Buenos Aires, Argentina
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sorry for the silly title, but I´ve been having a good time imagining how I would explain the whole Groundhog Day routine to an Argentinian. The second of February finds us in
Buenos Aires again, head and shoulders our favorite Argentinian city. Too bad we can´t afford it for more than a couple of days-Buenos Aires prices are pretty much in line with
Atlanta prices. Hopefully, this way, paying good old-fashioned American prices for goods when we get back home won´t be so shocking. While we´ve been here, Argentina has been experiencing a change (coin) shortage of epic proportions, causing untold suffering and anxiety. Street performers and beggars are starving because loose change is too precious to give to panhandlers, notes too valuable, stores would far prefer to turn away business than to provide change, and buses trundle along the busy streets of
Buenos Aires empty, for everyone would rather walk than try to scrape up the impossible fare of one to two pesos all in coins. Many businesses offer discounts to those good samaritans who pay with change. For us, this crisis is slightly inconvenient, but today, we´ve had to hoard up enough moneda (argentinian spanish for coin) to pay two bus fares to the airport. Easier said than done. The collection process involves a good deal of lying "no, I don´t have anything smaller", strategic purchasing "if we just spend five more pesos, and pay with a fifty, then she´ll have to give us a peso coin for change", and a great deal of other underhanded behavior. I think we´ve got it now, so with a guilty conscience and rather heavy wallet, we´re awaiting our time to go to the airport.
Change crisis or not, I couldn´t be happier with our last taste of Argentina. We stayed in the tango capital of the city, the San Telmo/La Boca area, much cheaper and chilled out than the financial distict we stayed in back in November. Frankly, I don´t want to hear or see anything about tango ever again (when Argentinians discover a tourist interest, they tend to go a little overboard), but the neighborhood has been a perfect vacation after our vacation (can one really call it a vacation after the three month mark?) I can barely wait to get back to work and find a kitchen somehow, somewhere so I can cook myself a pot of grits. Polenta just doesn´t cut it.
witness the tragic death of my hiking shoes
Comments
Shoes
Great shot of the hiking shoe death!! Loved these colorful shots of your last day! Wow, great memories to look back on. Welcome home.