Going to Colonia or Montevideo from Buenos Aires … here are a couple tips!

 2009, Argentina, Buenos Aires  No Responses »
Nov 162009
 

One would assume that trying to book a ferry trip from Buenos Aires to Colonia or Montevideo should be a fairly simple process. You look online, find your ticket, purchase and then show up at the Ferry terminal and take your ferry. This is a “Western” assumption on how processes should work. This assumption is highly erroneous in the Latin American context!

Trying to book the right fare online from the Buquebus website is an exercise in utter futility, since the website currently times out, invokes errors and cannot properly process any credit card transactions. In North America, we assume that we can now buy anything online and that the websites will just work magically with out errors. Of course, this requires proper application testing. I assume that Buquebus got a pack of wild monkeys from Indonesia to test their application, because the site performance is terrible. So the lesson here is don’t even try the website for booking, but there are some good packages that are offered on the site.

Of course, since you are going between countries, to take the ferry, you will need your passport and the tourist card you received when you originally entered Argentina. When you leave Uruguay you will have to pay a departure tax. The departure tax was $17 USD as of Nov 2009. Very conveniently, the Uruguayan and Argentinean immigration are placed in the Buquebus departing hall; thus you get both stamps on the same spot.

  • The trip between Buenos Aires and Colonia takes 3 hours on the regular ferry or just 1 hour on the fast ferry. I highly recommend the faster ferry if you are traveling on a day trip. Colonia is very small and can easily be seen in its entirety in one full day; some would even say less.
  • The trip to Montevideo takes 3 hours on the fast ferry.

So a couple tips for using the Buquebus

  • Do not buy your ticket the same day you want to leave Buenos Aires, this can result in frustration and disappointment, unless you show up at the terminal about 4 hours earlier.
  • Tickets for day trips do actually sell out – buy in advance
  • Have your passport ready and ensure that you can actually get to Uruguay legally. The assumption is that the same rules, your country had for Argentina, will apply for Uruguay
  • The first class option is a nicer option as you are guaranteed a better seat on the higher level, complimentary bubbly and a private snack bar. It’s not that much more than “Turista fare”, if you book in advance.
  • Expect tons of traffic into the terminal, if you are taking a taxi. It’s better to get off two streets prior and walk.

Another option would be to use Colonia Express. If you book far enough ahead of time you can get some of the cheapest ferry rates. Which is nothing to scoff at, when during high season you might pay as much as AR$400 for a ticket to Montevideo or Punta del Este. 20 days in advance qualifies you for the lower price. I have heard good things about the service, so there is an alternative to the Buquebus madness.

 Posted by rishiray at 1:15 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Milanesas at Kentucky Pizza? Clam bombs on Pizza and Choripan at Retiro train station…

 2009, Argentina, Buenos Aires  1 Response »
Nov 142009
 

Gotta love the food here! After  a couple day here, I am starting to figure out that BA is a town of many things but the place called Kentucky Pizza is by far a porteno thing. It seems that everyone has a Kentucky Pizza story, it’s like a Rol San story in Toronto, everyone has been there and everyone has an opinion on the place.

The funny thing is that Kentucky and Pizza are not the two words that should every go together in food, unless you are looking for some serious gut rot!

Well they had a gazillion types of pizza, of which none I could have! So instead I ended up with the “Kentucky Special Milanesa”.

This lovely piece of death was basically a fried egg, with fried beef flank in batter, with fried ham and tomatoes and lettuce – who needs a triple Baconator when I have this to eat.

After ingesting said gutbomb, I felt the years drain away from life, like a Harry Potter Death Eater was on me. Was it really good? Well let’s say I won’t have it again, but if I had some alcohol in me again, I also wouldn’t say no to it either.

Later on for dinner prior to meeting Chris and BsAs pub crawl crew, dinner was at this other small restaurant Filo, right around the hotel and the pizza was something out of a Sci-fi convention but so ridiculously good. It was a half Fruitta de mare (Seafood pizza with Claim, shrimp, tomato sauce and garlic) and half Pepperoni pizza.

How awesome is that pizza. The chef basically treated the whole affair like an afterthought. Why bother taking the meat out of the shell, when he could just drop the shells right on to the pizza.

So after the night of drinking with Chris in the Buenos Aires Pub Crawl crew,

then it was off to Retiro train station for early morning Choripan with tons of Chimi. The guys at the train station love me after seeing me wolf down 4 odd of these thing…while they looked in horror and amazement.

