Argentina Travel Notes

strong> If you haven’t read the cover article I shared for this trip, I suggest you take a look at it first.. It may be useful for you to see my 60-day route, the items I took with me, and the total cost of the trip.
South America Trip Cover Letter

Correction from 2017: I came back to Argentina after 3 years and it is unbelievable how a country can become so expensive in 3 years. If you are someone who travels with low budgets; Definitely remove Argentina from your itinerary.

Mendoza
It took me about 6 hours to get here from Chile. I no longer plan to stay in Mendoza as my days are running short.. I’m just going to visit the city during the day and take the night bus to Cordoba.

Lately, I have the biggest problem in Argentina for foreigners.. Currency exchange problem. Namely; 1 USD = 7.5 pesos if you exchange the currency at a bank or exchange office, 1 USD = 10 pesos if you exchange it on the street. So if you want to do a safe job, you are at a 25% loss.. I say safe because there is a possibility that they will give fake money when you try to exchange it on the street, and sometimes there may be trouble with the police because it is an illegal business.. This seems like an urban legend to me.. I said how can I exchange USD without harming a decent person who sells tickets that I had my eye on.. He pointed to someone standing ahead and said, “Go help him.”. I went to the man and gave him 100 USD and bought 970 pesos and continued on my way.

The same problem occurs if you shop using a credit card.. So your bank is making calculations at a very bad exchange rate.. If you have a plan to come to Argentina, definitely and definitely bring cash and USD with you.. In other South American countries, you can even withdraw money from ATMs without commission and at a nice rate, but in Argentina the situation is very different.. Take this into consideration, I say don’t hurt for nothing.

You can go to the city center by walking from the terminal.. The city is pretty empty as I coincided with another Sunday.. But the streets are neat, the parks are plentiful, and the greenery seems like a place to live.

In the main square, peddlers have opened stalls since it’s Sunday and they sell their handicraft works.. You can find things that interest you. Of course, since it was a holiday, everyone gathered around this square.. After I fill my stomach, I sit in the park and listen to the young people playing and saying. An extremely relaxed place where everyone hangs out. Some are sitting on the bench playing the saxophone alone, some are singing and having fun as a group.. I’m leaving here with a bit of envy because I don’t see this type of thing in my own country.

As in South America, people don’t work on Sunday in this city.. Even shopping malls are closed. Of course, this situation is quite opposite for us.. I was surprised at first, but I started to think that the people there live normally, and that our lives are just about working.. In fact, among the countries I have visited so far, I have not yet seen such hardworking and working people as our nation.. After making our sociological determination and comment, let’s continue (:

Mendoza left a good impression on me, but it seems like a quiet city.. I can’t say for sure as I only saw it on Sunday.. Before I came, the backpackers I met on the way said that if you want a quiet place for Mendoza, you will be bored if you want a bustling city.. If you think about going, I say make your plan accordingly.

After returning to the terminal, I started to wait for the Cordoba bus.. The bus ticket is 435 pesos (45 USD), the road takes 11 hours. Yes, unfortunately, transportation between cities is a bit expensive in Argentina.

Cordoba
I get down to the terminal in the morning and it only takes 10 minutes to walk to the hostel.. Luckily the terminal is in the center of the city. Bed price per night in a 6-person room is 12 TL. I’m going out for a rest. Of course, with the city map I got from the hostel.

I’ve heard things about this place before, such as a university city, only young people.. It really turned out like that. It’s almost hard to see an old person outside. There are many universities in the city. In fact, one of them is Argentina’s first university and started to provide education 400 years ago.

In direct proportion to so many universities and higher education, the city is quite neat and people are respectful.. Again, whatever I asked, everyone quit their job and tried to help.. Since it is a city of education and culture, there are many museums and exhibition halls to visit.. The entrance fees are already very low, but if you make it on a Wednesday, all museums are free.

A friend of mine I met in a hostel in Bolivia lives here.. When I met him, he said let’s meet tonight, we’ll go somewhere.. Thanks to the evening, he came and picked me up by car and we went to his friend’s house.. They were going to throw a party for a friend who graduated from architecture today, and they wanted me to be present.. Well, I didn’t want to miss such an opportunity.. Watch what they do to their graduate friends on the video, it’s hard to tell (:

Now let’s talk about food, one of my favorite parts of Argentina. .

