Tag Archives: Buenos Aires

From Buenos Aires to Ciudad Mercedes Then to Carlos Pelegrini

February 24, 2013 jd

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Ciudad Mercedes at night

By Judy Pinegar

Well we have started our north eastern Argentine adventure, and it was a little rough at the beginning. We took the Via Barouche bus lines from Buenos Aires to Mercedes, a small town in the central portion of the north eastern province (like a state) in Argentina. It left at 7PM and the travel book I had said it would take 12 hours. The seats are roomy and allow you to lay down and elevate your feet, much better than an airline seat. So we thought we would be on it for the night. A nice meal (also better than airline food) was served at about 9:30 to 10, typical Argentine dinner time. then the movie began and it was very loud, couldn’t sleep, so about 11:30 or so we got to sleep. The next thing I know is that we are in Mercedes, and it is only 4:30 in the morning.

Mercedes is a very small town and there were no outward bound busses to Carlos Pelegrini shown until about 10:30 AM, so we sat and compared notes with a couple of traveling German girls, on a break after college, but now living in Chile. As the time approached and more offices were opened it became apparent that the bus we were waiting for would not go, it was broken. Several people with cars (called remises) came by to see if we wanted to go with them, but it was cost prohibitive, and in addition we found some of them greatly inflated the price when they saw John and I with our I pads!

So later we found a bus leaving from a different location at 12 PM, but our tiredness was compounded by the fact that we could find no open restaurants (at this time it was 11 AM and lunch in Argentina begins about 1PM). So we get on the bus which turns out to be a local milk run, driving all over town picking up people carrying packages (mostly food and things) to take to Carlos Pelegrini. Then the actual ride began, three hours on a bumpy dirt road. Oh my… hard on the bladder too.

But we saw a lot of wetlands, and some vaqueros and cattle (albeit they were ON the road)… see Johns “moving bus” pictures.

In the next adventure things will get better!

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For all your real estate neeeds
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John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
Civil Engineer
General Contractor
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE# 00669941

Travel

Overview of Buenos Aires, Argentina

February 21, 2013 jd

httpv://youtu.be/YovnHi7Jeeg

We’re back in Buenos Aires. We took a ferry directly from Montevideo, Uruguay to Buenos Aires. It was supposed to arrive by 11 pm, but because of the delay in boarding and other factors it was an hour and half late. The biggest delay in boarding is that you have to go through immigration and you baggage has to be screened. There must of been over a hundred people boarding.

I get a lot of static from custom officials when I show them my Argentine citizenship ID but can’t speak Spanish. Well, what do you expect? I left Buenos Aires when I was six and no one spoke Spanish then. (I have dual citizenships, both American and Argentinean).

We’ve gotten our bus tickets to head north towards Iguazú. In case you think Greyhound in the United States, forget it. The buses for long distance travel here are luxurious. We booked first class which includes seats that recline enough to sleep well, blankets, food, wine and other amenities. The buses are double decks and we’re right on top first row seats.

Yesterday we took a tour bus and saw some of the City that we had not seen in our previous visits here. The YouTube video shows some of our sights. The pictures are not great, but it’s hard to take good pictures on a moving bus. Today we have lunch with friends and tonight we leave at seven to head north to our first stop Esteros del Ibera a wetland preserve. It has an abundance of bird and wildlife, so it should be really interesting.

We’ll be out of internet connection for about three days so will post when we can.

Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

For all your real estate neeeds
Call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
Civil Engineer
General Contractor
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE# 00669941

Travel

Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

February 15, 2013 jd

barca-to-uruguay

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Boarding barca (boat) from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay.

By Judy Pinegar

Feb 13 &14, 2013

After a frustrating morning trying to make reservations in the north eastern part of Argentina, we decided to go to Uruguay. So a Subte ride downtown and a visit to the Barcobus (Ferry) Terminal and we had two tickets to travel on the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay.

On the way back we visited the park of San Martin, a beautiful park with wild trees and an equestrian monument in bronze on a base of polished granite that does honor to General Jose de San Martin and four major milestones related to South American independence.

