Some like it hot

First off BA has changed a lot in three years. Well, I am not sure if it was always like this and I was just naive but it definitely has more of an edge this time around.

Some back story, I tried to buy Argentinian pesos from Bank of America before we left but due to the economic climate BofA would not even offer the currency to purchase. I like to have a little of the local currency on me for a taxi and what not, just in case there is no ATM nearby. So we are in an unusual situation right off the bat.

Anyway, we arrive in BA around 2pm and I usually plan out how we are going to get from the airport or bus terminal to our hotel but this time I dropped the ball. We find an ATM at the ferry terminal but of course it does not have any bills. That puts a wrench in the simple plan of take a taxi. We go to the information booth but they have very little info, no English and no map. We have USD on us but there is no way they are going to take that, right? Jason negotiates with the cab driver (ah Jason and his Espanol are freaking awesome) a ride for 15 USD. I guess they do take USD.

We arrive at our hotel in Recoleta around 2:30pm and wait a bit for check in. They have a little welcome snack which is a nice touch and we get talking to the couple next to us. Turns out they are Canadians on a cruise who had some time off of the boat and were staying at the hotel. Oh Canadians, what a lovely people, eh? They were telling us about the good places to buy leather and how to exchange our USD for the black market rate. “uh, come again.” Apparently, there is a black market for USD here where you can get a 12 peso for 1 USD rate. The spot rate on the Friday before we left was 7 to 1. We are getting almost 50% more pesos at this black market rate; wouldn’t this be the best way to launder money? But of course we are going to take advantage of it.

We finally check in and the room is nice. Spacious and high ceilings so Jason can stop bumping his head. The day is almost half over so we decide to exchange some USD and then get a quick bite and a drink. Before we left, we stopped by the front desk to ask for directions and the woman at the counter had a laundry list of things to watch out for:

• keep your bag in front of your body
• check all bills for the face to ensure they are not counterfeit
• try and use small bills when possible because taxis will try and trick you by saying your bills are fake
• watch out for the squares where people accidentally spill something on you and when they assist with the clean up, they actually steal your bag/camera/ etc.

Now, I am sure people say these things about traveling to New York but it is still a bit unnerving. Seems like people are on the hustle. The “exchange” center was a little clothing shop and just looked so obvious that no clothes are sold there. We exchanged 200 USD and went on our merry way.

Time for a drink.