This is based on $35 per day for food without having to cook and $35 per day for hotel/hostel with a private room. If you stay in bunkbeds at hostels and buy groceries and cook your own food, you could easily do this on $30 a day. This amount doesn’t include tours, transportation, or souvenirs. To save more, do some days in bunkbeds and cook your own meals and some days in nicer places.
How to do it:
Travel in the shoulder seasons: October, November, March April. Book Private rooms at hostels. They run around $30-$40; sometimes you have to share a bathroom but it’s really not a big deal. Some rooms are amazing; some not so much. See my post on restaurants and hotels.
Make sure they have free breakfast and a refrigerator for leftovers. If they have free breakfast, take a piece of bread and cheese and wrap it in a napkin for a snack for later.
Portions are huge so save the food you can’t eat. Time your meal so you only have two meals a day: free breakfast as late as possible and late lunch/early dinner. The cheapest things to order are tostadas, which are really paninis and empanadas.
Cocktails are more affordable here than in the US, as are “cups” of wine.
Instead of paying for an international calling plan if you don’t have it, just use Wi-Fi wherever you are.
Use Uber versus taxis whenever possible. They’re easily half the price. In Argentina, to save money on getting money, do not use the ATM. Wire yourself Argentinian pesos through Western Union from your home city but don’t make the mistake I did: If you just ask for a certain amount of money to be put in they’ll give you one code. That means you have to take the full amount out at once and carry it with you for the rest of the trip. If you want to withdraw, say, three different withdrawals, you need three different codes, one for each withdrawal. For example, if you put in $1000, ask for $300 as one withdrawal, $300 as a second withdrawal, and $400 as a third withdrawal. You have to specifically ask for this.
Walk to places whenever you can. Check how far they are from the bus station or train station. Buses are cheap and reliable. You can also do overnight buses with lay down beds and save on a hotel night.
If you really want to save on tours, use local tour companies rather than online ones like Viator. Just realize that you are taking chances on the local companies. I went with a local company on one tour, got Covid on the bus, had to sit on a horribly hard seat, and it was all in Spanish. The next day I went on one booked through Viator and it was 100% better. If you really want to save that $10, book with Viator far enough in advance, wait for the local tour company to contact you to confirm over WhatsApp, then cancel with Viator and go with the local company. Note that Viator books up 3 days in advance, and they have a strict 24 hour policy for cancellation.
Prices:.
Tostada (toasted
To get around the loneliness that hovcurs work solo travel, especially if you’re older, force yourself to start conversations. It’s hard and often doesn’t lead to conversations but worth a try. Also, book a dorm room. Work a few days in a shared room, shared kitchen, and shared common spaces, you’re bound to talk to a few people.
This all brings up solo travel. It’s challenging. You might go days without speaking to anyone except store clerks. You eat alone staring straight ahead and after so many nights of doing this, you start to feel like you’re on the outside of the bubble of the world, watching all the happy, normal people inside the bubble, wondering how these people came to be so happy.
Near the Chilean/Argentinian Border: Crossing the Andean Lakes
ITINERARY I DID (Recommended changes in parentheses)
November 5-8 Santiago (should have stayed 5 nights)
Bus to Valparaiso, stay Nov 8-11
Bus back to Santiago, stay Nov 11-12 (I did this because of an early morning flight out of Santiago. If you fly out of Santiago, make sure your flight is late enough to catch a bus from Valpo on the morning of).
Fly to Puerto Natales, stay Nov 12-16 (need about 7 nights if you travel in November due to weather variations)
Fly to Puerto Montt , Uber to Puerto Varas, stay Nov 16-20 (it’s amazing — stay longer if possible)
Cruce Andino: cross the Andes by bus and ferry from Puerto Varas, Chile to Bariloche, Argentina Nov 20-21 (slept in Puerto Blest). (I don’t recommend the overnight.)
Stay in Bariloche Nov 21-25 (it’s amazing — stay longer if possible)
Fly to Mendoza, stay Nov 25-29 (3 nights max or just skip it unless you’re into Malbec wine)
Fly to Mar del Plata, stay Nov 29-Dec 1 (Should have flown to Buenos Aires, then taken the bus to and from Mar del Plata. Plus, I needed 5 nights to deal with changing weather in late November. It was freezing my 3 days; the day I left it became sunny.)
Fly to Buenos Aires, stay in Palermo Dec 1-5
Uber to San Telmo area, stay Dec 5-9 (just stay in San Telmo the whole time and visit the other areas on a Hop On Hop Off bus.)
Overnight layover Panama City, Panama Dec 10, then fly to SFO and home (I liked this because it’s 7 hours from Buenos Aires to Panama City, and 7 more hours from Panama City to SFO.)