The next day, Feb 14 we boarded the barca (ferry) named the Eladia Isabel to Uruguay and three very smooth hours later we were there. There was entertainment, food and beverages and views of islands and container ships. We found a much improved terminal on the Uruguayan side from our last visit, and a short taxi ride got us to the nice hotel.

It was located in a area we remembered from our last visit, and we were hoping the same restaurant down the calle (street) was open… it was and we had a wonderful meal of rack of lamb and a wonderful salad with fresh fruit (see pictures).

Colonia del Sacramento was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese. What still remains, stone houses, streets of cobblestones (sometimes slanted toward the middle so the rain can drain down), old walls that were formerly a fortress in the old part of town are enchanting. And the whole town is filled with trees, just like our Sacramento, California.

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For all your real estate neeeds
Call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
Civil Engineer
General Contractor
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE# 00669941

Uruguay: The World’s Longest Carnival

Travel

Buenos Aires, – Casa Rosada (Think White House for Argentina)

February 14, 2013 jd

casa-rosada

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Casa Rosada

By Judy Pinegar

Feb 12, 2013

With the Subte working a little better we rode to the Plaza De Mayo, a national park. right in front of the Casa Rosada (The Pink House) which used to be both the residence and office of the Argentine President. Now it is just an office, mostly for diplomatic purposes, and on weekends and holidays we found it is now open for tours. We has also discovered that Monday and today were a national holiday “Carnival”, although we saw nothing that looked like a party where we were.

Amazingly different this time… when we were last here, maybe 4 years ago, there was a huge military presence (like an armed guard every 6 feet) all around the park which itself was also in great disrepair, and the Casa Rosada was barricaded off entirely, except for a small museum around to the side. This time the park was beautiful, although very crowded with pigeons, a lot of the barricades were down, and you could walk right up to the Casa Rosada, and we discovered, even take a tour!

It was fantastic, over an hour long in Spanish and English covering three floors. Among our favorites were Eva Peron’s room, the famous portico from which Argentine presidents speak to the people in the plaza, and of course the similar Presidential office (like the Oval Office in the White House).

There was one long hall with pictures of famous Argentine people including actors, musicians and soccer players which had all the other tourist ooing and ahing, but John and I didn’t know anyone! There were two different rooms made up for the President to make major speeches, one was very ornate, with a lot of gold leaf on all the decorative wood pieces. All in all a very beautiful building and a fascinating tour.

The current president is Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner, now on her second term, although we here grumbling that many Argentines no longer like her. She is supposed to be out after this term, but we also hear she is trying to change the constitution to allow another term. She is the wife of the former president who also had two terms, but has since passed away.

For more information and pictures of all the rooms in the house (including the ones in we were not allowed to take pictures) go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Rosada

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For all your real estate neeeds
Call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
Civil Engineer
General Contractor
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE# 00669941

Take a ride back into history in Buenos Aires

Travel

From New York to Argentina- Buenos Aires

February 13, 2013 jd

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Looking out the window at Lagurdia Airport after the "Blizzard" in New York.

By Judy Pinegar

What a trip… wake up at 9 AM in New York, outside temperature low 30’s… 6 inches of snow on the ground, taxi to the airport, wait 2 hours, flight to Houston, Texas, 4 hours, wait in Houston airport 4 hours, 10 hour flight to Argentina, arrive at 10:20 AM in Buenos Aires, 23 hours later (including a time change), outside temperature 84 degrees! Boy am I hot.. take off that winter stuff.

Next, in line at the customs in Buenos Aires. John as citizen could go through the short line, but he stays with me, and the rest of the “touristas.” That night we have a hard time finding an open restaurant, this is a Catholic city and it is Sunday.

Feeling much better, the next morning we are off to get reconnected to the city. But it turns out it is a holiday…what holiday we have no idea as of yet. Seems like a lot of the subte (subway) entrances are closed, not like before? Don’t know why? Also inflation has really hit, we had to pay 180 pesos for breakfast that is 36 dollars!!

We walked almost all the way to Plaza del Majio, then up Florida Street usually a huge shopping area but a lot of construction right now in the center of the street. walked into Pacifico the upscale shopping center We were looking for a hat for Judy, but a simple cotton one was 55 US dollars…way to upscale for us.

