I am getting one step closer to Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego, I am in Buenos Aires Argentina for one night before heading to El Calafate tomorrow... looking back I was very impressed with Santiago!! The Chileans should be proud of their capital city... the construction is booming and the infrastructure is top notch ... the international airport was great too... all in all I give an A to Santiago on many fronts. I got up early today, 4:30 am, to catch a 7:30 am flight to Buenos Aires. My friend and I decided to try Uber and it worked like magic .. A driver was by the hotel in One Minute, wow I said! This is no commercial for Uber but it is fact... we were both very impressed! Once at the airport, we looked for our discount airline known as SKY... the lines were huge but we managed to check in and get our boarding passes quickly and go through security in a short time... after a strong Starbucks coffee, we headed to the gate. The plane took off on time. We headed East over the Andes mountains and the views from the plane were breathtaking. We quickly passed the Andes and onto the vast plains of Argentina ... lots of lakes and green flat land for agriculture ... however I never had a fruit or vegetable coming from Argentina so I do not know what they export if any...
After landing in one of Buenos Aires airports, there are at least two, we proceeded through immigration and customs.. the immigration was rather tough, finger prints, picture, questions... I thought we will be spending money here so they should be happy we are here but??? In any case, nothing short of denial of stay or detention would upset me anymore... I just ignore all the noises and focus on my goal... Patagonia!
The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was long, we thought the taxi driver was lost but who knows.. first impression about Buenos Aires: it reminds me so much of Algiers, Algeria! Dust, dirt, pot holes, but the similarities stop there.. Palermo where we are staying is a bohemian area full restaurants, music bars and arts and crafts everywhere ... the whole area came to life after sunset ... people of all ages on the streets, in cafes, restaurants and bars... Barcelona came to mind... It turns out Buenos Aires has a large emigrant population from the Mediterranean; Italians, Middle Eastern, Spanish and many more.. Argentina is known for its beef and so beef it was for dinner... it was delicious though I am not much of a red meat eater... an interesting observation about this place is that credit cards are not accepted everywhere so better have cash on hand...
Both in Chile and in Argentina, we have ran into so many Vénézuélien people, mostly young, working as waiters or in tourism. They are running away from their country in search of a better future. They left loved ones behind with uncertain future... I felt and feel so bad for them ...
My prayers and thoughts go out to them in this time of difficulty...
Tomorrow Patagonia...
After landing in one of Buenos Aires airports, there are at least two, we proceeded through immigration and customs.. the immigration was rather tough, finger prints, picture, questions... I thought we will be spending money here so they should be happy we are here but??? In any case, nothing short of denial of stay or detention would upset me anymore... I just ignore all the noises and focus on my goal... Patagonia!
The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was long, we thought the taxi driver was lost but who knows.. first impression about Buenos Aires: it reminds me so much of Algiers, Algeria! Dust, dirt, pot holes, but the similarities stop there.. Palermo where we are staying is a bohemian area full restaurants, music bars and arts and crafts everywhere ... the whole area came to life after sunset ... people of all ages on the streets, in cafes, restaurants and bars... Barcelona came to mind... It turns out Buenos Aires has a large emigrant population from the Mediterranean; Italians, Middle Eastern, Spanish and many more.. Argentina is known for its beef and so beef it was for dinner... it was delicious though I am not much of a red meat eater... an interesting observation about this place is that credit cards are not accepted everywhere so better have cash on hand...
Both in Chile and in Argentina, we have ran into so many Vénézuélien people, mostly young, working as waiters or in tourism. They are running away from their country in search of a better future. They left loved ones behind with uncertain future... I felt and feel so bad for them ...
My prayers and thoughts go out to them in this time of difficulty...
Tomorrow Patagonia...
Bye bye Santiago
Flying high above the Andes
A lively plaza in Palermo Soho
Restaurants everywhere
An artist in the bohemian section of Buenos Aires working on an amazing mural
Beautiful shaded streets in Palermo
A square in Palermo
A bar restaurant in a square in Palermo
A cute building in Palermo
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