We’re highlighting Buenos Aires, the metropolitan city, architecture-rich, foodie city in Argentina. We tour the city, immerse ourselves in its history, patroned its rooftop bars, and spent a day at a traditional Guadcho Part at the Santa Susana Ranch.

This Buenos Aires trip was a continuation of a Gate1 guided tour that started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and then went to Iguazu Falls so go back and listen to those episodes too!

Things to See in Buenos Aires – Episode Transcript

0:35

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast.

Today we’re taking you to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

0:50

So if you actually caught our last two episodes, you heard about our time in Rio de Janeiro and Aguazu Falls, and Buenos Aires was an extension of that very same trip.

Yes, we are at the tail end here of our 10 day gate one that included those two previous places that Brittany mentioned with the ground finale being in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1:12

Now Buenos Aires, I was really excited about it.

It did not let me down.

I enjoyed it a lot.

It is known as the Paris of South America and it really does give me European vibes.

At some point we were walking down the street and I looked at Brittany and I said I feel like I’m in Europe somewhere more particularly like Rome, just kind of like one of the alleyways.

1:34

But of course it is very metropolitan posh for sure.

European vibes here in Buenos Aires.

I noticed how you’re pronouncing Buenos Aires.

In the US, we always say Buenos Aires, right?

But when you were in Argentina, people are saying it that way.

1:50

Of course, yes.

And I don’t know why in particular I’m saying it that way.

It just kind of feels right.

And I am working on my Spanish a little bit, so, you know, but I’m not one of those people who call Paris Paris because I don’t want to do that.

But Buenos Aires is Buenos Aires, you know, Just rolls off my tongue that way, I feel like.

2:07

That’s fabulous.

Well, I’m really excited because I’ve always wanted to go to Argentina.

I’ve just romanticized it in my head and I love this wine region.

Of course, I’m jealous I wasn’t here for this part of the trip.

So tell me a little bit more about it and someone going, of course.

2:24

Let’s hear the tips.

Yeah, we’ll definitely start with the tips for the city.

We’ve mentioned in earlier episodes on this trip that credit card was widely accepted and that was the same for in Argentina.

So we never did pull any money from the ATM or exchange any money.

2:40

In fact, their currency is collapsing and they want the American dollar.

Their inflation rate is like 250% super high.

So in American dollar goes a long way and they actually want American dollars and when you use your credit card, you actually get a better rate, the blue dollar rate that they call it.

3:02

Yeah, it’s called the blue dollar.

So as it stands now, and of course things can always change, but $1.00 is equivalent to about 950 Argentinian pesos.

So round it to 1000, OK.

However, again, they don’t want the peso.

3:19

And by they, I’m talking like locals, businesses, etcetera.

So they covet the dollar, and so you can actually exchange your dollar at exchange places for more than the true exchange rate, maybe 14 or 1500 if you’re lucky to find it that high to the dollar.

3:38

So you’re actually gaining money when you exchange.

And they also have a federal law in Argentina.

They were saying that it’s actually a federal law that if you come with a foreign credit card, so not an Argentinian 1 and let’s just assume an American one since most of our listeners are here in the US.

3:55

You go with that and they will always give you an exchange rate if you use a credit card of about like 1200 or 1300.

So you’re already still gaining money by using your credit card versus cash.

Like yes, if you exchange it, you can get more than that.

But if you don’t want to bother exchanging and then have leftover currency that you probably can’t change back because they don’t want it because they covet the dollar, using the credit card is a great way to go.

4:18

And you’re still going to get a good bang for your buck and more than it’s truly worth.

We mentioned in the few previous episodes about safety.

So just don’t walk with your phone in your back pocket.

Just be safe when you’re traveling a big city.

It could be any big city, whether it’s Buenos Aires or Chicago or New York or anywhere.

4:36

Just, you know, phone safety.

Don’t have it in your back pocket or your front pocket could be stolen.

And we are South of the equator, so the seasons are going to be opposite than what most people are used to because most people live north of the equator.

So we visit in September, which is their spring, but whenever you go to Argentina, just be mindful to pay attention to what the season will be, which will be the opposite of the current where you are coming from.

5:02

It’s also a later city, meaning that the shops don’t open until late like 9:30 ten things don’t get started till a little later.

Normal time for dinner is 8:00 to 9:00 PM.

So a lot of our dinners were late while we were out here.

Did you find that to be different from Brazil?

5:18

It was later than we ate in Brazil for sure.

We were staying out later in Brazil because I feel like like in Rio, it’s such a lively, vibrant city, but it was definitely later in the city.