ROUTE CHANGE: ITINERARY I WOULD DO INSTEAD
In my planning, I had been agonizing over whether to do Calafate or Torres del Paine (TDP). If and only if you are an avid hiker, do TDP if you have to choose. Otherwise, do Calafate. I didn’t get to see Glacier Petit Moreno and wish I would’ve. I tried to see Grey Glacier in TDP but gusty winds and rain caused the trip to be cancelled so I didn’t get to see a glacier at all.
Also, I would have flown Santiago to Temuco, then take the bus down to the Lake District’s different towns like Pucon, Villareal, Puerto Varas and others. This area was my favorite part of both countries. From there (Puerto Montt), fly to Calafate. Skip Mendoza unless you want to do the wine tours. Don’t fly into Mar del Plata. Fly into Buenos Aires and take the train or bus to Mar del Plata each way (5 hours by bus)
OVERVIEW OF CHILE AND ARGENTINA IN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
Chile and Argentina are similar in many ways, but there are many differences.
For one, the language is similar in that many words are chopped off or different. In Chile, the final S is not spoken (seis (6) is say), there’s a lot of different words, and the speech is rapid-fire. In Argentina, the /ll/ is pronounced as /sh/. For example, calle which is normally pronounced /cay yay:, (means street) is /ca shay/. There are also different words, and speech is fast.
Both countries super size their food. I have never seen such ginormous portions of food except for in the US.
Churrasco sandwich in Santiago, Chile
Toilet seats are very low in both countries, and I don’t know why. It’s not as if people are short here.
Neither country puts pepper on the table; only salt.
Salad dressing choices are nil. You get a bottle of oil and a bottle of vinegar. I did not see ranch dressing or any other dressings in either country. 
It’s super cheap to get tostadas which are grilled sandwiches, (like a panini) in both countries. I got 4 halves for breakfast one day and it lasted me 3 meals. With coffee it was $6. Pizza is also cheap, around $12 for a medium.
Nicer hotels in Argentina have bidets; there are no bidets in Chile.
Chileans are more conservative in general than Argentinians. Chileans admit that they are not very friendly. I find this to be true, although they’re not unfriendly. Argentinians are also not friendly, but they would never admit it. They are outspoken, and they get annoyed if your Spanish isn’t Argentinian, fluent, and fast. And if you smile at someone on the sidewalk, they give you a hostile look, like you’re a maniac.
Although all the guidebooks and blogs said that Argentina was far cheaper, I didn’t find this to be true. In fact, Chile was slightly cheaper. This could be due to Argentina’s ongoing currency fluctuations.
Restaurants in Chile play a lot of classic rock from the US, whereas in Argentina it’s more local music.
Restaurants (not cafes) really don’t open till 8 PM in Argentina. They open earlier in Chile.
In Argentina there are no coins, only bills. The biggest bill is 10,000 pesos which equals $7. Chile has larger denominations and still has coins. Don’t use ATMs. Wire yourself Argentinian pesos with Western Union before you leave home and be sure to get different codes for each withdrawal; otherwise they make you take the whole thing at once.
Argentinian pesos
When you order pasta in Argentina, you order the type of pasta, then the sauce. (Two orders) which makes it expensive, about $12 -15 US for basic Bolognese spaghetti.
Mate (tea they drink with straws in those round cups) is huge in Argentina, but there is no place for tourists to try it. It’s not available in cafés for purchase. I did see a mate tour which cost $50. This is a new tourism convept that hasn’t been fully developed yet. You don’t see very much mate in Chile unless Argentianians are in town.
Chileans are very efficient. After whizzing through the Chilean migration line, the Argentinian migration process was a comparative nightmare. It was very confusing, and there was no communication. We stood still in line for 30 minutes before anyone was served. We later found out that that they had been having technical problems.
In restaurants and stores, Chileans are also very fast and efficient. In two different restaurants, I saw waiters literally running. The process of dining takes quite a bit more time in Argentina.
Chileans don’t use plastic bags or plastic straws. Argentinians usually do.
Dishes are beautifully presented in both countries.
Argentinians are more Spanish/European looking than Chileans. I think this is because Argentina had so many European immigrants. They’re tall and thin and lighter-skinned. So if a tall blonde walks in, she’s not automatically American or European; she’s most likely Argentinian.
When you come into or out of Buenos Aires or Santiago, try not to arrive during rush hour. There’s lots of traffic. Keep this in mind for Hop of Hop off as well. If you’re in the loop around 4-7 pm it takes forever to get back to your starting point. The Hop On Hop Off bus route in Buenos Aires really needs to be split up into two separate routes. Even with a 24 hour ticket, you can’t get it all in.
If you take a long distance bus in Argentina, you have to tip the luggage guy loading and unloading one thousand pesos on each end. Have exact change for a quick hand-off.
People at most hostels aren’t particularly helpful in either country. If you ask where restaurants are or what is nearby they’ll just tell you to look around. And both countries, hostels I saw don’t do tours or even guided walks.
