking some more accommodation in Patagonia and finally nailing down the remaining itinerary for South America. And I will try calling Chile again!

Tomorrow: Buenos Aires.

P.S. I will add some more photos later, the wi-fi here can't handle it.

Punta del Este

 

Punta del Este, Uruguay's premier beach resort, has been called the "Monaco of South America", both for attracting the rich and the famous during the summer season, as well as for being the most expensive city on the continent. I can personally confirm that nothing is cheap here. Using the world famous Big Mac Index, I can report that a regular Big Mac meal costs 330 Uruguayan pesos, which translates into £7.18. I believe the equivalent in the UK is just over £4.

I don't quite know what to make of Punta. There is a ridiculous amount of high-rise condos along the beach front, earning it the comparison to Miami. The Florida metropolis is of course a major city in its own right, which can't be said for Punta. Despite the Manhattan-like forest of glass, steel, and concrete, the year-round population is only 9,280 according to Wikipedia. I can only imagine that the real high season here must be heaving with people!

Having said that, I do like to be beside the seaside! Having grown up in a city on the coast, I need to reconnect with the ocean now and again for my inner peace. I've only had sun for one of the three days I've been here, which was quite enough as the combination of searing heat and stifling humidity is a lethal cocktail for yours truly. But yesterday I braved the temperature and took a walk around the peninsula. Today I took a short daytrip to the nearby village of José Ignacio, which they are trying to market as an even more exclusive destination than Punta. In fact, it is a very small village with some seriously overpriced restaurants, and nothing much to write home about. On the way I passed another seaside town, La Barra, which seemed more relaxed than Punta. The bridge that connects the two towns must be seen to be believed! Yes, it really is a mini-rollercoaster!

I have also had some time to plan my next moves, and have booked my hotel in Buenos Aires for next week. I've also booked the journey from Montevideo to Buenos Aires (bus and boat), plus the flight from BA to Patagonia. I will start the adventure in El Calafate, then make my way south toward Ushuaia and Punta Arenas, before finishing my South American mainland tour in Santiago.

I must also pat myself on the back for my still nearly fluent Spanish! Although I struggle with some of the local dialect at times, I'm not afraid to ask people to repeat themselves until I understand what they say. I'm so clearly not a native speaker, and the locals have been nothing but friendly.

Next stop: Montevideo!

Urugu-where???

After 30 hours of travel, I have finally arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay. This is the hot beach spot for the rich and famous, supposedly, not that I would recognize any of the local nobility. It's the tail end of the high season, but still 30 degrees and horrendously humid! I will venture out and explore tomorrow, today I really need to compose myself after the long journey.

Uruguay may not be on many people's travel bucket list. It's a small country, dwarfed by its neighbours Argentina and Brazil, with no globally renowned sights. I mean, have you ever heard of anyone or anything famous to come out of Uruguay?? But it does exist, I have a stamp in my passport now that proves it. I thought a few days by the sea would be just the thing to recover from all the travelling, and then take on the capital, Montevideo.

 

The 13-hour flight from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires was definitely bearable, although there was a lot of turbulence on the way so I didn't get as much sleep as I had hoped. But I really pity the poor suckers that were stuck in cattle class those 13 hours! I really could not do that any more. Economy seats are designed for dwarves, not for tall, strapping Vikings like myself, and certainly not for long journeys.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that KLM has upgraded its World Business Class. The seats are now not only flat but also horizontal! They don't however provide the splendid privacy of British Airways's Club World, but the seats are a bit wider. The food was absolutely adequate. For all the waxing on about carefully selected wines and Michelin-star-chefs, it's decent nosh and does the job of filling your belly. The one special touch from KLM is the miniature Delft Blue houses they still hand out, filled with a slosh of Dutch jenever! They really seem to plug Delft Blue as their most recent safety demonstration video is based around the famous Dutch artistry.

In Buenos Aires, I had a few hours to relax in the Aerolineas Argentinas business lounge, before boarding my final flight to Montevideo. Nothing much to say about the lounge, but I was in desperate need of internet access again! Last time I could go online was in Birmingham, and the world might have gone to war while I was in the air! Luckily, it seems it hasn't. At least no more than it was before. Once fully updated on global affairs, I boarded an Air France 777 for the short hop over the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. I must say I expected at least a small snack on the way, but all we got in business class was a pre-flight drink. Champagne, of course, but not even a bag of peanuts! Dear oh dear, how the mighty have fallen. Back in the day, BA managed to serve a whole 757 with a snack box between Heathrow and Manchester!

The airport in Montevideo turns out to only have four gates! Yes, four! No immigration or customs forms to fill out (unusual for Latin America where pointless bureaucracy is king), but you got your luggage x-rayed before you could leave the baggage area. I wonder what they think people do with their baggage between the baggage belt and the exit...

As I gently ease myself into having to speak Spanish again, I must say that I am strangely unphased by being on the other side of the planet. Sure, I can feel that I have been travelling for a very long time but there is nothing emotional about actually being here. Maybe I'm just exhausted and will regain my exploring spirit after a good night's sleep.