Buses and Money and Snaps

Mapa Interactivo

The city government here has put online an incredibly good interactive map of Buenos Aires. The more I've used it the more impressed I am: thematic maps (libraries, museums, theatres), social services, banks, health care, schools, and much more.

There are three main tabs at the top: addresses, como llegar (how to get from one place to another), and places. It's the second tab that we've used the most: enter a beginning point and a destination and get detailed route maps of every bus and subway line that take you where you want to go.

The Buenos Aires public transportation system is one of our favorites in the world: lots of buses and extensive routes for A$1.20 (30¢) a trip. The one problem we've had in the past is using the little Guia T booklet to figure out which line to take, but now the online interactive route map makes it all very simple.

Money

As I mentioned earlier, Buenos Aires has gotten more expensive, with estimated inflation of 20% to 25% a year or more. Despite the significant increase in prices, the locals seem to be spending more than ever. Inflation, after all, is demand outpacing supply, and the signs of aggressive consumer demand are everywhere.

The big chain supermarkets (Disco, Carrefour, and Coto) are packed every time we get groceries, jammed aisles and long checkout lines of overflowing carts regardless of the time of day. Stores put on week-long sales but run out of stock the first day. The fancy and expensive malls (Patio Bullrich, Galerías Pacifico, Alto Palermo) are full of people in a buying mood. The ATMs are depleted by Saturday evening and not replenished until Monday afternoon; you know which ones have cash by the long lines of people waiting to use them.

In years past, we saw quite a few "se vende" (for sale) signs on apartments as we walked around Recoleta, Barrio Norte, and Palermo, but this year, hardly any. Argentines are notorious for eating dinner very late in the evening, but we've seen many restaurants packed by 9 or even earlier.

It's not always a pretty picture. The anxiety about the future and scars from the recent past can create a sense of desperation, as we read in a recent AP article: Argentines risking all to carry huge wads of cash.

Weather and Snaps

We had a full week of rain and cold and didn't do much of anything except go to Spanish class. On Saturday afternoon the skies finally cleared and since then we've had gorgeous weather, highs in the 60s to low 70s and intensely blue skies. We went to Palermo's Parque Tres de Febrero and Museo Sivori, then on Sunday went to Parque Rivadavia, took the subway downtown to Plaza de Mayo and a tour of the Casa Rosada, and finished with a leisurely stroll through the center to Plaza San Martin. On Monday we sat in the park and did our Spanish homework, then had a long lunch at La Parolaccia on Riobamba.

Here's my Flickr snaps so far.

I've also posted some snaps on Facebook and you don't even need an account there to see them.

Finally, I am proud to announce that Terri is taking her own snapshots! Take a look at Terri's photos. Since she has now taken ownership of my Panasonic FX35, I will have to buy a new camera when we return to the U.S.