Driving the Dream started as a way for Rae Ann Prasnicki to document the adventures she had with her children while visiting all fifty of the united states. She now documents all her travels, whether it be by train, plane or automobile.
We started the morning early and caught a ferry into Colonia del Sacramento, across the river (which I always thought was the Atlantic) from Buenos Aires, located in Uruguay. I was looking forward to getting another stamp in my passport book but we found Colonia is also a perfect place to spend a relaxing day. Colonia is a photographers dream lined with cobblestone streets, buildings reminding me of Portugal (Uruguay was under rule of them initially), and beautiful flowers.
We climbed the water tower and were presented with a spectacular view of the town and river.
You can walk the entire town easily so that is what we did. As we like to eat local food we opted for Chivitas (national dish of Uruguay made of sliced beefsteak, mozzarella, tomatoes, ham, egg, Mayo, and olives), Milanesa (breaded beef instead), and cerveza. It was also nice to spend the afternoon with our friend Patricia.
We hopped back on the ferry, returned to our Hostal to shower (it is hot here in the high 80’s), and jumped in an Uber to see a tango show. It was really good and a lovely evening.
Our first day in Buenos Aires was spent exploring the city. We started at Floralis Generica, a sculpture that opens and closes it’s petals. Next we made our way into the center of the city and stopped at El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a beautiful bookstore in an old theatre.
I love Buenos Aires! The city is very clean, the people are friendly, they have beautiful park spaces, and it is the most safe city I have visited on my trip. The Italians, and some French, have influence on their architecture. It is really beautiful.
We went on a historical walking tour in the afternoon. After a previous attempt the Spaniards captured Argentina in 1580 and Buenos Aires became the capital in 1770. They got independence in 1816 and before that time there was lots of immigration so the city is very diverse.
The Spaniards wanted the capital to be very much like Europe so the buildings have that influence. The last dictatorship ended in 1983 and this is now the longest without one. But Argentina has drama when it comes to politics.
Argentina has nearly a 100% inflation rate every year. Every year. One year it was 3,000%. Since they have such high inflation they like to keep their savings in American dollars as it maintains value. In every country there is an exchange rate but in Argentina there are many different rates. There is a legal rate (~ 150), a Blue Dollar rate (~ 350), and a new tourist rate (~ 311). If we buy a 1,000 peso item at the legal rate it would cost $5.59. Since Argentinians love American Dollars we can exchange them (illegally) for pesos and that same 1,000 peso would cost $2.85. Nearly half! So although I usually put everything on my credit card we came here with cash. This is crazy enough but their largest note is $3 so you can imagine how many notes you need to pay a $360 hotel bill! Money counters are very common.
December 18, 2021 the government rolled out a new tourist rate, nearly the illegal blue rate, that can be used for credit cards for those out of the country. We did not trust it but have tried it a couple times for small purchases and it seems to be working. But we heard from others it is not working for all transactions.
So cash is king in Argentina to save nearly half! Crazy.
Henry and I spent hours discussing their financial situation. But I will say, Argentinians are happy. Without going into politics much, the government does take care of its people.
After the tour we showered and walked a couple blocks to a neighborhood home where we enjoyed an asado (booked through Airbnb). Argentinians love their meat and asado means BBQ. The rooftop was magical and the food was unbelievable! Our hosts explained all the meats and Henry spent lots of time at the grill learning how to cook over wood.
We needed to eat the groceries I purchased previously so we decided to have a picnic in Santa Lucia park. It was a beautiful day and the park is really nice with lots of walking and climbing within our neighborhood. Santa Lucia is an original fort from the 1500’s and is built on an old volcano.
When we reached the top we were greeted with beautiful views of the city.
We returned to the hostel to grab our bags and made our way to the airport. Yes, that is sweat in my underarms below. Santiago had a lower humidity but it was still hot in the sun.
We sat in the lounge and planned our days in Buenos Aires. It was nearly three hours of researching and booking. The money situation in Argentina is crazy and we had to figure out our budget as we will be using cash the entire time (I will try to write more about their economics later).