So we continue walking until we got to Cordoba, then within a few blocks on Maipu off Cordoba took pictures the apartment John used to live in with his mother (when he was born anyway, according to the birth certificate). Several more blocks right on Cordoba and we were at the fancier apartment that John’s father lived at – again according to our handwritten in Spanish birth certificate for John (actually Juan Santiago Mazzolani – I want him to go back to his real name!)

Walking back to the apartment we took a picture of a restaurant sporting an asada or barbecue grill typical of Argentina where they eat a lot of meat, this was an upscale one, we mostly seen them outside a restaurant. Then home to bed.

Over To Argentina – Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Travel

Buenos Aires, March, Friday the Thirteen

March 16, 2009 jd

The smaller building on the right is the Metropolitan Cathedral accross the street from The Plaza de Mayo

I decided to go to the Museo de la Polica Federal on Friday the 13^th . My trustee handbook of Buenos Aires (three years old) said that the museum was open Tuesday through Friday. Therefore, of course, it was closed. Do not carry a three year old guide book with you, spend the money and buy an up to date tour book when you travel. I already found a couple of night clubs that were permanently closed that were mentioned in the book as a good place to go.Anyhow, the museum focuses on uniforms, badges and weapons over the ages. According to the guide book, it also has a truly gruesome room dedicated to forensic medicine, which includes dismembered bodies and other unpleasant sights. Not mentioned in the museum is the sadistic role the Federal Police had in the Dirty Wars of the 1970’s. Maybe it’s just as well that the museum was closed. The museum is located at San Martin 353 if you are in Buenos Aires and care to visit it.San Martin Street is near the Plaza de Mayo.

The Plaza is the exact location that the Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo marched for many years, during and after the dirty wars of the 1970’s. The mothers were women who had had their children kidnapped by the military to be tortured, murdered and never heard from again. The women marched to bring public awareness of what atrocities the military government was committing during the 1970’s Dirty War. This was a period when the military overthrew the government and took control of Argentina. They were responsible for up to 30,000 people disappearing. The mothers’ bravery finally put enough pressure on the military government to restore the country back to an elected civilian government.So leaving the closed Mueso de lan Polica, I walked over to the nearby Plaza de Mayo. Across one of the streets of the Plaza de Mayo is the Metropolitan Cathedral. The present building’s construction started in 1752 and built under the direction of Antonio Masella. The design is that of a Latin cross basilica. It was finished in 1822 (And you say your contractor is slow?) In 1827 a portico was built in a French neoclassical style. This is a wonderful building which is really a piece of art, I highly recommend a visit to the Cathedral if you are in Buenos Aires.

Inside the Cathedral. Notice the huge columns.

Leaving the Cathedral I walked over to the nearby National Historical Museum. The location that houses this museum was originally built in a location chosen by Juan de Garay when founding the city in 1580. It was remodeled in 1621, however in 1632 it was abandoned due to the threat of collapse.In 1731 the building was totally reconstructed and remains now almost as it was originally designed. The museum is a curious mixture of different things, as are many of the Buenos Aires museums are that I’ve gone to. There is an exhibit of lighting throughout the ages, such as candles, candle molds all the way to the present day florescent energy saver lights. Then there are portraits of famous Argentineans, pictures of jail scenes, a reconstruction of an old jail cell (The original structure had a small jail) and stocks. What I mean by stocks are those wooden blocks of wood with hinges and holes in them so you could stick a person’s head or legs through them as punishment. (I’m sure some of the people who had their money stolen by Bernard Madoff would like to see stocks make a comeback)

Real Estate, Travel

Refinancing? Be Careful

March 10, 2009 jd

Tile mural in subway at station Plaza Italia, Buenos Aires (I'm still here)

Along with scams to help you avoid foreclosure, which I talked about in the past, there are others out there trying to take money away from home owners in distress who need to refinance because they are facing foreclosure or those whom are just refinancing to get a lower interest rate on their mortgage.

