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[This message has been edited by pablo]

In a couple weeks I am leaving with a friend and checking out Argentina for the first time. However, it's not my first time to Latin America.  I have been to Colombia a few times, having joined a Bogotá agency prior to my first trip.  Each trip to Colombia I enjoyed and I met some very nice ladies, but wanted to visit another country or two before settling down.  I hope I don't have "kid in the candy store" syndrome, but I really want to be sure next time I get married.  

I was intending on visiting Chile (Brazil was considered also) but for numerous reasons decided to visit Argentina instead.  There isn't a lot of information in the archives about Argentina, although a few posters that made the long trek down, were glad they had gone. I've heard differing opinions about this country and the people but not enough to deter me from going.  It will be interesting comparing this country and the women with other LA countries, with the stronger European influence, both in the culture and look of the people.    

There was only one agency I could find and didn't care to join.  A bit on the high priced side with not many ladies associated with the agency.  Apparently, Colombia is the hand's down winner when it comes to the number of agencies, but I don't think it will be a waste of time to go without the aid of one.  I did however manage to contact a few Argentinas at Lonely Planet and Virtual Tourist (great web sites btw), and found them to be very helpful and friendly.  I confided with one lady as to my true intentions for visiting her country and she has agreed to help me by introducing me to some of her friends, act as interpreter if necessary and showing us some of the sites.  I will be gone for three weeks and intend on staying part of the time in Buenos Aires, then visiting Cordoba, and Mendoza.  It's a great time to visit Argentina due to the economic hardships.  The dollar buys about three times more now than it did prior to the crisis.  Maybe not the best time weather wise as the seasons are reversed and it will be their autumn.  Hopefully, not too much rain will be encountered.    

I'm not looking forward to the flight as it is a marathon, taking about twenty hours with all the stops before arriving.  Flying out of PDX going to LAX, Lima, Peru then to Santiago, Chile before flying over the Andes into Buenos Aires.  Fortunately I don't have to change planes after LAX.  There is a four hour time difference which will benefit us heading down because these folks like to stay up late!  There aren't many choices on routes or airlines that go to BsAs.  I could have gone out of Miami, but was reluctant to book a flight with either United or American with their financial woes.  Got a great tip about a travel agency in Los Angeles (thanks Larry) called www.laxpresstravel.com and they got me great airfare rates using Lan Chile.  I think round trip out of LAX was only $600.

Now all I have to do is tie up all the loose ends at work and home and finish packing.  A thread could be written just on that, what to bring from the type of clothing to what kind of presents.  I was surprised to hear the request from my Portena friend to be sure to bring her some coveted Advil as they can't purchase it there.  

If time allows I will be posting installments while I am there.  It's easier writing as I go rather than trying to remember everything once I get back.  So wish me luck, and hopefully you guys will be hearing some good news about another LA country.

Pablo

... in response to Argentina pretrip report., posted by pablo on May 14, 2003

Hey Pablo,

Good luck in BA, lots of folks from Santiago go there on the weekend to go shopping. Take some dollars with you they buy you a lot of goods, especially leather stuff.  Take some small bills like 20s and 10s.  

have a good time
mike

... in response to Re: Argentina pretrip report., posted by denvermike on May 14, 2003

Thanks Michael for the advice.  Although I did not decide to make it to Chile and have the opportunity to meet you, maybe next time.  

Say, anything more on that business venture you mentioned to me before?

Pablo

... in response to Re: Re: Argentina pretrip report., posted by pablo on May 14, 2003

I have not had the time to finish my business plan. I have been traveling a lot, I'm headed back to Australia tonight for about a week.  But, I have had some good feedback from some of the locals I have talked to about the idea.  The market appears to me to be wide open.

What is your schedule for BA? I have been thinking about a quick trip to do some shopping.  Flights from Santiago to BA are super cheap right now.

You should have a good time, things have stablized in BA for now.  Be careful, street crime has been on the rise since the economy went downhill.

take care,
mike

mike

... in response to Re: Argentina pretrip report., posted by denvermike on May 14, 2003

Speaking of small bills, it took me a couple of days to figure out that if you want to withdraw, e.g., about P$300, make it P$290 so you wind up with some P$10s. Otherwise the machine will give you all P$100s which can be hard to change.

... in response to Argentina pretrip report., posted by pablo on May 14, 2003

Probably goes without saying, but dress sharp. You don't need a suit and tie to go out, but tank tops and flip-flops don't cut it either. In Córdoba I wore jeans, but with nice shoes and button-down shirts, and that was just fine. In BsAs, where I didn't spend much time, you might need to dress up more than that if you are planning to hit the more chic spots. There are probably some places that won't let you in without a tie-- but then again you can buy clothes very cheap there, so don't take sand to the beach.

