The company we flew with was Level operated by Iberia. Boeing or Airbus something-something and had 2-4-2 seats layout. So me and Denisa could sit together without any issues. We sat in row 17 on the side. They served breakfast and very late lunch. The movies choice was rather good and the meals were okay. No complaints. And USB charging is quite normal these days.
They gave us a customs form (I took a picture of). Similar to one you get when you fly to the USA. We filled that very simply and then handed to a police man at immigration booth after landing. The queues weren't bad. The flight was 13 hours long and we landed at 5pm Buenos Aires local time. It is 4 hours difference to Barcelona during winter time.
At the Buenos Aires Argentina EZE international airport, we were looking for an ATM cash machine. Found HSBC on the left after exiting the baggage area, but neither of two HSBC ATM in that area worked. We didn't see any other cash machine and went to Banko el Argentino, which is right on the right after exiting the luggage area, hidden in a small narrow corridor. There was also another cash machine Link. But out of order. So the queue to get to the bank was a bit long. Waited for about 15 minutes and then asked to exchange dollars. They can't exchange using your payment card. So if you want to do in inside of the bank, you must have dollars in cash to get pesos.
Argentina EZE international airport has free WiFi, called AA2000. That took me while to realise that it is the airport Wifi. As I don't like to connect my personal device with unknown networks.
Once you get out from the airport, you might get caught by someone from a taxi service. Straight from the first exit, there is a Radio Taxi stand. The ride to Palermo is fixed price $680 ARS. The driver does not switch taxameter on, as those taxis parking at the airport at the Radio Taxi stand are operating for fixed price. If you speak Spanish, you can try to negotiate. But I don't know. We don't speak Spanish. BA official radio taxi have basic cars, painted black and yellow. They don't necessarily have a taxi sign on the roof and they always have a yellow number in a circle on the side doors and inside of the taxi, at the back seats you can see the name of the driver and the company he is driving on behalf. Plus you can see their fares per kilometer. As we were worried, I tried to ask about the taxameter and then we led into a preschool Spanish conversation using 10 Spanish words we know. Alejandro was the driver and he was really nice. Showed us photos of him travelling France last summer. The ride took approx 1 hour. We could see romantic scenes on both sides of the motorway just after the toll gates in suburbs of Buenos Aires. People lying on the grass, kissing, hugging. Just right next to the dual carriageway. Also drivers use horns a lot as approaching the toll gates.
The driver dropped us at the desired address and he could see that we are unsure how to use the door intercom. It is like coordinates system. Vertical + horizontal. 2H. No answer from the flat, so I tried to call our Airbnb host. Using my UK number, all I could hear was beep, beep and cut. No actual connection made. Tried twice more. The same number as we used through WhatsApp and always worked over the internet. The taxi driver then called our host and described that we are waiting. She came within 10 minutes.
I still don't know how to call an Argentinian number from UK number while I'm in Argentina.
The studio flat is tiny, but has everything we need. Our host is really nice and speaks excellent English. She described stuff we asked about and then left.
Since we didn't eat anything for a while, we decided to go shopping to Carrefour supermarket, 3 minutes walk down the street. We noticed that the beef meat is very cheap here in Argentina. And many cuts to choose from. Went for bife de chorizo. I think that is something like sirloin. Bought few more things, including salad and bread, and paid $612 ARS pesos. For a card payment, they ask for your passport. We carry BW copy of our passport with us. That is enough. Also the shop assistant asked about cuenta 1. Not sure why and what it means. But maybe something to differentiate locals? Or type of my account to take money from. Also I noticed he used magstripe, not chip&pin. And I had to sign the card receipt, write my name on it and the passport number.
We cooked the steak in the flat and it was great. Plus one of the cheapest Malbec we bought (120 pesos) was good too.
Facts:
- exchanged dollars to pesos inside of the bank of Argentina inside of the Buenos Aires EZE airport
- exchange rate was 17 pesos for 1 dollar. Exchange rates at that day were: 1 USD = 0.85 EUR; 1 USD = 0.75 GBP; 1 USD = 21.86 CZK; 1 GBP = 23.31 ARS; 1 EUR = 20.56 ARS; 1 ARS = 1.25 CZK. Based on xe.com.
- the EZE airport has 3 ATMs (or maybe more)
- free WiFi at the airport called AA2000
- took official radio taxi from in front of the airport building, paid fixed price 680 pesos
- radio taxis have black/yellow basic cars, operated by various companies, not necessarily with a taxi sign on their roof, but always with a number on side doors and license details clearly visible inside
- meat in Carrefour supermarket was around 100 pesos for two big sirloin steaks
- bottle of red Malbec starts from 120 pesos
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