Day 15:
| Ice Cream | 130 |
| Chicken with cream, wine | 450 |
| Total: | 580 (70.3 RMB) (USD 10.1) |
I filled up on the free breakfast at the hostel, so when I didn’t find anything suitable for lunch, it was enough to just have some ice cream. I finally ate a proper dinner in a proper restaurant, ordering one of the “specialties” with a half bottle of white wine to accompany it. Ordering in restaurants is a pretty daunting experience as there are always so many choices involved.
Day 16:
| Set Lunch (Milanesa, chips, drinks, dessert) | 260 |
| Water | 40 |
| Bus fare | 60 |
| Entrance to private beach | 100 |
| Beer at beach | 120 |
| Beers at Hostel | 170 |
| Total: | 750 ARS (90.9 RMB) (USD 12.95) |
The set lunch is the holy grail I have been hunting for, and I hope these pages document many economical and delicious encounters with food. A “milanesa” is essentially a schnitzel (a pork chop pounded, breaded, and fried)
Day 17:
| Veggie tortilla (omelet) & coffee | 240 |
| Medicine (band-aids and disinfectant) | 200 |
| Orange juice | 50 |
| Lamb sandwich | 200 |
| Total: | 690 ARS (83.64 RMB) (USD 11.91) |
I had cut my foot at the beach and needed to replenish my first-aid kit. There is a cultural festival along a stretch of the waterfront with so many booths selling so many foods. The lamb sandwich was ostensibly Cuban.
Day 18:
| Museum of Fine Arts | 50 |
| Ice cream | 85 |
| Empanadas | 180 |
| Ginger Ale | 85 |
| Total: | 400 ARS (48.48 RMB) (USD 6.91) |
Cheaper ice cream is a real game changer… and while the empanadas were a little on the expensive side (45 c/u), they are supposedly the “best in the world.” Also, having given up alcohol for the time being, I ordered a soft drink at the Gin&Tonic bar when I went to meet up with the hostel owner, who proceeded to roast me relentlessly.
Day 19:
| Hostel (5 nights) | 2000 |
| Peruvian set lunch | 150 |
| Ice cream | 85 |
| Printers | 20 |
| Overnight bus ticket to Posadas | USD 54.56 + 5.46 |
| Luggage handler tip | 5 |
| Total: | (695.34 RMB) (USD 99.04) |
Ouch, the bus was expensive. Booking it online also incurred what clearly looks like a 10% service fee, so I will try to avoid doing that as much as possible.
Day 20:
| Bus to San Ignacio | 140 |
| Local Bus | 28 |
| Water | 75 |
| Lunch (lomo) | 350 |
| Total: | 593 ARS (71.88 RMB) (USD 10.24) |
I paid cash for the onward bus ticket for the next day and had a (late) filling lunch of a steak sandwich. Posadas was kind of boring.
Day 21:
| Hostel (1 night) | 475 |
| Pharmacy | 544.5 |
| Taxi | 250 |
| Cafe con leche & 2 empanadas at bus station | 160 |
| Luggage tip | 10 |
| Lunch (stuffed chicken and mixed salad) | 250 |
| Total: | 1689.5 ARS (204.8 RMB) (USD 29.17) |
I needed to stock up on mosquito repellent, hand sanitizer, etc before I headed north into jungle terrain.
Running Total: 3404.92 RMB (USD 484.98)
Daily Average: 162.14 RMB (USD 23.09)