Sigh… I will miss this place and the food, ahhhh the lovely food.

 Posted by rishiray at 3:07 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Nightshooting in Buenos Aires

 2009, Argentina, Buenos Aires  No Responses »
Nov 132009
 

Floralis Generica is a beautiful sculpture located in United Nations Park in Buenos Aires.  This Park is right next to the Recoleta district (actually across the street from the Recoleta flea market on weekends) and is next to the Law School.

Floralis Generic is a giant, 23 meter sculpture made of steel and aluminum (its weight is 18 tons). The structure of the flower is made of steel and the shiny panels in the petals are made of aluminum.  The sculpture moves, closing its petals at night and opening them during the day.  It has some lighting for special ocassions too

The law school at night is quite a stunning building

Walking around Recoleta park and walkways around, there are many graffiti style piece of public art all around.

Randomly seeing the nocturnal activity

More memorials….

 Posted by rishiray at 9:58 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Taking taxis in Buenos Aires – a general guide.

 2009, Argentina, Buenos Aires  1 Response »
Nov 132009
 

This should be easy right? You just hold up your hand and a taxi stops. You jump in, taxi takes you to your destination and you pay. End of process and go on with your day.

If you came to Buenos Aires and you believe this, then I have an island to sell you.

Know when to grab a taxi:

If it is raining or it’s the rush hour, forget about that and go out into the street to hail a cab instead. Whilst Buenos Aires is relatively safe by Latin American standards, it is important to remember some basic safety precautions. Wearing flashy jewelry, camcorders etc will get attention anywhere you go, but in neighborhoods like the Once bus station or San Telmo, you’re asking for trouble. Also never take a taxi straight after getting out out an ATM, bank or the like. It’s all about being discreet and not drawing undue attention to yourself.

Remember what I said about rain; well any place where the drainage is suspect or not cleaned regularly, will flood. For instance, today in Buenos Aires, 5cm of rain fell and parts of Avenida Santa Fe and Avenida Alevear flooded! This are posh streets here and yet they flooded, never mind taking the bus in a thunderstorm.

Be smart not paranoid:

99% of the time, your gut will steer you right. If you don’t feel right about a taxi, then polite decline, make an excuse or run back into the shop. That being sad, everyone is not out to rob you or pass you fake money. It is all about being aware and looking the part. Most taxi drivers in Buenos Aires will engage you in a bit of conversation, they will at least ask where you’re from (every taxi I took by myself, invariable ended up with those questions, with the pleased reaction when I say “Trinidad y Tobago”), but of course even if you speak spanish, you probably won’t speak porteno spanish, so they will immediately know that you are a foreigner. I never think it is wise to lie about this, even if you think they will take you around. My experience after many countries of travelling has been to be honest and expect honesty – don’t let the paranoid stories make you afraid of everyone.  The key here is be smart…..

Meter makes it better:

When in doubt do call a radio taxi!  Radio taxi’s are registered taxis and the securest type of taxi in the city. Make sure that the meter is off when you get in and that he resets the meter when you start your journey and make sure that the driver is charging you with the meter (cheaper than a quoted price), unless you are going to the EZE or Aeropuerto or a destination similar whereas then you should have a quote from the person on the phone reserving the taxi.

Taxis in Buenos Aires are cheap:

No matter where you are in Buenos Aires, if you start seeing a taxi ride going above more than 20 pesos, ask him where he is going or confirm with him that he knows where you are going. A couple times here, the taxi driver did not understand “Marriott Plaza” or “Recoleta” or “MALBA” and started either on the wrong route or the bill got a bit much. My approach in every case was to restate where I was going, point to the meter and make the confused face … every single time the taxi driver reduced the rate to something reasonable or expected.

More baggage or pants means more waiting:

Portenos cab drivers are notorious for ignoring guys, foreigners or people with lots of bag or trolleys. I thought it was a joke, until it happened to me over and over and over. Of course, being a big guy with a backpack is not baggage, but why would they pick me instead of the pretty blonde in the short pants. I’m over it now, I just wait extra and move on. I do curse in mind, but I understand, it is what it is :)

Grey power rocks in Buenos Aires:

The best taxi drivers in the city are the one who have been doing it for all their life. The drivers are insane in Buenos Aires and you will see something in cabs that are out of NASCAR or F1. Porteno taxi driver can do any of the following

  • Deliberately cut across other taxi drive
  • Make lane signals with only a hand movement
  • Invent completely new lanes in a two lane road or 8 lane autopista
  • Swear in spanish and english at anything else moving on the road
  • Weave in and out of pedestrian flow
  • Ignore zebra stripes on the road and maneuver themselves through the other traffic
  • Think that taxis can crush trucks

Thankfully, the old taxi drivers, will do all of this but you will feel confident that he knows what he is doing. This is the key, if a taxi driver makes it in Buenos Aires till he has grey hair, this guy will be an awesome taxi driver.