Tour companies are dependable in both countries. They update in real time on WhatsAp, and usually pick you up early. Tours are non inclusive. Park entrances, ferries, and lunch is never included unless specified. Bring money, water and snacks.
Credit cards are very easy to use in both countries. In fact, they are surprised if you pull out cash.
Most hostel common areas in Argentina are not air conditioned and don’t have elevators. (Not sure about Chile, as it was on the colder side when I was there in November.)
Nobody uses fans in Argentina when it’s hot.
In Chile, cars always stop for you at crosswalks. Not so in Argentina.
If you need to use the bathroom in both countries, cafes and restaurants will gladly let you use their bathroom without expecting you to buy anything. Evidently, it’s the law.
Overall, I preferred Chile over Argentina. This surprises me because I wasn’t even going to go to Chile at first.
HOTELS
Santiago
Hostal Forestal
I had a private room downstairs with bath for three nights and on the way back from Valparaiso, a different private room upstairs with shared bath. I really preferred the room with the shared bath upstairs. It was much cleaner than the downstairs room. Pros of hostel: very social, chill vibe, happy hours, offers tours, close to Lastarria and Bellas Artes. Cons: Downstairs room was dirty and old.
Valparaiso
Maki Hostel
Very cool looking hostel with a rooftop terrace. Big dining area and small kitchen. The dorm beds looked like they had high clearance, although the rooms looked small. The private room was amazing and at a great price. Pros: on Cerro Alegre, not too far up the hill, beautiful private room; Cons: not social, no tours offered, bathrooms and kitchen very dirty.
Puerto Natales:
Hostal Patagonico (not to be confused with Hostal Patagonia)
There is a dining area right in front of reception as you walk in, then it’s a long hallway with doors to the left and the right. I think they’re all private room. Pros – quiet, very clean; Cons – mother/son duo: mom is anxiously concerned with everything (in a grandmotherly way); son can have an attitude. It was hard to communicate due to dialect. The thermostat is set at 25.9°C. It is so unbearably hot that you have to strip down when you come out to eat breakfast. They absolutely refuse to turn it down. Update: As of today, I would definitely not recommend this hostel, as I just received a response from my booking.com review, and the owner had the nerve to yell at me in his response. Don’t go here.
Puerto Varas
Hostel MaPatagonia
This was by far the best hostel yet. It’s an old house from the 1930s, and it feels very homey. Pros- immaculate; great kitchen with nice plates and espresso machine full of coffee beans that you can grind and use anytime for free; also iIve never seen such an organized kitchen for guests items: you have a cubby for your dry food and half a shelf in the refrigerator for your food storage with your key’s name on it. Bathrooms and showers are clean; there’s a huge yard outback with two hammocks and a hot tub. The hot tub costs and has to be booked. Cons:. None
Bariloche.
LosTroncos Boutique Hostel
The entry and downstairs of the hostel is very nice as you walk in. There is a giant eating area for the included (good) free breakfast. Pros: At breakfast, coffee is served with hot milk, homemade bread, and homemade medialunas with jam choices. Nice kitchens (2), can grill outside, code to buzz in door. Cons: Private room is small, it’s loud in the hallway outside of the room, up three flights of stairs.
Mendoza
Gorilla Hostel
Although I didn’t stay here because I had just tested positive for Covid, it looks like it would be very social. There are nice people at the desk. They let me cancel last-minute due to being sick and not wanting to infect my dormmates. Regrettingly, I moved to Sin Fin Hostel.
Sin FinHostel
This was my bathroom!
I was disappointed when I walked up to this hostel that looks like a jail from the outside. I was sick with Covid, had a fever, it was 90 degrees outside and I was dripping sweat and not happy. The hostel is on a very busy corner on Plaza Independencia. Pros: clean room, good A/C in the room that had it; Cons: one of the ladies at the front desk was RUDE. She told me my room’s A/C was broken and that I would need to upgrade if I wanted A/C. She made me pay extra for a “suite” so I could have A/C. There’s lots of loud street noise. Kitchen very small and hot, instant coffee, powder creamer, and store-bought medialunas. Hostel is not social, rooms do not get cleaned. You have to ask the front desk for extra toilet paper and bags for toilet tissues.
Mar del Plata
Hotel Syrenuse
I LOVED this beautiful hotel. It’s in a very affluent neighborhood with excellent amenities. Pros: two-story room with king size bed, full bathroom, bidet, breakfast with eggs on request. Cons: a little way out of town, not a lot of restaurants close by.
Buenos Aires, Palermo
Meridiano Boutique Hostel
Fairly well located hostel on the streets of Palermo. Pros: quiet, rooms have air conditioner that you are free to control. Dorm beds have curtains. Kitchen provides nice social area with big dining room table at which to sit. Cons: you sink way down on your mattress; bathrooms on the top floor are dirty and gross. People drip water all over the floor so there’s always a big puddle in the bathroom. (There are two bathrooms on the bottom floor that are beautiful.)
Buenos Aires, San Telmo
Viajero Hostel
Very modern, upscale party hostel that caters to people in their 20’s with tons of amenities. Pros: my private room had a Jacuzzi tub, bidet, air conditioning and a kingsized bed. Common areas are air conditioned. There are elevators, there is a bar with limited food choices. There is a pool with a giant very social pool area. There are places to sit around the hostel to hang out and chat with people as well. Cons: this is a party hostel full of young people. On weekends they’re allowed to make as much noise as they want outside until 1 AM. Mattresses are covered in plastic to prevent urinating guests from ruining the mattress, which gives It a very cold, hard feel. Rooms do not get cleaned.
Panama City
Viajero Hostal
This is a member of the same hotel group as the Buenos Aires Viajero. The whole chain is very well run. This hostel was in Casco Viejo. Pros: Fully air conditioned common areas, elevators, private room was very large. The tour desk had lots of walking and other tours sponsored by the hostel. Cons: Floor was dirty (socks turned grey).
RESTAURANTS
Valparaiso
Cafeina progressive coffee shop down the hill. They even have oat milk!
Kapura near the top of the colored stairs—beautiful terrace with a view…and blankets!
Santiago
CHPE Libre in Lastarria
Mulatto (good happy hour) in Lastarria
Vive la Vida in Bellevista
Antigua Fuente for their GIANT sandwiches. It’s a throwback to the past where you sit around a huge square of barstools. The quantity of food and ladle of mayo will blow your diet. The locals know the staff and it feels like 1950 Chile.
Puerto Natales
Wild cafe — COOL coffee shop with big long tables and board games
Rest el Bote- magnificent! A little pricey but not as much as others. Local salmon was amazing
Briskit gourmet, good wine by the glass; expensive food, gorgeous bakery items
Puerto Varas
Mesa Tropera surrounded by water on 3 sides, basic food, normal prices
Cafe Haussmann food, coffee and kuchen which is pastries
Mostro excellent wine by the glass list; pinxos (Spanish tapas), lake view (used to be called Vinoteca. )
Bariloche
Blest restaurant or Manush Restaurant on lake road to Puerto Panuelos (km 3.5 walk from Bariloche with the lake to your right). There are more very nice outdooe restaurants on the road nearer to Puerto Panuelos. It would be good to have a car here.
Berkana overlooking the lake, lawn patio
Berkana
Kilometre 1 restobar on lakefront – very cool restaurant all the way down many stairs right on the lake on a lawn
Kilometer 1
Stradibar has outside patio all wood
Mendoza
Nothing at all stood out
Mar del Plata
Tío Curzio overlooking the ocean. I had delicious langostinos and an excellent glass of Malbec there.
Buenos Aires Palermo
I wish I’d have gone to Don Julio. They look like they were probably the classiest place in town, and their reviews are top notch. They give champagne to people who are waiting outside. They have tasting menus. The steak place I actually went to was not memorable at all.
Moshu Treehouse Cafe was where I went for breakfast every day. It was the cutest café I think I have ever seen in my life.
Buenos Aires San Telmo Lomond wine bar on outside edge.of San Telmo market Carlos Calvo 463. Great wines by the glass, a true wine bar with a very friendly Scottish owner.
TRIPS
See individual blog posts for pictures of tours.
Santiago Underraga Winery Trip About $50 half day+
This was a very good tour. You sample small appetizers and about 5 wines.
Puerto Natales Torres del Paine bus tour, about $80 full day.
You are picked up by a bus at your hotel. It takes 2 hours to get to the national park. You have to also buy a park permit the day before you leave (important) which costs about $30. Once inside the park, you check in at the gate and show your permit. The tour consists of stops for photos and two very short walks to waterfalls. There is no hiking on this tour. On the way back, you stop at the Milodon Cave, where the remains of a prehistoric relative of the sloth, the Milodon, were found. I loved this. Overall, it was a long day. Bring snacks and water. Dress for all seasons, as weather changes constantly. What I wish I’d have known is that you can take the bus from the bus station in Puerto Natales to the base and do your own short hikes. I would recommend doing that instead of this bus tour. And if you’re not sure if you should do Calafate or Puerto Natales (and you’re not a serious hiker), I would’ve chosen Calafate instead.
Puerto Natales Grey Glacier tour “Navigation” $160
(Anything with a boat is called “navigation”.). This is expensive. $50 of it is for the ride to the park; $110 is for the ferry. It takes two hours to get to Hotel Grey which is inside Torres del Paine National Park. At 12:00 the captain of the ferry decides whether or not the trip is a go depending on weather. On the day I went, there were wind gusts of 60 mph, and the captain cancelled the boat. We turned around and went the two hour busride back to our hotels. It was a wasted day, but I was later thankful because two days later, five hikers died while doing the O trek in the park about ten miles from Hotel Grey due to a freak ice and snowstorm with winds of 120 mph. Weather in this park and Mother Nature are nothing to mess with.