A couple things noteworthy to try that they are really famous for in Argentina and of course is loved in Buenos Aires is the Alfa Juarez, which is a cookie sandwich that’s filled with dulce de leche in the middle.

5:42

And that cookie sandwich is either covered with a white or a dark chocolate.

So very, very common.

You will find these everywhere.

Ironically enough, the best one that I tried was included with our free breakfast at the Marriott Hotel.

We’ll talk more about that hotel that we stayed at later.

5:58

Was actually really nice.

Really awesome rooftop pool, etc.

But that was really good.

But you could find them all over the city.

Worth a try because they are famous.

Our local guide, she said the best place to get them out where coffee shops called Havanas.

We didn’t go to one because we had them at our hotel, but she said if you’re going to have one while you’re out and about, Havana’s has a really good Alpha Hortis.

6:20

And Havana’s is basically like their version of Starbucks, but just down in Argentina.

So very popular chain coffee house.

You could find these cookies in there too.

Everywhere in Argentina and Buenos Aires, they’re going to be advertising things that are dulce de leche flavor, ice cream, Gelato, the cookie sandwiches, a whole bunch of stuff.

6:43

So you’re going to definitely want to try some.

And it is delicious.

We did go to McDonald’s and I might have gotten a dulce de leche cone mixed with vanilla and it may have been the best McDonald’s cone I’ve ever had.

It redeemed itself from Brazil.

It did, but only on the dessert side.

7:01

Dessert side, there was nothing on the menu that looked good, so we didn’t even eat there.

Minus the cone that Britney was like.

I got to get my dulce de leche mixed swirl cone with vanilla and I took a bite of it.

It was actually very tasty.

Hey squaddies, before we get into the episode, I want to remind you on our website that we have a ton of free resources for you.

7:21

So we have a blog page for every single episode that we have ever published.

You can go search any key term on that page and they’ll pop up for you.

We have a newsletter that comes out twice a month with all the updates and deals in it.

Amazon storefront itineraries, so head over to travelsquadpodcast.com and check it out.

7:42

So before we get deep in the episode, let’s talk a little bit about Argentina.

I mean, we mentioned some of the tips, but again, in Argentina, we only spent time in Buenos Aires and of course, Iguazu Falls.

If you tuned in to last week’s Just the Tip, which if you haven’t, again, go back and listen to our two previous episodes so you can keep on track with this entire gate One trip.

8:03

But Argentina is the second largest country in South America, only second to Brazil.

It borders 5 countries.

You know, you have Chile to the West, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and it sits along the Atlantic Ocean.

8:21

And it’s such a vast country that it has so many different ecosystems and landscapes, from subpolar landscapes to wine regions.

It’s known for Patagonia.

Unfortunately, our tour didn’t go to Patagonia, which is at the very South end of South America.

8:37

I would love to go there.

We are going to go back one day to do it.

But Argentina as a whole, as a country worth exploring, We are just here, of course, in Buenos Aires as it stands now.

Their official language is Spanish.

Jamal did a great job practicing his Spanish while we were in Argentina.

8:53

He was our translator.

I tried my very best.

My Spanish is still basic, but it’s enough to get around, ask for things and for people to know, but like full conversation.

But thank you for that little fluff, Brittany.

I appreciate it.

And I would say they have two national drinks.

One is an alcoholic drink.

9:09

We actually didn’t try it, but it’s called fornet with Coca-Cola and everyone says the first time you taste it, it’s disgusting.

It’s an acquired taste, so.

Fornet, doesn’t that taste like black licorice?

I believe that’s what they thought it kind of tastes like.

9:26

Yeah, because it’s a bitter and it’s very aromatic spirit made with like herbs and that’s like the same with licorice.

So again, we didn’t try it, but if somebody knows like bitter, that would go into an Old Fashioned or Sazerac, it’s probably a lot stronger than that.

9:42

If people are saying you’re not going to like it, it’s an acquired taste.

But if you’re there, worth a try.

For whatever reason, it just never made it on our radar.

And I’m going to be honest, Kim, not to rub it in, it’s because we were drinking Malbecs all day.

Like I drink so much wine on this trip.

9:58

Where is it all coming from?

Where are you getting this wine from?

At dinners we’re buying bottles, at dinners that are included with gate one.

Of course you get your included alcohol, one or two drinks.

Maybe we bought another bottle or glass after the fact.

We experienced the lounges.

We flew out of Iguazu Falls in Argentina, Lounge Malbec when we flew to go home.

