Tag: Argentina

Day 57:

Non-vegetarian Buffet	277
Galletas	36
Empanadas	(50)
Beer	(150)
French fries	(90)
Vodka and mixers	448
Total:	761 ARS (89.7 RMB) (USD 12.82)

I thought I was going to a vegetarian buffet, and went a little nuts in dishing up some hearty food (nearly a kilogram altogether). Despite that, I still popped into a bakery for some cookies to accompany my afternoon coffee. In order to prepare for a late night clubbing with a group from the hostel, I picked up a bottle of vodka (paying an extra 7 pesos to the the Sky brand with an anti-trump message on the bottle). The figures in parentheses were payback.

Day 58:

Jay’s American Diner	(380)
Toothpaste	98
Vegetables	160
Avocados	100
Groceries	216
Total:	574 ARS (67.7 RMB) (USD 9.67)

After a pretty brutal hangover only waffles and bacon could fix, I had to buy a new tube of toothpaste because mine had gone missing. Who steals toothpaste? It’s quite expensive here (as in the United States), but I remember it being cheap in the UK for some reason. Apparently, I had gone around promising everyone to cook dinner, so in the evening I spent a few hours tracking down ingredients to make some fajitas. It’s always a pain to cook in a new country when you don’t know if the things you need are even available. I fed about six people with my dinner and I think that settled the karmic debt.

Day 59:

Subway Sub of the Day (Italian BMT)	195
Sugar drink	30
Ideal Social Hostel (2 nights)	1260
2 Beers @ HH @ TCB	200
Ravioli	105
Total:	1790 ARS (211.1 RMB) (USD 30.18)

With Christmas coming up, it was time to move to a more central hostel to rendezvous with some other backpackers I had met (in Cordoba). I had to buy a small bottle of drink to bring the leftover vodka with me. I wasn’t too impressed with the new hostel, and my “friends” were busy with their own things, so I found the only craft beer bar in microcentral (technically, Montserrat) which is devoid of life on weekends and cooked a sad plate of ravioli from the Carrefour Express (don’t trust the discount pasta!). It was a fun evening as I stumbled upon a free dance lesson in the hostel.

Day 60:

Coffee	70
Alfajores	250
Sangrias	330
Tango buskers	10
Taxi*	60
Beer and water in supermarket	150
Sube recharge	100
Waitress tip*	10
Drinks (1 rusty nail)	430
Hot dog	40
Cab home	150
Total:	1600 ARS (188.7 RMB) (USD 26.97)

An insane day of walking the San Telmo market and day drinking, which should have stopped with the day drinking. I really regret going back out to Palermo for clubbing, especially when once again it just involved stopping at a series of increasingly expensive bars, which was completely unnecessary as I had already chugged the remained of the vodka with an energy drink and just wanted to dance. I didn’t drink at the first bar, but left a tip for the waitress because these Germans and Swiss people are cheap (in a different way from me).

Day 61:

America Del Sur Hostel (3 nights)	4.01 + 22.72 USD
Key Deposit*	100
Ice cream and coffee	215
Choripan	80
Bet	100
Bad money*	200
Total:	(269 RMB) (USD 38.45)

I finished off the other half of the unspectacular ravioli in the morning before heading the a third hostel for the real Christmas action. I have to write down the key deposit as an expense because I never got it back (there was chaos on the day I left with power outage and no water). It was a quiet recovery day and started to meet a range of people outside my predetermined group of “friends” who were feeling less and less like friends.

Apparently the taxi from the day before passed me a bad note (protip never sit in the front seat) and I had passed it on to a German who wanted to buy a tab on her card. I had to step up and eat the cost even though the whole sequence of events was a group activity and I had suggested taking a bus in the first place (5 minutes slower than a taxi, one third the price, no fraudsters).

Day 62:

Lomo Sandwich	575
Wine	415
Champagne and “OJ”	190
Meat for BBQ	(2115)
Meat for BBQ	(690)
Meat for BBQ	(823)
Veg for BBQ	(140)
Lemons	(57)
Pizza sauce	(170)
Collections for barbecue	(-5700)
Total:	1180 ARS (139.2 RMB) (USD 19.90)

Having talked to a lot of people in the hostel on the previous night and confirming that the hostel was not taking an active role in organizing anything for Christmas Eve or Christmas, I took the initiative to put together a barbecue. Originally estimating definitive interest from about 10 people (with my “friend” group expressly choosing to do their own thing), I estimated 300 pesos a head should cover all the expenses. By the time the food was ready, I squeezed in 20 people (including myself). It was not quite enough food, but the people were satisfied. Having learned my lessons of going clubbing in Palermo, I stayed at the hostel enjoying oh so much wine and having an early night of going to bed at 4am.

Day 63:

Breakfast	250
Printing	15
Coffee	100
Bread & Olives	42
Indian dinner	450
Total:	857 ARS (101.1 RMB) (USD 14.45)

I was happy with my decision to “stay in,” but did not enjoy waking up at 6 as the club goers filtered back into the hostel. It was a very quiet day as everyone slept and repeated attempts to nap did nothing to ameliorate the 2 hours of sleep I got. I enjoyed the hostel breakfast and waited around to crack open the champagne for mimosas. The hostel had their regular “free tango lessons” night (which was good) and a group of us went out to Christmas dinner afterwards. I was a bit suspicious of the Indian restaurant, but it turned out to be reasonable value for money. The tango club which we wanted to go to afterwards was closed for Christmas and I took it as a miracle and an excuse to go to bed early.

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The barbecue creates a bit of a dilemma for my bookkeeping as I made a profit on it. To make things easier, I’m just not counting it. Maybe I should make a habit of it as a side hustle.

This ends the Argentinian leg of my travels, as I head to Uruguay tomorrow. I do pay a bit of money to top up my phone credit, but since that was to activate international roaming in Uruguay, I can fold that into my Uruguayan costs.

Update: I originally forgot to add in 4.36 of credit card fees for international processing (from the monthly credit card bill), so that ups the daily average by 6 cents.

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Running Total: 10741.9 RMB (USD 1539.84)
Daily Average: 170.5 RMB (USD 24.44)

Day 50:

Vegetarian Buffet	119
Taxi to Sarmiento park	30
Municipal pool	50
HH Beer	80
HH beers	160
Beer at concert	270
Total:	709 ARS (83.6 RMB) (USD 11.93)

I joined a group of the volunteers from the hostel to beat the heat with a trip to the city owned pool, which was quite nice and an interesting experience with a brief medical check of your feet to be permitted in. I should have failed with my gross looking feet, but the doctors didn’t really care that much. In the evening, I grabbed one beer at a huge (but empty) beer garden before buying 2-for-1 at a bar where a language exchange (Spanish & Cervezas) was happening. I didn’t practice much Spanish, but on my way back to the hostel bumped into a group of volunteers going to a “jazz festival.”

Day 51:

Bondiola de cerdo	310
Rupestre Hostel (2 nights)	714 ARS + 2.25
Ice cream	95
Wine and snacks	261
Total:	(178.5 RMB) (USD 25.47)

I learned a valuable lesson about reading the menu carefully when I ordered a meat dish “a la mostaza” and was surprised to find it completely covered in a mustard sauce. My first real food fail in Argentina, where I’ve really gotten into the groove of finding good lunches. I changed to a third hostel in Cordoba, a much smaller and quieter place to stay in a different part of town. Too lazy to go out clubbing, I drank some wine in the living room and plugged my harddrive into the TV to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Day 52:

Mediterranean Salad w/ bread, drink & dessert	300
Coffee beans	400
Beers	260
Total	960 ARS (113.2 RMB) (USD 16.16)

It had been a couple days since I had made my own cup of coffee, but I finally followed a tip from a local to buy some gourmet beans at a cafe in the bohemian part of town, which hosts an artisans market on weekends. I was feeling more up to the going out at night, but ultimately just settled on a quiet beer at a craft brewery closer to my hostel than in the clubbing district since I was alone and there wasn’t anyone around the hostel to put a group together. When I got back, there were a few people around and I went across the street for a “nightcap.” It was a good thing that I bailed on “partying” because the light drizzle of rain turned into a full on storm.

Day 53:

Dante Food truck Choripan	180
Starbucks Dulce de Leche Frap	210
Beer and Chips	240
Bus ticket to Retiro (Bs As)	1750
Luggage handler tip	10
Total:	2390 ARS (281.8 RMB) (USD 40.22)

Having been told multiple times that choripan (sausage sandwich) is a must-eat food of Cordoba, I finally decided to trek around the Sarmiento park to find one. I was shocked by the price, but it was pretty good. Having checked out of the hostel, I killed sometime in a Starbucks, which was surprisingly empty and proves just how different the daily rhythms are in Argentina as opposed to other places. A Sunday afternoon in any given Starbucks should be nearly impossible to find a seat. Before heading off to the bus terminal to return to Buenos Aires, I squeezed in a brief date with a friend to continue the daily drinking. Of course, there was also wine on the bus because I “splurged” on an executive class ticket.

Day 54:

Luggage handler	5
Sube recharge	100
Star Wars ticket (3D)	530
Popcorn and drink combo	415
Vegetarian buffet	80
Art Factory Palermo Hostel (5 nights)	30.41 USD
Empanadas	69
Beers	410
Total:	(402.8 RMB) (USD 57.49)

Back in Buenos Aires for Star Wars and Christmas! I am staying in the swanky part of town–Palermo–which I hadn’t even visited the last time I was in Bs As. After dropping my stuff at the hostel, I rushed to the Cinemark to buy my ticket, which I was unable to procure online because I don’t have an Argentinian ID. I grabbed a healthy lunch to compensate for the bloating from a greasy Sunday and spent most of the day trying to pick up a wire transfer because I was dangerously low on cash. I went out with a couple backpackers in the hostel to a tapas place for some (expensive) happy hour beers and bought a round of cheaper lagers at a different bar. (Palermo is the party district of Buenos Aires and there are so many bars and clubs everywhere).

