On my first trip to Mexico years ago, I remember my friends telling me that it was unsafe, full of drugs, hookers, bandits and that everyone would try to take my stuff at every turn. In Trinidad, the bandit copied the “Colombian” kidnapping habit, hence my Trini friends would tell me that they knew someone, who knew someone else who was kidnapped or murdered in Latin America, about how their favourite pastime ”is kidnapping tourists”. Of course, the media sensationalizes everything today and has a pesky habit of accentuating the negative aspects about different parts of the world.

It’s like when I go to US every other week to work. The average American client person thinks that Canada is cold all the time and that there are marauding polar bears everywhere and that we have rogue weekly avalanches  – I’ve never seen a Polar Bear outside of the zoo … but it is about what generalizations will spread.  As ridiculous as some of the assumptions people have about parts of the world, there are some very simple things we can do to ensure that we don’t become a part of other people’s stories.  Here are my quick tips to traveling safely in the Latin America or even in Trinidad – but they are applicable generally everywhere.

1. Take the taxi around – they’re cheap, especially if you can haggle!
   During the day, I am usually pretty confident about just walking around, however at night, taking a recognized taxi is always the safer approach. For instance, In Buenos Aires, I walked around as much as I could, especially since taxis are a chore but at night I always took a taxi. In Rio … I always took a taxi, even in the day… Rio is rough … ! In Morocco, I had the best tour of Fez ever for a couple dollars. Although it might seem like overkill at times, especially if your hostel or hotel is just blocks away, taxis generally are much safer than walking, above all at night.  We hear horror stories all the time about taxis taking people for all they have, but in reality this is a rarity.  If you want to be extra careful, have the bar call a certified taxi and make sure you are not alone. We all know the stories where drunk tourist decided to walk .. got robbed and lost hundreds of dollars/cameras/shoes etc … when they could have spent 2.50$ a person and gotten home safely.

   

2. Spread the money around … your body
   Simple and easy tip, yet I read travel forums and horror stories all the time about people being robbed of everything and their religion. Don’t keep all your money in one place. Do however keep “enough” money, in case you ever get robbed … hence walking with 20 pesos in Mexico per pocket is stupid … if you do get robbed, handing over only 20 pesos will get you beaten up plus robbed, and probably strip searched by your potential bandits.

   

3. Always keep a copy of your passport and never your actual passport
   When traveling to a foreign country, especially one where you don’t speak the language, never take your passport along with you. Have multiple photocopies and scan a high resolution copy and email it to yourself, in case you lose your copies.

   Repeat after me : Your passport is your life. Say it 100 times. Losing your passport in a foreign country, is akin to you being in a non fatal car crash. It’s serious, stays on your record if your embassy has to get involved and will absolutely RUIN your trip. Photocopies will quickly prove who you are, and get you back on the road quickly. Plus in some parts of Latin America, it is the law to at least have a photocopy.

   

4. Walk it, like you invented it
   Do you ever question a guy who said he invented something? Nope .. why? Cause he said so. When going to anywhere new, act like you’ve been there before and walk with confidence. This is a difficult trick to master for the inexperienced traveler – it only comes with experience and that certain “screw you” attitude that some people naturally have.If you stand around looking like a hyper-vigilant, paranoid tourist; then you will be treated like one. Do you see locals staring around? No .. cause they know what they are doing … even if you have no clue where you are going … you can always simply ask to get to somewhere interesting. I’ve done it enough times and it’s worked 100% of the time for me.   

   
   

5. Talk to the locals
   They know where to go and where not to go … simple, easy … now write that down <scribble> “Talk to locals .. check!”  The locals are hidden in this picture!

   

6. Don’t fall asleep on buses … unless …You’re at the back of the bus, by yourself.
   I’ve met too many people who lost their stuff on the bus. Food, bags, shopping … all gone with a little nap.   
   
7. Trust your insincts … if it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right!
   

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Post tags: argentina, brazil, chile, honduras, how to, latin america travel, mexico, travel, travel in latin american, travel safely in latin america

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.

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Post tags: buquebus schedules, buquebus tips, buquebus tips and tricks, colonia express, how to get from buenos aires to uruguay, how to use buquebus, tips for buquebus, tips for using buquebus

The City of Lujan is located 68 Km away from the City of Buenos Aires, and it is characterized by the hospitality offered to travelers. In Lujan we will be able to find the Neo Gothic temple that worships the Virgin of Lujan. This majestic basilica with its two towers can be seen on arrival to the city from the highway leading to Lujan.