10:18

We’re leaving Buenos Aires Lounge Malbecs all day plus when we were going out to eat.

Now, did they have any other varietals or was it dominated by Malbec?

It’s dominated by Malbecs.

You could find other varieties too, and we’ll talk about this later.

10:33

You asked where else?

We ended up going to a gaucho party, which is basically like Argentinian Cowboys, and we went to a ranch.

We’ll talk about that later.

Wine free flowing included.

Unlimited Malbec all day.

And then they also have a non alcoholic national drink which is called matte.

10:49

You basically steep leaves of the Yerbei Mattei plant in hot water and it’s very earthy and you drink it out of like a filtered straw.

People have specific Mattei cups.

It’s a very social drink where people drink around family and friends, and when you start to drink matte with your friends and family, that’s like you getting into like adulthood.

11:11

They were saying like you’re starting to grow up.

It’s so popular, they gave the analogy like here in the US or other places, oh, you know, you afterwards you have coffee with friends and do this and that.

And like they said, you could have coffee with your enemies in Argentina.

You’re not friends until you have matte.

11:26

Like matte amongst people is a true sign of you’re actually like friends.

Otherwise.

Like if somebody’s offering you coffee or doing something, it means they really don’t like you first very much.

Now that’s what they told us to hype it up.

It’s probably very true.

I can’t attest to that, but that’s how culturally important mate is in.

11:43

The capital of Argentina is actually Buenos Aires.

So we were in the capital which we thought was actually really beautiful.

And one of the reasons why it’s called the Paris of South America is a lot of the higher ups in their society would actually go to Europe and vacation and they really like the architecture there.

12:04

And so they higher weird French architects to come back to help design buildings in the city.

And so that’s how it got its French European flair.

Very cool.

I always like learning about stuff like that and how like worlds have collided and what it looks like now.

12:20

That’s really cool.

I think it’s a really beautiful city and it’s a walkable city, so you can really enjoy this architecture just from even St. level.

And like I said before, I really got European vibes.

Not even Paris in general.

Yes, some buildings in the architecture you could be like, Oh yeah, this is like French.

12:36

But even a lot of the other buildings and just the way the alleyways are situated and pedestrian streets, you really do just get a European vibe as a whole.

And it’s a nice mix of like classic Spanish colonial buildings influenced with other types of European buildings, mostly, again, French because they like the French architecture with a little bit of splash of modern because of course it is a modern city.

13:02

So you have all of that melding together.

Like Brittany said, it’s very pedestrian, easily walk, good mass transportation.

So you can really just get a flare.

I would equate it almost.

I really felt like we were in New York a little bit, especially when we got to our hotel, go into the rooftop pool that is a covered atrium, but you could step outside and it’s just tons of skyscrapers that you see.

13:23

So really metropolitan, really big vibe of a big city.

We took our flight from a Guazu Landon, Buenos Aires in the afternoon.

We landed around 5:30 and we stayed at the Marriott on one of the main avenues.

It’s called the 9th.

It’s called.

13:42

So we stayed on one of the main avenues, Nueve de Julio, which is the 9th of July.

The 9th of July is an important date for the country because it’s Argentina’s Independence Day, July 9th, 1816.

So this it’s a really wide Blvd.

13:58

I believe it’s the widest Ave. in the world.

It’s almost 450 feet wide with multiple lanes in each direction, and then it has the obelisk in the middle, which stands up tall and is one of the most iconic landmarks in Argentina.

And I mentioned earlier that I really felt like it’s New York in some sort of way of South America.

14:19

I would say the 9th of July Blvd. or Nueva de Julio, whatever you want to use.

Of course, depending on your language, it’s almost like a very large Times Square.

Of course, Times Square is really congregated to one spot, but I felt those type of vibes when I was there.

14:38

And so this is a very central spot to stay.

So if you’re not on a guided tour coming on your own, I would highly, highly recommend staying on this Ave. because you’re going to be able to catch mass transportation to anywhere.

And of course, you’re going to be very central to everything that you want to do within the city.

14:56

So tell us a little bit about the Marriott rooftop.

I’ve mentioned it, Brittany, a little bit, but why don’t you tell us a little bit about the hotel?

Yes.

So we checked into our hotel and immediately after checking in, Jamal and I were like, let’s go check out the pool.

And so it was on, I believe the 23rd level, and it’s an enclosed rooftop pool.

15:14

So there are seating around the pool, but then there is a deck that extends beyond it that you can actually go outside.

And it’s open air and you have the whole city below you.