Day 55:

Coffee and medialunas	100
Grilled Fish	555.5
Boat tour	300
Beers for boat	180
Supermarket beers (at night)	156
Total:	1291.5 ARS (152.3 RMB) (USD 21.74)

I decided to take a day trip to Tigre with two Brazilian women I had met at the hostel the night before. Tigre is about an hour away from Buenos Aires and a popular weekend destination where the top thing to do is take a boat tour around the confluence of rivers where people have restaurants, homes, and hotels only accessible by water. It was quite interesting. In the evening, I purchased a glass bottle of beer in the supermarket for the first time and figured out the deposit system. They charge an extra 25 pesos unless you exchange an empty. Fortunately, I had held on to an empty bottle from the late night drinks the night before. The beer was my “payment in kind” for the backpacker I met in the common space who shared some bread, cheese, olives, and tomatoes with me for my dinner.

Day 56:

Regional Cuisine (Super Tamale)	900
MALBA	140
Fruit (Cucumber & Lemon)	25
Total:	1065 ARS (125.6 RMB) (USD 17.93)

Wednesday is discount museum day, but the Museum of Latin American Arts still costs quite a lot if you aren’t a student. I covered the lunch of my new friend, who spent the next two days paying me back (as will be documented for accounting purposes). The cucumber and lemon were to bulk up a couscous that said friend was sharing with me for dinner. Though I took a walk through the bar district in search of a happy hour promotion, I ultimately decided not to drink any alcohol since I had to stay up until 3:30 am to watch the new Star Wars. The theater was not sold out, but there was a decent crowd of young Argentinians almost all dressed with various Star Wars related T-shirts.

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Running Total: 9675.4 RMB (USD 1380.88)
Daily Average: 172.78 RMB (USD 24.66)

Day 43:

Maipu Bike, bike rental	450
Olive oil tasting	180
Tempus Alba (winery)	200
Mevi (winery)	100
Empanadas & chips	190
Cider (from side of road)	100
Florio (winer)	200
Tip for free flow wine at bike shop	80
Beer Garden	200
Total:	1700 ARS (200.5 RMB) (USD 28.75)

It’s kind of insane how expensive it was to visit some wineries around Mendoza independently, especially consider the “bike and wine” package tour only cost about 800. That was a quite a boozy day, but an amazing experience to sample some very nice wines in the beautiful patios of the various bodegas.

Day 44:

Hostel Wineries (2 nights)	850 + 2.68 USD
McDonald’s ice cream	40
Baked chicken lunch	290
Carrefour (shampoo, sunblock)	595
Asado @ hostel	380
Total:	(272.8 RMB) (USD 39.13)

It probably wasn’t necessary to stay out in Maipu for the two nights, especially as the otherwise lovely homestay-style hostel was devoid of guests. I guess it was nice to have a de facto private room for two nights, but it was good to move back into town for two nights to enjoy the weekend, which started out right with a hostel that does lots of events every night.

Day 45:

Vegetarian buffet	120
Hot dog & beers	320
Hostel Campo Base (2 nights)	477 + 2.41 USD
Total:	(124.9 RMB) (USD 17.91)

It turns out that other than the BBQ, the centrally located hostel was rather boring. Still stuffed from gorging on meat the previous night, I adjusted my karma with a light salad and ultimately bored by the evening, I found myself hanging out at a corner kiosk/hot dog stand where one could drink a beer for less than the hostel was charging. I booked an excursion to visit the “high mountains” for the next day and as that was leaving early, I “check out” before going to bed.

Day 46:

Mountain tour	1200
Coffee	80
Aconcagua Park	300
Alfajor and coffee	160
Bus ticket to Cordoba	1640
Luggage tip	10
Total:	3390 ARS (399.8 RMB) (USD 57.34)

Though I would have liked to do some proper hiking around Aconcagua park, the mountain tour turned out to be a fairly decent deal (especially as transportation to the park is tricky and a one day hiking permit costs 1500 ARS). With the tour, we got to walk around a bit of the park, up to the first view point and visit a couple other sites as well.

Alfajor(es) are a kind of Argentinian cookie that most resembles a Little Debbie snack cake because the defining feature is a filling between the two cookie/cake layers and dipped in chocolate (sometimes).

Day 47:

Luggage tip	5
Alvear Hostel (2 nights)	680 + 2.14
Coffee	80
Walking tour	120
Lunch (grilled chicken)	290
Fernet	400
Total:	(200.7 RMB) (USD 28.78)

It was a rough overnight journey from Mendoza to Cordoba on a “semicama” bus, which stopped several times in the middle of the night to exchange roughly 20 passengers each time. The bus would be better described as a semi-seat (than a semi-bed) because the seats barely leaned back. Nevertheless, I hit the ground running in Cordoba meeting people in the hostel and going on one of the “free” walking tours. In the evening, I bought some Fernet (an italian herbal liquor) and Coca-cola to drink like the locals on the hostel rooftop.

