Money

There have been a lot of changes with the economy in the last years.  There was inflation every year.  In 2007 a pizza cost 10 pesos, today it costs 100 pesos.  In 2007 the exchange rate was 3 pesos to the dollar and the rate was official, with no blue market that we knew of.  

Due to protectionist policies by the government,  Argentines are restricted from freely buying dollars, so a blue market has emerged. 

Today, the exchange rate has three tiers.  There is the official exchange rate at 8.5 pesos to the dollar, the blue market which is 13.5 pesos to the dollar, and the black market which I know nothing about.  These rates vary each day.    I don’t know the legal ramifications for the buyers of the dollars on the blue market, but it is not a back alley affair.  You shouldn’t have any trouble finding somebody to ‘cambio’ your dollars for the 13 pesos/dollar rate.  In fact, the blue rate is posted daily, just as the official rate is.  What you need to do is bring dollars into the country with you when you come.  If you do not bring enough and you end up using your credit card or the ATM, then you will get the official rate.  Bring the money in $100 dollar bill increments – this is most desirable.  We got 13.2 pesos to the dollar, making 100 pesos worth about $7.50.  

So, back to that pizza.  In 2007 a pizza cost 10 pesos, or approx. $3.35 USD.  Today a pizza costs 100 pesos, or approximately $11.75 USD on the official rate or $7.50 USD on the blue market.  For Americans, being a tourist is more costly now, but if you can use the blue market exchange rate, it is still very inexpensive.

 This devaluation of the currency has made the lowly peso worth very little.  Coins, or monedas, seem impossible to find.  If something costs, for example, 250.50 pesos, you will not be given 49.50 in change.  Your change will be rounded up to 50 pesos.  Our apartment has a washer/dryer in the basement that we can use for 6 pesos a wash and 7 pesos a dry, but who has 6 pesos? 

Of course some things cost less here and some things cost more.  For example,  in Belfast a pint of beer from the grocery store cost $3 USD, in Buenos Aires a liter of Quilmes cost 15 pesos or $1.75 official rate and $1.15 blue market.  Electronics cost more in BA.  An average Barbie doll is 1,000 pesos!  

It appears there are no automatic withdrawals for paying bills.  People stand in long lines to pay utility and credit card bills.  Also, cash is used for large sums.  When we paid for our classes at Universidad de Buenos Aires, we needed to pay $8000 pesos in cash.  Even in 100 peso increments, this is quite a stack of cash.

-Helen

Lost in the City

Sunday, January 4, 2015

We got terribly lost today.  Our plan was to go 1.9 miles from the apartment to meet with Adriana and her husband.  We were headed to their house for drinks and a pleasant evening.  The plan was for us to arrive at their house at 5pm.  We left our apartment at 4:30.  Rather than walk we saw the 188 bus coming by, so decided to take it. 

 (Cue music that lets the viewer know disaster awaits.) 

 If something could have gone wrong – it did.  We didn’t have a phone, for two reasons, the apartment cell phone is not supposed to leave the apartment, and we hadn’t had a chance to buy minutes for it yet.  The map we had was for where we thought we were going – it was not a map of the entire city.  And, the bus guide (colectivo guia) in the apartment was from 2012, and the route to Adriana’s house had changed.  The street we were looking for is located in two very different parts of the city – guess which part we were headed to.

Ken was carefully following along with the streets in the guide as we got farther and farther away.  The neighborhood was starting to look a little – well – creepy.  Then we turned on the street (the one in the wrong part of the city) so we got off the bus.  We need to walk to the end of the street and turn right (so we thought).  The end of the street just never seems to come.  Now I am taking things out of my purse and distributing them to different pockets, in the event we get robbed, maybe something will be saved.  We ask directions from a girl working in a store.  After we are finally understood she tells us 6 more blocks – holds up 6 fingers .  These are long blocks.  We reach the end, we turn right, we are looking for the 4,000 block.  We are now at 713!  We wait 20 minutes for another 188 bus and ….. wait for it…. the bus driver doesn’t see us and he drives right by!  The 188 in the boonies isn’t like the 110 down town.  It seems to never come.  This bus stop is scarey so we start walking again until we find another bus stop on a busy intersection.  30 minutes go by.  Back on the bus.  At this point we are kind of stuck.  The bus stops are few and far between and there are only a few bus lines on offer.  It’s Sunday so places are closed – there is nobody to ask.  There are no taxis trolling the street.  We ask a man who is on the bus with his wife and his scowling daughter.  He tells us we are in the Province, not the City.  He says, get off the bus, take another bus back to the subte (subway) and get on a subway that will take us back to civilization.  At least we think this is what he said.  We get off the bus.  We stand forever at another creepy bus stop and the bus guide tells us the 20 will get us to Retiro.  Retiro is a main bus station and we know it well, so we just went there.  This bus took an hour to get to Retiro – that’s how far away we were.  And, I mean to tell ya, we saw some interesting neighborhoods on that ride.  The word shack almost doesn’t describe the dwellings we drove by.