So you have panoramic views of the city below.

But then in the enclosed atrium area is a heated pool.

15:33

And then if you go a level above that, which you can go to from the gym floor, there is a locker room with a sauna.

And then there is a fitness center up there too that have wonderful views of the city while you work out.

So gate one put us in a great hotel.

15:49

So the rest of our day when we arrived in Buenos Aires was at leisure again.

Our tour guide Vinny always trying to come up with stuff for us to do in that leisure time give his recommendations of his favorite places to go.

So his recommendation he that if anyone wants to come, I’m personally going here to dinner, we can all walk together.

16:07

It’s a very short walk from the hotel.

We went to a pizzeria called Pizzeria Guerin with a majority of people from our group.

Apparently there are a lot of Italians in Argentina and so of course they’ve brought the influence of Italy over and pizza is very, very common.

16:27

This is probably one of the most well known spots to get pizza in Buenos Aires.

I really like the atmosphere of this restaurant because when you walk in, if you want a quick bite, you can just order slices at standing room only.

You go to the back.

16:42

Then of course, you have seating tables, but an alleyway that you go down through that is actually like enclosed from the front all the way to the back.

Because it’s so popular, they have different dining room sections.

It fell felt like you are walking the halls of a New York subway.

16:57

You had the pipes lining it, the tiles that are white and red.

Like you really felt like you’re in New York.

Like the theme of that restaurant was like New York style pizza.

Even though of course the influence is coming from their Italian immigration that they’ve had coming.

And we really enjoyed it.

17:13

Guess what?

Kim bought a bottle of Malbec when we were here at dinner.

I’m just going to tell you every time I got Malbec now.

Yeah, so we had a nice dinner.

We went back to the hotel and then got to sleep in a little bit because I don’t think the next morning started until about 8:00 or 9:00.

17:29

And we started the next morning with the city tour.

So we had a local guide who was from Buenos Aires, so she took us around to a few different places.

We started at Plaza de Mayo, which is a historic and political heart of Buenos Aires, where major events happened.

17:45

So lots of protests, revolutions, public gatherings, and there’s a lot of demonstrations.

And so there is actually like a statue in the middle, and then there is a symbol of a scarf on the ground around the statue.

And apparently during Argentina’s Dirty War in like 1976, they would steal children that were being borne from the Argentinian people.

18:11

They being the political elites taking it from non political elites and everyday commoners.

So there were a lot of children that disappeared during that time and.

What were they doing with the children?

Taking them as their own, educating them in the way that they wanted them to be educated so that they could shape the future of the political landscape and all sorts of stuff.

18:33

I mean, it’s a very deep history that it’s too much to go into.

But for those kind of very basic reasons, in a very non descriptive way, you can say that’s exactly why they were doing it.

Taking them for their own to just have them and of course taking them away.

That way they can shape perspective and, of course, the direction they wanted the country to go into.

18:54

So after the war and they weren’t allowed to protest, but the mothers that did have their children taken away, they were allowed to walk.

They couldn’t take walking away from the mothers.

So the mothers would gather there every Thursday and they actually still gather and they just walk around.

And anyone that has been born or is being raised in a family that they don’t look the same, they actually do DNA tests to see if they can unite people who have lost their families during this time.

19:23

And so moms actually still gather here today and there are still children missing.

So people are still looking out and they still reunite families back together.

When did that take?

Place from 1976 to 1983 is when the children went missing.

19:40

During this time, Argentina was under a dictatorship.

So again, as all sorts of like political landscape and things shaping this.

So of course, but like Brittany said, this is the main Plaza.

The mothers came there originally like as a protest, but since it wasn’t a protest, they were walking just as a symbol.

19:57

And now it continues in memory.

And of course, to try to still reunify people who were potentially separated.

And did you see the mothers walking when you were there?

It only happens on Thursdays and we weren’t there on a Thursday, so unfortunately we did not get to see them.

And the reason why they do the protests in Plaza de Mayo is because it’s right in front of Casa Rosada, which means the Pink House.

20:22

And, you know, we have a White House here in the United States where our president lives.

Well, the president of Argentina doesn’t live in the pink House.

He works in the Pink House.

So This is why people go and protest in this Plaza is because it’s in front of the executive branch.

20:39

We happen to be there and see the house when the current president of Argentina was working because they said if the president is in the building, of course, the Argentinian flag is always flying.

But if there is a second small Argentinian flag flying right under it, it means he’s actually there working.

20:57

So something cool to know if you ever go and check it out.