Photolog link : http://www.rishisankar.com/Travel/Argentin/Lujan-2009-14th-November-2009/10317916_b6S6Y

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Post tags: Buenos Aires, get to lujan, how to get to lujan from buenos aires, la lujaneira, Lujan

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.

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Post tags: Buenos Aires, filo pizza in buenos aires, food in buenos aires, kentucky pizza, kentucky pizza in buenos aires

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….

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Post tags: Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires at night, Floralis Genérica, Floralis Generica at night, Floralis Generica Sculpture, law school, night

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.

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Post tags: A guide to taxis in Buenos Aires, Guide to taxis in Buenos Aires, How to Find a Good Taxi in Buenos Aires, How to get a taxi in Buenos Aires, registered taxis in buenos aires

Someone just asked me what does one do at night in Puerto Iguazu? Like most places that is situated close to the jungle, there isn’t a ton of things to do? Pffffffttt yeah right!! I was amazed at the fact that on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday night there were bars that were open to 5 or 6am. It really makes Toronto look damn shameful, well in fact most North American cities are pretty shameful in this respect, with all our liquor laws and zoning regulations. Of course, one can argue that with the insurance rates, drunk driving, alcohol abuse etc blah blah, that we should have all these laws to keep us safe. Of course, the whole safety thing is just an illusion anyway, closing bars at 2am doesn’t stop drunk driving, it encourages binge drinking .. take a look at the UK for examples on binge drinking. I digress, this is a travel post, not a political waste of time.

The first thing about hanging out in Puerto Iguazu at night, is to never stay at the Sheraton! It is a great hotel, and wonderful if you want to see the falls and have all the conveniences of a modern hotel in the jungle. That being said, the food is decent but nothing comparable to the quality of the food that you will have in the town. The Sheraton’s cuisine is catered for the baseline affluent white tourist – of course absolutely nothing is wrong with this. One pays for consistency across the world and the Sheraton delivers consistently! That being said, the prices of food are stupendous in comparison for food in town. Bife de Chorizo is Bife de Chorizo regardless of whether it is at the Sheraton or at La Mujerda or Color Parilla Pizza, and paying 40USD for a steak vs 9 USD for a steak of similar quality is a bit of a rip off, especially in Argentina.

However, if you want to eat fantastic meals at night, with music and good wine for ridiculously cut rate prices, then I would recommend that one stay in Puerto Iguazu. There are a number of great hostels and medium range hotels in town itself. If I did this trip again, and I didn’t have the hotel points from work, then I would surely stay in town.

Places to eat .. well I can only recommend Color Parilla Pizza and La Mujerda, which are decent places by any standard. The food quality and service at these places is definitely high end.

The train station is also a place to grab food in evening, the pastas are all cheap ($5 CDN) for a plate of Spaghetti Bolognese sin Manteca and a soda. So a great deal there, or one could go to any nearby empanada place and grab a fist full of empanadas @ 2 pesos each (.60 cents CDN) … for me, 7 plus a soda was a bellyful, regular people should be fine with 3

After eating at one of the local joints, you can have two options for nightlife… you can go drinking in the local bars which are all open till dawn or hit the casinos

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Post tags: Casino, Color Parilla Pizza, iguazu, Puerto Iguazu, Review Color Parrilla Pizza, Sheraton, things to do in Puerto Iguazu, what to do in Puerto Iguazu at night

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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Post tags: Buenos Aires, Carlos Gardel Museum, Ceviche sample at Chan Chan in Buenos Aires, Ceviche sampler, Chan Chan

I don’t know why I think that but overall I preferred the imaginary Brazilian side better – I like seeing the entire panorama’s of the falls. However after doing the Devil’s Throat, the power and the fury is amazing. Anyway time for Pizza…. let’s see what adventure awaits in BsAs tonight

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Post tags: Buenos Aires, Foz de Iguacu

Iguacu means “mighty waters” in the language of the Guarani people who inhabited this area before European settlers arrived in the mid 16th century. When Spanish explorer Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca discovered the falls in 1542, he wanted to call them Santa Maria. The falls are indeed “mighty” though, and locals didn’t care a heck of a lot about Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Claus, Santana the guitar player, or any other Santas the Spanish might have wanted to inflict on them. The Guarani people regarded Iguazu as a holy place. It is an appropriate attitude.