Puerto Varas Termas de Sol trip, $70
It costs $28 for the trip there, plus $38 to get into the hot springs. It takes an hour and a half to get to the car ferry. The ferry ride is 40 minutes and costs $6. Then it takes another 45 min to get to the resort, which has ten pools with different temperatures listed at each. You get five hours to play. There is a cafeteria with very good soup, sandwiches, and coffees that are normally priced.
On the way back, you stop at Cochomo which has super cheap souvenirs. It took two more hours driving timer to get back. Total time was 10 to 11 hours.
Puerto Varas Osorno Volcano Tour, $50
First you stop at the Petrohue Falls waterfall, which costs $7 to get into. It’s an hour from there to the volcano.
Once you get about 2/3 of the way up the volcano (in the bus), you get out at a tiny ski resort. If the ski lift is working, it’s $15-$28 to ride it. It wasn’t working the day we were there. There were paths in the reddish black volcanic dirt you could walk up. From the ski resort, you could see the sides of the volcano. Unfortunately, the top was covered in clouds.
After hanging out up there for awhile, we came back down the volcano and went to the small town of Ensenada for a lunch buffet, which they hard sell you on. It costs $16-20, not including beverages. But I had trout, salmon, another fish, wild boar, and others. It was good but not fantastic. Total trip time: 8 hours.
Puerto Varas to Bariloche: Cruce Andino: Cross the lakes of the Andes from Puerto Varas, Chile to Bariloche, Argentina. $350 one way; $450 for overnight.
The communication from this company is very good, with email and WhatsApp updates. They have lots of rules regarding time to be ready, passport check, confirmations, luggage weight, number of suitcases allowed (one — it was $25 for the additional). You had to pre-check in 48 hours before and be at your pickup spot at 7:30 am the morning of.
Luggage gets tagged and stored, and you get all of it when you get to your hotel. (If you do the overnight, you DO get all of your luggage at the overnight hotel. This was not clear and nobody was able to answer my questions regarding this.)
The trip includes (another for me) stop at Petrohué Falls, $7, the same place the volcano trip takes you on. Afterwards, the ferry takes you to to the town of Peulla via Lago Todos Santos. This takes an hour and a half. The scenery is fantastic! You have lunch at the gorgeous Hotel Natura. Note:. Lunch is a set menu and costs about $30. So bring your own if you’re not up for the pricetag. After a short bus ride you go through Chilean Customs, which only took any 10 minutes.
Next was the border crossing to Argentina (this was slow and confusing), then onto another ferry and across a small lake for about 10 minutes. Travel this day took 8.5 hours. If you opt to stay in Puerto Blest, which I did, you check into the hotel while the rest continue on to Bariloche.
The hotel was beautiful, the rooms warm and with a bidet and towel warmer. There’s an enclosed pool on the top floor that’s about 90 degrees.
The cafeteria was supposed to be open at 6:30 but it wasn’t because there were onlly about 10 people in the hotel. The restaurant didn’t open until 8:00 for dinner. I was starving. Make sure you bring lunch, snacks and water. I had to fill my water bottle from the bathroom tap because there was nowhere to buy any.
In the morning, a good full-service breakfast is included. I saved some of the toast, cheese, and ham and stashed a mini sandwich into my bag for lunch later.
Good thing I did because we had to wait until 3:30 pm for the boat to take us the rest of the way to the bus to Bariloche. There are nice trails around the lake but beware of the very insistent. bees and horseflies.
The cafeteria opened for lunch the second day, but sandwiches are $20 and water is $6.
I don’t recommend staying overnight on this crossing because of the food situation and also the long wait the next day until 3:30pm. You get to Bariloche around 4:30 pm so the whole stayover meant to break up the trip only saves you 1-2 hours of travel on Day One. It’s really a waste of a day.
Buenos Aires
Hop on hop off bus tour — there’s a lot to see. Do it early so you can get your bearings of what is where and places you want to return to. For example, you can see the Recoleta cemetery on this route rather than booking a separate tour.
Buenos Aires is famous for their tango shows. They are all in the San Telmo area so plan to see the San Telmo market at the same time. There are thousands of Tango shows to choose from, and I spent hours agonizing over my choice. I think they’re all basically all the same, though. Check the reviews for the food and choose that way. I chose Michelangelo ($80) and really liked it.
La Boca is an amazing suberb not far from San Telmo. It’s beautiful, it’s funky, it’s happening, and there’s free tango in many of the restaurants. You can get cheap crafts at the vendor stands near the waterfront. Don’t bother with the boat ride from La Boca to Puerto Maduro.
I hope this guide helps anyone in their planning a trip of this magnitude.