But it this Plaza is right in front of Casa Rosada, which has been the House of government since really colonial times, when the Spanish were still in charge of Argentina.

We were also able to see the balcony where Eva Peron, who was known as Evita, gave her speeches.

21:17

And she was a prominent Argentinian political figure, and she was the wife of the president, Juan Domingo Peron.

So we actually saw the balcony that she gave her speeches from.

And then later in the day, we actually saw where she was buried.

Do you remember the movie Evita with Madonna?

She played her.

21:32

Don’t cry for me, Argentina.

That’s my terrible singing voice.

Yeah, but does that not ring a bell to you or anything, Kim?

No.

No, you know, I’m not into old movies.

Well, it’s not too old.

It was in the 90s, but nevertheless, you know, Madonna starred in that as Evita, but very, very popular first lady.

21:51

And again, it was after her husband who was president, he it was exiled and that’s when kind of the dictatorship and things took for a political turn in Argentina before it got reestablished to what it is today.

So she’s very significantly and culturally still important and respected in Argentina.

22:08

And then right across the way.

So in this main Plaza area, we’re right by the Metropolitan Cathedral.

It’s the main Catholic Church in Buenos Aires.

And there’s lots of historical significance to it.

One, it’s just of course, the main cathedral of Buenos Aires.

22:25

It’s the also the resting place of General Jose de San Martin, who is an Argentinian hero who helped them gain their independence.

But I would wager to say the most historical significance of it now is that this was the church that the current Pope Francis was in charge of.

22:43

He was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires before he was elected Pope.

And so he would regularly give his Mass and things at this church.

So it is well known because of that, that this is the House of the current Pope before he was the Pope.

From here we took the bus and we went to a different neighborhood called La Boca.

23:02

It’s a working class neighborhood and it has a mix of colonial style homes.

It has narrow lanes and it’s very artisty.

The homes there are very colorful.

There’s a lot of trendy cafes, lots of shopping in this area.

We only spent about an hour here, but we could have actually spent even more time, like another hour, just exploring and seeing all of the cool artwork and crafts and other things in this area.

23:26

Yeah, La Boca is a famous neighborhood.

I liked it a lot.

I concur with Brittany.

I wish we had a little bit more time to do it, but it’s a very good spot to go, especially if you like the cafe scene, to just get a drink, coffee, sit, people watch.

This is the spot to do it.

We ended our city tour at the Rocoletta Cemetery and it’s the final resting place for many of the wealthy and important Argentinian historical figures.

23:50

So here you actually have to purchase they plot or mausoleum and they can go for up to 100,000 U.S. dollars or more for a mausoleum.

Here if your family cannot pay the taxes or the upkeep on this, it could actually get like auctioned off or you can sell your mausoleum if you don’t have like anyone to pass it down to.

24:09

But people really want to get buried here.

Our local guide, she told us that there was one guy who saved up his life savings, bought a plot for like $80,000, and then committed suicide just so he guaranteed that he would be buried there.

It’s a huge cemetery.

24:25

It covers more than four city blocks.

All of the mausoleums are beautiful structures.

There’s like over 6000 of them in this area.

And we got to see the tomb of Evita, which we talked about earlier, the previous president’s wife who did all of the speeches from the balcony, she was buried there, too.

24:42

It’s the most visited tomb and all of the cemetery.

I don’t know if this is it’s true or not, but of course Evita being as popular as she is, they’re concerned about her body being taken.

And didn’t they say at one point her body was actually taken then recovered?

24:58

But I feel like my memory thinks that that happened.

But either way, they are still concerned about her body being taken, that her crypt and mausoleum is so well secure.

They said it’s like as secure as their National Bank in terms of security system safety triggers, etcetera, so that people don’t go in.

25:15

I think trapped.

Wars Secrete for mausoleum.

So we had that half day morning city tour.

We got dropped off at the hotel.

We had to go across the street to the McDonald’s where I could get a Dolce de leche ice cream cone.

It was so good.

Can’t stop talking about it.

25:31

And then we went to the oldest cafe in Buenos Aires, which was called Cafe Tortoni.

It was inaugurated in 1858, and it was a spot where a whole bunch of artists, writers, philosophers went to hang out.

Jamal and Ryan got a a cappuccino and then Kasha got the hot chocolate with the Dolce de leche churros.

25:53

That sounds delicious.

You know, I’m just realizing that Argentina and the US are both very young countries, like we were in the 1700s.

They started developing the 1800s.

That’s kind of cool.