We landed in Buenos Aires after an uneventful flight (I wrote blog posts the entire time).
A previous manager of my ex-husbands lives in Buenos Aires so I reached out to him with a couple questions. He graciously picked us up at the airport and gave us a ton of information and recommendations. It was so good to see him.
We checked into my final Selina on this trip and it felt like coming home. Selinas were a great decision for this adventure. We paid our $325 room bill with Argentinian cash and since their largest note value is $3 retailers use counting machines. It is crazy!
After settling in at 10:30pm we walked to La Viruta Tango to see some dancing and stopped for a glass of wine and empanadas. It was after 1am when we returned and the streets were still crazy busy and it felt very safe. I am excited to explore Buenos Aires.
Our day started off early when we were picked up at 7:30am for a tour of Canon del Maipo and El Yeso, in the Andes mountains.
The drive took us most of the day but it was beautiful along the way. The Canon del Maipo is actually a man made reservoir that feeds water to Santiago. The water is so blue because it is clear and the comes from the glaciers. It was truly beautiful.
The tour guide asked us to return in an hour and someone in our group had lost their drone and had to stay behind. His wife was not happy since they were flying out later that night. As we reached the bottom of the mountain we heard he had hitched a ride in a pick-up. Good old fashion hitch-hiking for great photos. I could relate.
On our way down we stopped at a small farm for delicious empanadas and wine. It is always fun to eat the local cuisine and visit with other travelers. I learn so much from their knowledge.
We also stopped at the Chocolate House that was built by an eccentric man. It was really beautiful. When his friends said it looked like it was made from chocolate (it was wood) he decided to open a chocolate shop. Brilliant.
We returned to the hostel and walked around to check out some of the sites and see what was happening. The parks were filled with local families enjoying the evening. It was lovely. We stopped for dinner on a beautiful rooftop overlooking the park and had a yummy meal. I opted for an Aperol Spritzer instead of Pisco sour as my heartburn was improving but citrus was trying to kill me.
I let Henry sleep until 11am as he was adjusting to the five hour time change and recovering from a late night. We made our way to San Cristobal, took a funicular to the top, and a cable car across. It is always amazing to see how big a city is. Santiago has eight million people!
At this point in the day I was feeling an awkward lump in my chest, which I diagnosed as heartburn. I am fairly confident it was due to all the limes (Pisco sours!) and lemons I have consumed in the last 25 days! It was off to the pharmacy for some relief!
On our way back to the neighborhood we found a little bar offering cold beer and Chorrillama, a very common Chilean meal consisting of French fries, meat, and an egg. It was super yummy!!
We returned to the resteraunt we found the night prior and had a couple more Pisco sours. I know, the heartburn. But I could not resist.
I have not been online or writing because HENRY arrived!
So here is a catch up…on New Years Eve I attempted to visit the Museum of Human Rights, which commemorates the victims of the military dictatorship in Chile between 1973 and 1990, following a coup. I navigated my way through the Metro to find out it was closed! Ugh. Travel joys.
I was told the city would “shut down” starting New Years Eve at 5pm, and last for three days, so I should get food because restaurants may not be open. Grocery shopping in another country is always an adventure.
I went to the airport to surprise Henry as I told him to take his own Uber. It was so great to see him! We settled him into the hostel and because it was approaching 5pm we ran to grab dinner but found everyone was closed. We started heading back home, assuming we would be eating cold sandwiches, but saw a glowing “cocktails” sign across the street. We ended up visiting three times as they were one of the few places open during the holiday and the Pisco sours were amazing!
We returned to the hostel and a party was happening. One of the best things about staying at a hostel is never spending a holiday alone. It makes my heart happy to see strangers celebrating together.
I only made it until 1am but Henry went to the club with the others (his body was also five hours early). Interesting fact about celebrating New Years in Santiago: The parties do not begin at the clubs until 2pm. Everyone celebrates with their families at midnight and goes out afterwards. Latinos are sure late nighters!