On Monday, I did the cruise and the Inferior trail and most of the other trails on the Argentine side, leaving the Superior trail for a separate day. In retrospect, I should have pushed the pedal to the metal on Monday as the weather was gloriously sunny and not the garbage weather that we had on Tuesday and Wednesday. I would have a couple better pics, but ce’st la vie.

Heading down from the Sheraton was a simple enough task as behind the hotel, there was a well-marked, paved path down to the entrance to the Jungle expedition and Cataratas train station. Along the way, there were signs showing a stick figure of a man on the path, with snakes on either side of him, threatening to strike at any second.  Since I “no speaka the spanish” I think the signs meant, “Stay on the path or snakes will dance around you”.

Side note: It was only after I got my Sheraton umbrella and raincoat, and boarded the train from the Sheraton, all while the thunder gods were doing a samba routine, that I was truly glad I stayed at hotel. Speaking to friends that I made over the past 3 days, they all wished that they had stayed on day at the falls, just for the convenience. (Forget that I did it on Starwood points!)

Once I got on the little train going towards the falls, the overall tourist population was bit sparse as it was raining quite heavily. The train is an awesome idea, as it is a long hike after that to the actual series of long walkways across different sections of the river. I can’t even imagine how people ever saw the Devil’s Throat before the walkways. It must have been true jungle trekking, not like the “walk and take picture” tourists like me today!

It took about 20 mins for the train to leave Central Station to get the Cataratas Station. From there it is a long series of walkways over the river … not unlike these

Getting to the viewing platform, which stands at the precipice of the Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo) was such a huge challenge, since following walkways is terribly difficult   Of course, the usual tourist infestation was there, just like me and it was crowded with tourists taking pictures, and one dude offered to get up on his little ladder-chair and offered to take pictures above the heads of the crowds.

I managed to last 30 mins on the main walkway, through a combination of factors:

• I was the only person wearing swimming googles. I looked like an idiot, but I also was the only person who could see through the mist.
• I had wrapped my camera lens and barrels in plastic wrap from the hotel. Again, camera looked stupid, but 4 other photographers with their SLR’s commented that they wished they planned like I did. One guy took a picture of my camera for his blog *lol* i.e What to do at huge waterfalls!
• I was the only person there with towels for their camera, which made shooting much easier, especially for cleaning the lens with all the mist. Of course, I offered my towel to the grateful SLR peeps. Experience teaches you in these situations… yesterday’s imaginary Brazilian journey taught me that a photographer should always have a lens cleaner and soft towel in his bag.

It’s hard to describe exactly the feeling that you get standing above something like Iguazu Falls. Millions of tons of rushing water below your feet, the thunderous roar of the water cascading hundreds of feet down into an abyss, is powerful and completely frightening at the same time. I always seem to be hypnotized by this rushing water, I can barely pull myself away from it. It is truly a wonder of nature going to explore waterfalls, they are such simple things, but one has to appreciate that only millions of years to tectonic activity or a melting glacier will allow such phenomenon to occur.  The Devil’s Throat is definitely awe inspiring in its power, you get that feeling like you want to run away and jump in at the same time. Beauty and wonder still exist in the world and I’m glad that I made this trip so far.

Watching into the mouth of the abyss, with the birds flying all around from the mist was powerful, ethereal and creepy, all in one. You think to yourself, “One slip, one jump and that’s it”

The falls aren’t just one waterfall — it is a series of 275 separate cascades spread across a jagged cleft in the Iguazu River. The river is 3km wide at this point, and the falls drop 80 meters. Hence they are “higher than Niagara and wider than Victoria”, as the travel guides say. The complex geography of the site really makes this, a most spectacular waterfall, definitely unique  anywhere in the world. If you’re a religious person, you could stand for hours on the platforms, marveling at the artistry of God’s handiwork, and wondering about the sheer, raw, natural power that the place embodies. One can’t help but a bit humbled.

Photolog link: http://www.rishisankar.com/Travel/Argentin/Devils-Throat/10289656_DKx9F

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Post tags: Devil's Throat, Gargantua de Diablo, Iguacu falls, Iguazu Falls -, what does the devil's throat look like?, what is the devil's throat, where is the devil's throat