Buenos Aires
Crossing the border - Uruguay to Argentina
Nov 2022
Quite a few people we had met in Uruguay had warned us about Buenos Aires. We know Argentina is having a tough time at the moment and inflation is sky-rocketing, but they had made it sound pretty terrible. We had been warned about theft, advised to wear backpacks on our front, and told we could be targets as Brits in a UK reg van. One guy was certain that we couldn't drive into the city in Pedro, but we were not deterred.
We set off towards the border, feeling a bit apprehensive. The border on the Uruguayan side felt very organised and legit. We were passed between different booths with our paperwork to get Pedro's temporary import permit in Uruguay closed. There was a bit of confusion because we hadn't had an entry stamp into Uruguay (we had used an electronic gate at the airport), but after about half an hour, we were through. We paid the £10 entrance fee and crossed the bridge into Argentina and the border on the other side was a lot less official. It was a dirt road with lorries everywhere and no one around. The gate was open, and we just followed everyone else and drove through. We were sure this was a mistake, so after a few miles, we turned back and asked a lorry driver in our best Spanish whether we should have done anything. He said no and made a gesture to signal we were free to drive through. Turns out, everything is done at the Uruguayan border. Now we were in Argentina, with no phone sim and no cash. We stopped in the nearest town and failed to find either, so we carried on.
In Zarate, we found a Western Union to get some cash on the blue dollar rate. In Argentina, their currency has two rates of exchange, the official and the unofficial. The official rate is around 180 pesos to £1 and is what you will receive if spending on a card, exchanging at an established FX store, or withdrawing from an ATM. The unofficial rate exists due to the rampant inflation and the need for foreign currencies, and is around 380 pesos to £1! They call this the 'blue dollar' rate, and even though this is unofficial you can get this rate through exchanging with Western Union or by using a streetside 'Cambio guy' - we didn't opt for the latter due to the risk of fake bills. Their largest bill is 1000 pesos, the equivalent of £2.50, which they only give you a few of at Western Union. This means when getting out £150, you end up with a ridiculous stack of notes! Then, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, we found a Claro shop to buy a sim... sorted.
One of the strangest things to ever happen to us occurred on our way into the city. As we pulled up at some traffic lights, Andrew a fellow traveller we had met the week before, pulled up next to us on his motorbike! It's only one of the biggest cities in the world... what are the chances! We had a quick chat through the window and off he went.
We found a garage with no height restrictions and managed to converse enough to park at the back, hidden by other cars for the four days we were staying in the city.
San Telmo
Buenos Aires is massive and we've obviously only seen a fraction of it (mainly touristy parts) in four days so here are our highlights of the areas we visited. We stayed in Montserrat, close to San Telmo, which has a relaxed, European feel. It has a big Italian influence. The main attraction is the bustling food market full of Parilla places and bars (we spent quite a bit of time in here). The other main attraction is the Sunday San Telmo market that we were lucky enough to be there for. This is a continuous 1.5km strip of interesting local stalls from Plaza de Mayo to Avenida de San Jose. We got some souvenirs, freshly squeezed orange juice and some empanadas. Live music fills the streets and in Plaza Dorrego tango dancers entertain crowds of tourists.
Something that we have loved everywhere we go in Argentina is the addition of medialunas with coffee. Happy little half-moon glazed croissants. It's worth spending longer in Argentina just for those.
Empanada verdict: very tasty mixed chicken and veg filling with a bit of egg which let it down slightly, crunchy pastry, and crunchier crust.
Taste: 8; Appearance: 7; Texture: 8.5; Crust: 8.5; Price: £0.70
Overall: 8/10
After searching in many shops and stalls for an Argentina shirt before their first World Cup game, we finally found some! Another strange coincidence was bumping into another fellow traveller we had met in a hostel in Montevideo while we were running through a heavy shower to hide under the awning of a shop!
La Boca
A previously run down area that was turning into a rubbish dump has been transformed into a colourful neighbourhood worthy of any tourist's visit! An artist painted all the houses on the street known as Caminito various bright colours in the 1950s to regenerate the area. We enjoyed wandering around, visiting the stadium of Boca Juniors and some exceedingly good parilla.
Grafitti art can be found on many streets in Buenos Aires, particularly in La Boca, where walls are filled with murals of Diego Maradona and Che Guevara.
Palermo
This is an attractive, upscale neighbourhood with lots of boutique shops, restaurants and bars. The first day we visited was unfortunately cold and rainy and was a national holiday so lots of it was shut. We hunkered down in a cafe to watch England's first World Cup game and had a wander around in the rain. We had to come back the next day to see it in it's full glory. It is split into two areas Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood, and we found we preferred Soho which was a bit more concentrated.
It seems wherever you go in the world, you can find an Irish pub, and Palermo Soho was no different. We sampled a Guinness, because why not. Although it had Guinness-like flavour, the slight fizz and lack of still, creaminess was a dead give away. Top marks for trying though!
At the very southern tip of Palermo/north of the Centro district, there is a unique bookshop, El Ateneo Grande Splendid, converted from an old theatre. Worthy of a good look around before realising that our levels of Spanish are way too basic to consider purchasing even the simplest of books.
Our Buenos Aires Experience
After the warnings from both Uruguayans and Argentinians about Buenos Aires, we have come away with a completely different view to them. We have no doubt that there are areas of Buenos Aires that should be avoided (the same can be said for any large city in the world), but our experience was that the city felt very safe. The one thing we witnessed was a peaceful protest march down the main street in the Centro district - thousands of people holding up banners asking for acknowledgement of workers' rights and holding the image of Che Guevara up high.
The city had a European feel with bright and clean streets, we spoke to a lot of very friendly people who showed no hostility toward the fact we were British. We walked around the city during the day and night, and although we would advise wearing backpacks on the front and not leaving phones/wallets out on the table (again, generally good advice for unknown places), people certainly shouldn't be deterred from visiting this amazing city!