Rule number one is that you never pay in advance to have someone help you get a loan. Some banks or lenders may require that you pay upfront for an appraisal, which can run between $300 to $450 at the most. However, my experience is that you are better off using your local bank, mortgage broker or credit unions before you pay for anything, which at the most would be an appraisal. Companies outside your home area are not familiar with local real estate conditions and you may spend several weeks or months until you find out they can’t make the loan. I was surfing the net, looking for some information to bring you that might be of help if you are considering refinancing and the pitfalls that I was talking about.I happened to come across Attorney General’s website, Jerry Brown, and he has prosecuted some scam artists. These scammers were taking advantage of people trying to refinance by charging upfront fees of between $1,500 to $2,500 and doing nothing. Here is part of his press release:“In November 2008, Attorney General Brown announced the break up of the First Gov scam ring. First Gov, — which also operated under such misleading names such as Foreclosure Prevention Services; Resolution Department; Reinstatement Department; and Reinstatement Processing — solicited hundreds of homeowners, offering to help them stop the foreclosure of their homes.Ring members promised victims they would renegotiate their mortgages and reduce monthly payments. They demanded an up-front fee, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, to participate in the loan-modification program.

Victims were told to stop making mortgage payments and communicating with their lender because this would interfere with the loan modification process. After collecting their fee, ring members pocketed the money and did nothing to help victims.”

The full text of his press release is at Office of Attorney General

By the way, talk to your mortgage company if you can, but so far they have been dumb and want you to stop making payments before they will talk to you!

Real Estate, Travel

Trip to a Museum & Bits & Pieces in Buenos Aires

March 7, 2009 jd

Friday I went to the Museo Nacional De Arte Decorativo or National Museum of Decorative Art. First an update of what’s happening here. The peso was propped up Thursday by the Central Bank and state run banks as they heavily intervened in the market to stop the peso from further weakening. The US gained two cents on the peso Friday, its highest value since 2002. When the banks offered $100 million dollars of its reserves, the peso settled at 3.622 pesos to one dollar. It’s the pesos lowest level since November of last year.

If you think that your credit card interest rate is high, how about the interest rate for commercial construction in Argentina? Argentine President Christina Ferandez complained about “the usurious interest rates” banks are charging private companies for infrastructure works. “Local banks have offered rates of up to 40 or 41 percent” she blasted. Of course Argentina is presently having a 20 percent inflation rate and real estate in Argentina is bought for cash, no low down payment and 30 year mortgage.

Back to the museum, the original structure was built by Mr. Matias Erazyriz and his wife Mrs. Josefina De Alvear. They resided in this huge palace with their two children. The palace was the hub of many major social events until Mrs. Alvear passed away in 1935. The remaining family sold the palace along with the art collection to the Argentine Government shortly thereafter.

The museum is huge, with four floors and a basement that was used for servants, boilers and garage. The museum holds over 4,000 exhibits, some dating back to the 15^th century. It is well worth going to this museum if you happen to be in Buenos Aires. Just the workmanship of the building itself is worth the trip. The museum is located at Av. Del Libertador 1902 in Buenos Aires. Their website is Nacional De Arte Decorativo

So I called the bank again, after paying to rent a computer to get all the information the previous agent wanted. I gave a new agent my card number, social security number and said, now do you want my mother’s name, my address and she cut me off and said “Oh, no you’ve given me enough information.” (Grrr!) She got off the phone for a few minutes, came back and said they were upgrading my card, which was the problem, they were taking care of the problem now and I should be able to use my card in a few hours. So today, I was able to use my card, its fun dealing with a bank, NOT!

Professional Dog Walkers, There are many of Them in Buenos Aires

Prior to traveling abroad, I advised my bank that I was traveling to Buenos Aires. What a surprise when I went to draw out some money and my card was rejected! Calling the international toll free number listed on the back of my card, (which does not work here in Buenos Aires), I was asked for my card number, my social security number, my address, my mother’s name, and then what was the last deposit or what was the last expenditure or my account number. After 10 minutes, having none of that information, I gave up, went on line and got all the information that the agent for the bank requested.

Real Estate, Travel

Worried, Recession? The US is Still the Best

March 5, 2009 jd

There was a very interesting article in the Buenos Aires Herald today by James Neilson. The Herald is a news publication printed in English and you can usually get one at the numerous newspaper stands on the streets of Buenos Aires.