The morning I was leaving Buenos Aires, it was pouring rain for about three hours. I was ready with my umbrella but was worried about getting my shoes wet for the flight.
Suddenly, it stopped raining so I was able to venture into town for one last breakfast. I went to a cafe I’d seen while walking the day before and had my last medialunas with a cortado, my breakfast mainstay over the last five weeks.
Virtually all of the cafés have this homemade bread every morning. Sometimes it’s still warm.
I had booked a layover in Panama City on purpose because I didn’t want to fly 14 hours in one day like I did on the way in. This way it’s seven hours one day and seven hours the next. Not so awful. I’m really glad I did it this way. My flight arrived in Panama at 8 o’clock pm, which is kind of like 10 to me with the time difference.
After I got off the plane, there was a strange situation with taxis. There was an official taxi area with white unmarked cars lined up, and then there were people at the doors to outside the airport yelling “Taxi?” The guys by the official sign didn’t seem disturbed by the guys standing by the doors, so I assumed they were all the same.
I asked the guy at the door, “Official taxi?”
“Yes,” he said, showing me a lanyard that said SUR. He grabbed my stuff and then walked across all the car lanes to a parking garage. The heat and humidity hit me like a wall.
As we were walking, I got a very nervous feeling because this reminded me of exactly what happened in Santiago. I said, “Wait, why is your taxi in the garage?”
He mumbled something in Spanish and put my stuff in the trunk. I said, “But you’re not a taxi.”
He said, “Yes I am,” and he showed me his lanyard again. Then three other guys came up to vouch for him. “We are official taxis,” they chimed, holding out their SUR lanyards.
“All Official Touristic taxis are white,” my guy said.
I said, “I don’t want a touristic taxi. I want a yellow taxi that says the word taxi on it that will take me to my hotel. Please give me back my suitcases,” I said politely.
He pretended not to understand what I was talking about and went to get the parking ticket to exit the garage.
I yelled across the garage to him, “Cancel!” loudly and repeated “Give me my luggage” in a stronger and meaner voice. They all were talking with each other and again I stood in front of the car trunk, pointing, and said, “GIVE ME MY LUGGAGE.”
One of the guys told him to give me my luggage, which he finally did.
When I walked away, all the men were shaking their head at me like I was crazy. Two of them followed me half the way back to the front of the airport, arguing, saying that they have a friend with a yellow car. I completely ignored them and kept going to the Official Taxi line.
I was still nervous and a little shaken. Even though the car was white and unmarked, at least this driver’s shirt said “Taxi” on it. I asked him about those other people and he said they are pirates.
Rattled, I decided to use the strategy of being nice; that way if this guy was to murder me and dump my body somewhere on the side of the road, he might feel guilty if I was at least nice.
On the drive, there were beautiful Christmas displays. along the waterfront.
I made it safely to the Viajero Hostel in Casco Viejo, or Old Town, at 9:00 pm. The hostel is part of the same chain as the last one I stayed at in Buenos Aires, so I got a 15% discount. Viajero Hostels are all over South and Central America. The place has a beautiful pool, bar, and restaurant on the rooftop.
The main bar
To help prepare my body for the five hour time difference from Buenos Aires to California zones, I forced myself to stay up as late as possible. I headed out to explore.
Panama City is all dressed up for Christmas.
I felt uneasy walking around for some reason, maybe because of the taxi situation. There was a sketchy vibe to the neughborhood. Staying within two blocks of the hostel, I decided to get a snack.
The next morning, I went out to breakfast at a place called the Coca-Cola Café. Prices of breakfast were really cheap, and I got some patacones (fried plantains) which I haven’t had since the last time I was in Central America. They were delicious.
Why the hell I got high-carb patacones with high-carb pancakes, I have no idea.
Then I walked around a little bit and took some pictures of the Christmas decorations in the tiny parklets all around.
While I was walking, I heard some men yelling and a banging sound around the corner behind me, so I took two steps back to see what was up. Some guy was chasing another guy with a tree branch. He was swinging at him, and when he missed it made a big CRACK when he hit the sidewalk or side of a building. Another guy had a 2 x 4. The guy with the branch knocked the victim to the ground and the guy with the 2 x 4 came to hit him while he was down. While the victim was on the ground, they each hit him a couple of times. There were some men across the street shouting NO, NO! Finally, the victim got up and ran. The two guys ran after him.
I was luckily on a street perpendicular to the one they were running down, but I didn’t know if they were going to turn up my street.
I walked as fast as I could around the corner and got out of there. It was pretty terrifying.
I could have watched a man be beaten to death in front of my eyes. I went back to my hostel where I would stay until it was time to go the airport at 6:30 pm.
Now I’m at this beautiful pool just hanging out.
The second I jumped into the pool, all of my silver and my new brass ring immediately turned black. I googled what to do and it said rinse and wash with soap. I carefully did so in the bathroom, then wrapped everything up in toilet paper and stuffed it into a pocket in my fannypack. I was worried about the ring because I just loved it so I put it into a separate toilet paper and into the main part of my fannypack.