South American people generally like meat dishes and barbecue. I have eaten this type of food a lot in Peru, Chile and Bolivia, but the ones in Argentina have a special place.. I don’t understand if there is something in the meat or if the guys really cook it differently.. Maybe the reason why I love it so much is because of the famous Angus cows, I don’t know.. Of course, when the prices are reasonable, it is an invaluable boon for backpackers like me.

Cordoba’s nightlife is also very active.. You can find an attraction in the city every day except Sunday.. I especially liked the places with live music.. They already know how to dance. Even listening to music and watching the people around is a different pleasure.. Not to mention those who come and teach you salsa and bachata (:

I bought a sim card from the phone store on the first day, as I will need a phone line in Argentina.. Sim card fee is only 20 pesos (2 USD). And this 20 pesos stays in the line. You can use unlimited internet for 2 pesos per day.. Yes it is very cheap but there is a problem. There’s no such thing as mobile internet here. So it’s there but it’s not working. Impossible to use internet when you enter busy places. If you are in quiet places, the internet works, although it is very slow.. I bought it for watsapp and it did my job a lot.

If you’re aware, I didn’t want to write much so you can see it here.. Everywhere you can go is within walking distance.. Take a city map and you will be able to visit every part of it in two days.

What’s really fun is that if I had time in this city, I would like to stay for 2 more days, but after 3 days, I’ll take the night bus to Buenos Aires. i’m going. The road takes 10 hours, the ticket price is 110 TL.

Buenos Aires
I’m going down to the terminal in the morning. This time I’m going to my friend Leo’s house, not the hostel. I met Leo at a hostel in Rio. I shared my travel videos on facebook until I came here.. When he saw the videos, he saw me approaching Buenos Aires.. Thank you, he texted me to come and stay with me. received me well in. I think that those who read the article from the beginning understand better how nice it is to stay in a hostel.

After having a rest at home, I went to Leo and his friends.. 5-6 people rented a house together. They shared the rooms and made each a separate hobby room.. Leo’s hobby is cycling.. I was very surprised when I first heard it, but it turns out that this is pretty common in Argentina.. You take the parts of the bike separately and then you put them all together. Although it may seem easy at first, the situation becomes difficult when it comes to balancing.. After hanging out with them for a while, I go for a walk around the city.

The best thing about Buenos Aires is there are no slopes in the city, everything is flat.. Therefore, it is a very suitable place for cycling.. Leo commutes 7-8 km by bike every day.. Actually, he works as a video editor at Fox TV, he would buy a car if he wanted to, but he prefers bicycles.. Speaking of cars, after staying here for 3-4 days, I ask Leo why I haven’t seen any luxury cars or sports cars? His answer is; If they see a Ferrari or similar car on the road, look at the maniac, people will make fun of him because he paid so much and bought a car.. And this thought is reflected in the general lives of the men.. It is very difficult to see luxury mobile phones in their hands or branded clothes on them.. They don’t seem to get too caught up in the capitalist system.. The millet is on us.

It is not possible to tour the city without a map. While walking in the center, I see a hostel again and go inside.. I mark the places to go with the map I got from here, and I travel day by day.. I especially liked the photography exhibition I went to.. It was an exhibition of photographs with celebrities. Well, when it’s about my job, I just spent 3-4 hours here.. Similarly, there are many museums and exhibition halls.. Now you can choose according to your interest and decide which one to go to.

There are many parks in the city center in Buenos Aires, as in most places I usually stop by.. And in these parks there are street artists who do their job very well.. Some of them are singing the guitar, some are performing theatrical performances for children, some are performing television shows that you know as a group.. People, on the other hand, lie down on the meadow or grass, watch whatever it is about and enjoy.