... in response to Re: Clothing, posted by Bueller on May 14, 2003

[This message has been edited by pablo]

Yep, got that one covered or at least I hope so.  Mostly docker pants, a couple nice new pair of jeans, comfortable shiny black shoes, and some good shirts/leather jacket.  Leaving the tennis shoes home.  I am bringing one suit just in case for BsAs, although I doubt if I will use it.

It is a little refreshing though seeing so many attractive women LOOK like women instead of the "walmart walruses" dressed in jeans/t-shirts and short hair. :-p

I've heard that clothing is very inexpensive there.  Italian fabric/Argentina made suits are a bargain, along with anything leather.  I am bringing one extra suitcase filled mostly with wine (styro takes up lots of room) to enjoy and compare with the wines from the Mendoza region.  That way, I can bring home some goodies with the extra suitcase.

Pablo

... in response to Re: Clothing, posted by Bueller on May 14, 2003

hey ferris How you doin. A while back you were providing a trip report from a friend who was in Argentina. I read a couple and then they ceased. I don't know if you stopped posting them or I missed them. I am very interested in checking out BA and would appreciate an update. JIM C

... in response to Re: Re: Clothing, posted by jim c on May 14, 2003

Corv had a great time and is going back this month or may be there now. I'll send him an e-mail and see if I can get him to post.

... in response to Argentina pretrip report., posted by pablo on May 14, 2003


Pablo:

I wish you a wonderful trip to Bogota.  You mentioned that you were a Portlander, if you want to talk, my cell is 503 991-3508, leave a voice mail message.  Thanks Dominguin

... in response to Re: Argentina pretrip report., posted by DOMINGUIN on May 14, 2003

Hey Dom,

Thanks for touching base.  I will give you a call soon.

Just to clarify...I'm not heading back to Bogota this time, although I do want to return there soon.  One reason is I wanted to bring by buddy with me to introduce him to the Latin women (boy is he gonna be surprised!) and he was concerned that Colombia was too dangerous.  Even though I tried talking him out of it I could not convince him it would be safe.  BsAs is larger than Bogota, but not by much.  There is crime in both cities, but at least no FARC to contend with in Argentina.  At least I hope not.

Pablo

... in response to Argentina pretrip report., posted by pablo on May 14, 2003

Pablo, I went there 2 years ago, mainly for vacation, but also to meet a woman I met on www.cybercupido.com.  Buenos Aires is not like Colombia.  I didn't find any dates by just walking down the street.  If you speak some Spanish, I'd highly recommend getting on cybercupido and sending some messages.  You might say you're going to be in Argentina in two weeks, and ask if she'd be interested in going to lunch or getting a drink.  I did this in a Colombian city that's off the beaten path and ended up with 3 dates after contacting about 20 women.  No fireworks, but one is/will be a lifelong friend. If your Spanish is not so good, it might be worth looking on Match.com or Americansingles.com or similar sites for women in Argentina. Hope you'll post the installments - sounds like an interesting trip.

... in response to Unsolicited Advice, posted by Miguel on May 14, 2003

Check out amigos.com

It is the best of the online dating systems. You can peruse ads from all the countries, age groups, etc...
Best if you can write and read some spanish.

I have used it many times prior to a TDY trip down south to set up advance dates. Been having good luck.

... in response to Re: Unsolicited Advice, posted by eddiemd on May 14, 2003

Thanks Eddie,

I've been a past member of amigos.com but did not think to use them prior to this trip.  My past experience with then was so-so.  I noticed a number of fake photos posted on their site before and notified them.  They are easy to spot, the glamor/model type photos, and when I contacted the company, they allowed most of them to remain posted.  One such "babe" I contacted through them living in Bogota had appartently used a model's photo or was having an extremely bad hair day.  You should have seen my face when her door opened up! :0    
Another thing about amigos that I don't like now is that you just get a little teaser photo in the profile section whereas before you could click on an image and it would take you into the profile with larger images.  They have done away with that hoping that this will be more of an incentive to join.  Ok, so I changed my attitude, after all, a one month membership is just 10 bucks, so I joined again last night and shot off a bunch of quick introduction messages telling the ladies I would be in town soon.  And yes, there were a large number of ladies associated with this agency.  (Is it just me, but I have looked at so many profiles of ladies on the net that I am burnt out on it now.  I'd rather be there meeting them!)  
Thanks for the advice though as it might be an effective method to meet a couple nice ladies.  As a friend once said, "it is a numbers game", so the more ways to meet the ladies the better your odds are in finding the one.  I will keep everyone posted how things go.