I had three free hours to blog, swim, and relax.
About an hour before leaving, I took a shower and washed my hair in the pool bathroom. The water was cold, but it was nice to get the chlorine off before flying home.
As I sat down for lunch, the clouds turned dark, and a powerful rainstorm came in. It was amazing. It was so loud on the plastic corrugated roof, the waiter and I could barely hear each other. There was thunder and lightening and it was beautiful. It cooled off to a perfect temperature.
I ordered two tacos, which were absolutely delicious and had a fresh-squeezed Maracuya juice, which is passionfruit juice.
As I got ready to leave, I put on my fannypack. I heard a small thud and looked down to see that my little bar of soap had fallen out of the fannypack. The fannypack was upside down and unzipped.
I put the soap back in, fixed the fannypack, and went down to get my luggage to head to the airport.
Look closely and you can see the ships lining up for the Panama Canal. 
At the airport, I checked to make sure my ring was still in my fannypack. It was gone. I went to the bathroom and ripped through my purse and my backpack, dumping everything out onto the counters and couldn’t find it. It must have fallen out when the soap fell out. It’s on the ground at the hostel, dammit! It was my favorite ring.
After security, I bought a bottle of water for the fight. The store clerk told me that people flying into the US in Canada are not allowed to bring liquids on planes any more. What? When did this start?
I was thirsty and needed water, so I still bought it. I didn’t think the guy knew what he was talking about.
It turns out to be true. At the gate, there was a second security check with scanning machines and everything. I have never seen this before. They did indeed take the almost full bottle of water away.
So the only water I was able to drink for seven hours were the tiny cups of water they pass out on the plane.
The guy in the window seat and I got lucky in that there was nobody in the middle seat. He talked my ear off for the first two hours. My neck got tired of turning to face him so I told him I was going watch a movie. He was a really nice guy, but very young and dumb . He had a “girl“ in Medellin, Columbia that he goes to see every one to two months. It sounds like he pays for everything including her rent.
Upon arrival to SFO at 11:00 pm (which was like 3:00 am to me), I took a taxi to my airport hotel.
The next morning after breakfast, I took the free shuttle to the airport to get to BART which I would ride to El Cerrito where my Aunt was picking me up.
After visiting for a bit, I started the four hour drive to Oakhurst. Getting home took three days. It was a great trip overall. I just wish I were still there.
Before heading out to La Boca, I went to the museum of Modern Art. I quickly realized that I don’t like modern art.
This baby went to the ceiling
Next, I checked out La Boca, a neighborhood to the south, where many of the first immigrants landed when they came to Argentina. There was a large wave of Italians, and the influence is evident in Buenos Aires. Most pasta I had has been freshly made.
La Boca was amazing! I wish I would’ve done this on Day One in San Telmo. It’s a beautiful neighborhood with lots going on.
There are live tango dancers in many of the restaurants that you can watch while you’re eating.
I bought a ring and a necklace that I LOVE at a craft stand for $7 each, then took the boat taxi to the other port so I thought well, there’s my sunset cruise minus the drinks and minus the sunset.
I was disappointed to learn that Buenos Aires is not on the Atlantic. The only body of water on the coast is the Rio de la Plata. It is really gross, and it’s why they don’t have beaches.
There was a 5 foot wide river of garbage that floated by, and the water is muddy brown. There’s nothing to see except trees and the city skyline.
That night, I went back to the wine bar just to say hi. John again convinced me to stay.
He and I had an on and off convo while he attended to his other customers. With a glimmer in his eye, John told me he got lucky last night. He was super hung over and had been up all night. This was not great because he was much busier than usual.
Richard popped his head in and John convinced him to stay for a half a glass of wine. It was sooo nice to talk. And in English!
As he was leaving, Richard walked me to this place he knew that had delicious empanadas which I had wanted for my last night.
The bartender was all tatted up, with a nose ring (like a bull’s), a horizontal one at the top of his nose, and an eyebrow one. He had a very kind spirit.
I told him he looked like Jason Momoa since he had those diagonal lines shaved into his eyebrows. I was commenting on the portion sizes in Argentina and the weight I must’ve gained since I’ve been here, and he told me I was not fat and that I was beautiful. And that if I ever come back to Buenos Aires that I must come see him.
This kind of experience is what I’ve been missing my whole trip, just having a real, deep conversation with another person that understands me, even in Spanish. I had a great last night.
I left the Meridiano Hostel in a hurry at 10:00 AM, partly because checkout was at 10:30; partly because I wanted to get the hell out of that place. It wasn’t bad; I just didn’t want to walk up those stairs from hell ever again in my life.
After breakfast at the Treehouse, my favorite place, I Ubered over to my new hostel in San Telmo, which is across town. I was super impressed with the Viajero Hostel the moment I walked into the air-conditioned lobby. Yes! I wanted to scream as I felt the cool air on my skin.