You know, a lot of the European countries, or even when we go to South America, there’s so much rich history, ancient history, but Argentina’s a little more modern.

26:17

Yeah, a little newer history.

Absolutely, yeah, 1776 for us, they were 1816, so not too far off.

And of course, just the uniqueness of the Americas in terms of colonial powers, whether be the Spanish, the Portuguese, the English, and then fighting for independence.

26:32

So we all kind of have that same story in that sense.

But they keep a lot of their European influence still intact in Buenos Aires.

Then we had some leisure time just around the city.

We eventually made it back to our hotel for tango lessons with the professional Argentine tango dancers, and Kasha was really interested in that, just like she was interested in the samba when we were in Rio.

26:55

So Ryan was like, all right, I guess we’re going.

So I dragged Jamal along to a tango lesson.

Surprise, surprise.

How’d you guys do?

I did pretty well given the circumstance.

You know me, Kim.

I don’t like to dance because I don’t think I have rhythm and that I’m good at it, nor let alone people watching me on it.

27:12

But I held my own.

Will I say that I was gliding like a professional tango dancer, a movement?

No, but I did the steps.

I moved on with it.

And believe it or not, Kim, it was Brittany who eventually said I’m good for now, while other people continued and I was trying to continue on, but.

27:30

She that’s untrue.

That’s not untrue.

She shut it down, but I think she wanted to get some video to film and that’s probably the reason why she did it.

But maybe she was getting a little self-conscious, I don’t know.

Jamal was probably doing a little bit better than her on the dance floor.

It was a fun time.

There were some young boys that were there with their families and they were dancing with some of the older ladies that didn’t have dance partners and everyone was having just a nice time.

27:54

Our lessons were about 7:00 PM and then at 8:20 we were actually being picked up for our Argentinian dinner and tango show, which was at Cafe de Los and Jalitos.

And we didn’t actually eat dinner probably until like maybe around 9 and it was a three course meal.

28:13

I got some empanadas to start.

Jamal got some creamed corn and then we both got this steak and then I got a Pavlova and Jamal got the dulce de leche.

Nice three course meal.

And then after the meal they start the show that features dancers, musicians and they perform both classic and contemporary tango pieces.

28:33

Very entertaining.

I would definitely recommend doing it while you’re in Argentina for sure.

And this was an added extra and excursion from gate one.

It wasn’t included, so we just added it on.

But to Brittany’s point, yes, if you are in in Buenos Aires, you should do dinner and a tango show.

28:50

It’s an experience in and of itself just to watch an art form, let alone the cultural experience.

And I said it, Kim, I’m going to say it again.

Every time we had wine, I’m going to let you know wine was free flowing on this one.

Unlimited Malbecs.

Wow, and how much did you have?

Oh my gosh, I would say probably had about 6-7 glasses that night.

29:10

Yeah, he found.

God.

I know it’s a lot.

And how are the pores?

Pores were heavy.

I think Jamal built up a tolerance to malbecs.

I don’t know if that’s a proud thing to say or not, but I quite enjoyed it.

I wasn’t going belligerent.

I actually held my own quite well with it, so felt pretty good about this situation.

29:28

Did you have any Malbec before your tango lesson?

I did not, but before the tango lesson, Ryan and I went to the hotel bar and got some beers.

So we had a beer beforehand, but I did not have Malbec before the tango lesson.

29:44

I maybe had a little bit of liquid courage, if that’s what you are.

Implying for that tango.

Well, also you’re in Argentina, so the Malbec is going to fuel the dance moves.

That’s very true.

That’s very true.

I probably should have had that instead of a beer.

So we got back to the hotel just before midnight.

30:00

It was a late day, but we did get to sleep in the next morning because our next day didn’t start until about ten 10:30 in the morning.

And makes sense because you said things don’t open till about that hour so you’re living like they do.

Exactly.

30:16

So we decided to book the optional full day Gaucho party at the Santa Susana Ranch.

But if you didn’t book that tour you would have a full free day just in Buenos Aires.

So I would say less than half of our tour mates joined us on this whole day Gaucho party excursion.

30:34

It took about an hour and a half to get to the ranch.

They greeted us with the most delicious empanadas, the best that we had the entire trip, and red wine.

So again, we drank wine, Kim, and then they took us over to a horse carriage ride around the property.

30:52

So that was really fun.

Yeah.

And so I mean the gauchos, which again consider a gaucho to be the version of an American cowboy, but to Argentina, they are famous and lured because the gauchos also helped defeat the Spanish in the Andes Mountains area of Argentina for their independence.