Day 48:

Phone credit	380
Haircut	100
Entrejo (milanesa and spanish tortilla)	270
Total:	750 ARS (88.4 RMB) (USD 12.68)

There was a heat wave in Cordoba (and other parts, I understand), but that did not deter me from running some errands in the morning. It is crazy how difficult it is to add credit to my phone, visiting multiple shops of the mobile operator and being repeatedly told to go to a kiosk where they charge a fee on top. Also feeling a bit rough around the temples, I stumbled upon a hair cut academy where I rolled the dice on a super cheap hair cut by volunteering myself to the hair stylist in training. When the heat started to subside, I took a short jog to the Sarmiento Park and returned in time to grab some pasta one of my roommates cooked up.

Day 49:

Lago di Garda	340
Aldea Hostel (2 nights)	956.79 + 2.82 USD
Beer	120
Dinner	350
Total:	(228 RMB) (USD 32.7)

Though I liked the hostel alright, it was pretty hot inside with poor internet, so I decided to make a loop around town trying out a couple of different hostels (in case I want to return for a few weeks). The new hostel was a little bit more pricey, but well rated on Hostel World, and I needed to pay with a credit card to avoid the 21% VAT. I sprung for lunch at a fairly fancy Italian restaurant and moved over to the other hostel. In the evening, I tried out a craft beer place before exploring the part of town with a night life. Dinner was a variety of empenadas and some food that I need to figure out the name of because it was absolutely delicious.

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This week was a bit more expensive with two full days of doing a proper tourist itinerary and stocking up on some supplies.

Running Total: 8337.6 RMB (USD 1195.77)
Daily Average: 170.2 RMB (USD 24.40)

Day 36:

Bife de Chorizo with salad bar and wine	865*+70 (14.52 USD)
Total:	935 ARS (110.4 RMB) (USD 15.69)

For Thanksgiving, I splurged on a fancy steakhouse. I was considering trying to go all out on a barbecue for two on my own, but I did really enjoy the massive steak. Of course, other than the free breakfast at the hostel, I starved myself all day so I could really dig in.

Day 37:

Additional night in hostel	331* (5.55 USD)
Regional food (empanadas, tamales, humidas)	390
Ice cream	180
Craft Beer	320
Total:	1221 ARS (144 RMB) (USD 20.47)

I really can’t tell the differences between how empanadas are prepared in different parts of Argentina, but they assure me that they are very different. The ice cream was a bit expensive, but it came highly recommended as a local gourmet, artisanal shop. After a nearly 3 week break from alcohol, I was excited to hit up a happy hour again and try some craft beers. They weren’t anything too special.

Day 38:

Vegetarian buffet	290
Coffee	80
Burger King ice cream	105
Bus to Mendoza	2439.5 (40.94 USD)
Luggage tip	10
Total:	2924.5 ARS (345.2 RMB) (USD 49.07)

Though otherwise a nice hostel in Tucuman, they had a strange policy of not allowing you to stay in the hostel after you check out. So I had to spend the day waiting for my night bus around town. I didn’t really want an ice cream at Burger King, but ultimately it was a place I could plug my electronics in and have an internet connection. I never got around to trying the panchoque, which is a a type of battered hot dog that I’ve only seen in Tucuman. I was well fed on the my executive service bus.

Day 39:

Luggage tip	5
Hostel (Mendoza Inn) 2 nights	480 + 2.89 USD
Salad & Coffee	240
Beers	200
Total:	129.4 RMB (USD 18.39)

Arrived in Mendoza and immediately appreciated the city layout with shady streets and quiet, relaxed vibe.

Day 40:

Parrillada	605
Wine	150
Total:	755 ARS (89 RMB) (USD 12.65)

Though I set out to find a cheap lunch, I ultimately sprang for a bbq set lunch which included five types of meat. Enough food to last me two days.

Day 41:

Deli (buffet)	195
Cappuccino	80
Dinner (buffet)	125
Total:	400 ARS (47.2 RMB) (USD 6.71)

Still absolutely stuffed from the meat feast, I found a “healthy deli” and fixed up a salad for my lunch (plus a chicken breast and a quiche). I was staying with a couch surfer in the evening, which made for a interesting experience since he didn’t speak English.

Day 42:

Breakfast @ McDonald’s	100
Redbus Card with charge	100
Superpancho combo	125
Total:	325 ARS (38.3 RMB) (USD 5.44)

Had some hours to kill after my couchsurfing host needed to go to work, but before I could take a bus out to Maipu where I was going to stay for two nights near the vineyards. I finally had a pancho (hot dog) and it was a nice experience. I wouldn’t make a habit of it, but I filled up for the day on the giant sized hot dog and french fries.

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Considering that I splurged twice on grilled meat, I was expecting my spending to have a slight uptick, but really even the fancy food in Argentina is pretty cheap. The only real costs are the transportation from city to city, so I do need to just slow down and spend at least a week in each location. Though, never fear, the wine tour on day 43 is going to really add up.