The hostel has a pool. I have a king size bed, a Jacuzzi bath, and a bidet. There’s even an elevator!! No schlepping of suitcases! I was on cloud nine.
The poolMy giant roomJacuzzi tub
I went to the pool and jumped in. It was deliciously freezing. Unfortunately, the gaggle of 20-year-olds had taken up all of the chairs so I had to go to a 12 inch wide bench in the back to get shade.
It felt absolutely amazing to be in a pool, then laying down on the little bench looking up at the sky. Something I never do enough even on vacation.
I gave the bidet another shot and could not get the lever to turn on. I tried splashing up the water that was filling the bow, but my hand ran into slime on the inside edge of the bidet. This freaked me out.
The next time when I cranked the lever really hard, it sprayed all the way up to the ceiling.
Back in my room, I booked a tango tour for that evening.
Getting ready for tango
There were many many shows to choose from and after agonizing over all my choices for an hour and a half, I finally just picked one:. Michelangelo.
The host took me to a small table in the back of the room to sit by myself. “Can you please sit me with other people?” I begged.
She was confused, not understanding what I wanted. She saw some English people at a table and asked if I can join them. They didn’t understand what she was saying, and it was very awkward. I said, “Nevermind.”
On my way back to my table in the corner the English lady said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t understand. Please join us.”
“We insist!” Said the husband. They finally understood what was going on. But the seats opposite them would’ve put me with my back to the stage so I asked if I could sit at the table next to them so we could talk across the aisle.
It was nice to have some conversation before the show. The couple had just taken the Transatlantic cruise from England to Buenos Aires. They said it was fantastic.
The show was excellent. It included a three course dinner which included the best New York steak I’ve ever had. It was medium well like I like it and so tender. The flan for dessert was also spectacular. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
When I got back to my room at 11:30, there was a “band” playing music outside in the pool area. The “band” consisted of a DJ who thought he could sing and a bunch of drunk 20-year-olds who thought they could sing at the top of their lungs. It was right outside my window and so loud even my earplugs didn’t block out the noise. I went down at 12:30 to complain and they just shrugged their shoulders and said, “They should stop at 1:00 am. I was not thrilled with being in the most expensive lodging of my trip and having to deal with this.
Now that I’ve moved to the hostel with the pool, the temperature outside has dropped 15 to 20°, and it’s a cool 75. It’s not quite hot enough to get into the cold pool. Erg. Well, I can be thankful that I had one pool day anyway. And now the elevators are broken. I was so excited not to have to go up and down stairs. I mean, my quads are seriously on fire every time I go upstairs, and I pulled my hip flexor a couple of days ago. My poor leggies need a rest. Erg, the joys of travel.
The next day, I went on a historical tour of the San Telmo neighborhood. We learned a little bit about the history, saw a few sites, then ended up at the San Telmo market.
Like in CartegenaMafaldaSan Telmo Market
The San Telmo Market is as famous and popular as La Boqueria in Barcelona. It was nice to walk through, although it’s mostly restaurants that cater to tourists.
The outdoor fair, which is only on Sundays, consists almost exclusively on antiques.
Outside the regular market, I popped my head into a wine shop. The guy behind the counter and the American customer convinced me to come in for a glass of wine. The guy behind the counter, John, is the owner. John is from Scotland. The American man, Richard, has been living in Buenos Aires for the last 20 years. He’s a private tour guide. So we all talked and talked and talked and had a great time.
On the way back I discovered this cool old building with all these little shops in it.
Later that night I went to this bar in an old garage, but I got really sad like I do sometimes when I travel.
I haven’t talked to as many people as usual on this trip, and that’s making me feel very alone in the whole wide world.
I was particularly sad because I had expected to see people in Buenos Aires, but nothing panned out. Kate, the girl I met in Valparaiso had wanted to meet me in Buenos Aires because we were going to be there on the same date. But it turned out she got very sick and had to fly home.
Then my friend from San Jose has a daughter and ex-husband that are living in Buenos Aires. She gave me their information and urged me to contact them. I did so and talked to the ex-husband, but the daughter didn’t respond. So I didn’t see them either.
Plus, I seriously smashed my finger when moving my chair closer to the table in the garage bar. My poor finger was pinched between a broken board and the metal edge of the chair. I literally started crying.
After sobbing all the way home, back in my room, I took a Jacuzzi bath. I was very excited because I’ve actually never taken a Jacuzzi bath in my life. I got in, got the jets going, and everything was good. I had a little plastic pillow to lay back on, and at one point, the plastic pillow fell off. I hadn’t noticed until it was too late. It had been floating upside down near me, and the back side of it was covered in black mold and slime. The water now had a coating of brown, greasy oil and dirt. It absolutely disgusted me and I got out immediately.