31:13

And of course, they’re kind of like that pioneering spirit that we would associate with America just as well.

And then on top of that, of course, they’re continued farming of livestock for agriculture, beef, etcetera.

So the gauchos are very well known in in Argentina.

31:31

And so we got a tour of the ranch or estancia as they call it, to see the livestock courses, how they would do things back in the day.

Because of course, you can imagine consider it to be like the Wild West here in the States.

They didn’t really have a lot of towns.

31:48

So they had little places where they would all meet up to be able to get drinks.

And this is kind of a place that was exactly like that, but of course is a home and a ranch and a farm now.

And of course turned into a tourist place for people to come and see the lifestyle.

32:04

But with it, then you get to eat all the goodies that are on the ranch, any cut of beef that you want, chicken.

So not only was it an experience to just see the culture, but you also got to eat the food.

Quick question there, did you see the animals?

32:23

Well, we didn’t get to see like the big farm of the animals.

They did have, you know, the horses we did see, I believe I saw like one or two cows.

But otherwise, in terms of like livestock farming, you didn’t really get to see a lot of that on the ranch.

32:38

It was more so, of course, the agricultural side that’s kind of surrounding you.

But they did do the classic shows where they’re riding the horses, playing their games and events almost like they would do at a rodeo here in the US.

So they did that for us too.

32:54

So we got to watch a show.

Yeah, so we started with the horse carriage right around the property.

Then we toured the original house and they actually are required to have a Chapel on these ranches because they’re so far away from the cities and you have to provide that for your workers.

33:10

They even have like a little bar on property for the gauchos that would live and work on this ranch as well.

Then we had this huge lunch feast, the Argentinian lunch with bread, salads, chicken, sausage, beef, dessert, and it had a little tango show and some live music.

33:28

And then after that, that’s when we saw the Gauchos do all of their their games.

We saw them do the roundup of the horses, their competition.

There was one competition called the Corita the Sortiha where the Gaucho rides at full Gallup and they actually have to pin a little ring the size of like a wedding band that’s hanging down with a little twig like thing that’s like the size of, I don’t know, like a wand or pencil.

33:55

And then if they catch it and they collect the ring, then they gave it to one of the ladies in the audience.

So we got to see them compete individually and then all together at once.

It was really fun to watch.

And then afterwards, if the ladies weren’t already swooning because some of them were after getting the rings from the Argentinian Cowboys.

34:14

I may have been proposed to.

They would ask the girls to ride on the back of the horse with them and go galloping away.

And Brittany and Kasha did exactly that.

And just look back at me and Ryan and we’re like, we’re going to leave you for these Latin boys over here.

That’s the vibe that I got when we were there.

34:31

I think Brittany’s still talking to the cowboy that gave her the ring, if you want me to be honest.

He had the hardest rock hard ABS Rock hard ABS.

When I put my arms around him, that’s all I could feel was his abs.

I was just bouncing around on his horse.

Video.

Just up and down.

34:49

Like about how old are these Cowboys?

They ranged from like probably their early 20s to I would say 50s that we saw.

There was a good range of men.

So they’re like good looking Cowboys.

They were good looking Cowboys, yes.

OK, I like this show.

So we got back to the hotel around 5:30 and then we had our farewell dinner at around 7.

35:11

We were saying goodbye to our tour mate.

Some of them were going to be continuing on to Peru and Machu Picchu.

We didn’t book that portion of the trip, so they were going to be gone for another like seven days after this.

And of course we’ve been there before, all of us on the squad trip too.

35:26

I mean, it would be nice to go back and I would, but of course didn’t want to go beyond the 10 days.

So the next day, Tuesday, was the date that we were going to fly out of Argentina back to San Diego, but our flight wasn’t until 8:00 PM.

So we literally had the entire day to do whatever we wanted in Buenos Aires.

35:44

It was like a free day.

Our transfer to the airport was at 4:00.

So we had all morning.

We slept in a little bit, had breakfast, and then like we said, it’s a later start to the city.

So we started walking.

A pedestrian St., which is called Florida St., has a lot of shops around 9:30 and 10:00.

36:04

And one of the places that we stopped in was called the El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore.

It’s a bookshop that was previously a theater, and it opened in 1919, had a whole bunch of performances, plays, concerts, and then in 2000 it was transformed into the bookstore.

36:23

Has a lot of the original architecture, It’s several stories, really beautiful.

So we went in there and popped in and checked that out.

Bookstores are really common, and in Buenos Aires, I think they were telling us that there’s more bookstores in Buenos Aires than any other city in the world.