Running Total: 6822.5 RMB (USD 969.75)
Daily Average: 162.44 RMB (USD 23.09)

Day 29:

Museum of High Altitude Archaeology	200
Coffee grinds	334
Peruvian Set Lunch	165
Ice cream	80
Water & Gatorade	135
Empanadas and Tamales	280
Total:	1194 ARS (144.7 RMB) (USD 20.52)

So I actually did a bit of tourism with a visit to the MAAM, which hosts some mummies of sacrificed children (from the outskirts of the Incan empire). Coffee is a tricky thing to source in Argentina as their default is for either instant coffee or coffee grinds with sugar premixed. I bought a small package of drinkable coffee to tide me over until I gain track down a decent roaster in Buenos Aires. The deserty, northwestern region of Argentina had a small surprise for me with its local specialties–tamales, which are similar enough to the ones in Mexico. The empanadas are reportedly special, but I really can’t tell the difference and there is something else called a humita that I didn’t try at the little cafe where I sampled those for dinner.

Day 30:

Contact lenses	540
Smoothie	100
Set Lunch	280
Phone credit	250
Total:	1170 ARS (141.8 RMB) (USD 20.16)

It was a busy day of running errands around town. I realized that my eyes were probably in a constant state of agitation because my contacts were several months overdue for changing. I don’t understand how I forgot to restock contact lenses when I was in Beijing in June. As it is, the Irish imported lenses in Argentina are both limited in selection (30-day only) and super expensive. Meanwhile, the 30 day tourist package on my SIM card was about to expire and I needed to figure out how (much) to recharge and what packages were available for continued internet data service. Finally, as I was running low on cash, I tried out Xoom, a Paypal service for online remittances to send myself money. Even after the service fee, I got a better rate on my money than the previous exchange at the National Bank of Argentina in the airport.

Day 31:

Lunch, set meal	335
Chorizos from butcher	110
Total:	445 ARS (52.5 RMB) (USD 7.46)

It was pretty much a rest day with a bit of a splurge on a set meal at a cafe on the central plaza. It’s kind of a bummer that the set lunches sometimes don’t include a drink, in which case one is obliged to spend an extra 60-80 pesos on a bottle of water. This cafe snuck in a table cover charge, which I am aware of as a common thing in Argentina, but have generally avoided by sticking to the cheap places (which prominently display in the window: “No cover charge”).

Day 32:

Lengua a la portuguese	200
Ice cream	80
Empanadas	150
Total:	430 ARS (50.7 RMB) (USD 7.21)

Another slow day, where I found a super cheap restaurant with an extensive selection of “set meals.” The fun thing is that I quickly realized that all the bife de … and milanese de … where indicating various parts of the animal that don’t necessarily sell so well (hence being so cheap). I was quite happy with my beef tongue, but maybe one day I’ll dare to eat a heart steak.

Day 33:

Bus to Tilcara	535
Luggage tips	15
Tortilla de caprese	60
Total:	610 ARS (71.9 RMB) (USD 10.22)

After a long, but restful five days in Salta, I moved on to a small town in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, which is a geological feature that is basically just a desert canyon. The town is tiny and completely driven by the tourism industry with a surprising Southeast Asia backpacker scene vibe to it all. I finally got around to trying an Argentinian “tortilla” which is neither like the Spanish omelette or the Mexican wrap, but is like a cross between a quesadilla and an empanada grilled on charcoal.

Day 34:

Water	50
Lunch	200
Musician tip	50
Garganta del Diablo	50
Potato dumplings	150
Total:	500 ARS (58.96 RMB) (USD 8.38)

After a morning hike, I returned to the town for a hearty lunch of excellent value near the bus station. Unfortunately, there was live music being performed and as I was basically the only customer, I felt obligated to stuff some money into the envelopes provided for that purpose. A German woman living at the hostel (as a volunteer) with her two toddlers cooked dinner en mass. It was a nice group dinner, and given the price per head over nearly 20 diners, probably not a bad way to scrape together a bit of money while traveling.

Day 35:

2 nights at Tilcara Hostel	700
Bus to Jujuy	195
Bus to Tucuman	1035 (17.31 USD)
luggage tip	15
Fruit salad at bus terminal	65
La Guardia Hostel (2 nights)	661 ARS (11.07 USD)
Fugazzeta	230
Total:	2901 ARS (341.69 RMB) (USD 48.59)

I was planning to stop in San Salvador de Jujuy for a night before moving on to San Miguel de Tucuman, but when I reached the terminal 6km out of town, I decided it might be better to just hop on the bus that left in 20 minutes rather than drag myself into town for 24 hours and repeat the process. The hostel I booked in Tucuman actually has the proper tax rebate/discount for paying with a foreign credit card (it would have been 400 pesos a night otherwise). A fugazzeta is a type of pizza with grilled onions.