Pablo

... in response to Re: Re: Unsolicited Advice, posted by pablo on May 15, 2003

Used to be your could open 3 profiles and send one email per day with the free membership. Then they did away with both of those features. When it was free, I got 2 or 3 "Hi, I saw your profile...." letters a week, now I don't get any, guess most Latinas can't afford to be a paying member.

... in response to Re: Re: Unsolicited Advice, posted by pablo on May 15, 2003

The women who are standard members of amigos.com can only respond to one email per day. You can imagine that the best looking women are getting the most responses and can only respond to so many emails.
I post my photos on the site and send a photo with the email message. Sometimes I'll send my real email address. I usually get responses, almost always. I have had success in meeting women through amigos.com from Cali, Cartagena, and Medellin. When I was in Cartagena in March I met three local ladies whom I had written to prior to arrival and a lady from Medellin flew over to Cartagena and stayed for three days. I met a few from Cali in May 2001 the same way. You need to read and write spanish.
I have had similar success in Peru and Costa Rica. In Costa Rica I met a Colombiana from Medellin who lives in Heredia and works in her family's business in Costa Rica. Great find, a Colombiana living in Costa Rica with residency status.

... in response to Unsolicited Advice, posted by Miguel on May 14, 2003

Gracias Miguel!  

Yes, I am anticipating a much different experience than compared to Colombia.  I tried cybercupido but there weren't that many ladies at that site that interested me.  I will look at the other two sites you recommended.  I was considering a newspaper ad but my lady friend there said it would be a waste of money.  I might stop in at vivaamar to see if I can get a daily rate but there were only a couple ladies that were attractive.  I sure am glad to have my new lady friend help me out while in the capital city.  Those sorts of ladies are invaluable in this pursuit.  My last time in Bogota, I asked one of the bilingual amigas at the agency to help me in introductions and translations outside the agency and it was great. I'm hoping the same will happen again only in BsAs.

I'll be glad to post the installments.  Having been reading and posting some on the board for over a year now, I just thought it would be good to give back some info for us Latina lovers.  Besides, not too much info or many guys make it down there.

Pablo  

... in response to Unsolicited Advice, posted by Miguel on May 14, 2003

[This message has been edited by Bueller]

 Miguel is right. As a rule you're not just going to pick up girls on the street; it's not usually done that way. Having your friend introduce you to her friends is absolutely the best way to go. It's like the Mafia there ("don't worry, he's made"). :-)

 If you do an advanced search on MSN/Hotmail personals, you will find lots of women listed, by city even, with photos. Many of them have written their profiles in English, too.

 Another thing you might consider doing regarding Argentina is contact some of the men listed on MSN. Just because they are seeking women online doesn't mean they don't already know women locally. Let them know you're about to visit, and ask them if they can introduce you to single friends over dinner, your treat, which will be very cheap for you, even at the swankiest place in Córdoba (Alcorta, on Avenida Figueiroa Alcorta). Those who already speak some English will probably jump at the chance, just because it gives them a chance to practice with a native speaker.

 For a hotel in Córdoba, http://www.hotelfelipe.com.ar/ is a good bet. Whatever you do, don't go near the Hotel Bristol near the bus station, it's a dump. I also recommended the Córdoba Apart Hotel to another PL guy, but he had a so-so experience there. If you want a cheap place right on the pedestrian mall for ArP$25 per night, there is the Hotel Garden which is not bad. In Córdoba, be sure to go to the tourist information center, right off the Plaza San Martín, once every couple of days. They speak some English and are loaded with info on concerts, tango lessons, art shows, etc. It's a beautiful, hospitable city, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. If you need help let me know privately and I can call in hotel reservations for you or whatever.

... in response to Re: Unsolicited Advice, posted by Bueller on May 14, 2003

[This message has been edited by pablo]

Good advice!  I will check out the hotel and restaurant you suggested in Cordoba.  If it wasn't for your great trip report about that city, it would have been overlooked by me.

Thanks for the information you have shared with me in the past.  Can I put Brazil on my itinerary next time and stop in and visit?  I saw a show on TV the other night, Wild on, with host Brooke Burke about Fortaleza, Brazil and that place looks wonderful, not to mention the women.

I envy guys like you and DenverMike living in these LA countries.

Pablo

... in response to Re: Re: Unsolicited Advice, posted by pablo on May 14, 2003

Sure, come on down, but I'm waaay south of Fortaleza, in Florianópolis, which has a lot of European influence (great Italian food, mmm), and not nearly the African influence of Fortaleza.

 Many people like Buenos Aires better than I did, but Córdoba is nice because although it is a sizeable city with plenty of culture it is also relatively tranquil and safe. There are plenty of things to see outside the city as well, so don't shortchange it timewise. People say that Mendoza is really nice for a few days, then you've kind of been there done that. No personal experience to report.