“Travel” Weeks 44-45
Days 298-314
Though I had enjoyed my Scandinavian modern apartment, after two months through Airbnb, I was starting to get tired of its little flaws and hesitating on committing to a whole extra month. Meanwhile, someone booked a block of time in the middle of the next month. That left two weeks and change in which I was able to negotiate an extension at a cash price, allowing me to save money with the stronger exchange rate.
| Rent (15 days) | 11000 ARS |
| Total | USD 94.10 |
| Atomo | 1190 |
| Vegetable Shop | 250 |
| Total | 1440 ARS (USD 12.32) |
I decide to make empanadas (fried, because the oven doesn’t work). I catch sight of a 3-for-2 promo of Stella Artois Noir, and enjoy my first beer in a very long time. Thus begins a week long 5-lb weight gain.
| Carrefour | 1098 ARS |
| Total | USD 9.39 |
As if the empanadas and the pound of taco meat I prepared on Wednesday weren’t enough to last me through the weekend, I cannot shake my hankering for butter chicken, taking advantage of a 70% off the second yogurt promotion at the Carrefour. As usual, I now gravitate towards the snack aisle grabbing two bags of galletitas.
| Personal phone credit | 110 |
| Salad | 230 |
| Total: | 340 ARS (USD 2.91) |
Keeping in touch with my former roommate from Germany, we decide to have dinner together on Friday. I top up my phone credit (for the first time since before the quarantine) in case I need to call for a reservation. The poor phone companies in Argentina have resorted to desperate spamming of promotions: “Add 50 cents of credit and we will give you 2 GB free!”
| Vegetables (broccoli) | 160 |
| Drinks | 2000 |
| Total: | 2160 ARS (USD 18.48) |
I eat out in a restaurant for the first time since before the quarantine, and it was the first food I hadn’t cooked myself in a long time as well. We are the only customers on the outdoor terrace and having arrived first, I fill out the health questionnaire and have my temperature checked. I am unable to order a beer while I wait because “bars” are not allowed to operate during the national emergency and the definition of a bar is ordering a drink while not simultaneously ordering food. However, once we’ve put in our order for parrillada para 2 and mozarella sticks, there is no limit and we have several rounds of draft beer on top of the glass of wine each included in the dinner promotion. Since the German really wanted to celebrate in style, we head across the street after dinner for more drinks and see how loosely some premises comply with regulations. A round of chocotortas for dessert is enough to order a pitcher of cocktails in the surprisingly crowded bar, where the waitresses had to remove their masks in order for you to understand them over the music. I really hope I don’t die. My friend paid at the restaurant, I paid at the bar, and we called it even.
| Atomo: Wine and stuff | 610 |
| Die Oma bakery | 500 |
| Uber | 148 ARS (USD 2.06) |
| Total: | USD 11.55 |
So, apparently the asado at the restaurant wasn’t enough, so the last hurrah for a German in Argentina continues with a barbecue at the house he had been renting since we separated back in May. Fortunately, I am allowed out of the house on Sunday morning, so I swing by the Atomo to grab two bottles of wine and the German style bakery which I had been dying to try forever to get an assortment of pastries and alfajores. I book a car out to the suburbs and the two of us eat and drink and eat and drink. Between the Friday night drinks and Sunday session, my weekend is ruined and I remember what a hangover is.
Despite the partying, the daily average over this period (9.29) was still fairly low. And with the end of living in that apartment, after 2.5 months, I can update the quarantine costs chart below:
| Location | Days | Daily Average (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel | 148-159 | 9.70 |
| House 1 | 160-174 | 12.95 |
| House 2 | 175-186 | 14.42 |
| Apartment 1 | 187-201 | 11.37 |
| Apartment 2 | 202-238 | 9.17 |
| Apartment 3 | 239-314 | 10.73 |
Running Total: 5579.79 USD (RMB 38158.5)
Daily Average: 17.77 USD (RMB 121.5)