 

Finally!  Retiro!  As we were getting ready to find another bus to get us to Palermo, we said “What are we thinking?!” and hailed a cab.  

Our round trip took us 4 hours!  Adriana and her husband went out searching for us, afraid we had met with some disaster.  

We now have minutes on the phone, a map of the whole city, and a new bus guide.

-Helen

Our Home for Four Weeks

Saturday January 3, 2015

We settle into our new home.  

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/775564?checkin=07%2F01%2F2014&checkout=07%2F07%2F2014&s=uepI

When we were here in 2007 we met Tom and Maya who are world travelers and still own this small apartment in Palermo.  It is in a different neighborhood then our last two visits, which is good for a change, and it is closer to school.  

The room is a rectangle approximately 17 ft by 31 ft.  Within the rectangle is a bathroom whose outside wall makes the area for the kitchenette.  The kitchen counter top has a sink and a two burner stove top.  As you can see from the picture there is a back splash about 2 ft high with Ikea-type stainless steel hangers.  There are your basic pots and pans.  (One thing I have learned from traveling is that renters use metal on Teflon pans and so the pan is usually beat to hell, therefore, we brought our own small Teflon pan from home.  We were surprised here though, because of the two Teflon pans in the cabinet, only one needed to be thrown away.)   The rest of the rectangle has furniture dividing it into eating, living and sleeping.  There is a small cut out for a balcony and we can open that door.  This is a fairly new building, which is great because the plumbing is new, it is not so great because it does not have the wonderful  wooden shutters called parisons that black out all the light.    (I’m glad I travel with a comfortable eye mask)

You can see from the website the decor is aesthetically pleasing in typical Maya creative fashion.  There are lots of unexpected surprises in drawers and cabinets, such as electric adapters, a house cell phone,  coffee, tea, sugar, a blow dryer! Yay! Two liters of beer with cold glasses, cookies, American mustard, and more.  

 The bed is comfortable – bonus – and so are the pillows.  The sofa tends to swallow you up when you sit on it, but for Argentina, this is a fabulous sofa.  

We are across the street from a grocery store and six blocks from some great restaurants. 

The apartment faces the back, not the street, so you cannot watch the pulse of the city, but it is quieter.

It's good to unpack, settle in, and have a comfortable place to call our own.  

If you plan a stay in Palermo, this is a good choice of apartment.

-Helen

We leave Cordoba.

January 2, 2015

We leave Cordoba and fly to Buenos Aires.  We were sad to leave, but it was time for Monica and Eduardo to have their house back.  

We flew Aerolina, not LAN.  The air fare is different for citizens vs tourists and the instructions are all in Spanish, so be ready to listen very, very carefully.  At the absolute last minute our gate was changed and we were in the wrong line.  Thank goodness the airport is small so the new gate was very close.  

We had a remis pick us up at the airport.  A remis is a private driver.  This may be a in a taxi, or in an unmarked car, but the fare is pre-arranged.  A remis is safer than hailing a cab and has an overall more comfortable feel about it.  The driver held up a sign with Ken’s name and met us as we exited the baggage area.  The fee was $30 USA dollars, and we paid in dollars, not pesos, which was agreed upon beforehand.

Because we used a remis, he stayed with us at the apartment until we were met by the man hired by the owners of the apartment to let us in and acclimate us to the neighborhood with maps and information.   

We would only use a remis.  Have your landlord arrange one for you.

New Year's Eve - Feliz Año Nuevo

 Five of the six boys, we are missing Lucas.

 Check out this baby pig!

December 31, 2014 New Year’s Eve

One of the best New Year’s Eves of our lives.  In Argentina this holiday is a family affair, rather than a party with peers.  We went to Alta Gracia to the childhood home of Monica, where Monica’s Mother still lives.  Monica has two sisters, Florencia, a physician, and Eleanore, a school teacher.  Each of the sisters has sons, six in total were at the party.  This made the energy in the family so different from my family, which is all girls.  The boys were loud, playful, welcoming, and clearly enjoyed one another.  We were welcomed warmly and included in the games and laughter by everyone.  A lot of Spanglish was spoken on that night.  At midnight there were hugs and kisses on the right cheek by everybody while the neighborhood set off professional fire works for at least an hour.   Ken played guitar with Lucas, which was a hit with the boys, and we stayed there until 3am and were home by 4am!  When we left the boys all got ready to go out for the night to parties with their friends.  These Argentines keep some late hours. 

This is our 3^rd News Year’s Eve in Argentina.  If you have a chance to celebrate with a family here, don’t pass it up.

-Helen