We made it to Argentina!
Friday, October 7th: Santiago, Chile > Buenos Aires, Argentina
We arrived in Santiago, grabbed a quick breakfast at the Sky Team lounge (that they first denied us from) and boarded our final flight to Buenos Aires.
We landed around 1:30 PM local time, collected our bags from the carousel and went to the rental car desk to pick up our vehicle. The process and paperwork was slower than we were used to, but the agent was nice, upgraded us two group levels for free and exchanged €200 for an exchange rate 30% above current market value so we had money for tolls. We got a Fiat Cronos Dive 1.3, which isn’t big enough for us + Tim and all of our baggage. We’re going to have to store some luggage and get comfortable with being uncomfortable during our trip.
Unlike Norway and Greece, we quickly realized that most people here did not speak English well, though their broken English was oftentimes better than our Spanish. The many years of high school and college Spanish classes were slowly coming back to me and finally proven to be a good investment.
We arrived at the Hilton in Puerto Madero, checked in and noticed all of the bodybuilders in the lobby. To our surprise, there was the South American Olympia sponsored amateur and pro show this weekend.
We strolled along the riverfront which was lined with nice restaurants that gave us a Chicago feel. There were people walking around everywhere, including the several teen groups dancing in front of the reflective windows to film their latest Tik Tok.
We ate at Villegas Resto and had ribeye, short ribs, bleu cheese asparagus, potatoes gratin and Oreo cheesecake with dulce de leche. The restaurants here often start with bread and dip or a light appetizer, but don’t be fooled - you pay for it as a cover charge at the end of the meal.
As we walked back to the hotel after sunset, we wandered past lively bars and restaurants with lots of young people starting their Friday night. The demographic here feels a lot younger than in Greece. But they both endure through the night and the cities come alive after dark with late dinners and social gatherings… way past our usual bedtimes.
Accommodations: Hilton, Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires
