We have arrived!
An easy check-in, bag drop and comfortable smooth flight saw us landing in Rio De Janeiro at 5.30am – WHAT?!!! ……….
We hadn’t really focussed on the route we were taking and had assumed it was a direct flight and actually it was, but had a short stop at Rio to change aircrew, refuel, drop off and pick up new passengers. We stayed on board and got first hand experience of how quickly and efficiently the ground crew prep the plane – cleaning, restocking etc – very impressive and fuss free.
A quick hop from Rio to Buenos Aires finally saw us landing at around 10am, so roughly 17 hours later, and we were through customs and baggage pick-up with no fuss. We grabbed a taxi from the airport to our Airbnb as we had read the bus journey was about two to two and a half hours long. We were really glad we did!! A complicated journey with lots of queues on toll roads and city roads and it wasn’t even rush hour! All cars seem to be covered in evidence of minor collisions, but we arrived at our apartment without incident, just lots of horn blaring – a popular pastime it would seem.
We had a bit of ‘modern technology’ frustration. After much gnashing of teeth, research and customer service communication with various providers, we have found out that certain models of smart phone do not allow eSim use – chinese manufactured models in particular – ah, okay, so now for local Sim. More ‘modern technology’ frustration ensued as you have to enter ID number to register and UK passport numbers are not the same as Argentian ID numbers and therefore not accepted. Aaaargh. However, after several wasted hours, it would appear that we now have a working local Sim. Perhaps we should go ‘Race Across the World’ and ditch the phones!
The apartment is roughly as described, faded grandeur, but comfortable enough and with everything we need for a few nights stay. It’s about quarter of a mile from the Cementario de la Recoleta, and is bang opposite the metro stop, so great location.
We have also been having fun trying to understand the local finances. Dollars apparently are readily accepted and it is possible to ‘tap and go’ (at least in the city), but that as we read, ATM withdrawals are very expensive – a AR$15,000 (c.£8.25) fee!! and seemingy limited to AR$50,000 (c.£28) withdrawal – so about 30% fee, and AR$50,000 doesn’t go that far. More technology frustration ensued with Western Union apps, but it feels like we are getting somewhere at last.
Once we got all that out of the way, the first thing that we have noticed about Buenos Aires is that it is very built up with lots of apartment blocks old and new, and lots and lots of traffic – it is a noisy city, although we are sited pretty centrally and on a junction – great viewing! We had a wander, bought an icecream – had to try dulche de leche of course – it comes with additions here, such as nuts, chocolate etc – we’ll be doing that again!
After buying a few provisions at a supermarket (quite a french influence here and local supermarkets found so far seem to mostly be Carrefour!) we had a meal in the apartment and an early night. A peaceful night despite being in such a noisy city and today we feel ready to explore. The weather is delightful – sunny, blue skies and about 20 degrees. More to follow…….