Sarita on a Shoestring: Buenos Aires

On March 18, 2014, I was just one quick travel day away from Argentina and seeing my parents. Easy peasy! And quick it was…I got up at 4am to take a 45 minute cab ride to Quito’s new (and very shiny I might add) airport, checked in and then got to enjoy the luxury of waiting around for an extra two hours thanks to a delayed flight. By the time our plane made it to São Paulo, Brazil, my connecting flight had already left. I must have outrageously low expectations though, because all of my fellow travelers were pretty enraged by the fact that we had to wait around in the airport for three hours for the next flight. I, however, was impressed that TAM Airlines had someone waiting for us at the gate and had already booked and printed out new boarding passes for our next flight. She even escorted us through the airport terminal to our gate. I sure haven’t had that happen in the states.

Obelisco de Buenos Aires

I did learn the hard way though, that even if you haven’t eaten all day and are starving, you should take the time to figure out the exchange rate and prices of items in the airport. I very foolishly ended up paying $55 for a mini bottle of wine and a slice of pizza. Now I know airport food is notoriously expensive, but that’s a bit much.

By 2am, I finally landed in Buenos Aires. Thankfully, I made some friends with fellow travelers and we decided to share a cab into the city (which saved me nearly $60). By 3:30am I was home free, I had made it to the hotel! Well, not quite. This was a small boutique hotel that had no registration desk, outdoor walkway areas, it was raining, and no one was up. So I walked up and down the stairs, yelling, “Kim! Andy!...Mom, Dad!” All the while getting drenched in water. No one heard me and I saw no signs of a note from my parents telling me which room they were in. I was beginning to think I was going to have to sleep at one of the tables until morning when I noticed a light on in the kitchen. I gingerly knocked on the door and low and behold, there was a chef prepping food for the day. I asked him if he knew anything about which room my parents were in – he did not. He did, however, try calling the owner of the hotel. No answer. He suggested I go walk by each of the hotel rooms and call for my parents. So, I tried again – still no response. After that, he tried calling the owner again and this time he picked up. Hoorah! I now knew which room my parents were in and was in bed by 430am. Not a bad 24 hour travel day.

Protests in the Streets

Standing in the Cemetario de la Recoleta

After that little adventure, exploring Buenos Aires was a wonderful treat. Buenos Aires is everything a city should be – charming architecture, quaint boutique shops on every corner, wonderful parks and plazas, vibrant street art, and food that makes your mouth water and leaves you asking for more. We enjoyed one especially memorable meal at an unassuming parrilla restaurant that had old black and white photos on the wall and red tablecloths. Argentina is known for its parrillas or grilling/ barbecuing of meat. So much so, that they have perfected the art of grilling a steak. I am not much of a red meat eater, but our steaks that night were succulent, juicy, tender, perfectly seasoned and smoothly washed down with a splash of malbec. It was truly a night of gastronomical proportions.

For the most part, my parents and I just enjoyed walking around the city and exploring the sites. During our time we encountered three street protests (so very Latin American), made friends at an outdoor café with a man who had lived in Las Vegas for 60 years, enjoyed empanadas, walked along the river and toured the Cemetario de la Recoleta. The latter was one of my favorite stops. Even though we only made it there 10 minutes before closing and had to cruise through the cemetery at light speed – it was incredibly fascinating. The Cemetery de la Recoleta is home to Eva Perón, Argentinian Presidents and Nobel Prize winners and families spend 10’s of thousands of dollars on incredibly ornate mausoleums. Wandering through this beautiful cemetery was quite special.