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The missing credit card transactions have reemerged on my account along with a roughly 3% foreign currency conversion fee per transaction. That’s really nice of Wells Fargo to wait a month before retroactively adding those fees into my bill (about an extra 4.55 so far that hasn’t been included in my calculations). If I had known that was the case, I would have been more inclined to spend cash.

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Running Total: 5919 RMB (USD 841.65)
Daily Average: 169.11 RMB (USD 24.05)

Day 22:

San Ignacio Hostel (1 night)	370
Mission Ruins ticket	270
Bus to Puerto Iguazu	590
Water	20
Hostel Porambas (2 nights)	800 + 2.54 USD
Empanadas	160
Water (2L)	55
Buffet dinner	220
Total:	319.1 RMB (USD 45.39)

I stopped in San Ignacio to visit the ruins of an old Jesuit mission, apparently one of the most complete in South America. Though very atmospheric, the visit was a bit underwhelming. I was very impressed by the mid century resort style hostel, where I was “accidentally” upgraded into a private room due to a miscommunication when checking in and fortunately managed to get away with the dorm bed price.

Day 23:

Roundtrip to Waterfalls	360
Water	80
Iguazu Park Admission	800 (13.42 USD?)
Ice cream	50
Parrilla	500
Total:	1790 ARS (217 RMB) (USD 30.87)

The purpose of visiting Puerto Iguazu was to see the “Niagra Falls of South America,” and they were well worth the admission price. I’m not sure I could have been convinced to shell out an additional 2,500 for a boat ride into the waterfalls and there was plenty of walking trails (all handicap accessible) around the almost Disney Land type park. Dinner was a very satisfying barbecue with a group of backpackers from the hostel at an outside, market-adjacent Brazilian style place. I feel we got a bit shorted on the sides, though the mountain of meat on the grill was just enough to fill everyone up.

Day 24:

Quiche	210
Coffee and cookies	80
Overnight Bus Ticket to Corrientes	20.85 + 2.4 USD
Luggage handler tip	10
Total:	199.77 RMB (USD 28.42)

Though I had a whole other day to kill in Puerto Iguazu and you can get 50% off admission on the second subsequent day, I didn’t think it was worth going a second day when I wasn’t going to follow the trail to the swimming hole or shell out for the value-added excursions. I had a nice chill day around town, instead.

Day 25:

Grilled cheese and coffee @ McDonald’s	160
Lomo (steak sandwich)	380
Hostel (2 nights)	1040 + 4.37 USD
Water	60
Chipa Relleno	70
Total:	238 RMB (USD 33.86)

I originally booked three nights at the Catedral Hostel in Corrientes, but realizing that buses do not depart every night, I managed to shorten my stay a day without eating more than a dollar on the HostelWorld fee. It was a bit hard to find good food because a lot of things close down on Sundays, but it was a very scenic McDonalds on one of the plazas and I ate in a well regarded resto-bar (perhaps I should have taken advantage of the 2-for-1 pizzas on Sundays, but as it was the waiter didn’t want me to order the milanesa because it was for more than one person). Chipa M’boca is sort of a dough wrapped around a stick and barbecued; relleno means they filled the tube with ham and cheese.

Day 26:

Sube recharge	100
Salad	310
Pizza	335
Allergy medicine	100
Total:	845 ARS (102.4 RMB) (USD 14.57)

I took a day trip to sister city Resistencia, but because it was a national holiday (Day of National Unity), the several worthwhile museums were all closed, so it amounted to walking around in the blazing sun “enjoying” some of the myriads of sculptures around town and a very nice (though not so big) salad in a cafe (No Me Olvides). I spent the late afternoon on the beach in Corrientes (one of five public beaches open during the summer) and somehow suffered an intense allergic reaction with a runny nose and extreme discomfort in my right eye. It might be the beaches as the trip to the beach in Rosario also lead me to stick with glasses for a couple days while the redness and agitation in my right eye receded. One funny thing about the near worthless Argentinian currency is that the pharmacy couldn’t be bothered making change for the 94.something peso pack of pills so they gave me a band-aid instead. (I’ve also seen grocery stores giving handfuls of candies instead of small change).

Day 27:

Coffee and pastries	300
Ice cream	85
Overnight Bus to Salta	2230 (USD ??)
Luggage handler tip	10
Total:	2625 ARS (318.2 RMB) (USD 45.27)

In a small and popular Italian style bakery and cafe (Martha de Bianchetti), I managed to order an espresso (two actually) and both a basket of chipacitos (little cheese bread balls) and an array of little gourmet cookies. It was both excellent and a success in navigating in Spanish.

Day 28:

Luggage Handler tip	5
Salta Hostel (5 nights)	1490 + 4.73 USD
6.25 L water	90
Total:	225.4 RMB (USD 32.06)

The bus was scheduled to arrive at 10:30 am, but didn’t reach Salta until nearly 5 pm. I’m lucky I was traveling “business” class and they handed out packs of uninspired snacks for dinner and breakfast. I don’t mind tipping the guys who load and unload your luggage, but sometimes they are a little aggressive with the request for “propina” (tip). I was mildly disappointed that the hostel did not organize a barbecue as advertised in their online description, and though I could have easily gotten some food from the supermarket to cook (like everyone else in the hostel), I couldn’t muster up an appetite.