Coming in late at night in the airport :

Book a taxi with the guys inside the airport. Nuff said. You wouldn’t take an unlicensed cab in London, Mumbai, New York or Port of Spain, why would you do in Latin America???? If in doubt, please re-read the post.

Note these are tips not specific to Buenos Aires, but really tips that apply anywhere else in the world, but that I have applied for my time here in Buenos Aires.

 Posted by rishiray at 9:46 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

I finally figured out the secret to staying thin in Buenos Aires…

 2009, Argentina, Buenos Aires  2 Responses »
Nov 122009
 

Since the beginning of this trip, I have been trying to figure out the secret to how the Portenos stay so slim and in shape while eating some of the richest food around. After walking Buenos Aires all day and all night, it was obvious to see – they are all runners and play soccer in the evenings. Yesterday, my friend Raj and I walked and talked from noon till midnight yesterday, and everywhere it was evident that people were milling about their own affairs but once it got dark (7pm or so), then the streets and the parks were filled with portenos of all ages, runnings on the streets, playing pick up soccer or doing some type of physical fitness activity.

The weather, broad promenades and ample green space combine to create a very fitness positive space where people can indulge themselves. Well, I figure they have to, since everyone got dressed up after 9.30 pm to go have a late dinner. As usual, after all the walking, touring and photographing, I had an excellent dinner at a nice little Peruvian restaurant called Chan Chan. This place was picked at random from the book with no reservations accepted, so we were a bit worried when we got there a little after 9.30, and we should have been. The place was full and loud, with a couple large tables formed by shoving smaller tables together. From my perspective, this is a good sign: Folks show up in groups, wanting reasonable prices and an atmosphere conducive to multiple conversations and cross-talk. Chan Chan is basically just a simple, medium-sized room, with white-tiled walls and a multi-colored mosaic over the kitchen. Open and unpretentious, except for maybe the cache of plaster saints that presides over the dining area.

The food however was again cheap and spectacular. Raj and I ordered the Ceviche Sample which consisted for 4 types of Ceviche, 3 of which I have tried before at other Peruvian places across my travels:

  • Tiradito Ceviche : This is newer cousin of traditional ceviche, somewhat like Sashimi, in that it was thin, slightly longer strips of marinated raw fish but with no onions. It came garnished with slices of boiled corn, and boiled root veggies.Thankfully, the waitress saw me inhale the salsa picante and she asked me in English, whether I liked it hot… of course my response was for them to kill it with pepper and they did :)
  • Ceviche Mixto : This is a bit more traditional ceviche, with a mix of seafood (clams, oysters, octopus) and raw fish diced in 2cm cubes and marinated in lime juice and ajíes (hot peppers), served with raw onions, sweet potato and corn. The volume of onions was ridiculous but so fantastically good and of course this one was also awesomely hot as every bit was infused with chunks of scotch bonnet peppers
  • Ceviche de Lenguado: This is tradtional ceviche, just the raw fish, onions, lime, cilantro, and tons of pepper. Crisp, clean and refreshing
  • Ceviche in Rocoto Cream sauce : Obviously a newer type of ceviche, but anything creamy I wont touch. Raj was the taster for this one, and she didn’t fancy the whole deal, so this one was left till last and in the end, she couldn’t finish it.

I also had a traditional rice and peas with stewed beef, and it tasted exactly like traditional west indian stewed beef except it wasn’t as sweet or hot, but the cut of beef was ridiculously soft and well done.

Again overall cost of the meal, plus drinks and wine = 100 pesos (28$ CDN). Another fantastic value for the money, as the exact same meal in Toronto, San Francisco or New York, would have cost double or triple that price and surely not as good.

Prior to the Peruvian dinner experience, it was hours and hours of walking through the parks and all across Buenos Aires. From the craft markets in Recoleta to Carlos Gardel Musuem street in Abasto and all along hustle and bustle of Avenida Santa Fe and rich little houses and shops in Avenida Alvare.

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