Bring US Dollars to Argentina & Long Long Trip…
Greetings,
First off, before you even pack your bag to come to Buenos Aires, hit up an ATM machine and bring as many US dollars as you can cram into your carry on. Long story short, the official exchange rate is like 6 to 1 but the actual street value of a US dollar is like 10 to one ++. I’m not a political gent so I won’t get into it but if I had known this, I would have hit up the ATM in Miami while strolling to the gents room while hanging with my new friends Ryan and Jay… That type of return is slick but I’m just glad I have a few greenbacks kicking around in my knapsack anyways. It turned out to be a fun but super long trip from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic to Buenos Aires, Argentina…
I flew from Miami at 8:30PM and was supposed to arrive at 7:20am, sure there is a 2 hour time change but that never happened. It was crazy foggy in Buenos Aires so myself and the whole flight flew to Uruguay and did handstands for an hour or so before flying back. When we arrived it was a cluster $@Ck and took a almost two hours to get through the entire process. There is a shuttle to take downtown, naturally it was full and when I finally arrived for the taxi to my new crib it took forever. This supposedly short(ish) trip took 26 hours door to door. I’d say I’m getting to old for this crap but guess what? I live for it.
I hit the plane seat lotto jackpot company wise so suffice to say, the flight was alright. I am now at a hostel that my friend Josh suggested in Dominican Republic. Straight up, I’ve done the presidential suite here, really nice this or that there but when I’m riding solo, I go for a hostel 99.9% of the time. First off, I save tones of cash, secondly I meet a new crew to roll with and when driving down unfamiliar streets, it’s the only way to play it, yes? If you aren’t shy on coin, go for the 4 bed dorm as it’s usually empty and you meet a more relaxed hostel going set.
I strolled into this spot and by the time I made it to the check in, I knew I was “home”. I’m gonna be here a while to say the least. I wanna be back in Nicaragua for late February and who knows, I might just be here for most of it. If you’re Canadian get your “recibo” before you bounce. Somehow I was let onto the plane without one and when I got to the customs officer it was like where is it? Next thing you know I’m in that area nobody ever wants to visit in the immigration line aka behind the one way mirrors… The price is $160 and then you’re free. If you’re from Canada, USA or Australia it is a must and a small price to pay for access to this sweet spot.
Within minutes I was enjoying my first local beer on a roof top over looking the largest avenue in the world, it has something like 10 lanes and is quite the sight to see. I’m at the point where crashing is quite important and the song being played at the bottom was being played here when I finished my 3rd liter with new friends. They took off to a spot where supposedly business people like to play after work and it’s a Thursday night so why not? I’d of joined them if it was a year ago but the time is now and health plays a larger priority then before.
I’m here to chill out, rest up, build on what I have and see what this part of the world has in store for me…
No clue how long I’ll be here but I’m loving it and so glad I came. Remember this and that is that you’ll never know unless you go and you can’t see the world without going out there and seeing it. The gent I polished the bottles off with has been here for 5 months and he filled me in on much. Stay tuned for some updates from this fine city and straight up, it feels good to be home again. When you stroll into your new home, you just know it and I may be 4417 miles from Miami which is x miles from Ottawa but I’m home for the next while and loving it…
Oh yeah, don’t forget to bring lots of US dollars…
Tips hat,
P.S: The gent at the front desk is from San Jose, Costa Rica – #PURAVIDA lives…