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So, two of my credit card transactions, namely the entrance ticket at Iguazu and the bus ticket from Corrientes to Salta are not showing up on my credit card activity, so I might be able to just keep traveling through Argentina, putting everything on my card and having Wells Fargo pay for it. Does that make me a Robin Hood or a Frank Abagnale?

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Running Total: 5024.8 RMB (USD 714.85)
Daily Average: 179.46 RMB (USD 25.53)

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.

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Running Total: 3404.92 RMB (USD 484.98)
Daily Average: 162.14 RMB (USD 23.09)

Argentina appears to be a pretty affordable place, but it doesn’t help that I spend my days doing next to nothing and eating next to nothing (1.5-2 meals per day). I’ve gotten it into my head that one is supposed to tip about 10%, so that is a small tax integrated into any meals or drinks with table service, which I am still mostly avoiding.

Day 8 (in which I start actual tourism by walking around town):

Choripan & Fanta	140
Walking tour tip	250
Pizza & Wine	400
Drinks	180
Total:	970 ARS (117.6 RMB) (USD 16.81)

A “choripan” is a chorizo sausage on a bun, Argentina’s equivalent of a bratwurst and brotchen. A soda cost just as much as the food.

Day 9:

(new) Hostel (3 nights)	140 RMB
Pastries	60
Happy Hour Craft Beer	220
“Buffet” dinner	118
Total:	(188.24 RMB) (USD 26.91)

Because my original hostel filled up and jacked up the price, I moved over to a cheaper one, and finally indulged my sweat tooth at a local bakery selling assorted sweets for 20 pesos each. There are a number of buffet style eateries, where you fill up a take out container and pay according to the weight of food. It was nice to get some rice and vegetables into my system.

Day 10:

Shawarma	340
Water & wine	90
Empanadas (5x)	85
Total:	515 ARS (62.4 RMB) (USD 8.92)

Still too intimidated to eat in a proper Argentinian restaurant, but fast food and empanadas are keeping me alive.

Day 11:

Breakfast	150
Gelato (1/4 kg) & Coffee	219
Mexican restaurant (burrito & margarita)	550 (USD 13.94 + 0.41)
Total:	919 ARS (114.24 RMB) (USD 16.33)

Going out for Mexican food with a hostel friend, I tried out a payment with a Visa Debit card. It was easy and secure, but the 41 cent foreign currency transaction fee Wells Fargo tacked on (several days after the fact) makes this not such a viable option to preserve cash supplies.

Day 12:

Hostel extension (2 nights)	94 RMB
McDonald’s menu of the day	250
Bottle of wine	85
Empanadas (5x)	85
Total:	(144.9 RMB) (USD 20.71)

Fast food like McDonald’s or Burger King costs about 350 pesos for a value meal (400 if upsized), but there is a strong culture for the discount meal of the day. Also not included: a yellow fever vaccination, which was free because of socialized medicine (technically public health). I should be writing a negative 80 USD for the savings over what it would have cost stateside.

Day 13:

Breakfast	150
Laundry Service	150
Water	25
Ice cream	130
Happy hour craft beer	300
More craft beer	100
Beer at hostel	160
Total:	1015 ARS (123 RMB) (USD 17.58)

Laundry turned out to be not as cheap as the intel I received through the backpacker grapevine. I hit up the national museum of fine arts on its free day of the week (otherwise 200 pesos for foreigners) and took a stroll through the colorful neighborhood of La Boca (no costs incurred).

Day 14:

Bus to Rosario	990 [16.62 USD]
Hostelworld deposit	6.33 USD
Groceries (for sandwiches)	300
Happy Hour at Gintoneria (3 cocktails and 1 premium empanada)	525
Total:	(260.5 RMB) (USD 37.24)

So, I guess buses around Argentina will be quite expensive, costing close to double what I was expecting. On the bright side, the VISA credit card payment looks like it got a proper exchange rate with no additional fees (yet?). I’m trying hard not to be an alcoholic here. Ideally, I’d enjoy a bit of happy then have a nice meal, but outside circumstances tend to intervene.

The hostel in Rosario wants me to pay upon leaving, so that cost will get factored in with the next update.

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Running Total: 2139.58 RMB (USD 305.83)
Daily Average: 152.83 RMB (USD 21.85)

Okay, so it should be obvious that I am not even attempting to do a day-by-day blogging of my travel experience. The reasons for this include my aversion to the pressure of having to produce content on a regular basis and my revulsion of monotonous writing. However, even when I “give up” on the daily journal writing of my travels, I still meticulously track my expenses, and as my notepad is getting full, I want to upload those notes here for public accountability.

As fun as it is to watch the exponential decay of the plane tickets as they become amortized, I’d rather omit it for now to have a more realistic picture of the day-to-day costs of living/traveling in South America.