Mr. Neilson points out that we are in a better position to pull out of this recession quicker and healthier then Europe, Japan, China or Africa. If you notice, our dollar continues to gain strength against the Euro, the Yen and almost all other currencies of the world.

In his article, Mr. Neilson states in part:

“But bad as the situation in the US undoubtedly is, elsewhere it is even worse. That is one reason why in these troubled times jittery investors want to get their hands on dollars. Another is that, no matter what happens in the next year or so, the medium-term prospects facing the US are far more promising than those of Europe, China or Japan, to name just three possible alternatives. This being the case, it is somewhat premature to speak of the imminent end of US economic hegemony and its replacement by a more equitable arrangement involving at least half a dozen other countries. “

Mr. Neilson goes on to explain the problems that Europe, Japan, Russia, China, Africa and South America are facing. Problems that is severe with no easy or probable solutions for them.

For example, Mr. Neilson says about China and summary:

“China’s outlook is only marginally less alarming than that of Europe and Japan. Thanks to the one-child policy, before too long there will be a huge number of single men who will be expected to support their aging parents. Many will not take kindly to the idea. Though China is bursting with talented people who, unlike so many of their North American and European contemporaries, are willing to study and work as diligently as any Victorian, before that immense human capital can be properly tapped China’s rulers must find a way of maintaining social discipline during slumps like the current one. That will not be easy. Before everything went haywire, Chinese officials insisted that their country’s economy would have to grow by at least 8 percent a year simply to provide enough work to satisfy the millions who were leaving the poverty-stricken countryside. China’s GNP may still be increasing, but at an annual rate that by all accounts is far lower than 8 percent.

As a result, if the recession, or depression, lasts as long as pessimists fear, the US will in all probability emerge in far better shape than any of its hypothetical rivals. With this in mind, it is quite natural for Asian, European and Latin American investors to put their money on the US dollar rather than on the Euro — which may not survive the mayhem — the battered pound sterling, the Swiss franc, the yen, the yuan or even the peso. The US may be groggy and could soon hit the canvas, but it would be less likely to remain there for longer than the other big countries that would go down with it.”

Travel

In Buenos Aires

March 3, 2009 jd 1 Comment

Containing on from my last post, I boarded an American Airline 777 for a nine hour and forty four minute flight to Buenos Aires. I asked my agent who booked my flight to get me a seat next to the emergency exit as you have more room to stretch your legs. Instead, she booked me a seat ahead of the exit and in the middle row!

Now you may not know this, but when manufactures’ design airplanes, they spend thousands of hours designing the seats, using live people for testing, computers and engineers with PHD’s. When they find just the right amount of leg room so that people can barely get into their seats and when they find just the right angle for the seat to tilt back so there is no way you can fall asleep, they go, that’s it, put it into production!

I arrived in Buenos Aires at 9:30 in the morning. My friends were to pick me up and of course they went to the terminal for American Airlines. This being Argentina, our plane landed in the terminal for the Argentina airlines NOT American Airlines. After much searching for me and an hour later, they did finally find me.

Now you may not know that for the last three times I was in Buenos Aires, in addition to vacationing, I was also trying to get my DNI, fighting an endless amount of red tape. DNI stands for Documento Nacional De Identidad or National Identification Number. (Think of something similar to a social security card) Since I was born in Buenos Aires and left for California when I was seven years old, I have dual nationalities. Thanks to my girlfriend’s help with Spanish translation and Buenos Aires maps every time we went there, it was now finally ready to be picked up on my forth trip.

My friends that picked me up were helping me in my final leg of getting my DNI . You have to know in Argentina that is easier said than done. The first office that they drove me to said we had to go to another office. We went to the other office and they said to go upstairs. We went upstairs and they told us to go downstairs. We went downstairs and the clerk said they did not have my DNI. We said “Yes you do.” He asked where did you apply for this. We said here. He said “Oh”, and then he looked for my DNI and found it! So, I finally have it and everyone says what are you are going to do with it. I don’t know, when I figure it out, I’ll let you know. Chow.

Oh, by the way, I’m having breakfast, lunch at Lo De Mateo at austria y juan maria gutierrez

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