I always take the city bus and never use the subway.. Because it’s such a big place and wherever I go I wanted to go according to it.. Sometimes I got off the bus in a place that caught my eye and wandered around that area, then continued where I left off.. Fees are around 50-60 cents for a single ride.. You can give cash to the buses, but only change is required.. And it is very difficult to carry that much change in your pocket.. You can’t even find a coin. You will be very comfortable if you buy from public transport cards such as the Istanbul card we have.. I took the extra card in Leo and used it all the time, it’s very convenient.

I also liked La boca and San telmo regions.. Especially the places that sell handicrafts in San telmo are very good.. Fun place, albeit a bit of a touristy area. There are nice cafes and places to eat. Prices are a little more affordable than in Istanbul.

I continue on foot from San Telmo and head towards the famous and crowded streets.. You can think of it as Istiklal Street in us.. There are street artists everywhere.. You’re going to have fun along the way. The men have exaggerated this, they are performing a tango show in the middle of the road you know.. If you get stuck with them, you will spend half a day here (:

The nightlife in the city continues at full tempo 7 days a week.. I don’t know what other country’s city has so many entertainment venues.. But if a list was made, Buenos Aires would probably be in the top three.. In my opinion, the Palermo region is the ideal place for night entertainment.. But here the nightlife starts very late. If you go at 12 at night, you can’t see much.. Folks start to fill the places at 2 am.. Some evenings I hung out alone with Leo and his friends, some evenings. Argentine people love foreigners. Even if you are single like me, you can find someone to spend time with, you won’t be bored.

I would say stop by the recoleta cemetery in the center again.. Because this is one of the top tourist destinations for Bueson Aires. There are dozens of important people’s cemeteries inside.. But don’t look at what I call a cemetery, it’s not like ours, they’re all like works of art.. You can see it in detail in the video below.

Unfortunately, the general language problem in South America is also here. If you don’t know Spanish, it’s not easy to communicate.. But if you think that language is no longer important for asking simple questions like me, no problem (:

You can go to Tigre as close to Buenos Aires.. It takes about 1.5 hours by bus or train.. It’s a small town, but it’s hard to see anyone other than a foreigner as they’ve turned the whole thing into a tourist town.. There are also places that mainly sell souvenirs.. For some reason I don’t like this area very much.. If you have time, I say come, or don’t stop by.

I met a girl named Camila while I was staying at a hostel on my trip to Portugal 6 months ago.. Camila lives here and when she found out I was coming she wanted to invite me over for dinner one evening.. Of course I accepted. Now I’m going to the meeting point, let’s watch the rest on the video (:

I will say that her family will be so friendly and make me smile as if I went to a village house in our Anatolia. And believe me, I did not expect that they will greet you so affectionately.. His father, who is originally from Taiwan, made barbecues from all kinds of meat so that I will come, and he cooked all of them close to my arrival.. Just like our elders, they said that as long as you eat, you can’t eat another plate, try this too.. As I said at the end of the video, I don’t know if I can meet such good and beautiful people again.

Even though I don’t speak good English, we sat and chatted with all of them for 3-4 hours.. They always wanted to take me back home.. And three people left at once.. I mean, I don’t know what to say. After this interest, I said that I wanted to host them in Istanbul.. Although it is a bit difficult for the whole family to come, let’s see, they said they will send Camila.. Now we will show him our hospitality (:

After staying in Buenos Aires for 5 days, I am now coming to the end of the trip. I only have 3 days left. I was either going to stay here or take a quick trip to Uruguay.. I decided to continue to Uruguay Colonia, saying that 5 days is enough here.. I spent 3 days in Uruguay, returned to Buenos Aires and went directly to the airport.. My advice to those going to the airport here.. The airport is far from the center. If you go by taxi, it costs 100 TL.. Come on, if you’re 2-3 people, it’s fine, but if you’re single like me, it’s an unnecessary cost.. That’s why not many people know, even on the internet, there is no proper information. You can go to the airport with the city bus number 8. The bus leaves from the center. You can see where it went from here. The ticket costs 11 pesos (about 2 TL).. But it must be a coin, otherwise you will have trouble.. In another detail, the road takes 2.5 hours, I say plan accordingly.

Please click on the link to continue the Uruguay travel article;
Uruguay Travel Notes