Day 3:

Breakfast at hostel	210
Water and crackers	60
Deodorant and contact solution	238
Tacos	250
Beer	100
Total:	858 ARS (104 RMB) (USD 14.74)

Day 4:

Breakfast	225
Empanadas	200
Total:	425 ARS (51.5 RMB) (USD 7.3)

Day 5:

McDonalds (coffee and croissant)	85
Empanadas	88
Hostel (4 nights)	235 RMB
Water	25
Beer	125
Total:	274.2 RMB (USD 38.86)

Day 6:

Breakfast	225
Freddo’s Helado (“medium”)	180
Snacks	70
Craft beer happy hour	150
Beer at Language Meetup	170
Total:	795 ARS (96.4 RMB) (USD 13.71)

Day 7:

Breakfast	220
Tacos	245
Beer	230
Burger	320
Total:	1015 ARS (123 RMB) (USD 17.5)

Running Total: 1128.7 RMB (USD 160.55)
Daily Average (for first week): 161.24 RMB (USD 22.94)

For the record, the guidebook estimates 30 USD/day for budget traveling. I’m a little disappointed that my expenses are so high considering how absolutely little I have done this first week.

Volume 3, Entry 1

It is day three in Buenos Aires and the third volume (i.e. South America) of my global adventures have gotten off to a rocky start. When one starts to think of oneself as a seasoned traveler, one gets a little careless and I regret not doing my homework.

Firstly, I am wearing the same clothes I have worn continuously for four days because my luggage is…somewhere. I had a strong suspicion that something like this would happen because I was scheduled for a tight transit. Did I trust my premonition to stick a pair of underwear and small towel in my carry-on bag just in case? No. Nor did I spring for the travel insurance which would give me supplemental compensation for the lost luggage.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s economy is a pile of oily rags next to an overloaded electrical outlet, poised to burst into flames with the coming election on Sunday. I did not plan for this or the real need to bring enough hard currency with me to last several months. I converted all the left over euros from phase two at the Central Bank of Argentina in the airport after an hour wait. That should last me a month, unless the inflation kicks up a few notches to match the plummeting devaluation of the currency. I have watched the exchange rate change from 59 pesos per USD to 65 pesos per USD in the span of a day.

The ATM situation is also quite dire with daily limits of about 100 USD (and some of the world’s most expensive fees). I was counting on funding the trip through my Chinese bank account, but–doing my research too late–have learned that the roughly 130 countries which take UnionPay do not include South America (with the exception of Peru). I started kicked myself for not hitting the ATM before leaving the US until I did some further research and learned that none of the 1000s of UnionPay ATMs in the United States are located in the State of Washington. It doesn’t help either that ICBC (my bank) issued me a debit card with no magnetic strip, making it that much harder to find a functional ATM. Pro-tip, if you are planing to travel, check out UnionPay’s ATM locator first.

It is not a state of emergency as there are ways to fund myself with US-based savings, but it really puts the lie to my go-to excuse for traveling, i.e. that my traveling is justified as a way to spend out my Chinese savings because capital controls prevented me from just transferring it to the US or exchanging it all into cash US dollars. Furthermore, because of new rules requiring tax receipts to “invest” money in China, that pile of money is just sitting in a 0.5% APY checking account (as opposed to some relatively safe options with estimated yields of 4-5%) where as my US savings account actually earns a decent interest rate. Oh well, that just puts pressure on me to earn some money and spend less.

Finally, the smallest but possibly most annoying detail is I didn’t even bother to check what the electrical outlets in South American countries are like, simply packing my “universal” (EU/UK/US oriented) adapter. It turns out Argentina uses the same plugs as China…after I deliberately jettisoned my Chinese plugs before this trip. *Annoyed grunt*

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It’s going to be hard to give accurate price estimates with such unstable exchange rates, but I bought 32100 ARS for 500 EUR at a 64.2:1 ratio. Those euros were worth about 3900 RMB when I bought them, meaning I’ll use an operational 8.25 ARS:RMB exchange rate for the time being.

Flight

5864.8 RMB (USD 830)

local tourist sim Card (30 days, 3GB)	800 ARS
Sube (Buenes Aires bus card, 200 credit)	290 ARS
Hostel (4 nights)	228 RMB
Baguette and Water	71 ARS
Plug adapter	95 ARS
Padlock	150 ARS
Total:	RMB 398.4 (56.39 USD)

Hostel Breakfast	210 ARS
Empanadas	130 ARS
Beers	230 ARS
Carne Asada (tip-based)	100 ARS
Total:	670 ARS (81.2 RMB) (USD 11.50)

Running Total: 6344.4 RMB (USD 897.92)
Daily Average: 2114.8 RMB (USD 299.31)

I’m giving myself a break by counting the flying day as a travel day, which it must surely count as one as it took about 30 hours to get from my parent’s house to the hostel in Buenos Aires. At the same time, I’m not going to factor in the cost of the Lonely Planet travel guide, new rolling duffel bag, or luggage cubes which I bought for the trip.