36:41

I think so I.

Think that’s what they said they take them very seriously.

This one was a cool one.

I mean a bookstore is a bookstore, especially if you’re not really into them.

But it’s worth checking out what I found really fascinating about this bookstore in particular, not even just the history that goes on the Gold Theater that it was renovated to be the bookstore.

36:59

They have a lot of classic vinyls for sale.

I’ve never been so inspired in my life to buy a record or vinyl player and buy records.

They had like classic rock, modern.

They had like all Michael Jackson albums, old rock bands, newer rock bands.

37:17

I’m just like, Oh my gosh, like I want to buy some vinyls now.

It inspired me.

So I think I am going to maybe get into that hobby here in the US now because of this bookstore.

We were missing you, Kim, on our last day, so then we had to check out a rooftop bar.

And how was it?

37:33

It was nice, we had nice views of the city.

It was called Piso 15 Sky bar Got our final drinks of our trip while we were there.

You know anything with the name Sky in the bar name is going to be a good rooftop bar.

You can’t call it a sky bar unless it’s pretty high.

37:49

Yes, it was 15 stories up.

It was nice.

It was walkable from our hotel.

And then we decided that we wanted to end our time in the city by going to the theater.

It’s called Teatro Cologne.

It opened in 1908 and it has really beautiful architecture.

38:07

We got to do an English guided tour in it and we actually got to stand in a balcony box and see them work on a performance that they’re working on that’s going to air later.

Yeah, they’re doing a transition to a ballet.

38:23

So by the time we actually got into the opera hall itself, so to speak, we can see them doing the light testing, setting up the stage.

But what I found really awesome about the Opera House, and somebody who hasn’t been to one could say, OK, what about an Opera House?

38:41

But again, there is a lot of European influence in this city, as we had mentioned.

I’m not exaggerating when I say like the foyer area, even before you get into the theater area, opera area of the building, I felt like I was in a palace.

38:58

Marble staircases, intricate tile work, frescoes of all kinds on the ceiling.

This was reminiscent of being in palaces and castles in Europe that we have been before.

So it will give you that type of atmosphere and feeling when you go.

39:16

And for that alone, I would say it’s worth checking out just because of the intricate beauty and work that was done on the building.

Yeah, it’s a very beautiful building.

We got to see where the president and the mayor sit when they go and see performances.

We learned about the history and, like, depending on where you sit inside of the Opera House depends on which entrance you get to actually enter in.

39:38

So there’s all sorts of things that we got to learn about.

So that’s how we ended our time in Buenos Aires.

We were picked up to go to the airport around 4:00 PM.

We went to the lounge before our flight.

I’m sure Jamal drinks.

Amalbeck, Kim.

I drink more than Amalbeck, I drink a couple.

39:54

And then we had our flight at 8:00 PM and we landed in San Diego the next day at 9:00 AM after transiting through Atlanta.

What a trip.

By this point, were you ready to come home or did you want to spend more time in Argentina?

And actually, before you answer that, that is our first question of the week, asking how long would you spend in Buenos Aires?

40:15

So did you feel like you had enough time?

I felt like we had a good amount of time.

So I would say you would need three to four full days.

Do all of the things you know, go to a tango show, go to a gaucho party, enjoy the ranch, explore the city.

I feel like three to four full days really gives you a good amount of time because you are really close to the Uruguay border.

40:39

You can actually take a boat to Uruguay and that would be another day.

So if you wanted to, you could add that on and spend 5 days there with going into another country as a day trip.

It’s a nice tip.

Our second question of the week is from Cheryl out of Portland.

40:56

And Cheryl is asking how was the Tango show?

The tango show was great.

I’m saying this from the perspective of a guy, you know.

I enjoyed watching it.

The fact that you get dinner with it was also really nice.

Great cultural experience.

They let us know beforehand and by they are tour managers saying that of course these tango shows, they’re putting on a performance.

41:18

So yes, there’s tango moves and tango esque vibes, but it’s not really like dancing the tango like if you’re really on the floor.

So just know that going into it.

But it was a great show nevertheless.

And I would say if you’re Buenos Aires, that’s probably a must do is go to a tango show.

41:36

Well, you heard it here first, Squaties, and thank you so much for tuning in, not just this week, but for our three episode series that we’ve had on this whole tour.

Keep the adventures going with us on social at Travel Squad Podcast and send us in your questions of the Week.

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41:58

And as always, please subscribe, rate and review our podcast and TuneIn every Travel Tuesday for new episodes.

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