Final Thoughts on Brazil and Argentina

Over the past 10 days that I've traveled in South America, I've maintained a running list of random thoughts and/or observations about the places that I visited.  Some of the these are most likely broad generalizations, so take them with a grain of salt.

I enjoyed my time in South America and am very happy and pleased with the experiences that I had in Rio de Janeiro, Mendoza and Buenos Aires.

Final Thoughts on Brazil:

- Few folks speak English, I used many hand gestures and a few, very broken words of Portuguese that Marco taught me the morning that I arrived.

- Finding wine by the glass is much more difficult than it sounds.  Beer and hard liquor is everywhere, but wine, not so much.

- It is VERY expensive.  The prices are much on par with NYC.

- The Beach is a way of life in Rio - most folks go there everyday

- 70 degrees with humidity is considered cold for the locals - they wear long pants and a jacket

- Service in restaurants is pretty poor

- This is where old VW bugs and vans come to die

- There is a strong class system...I heard many references to the poor, the middle class and the wealthy.  This is further emphasized with numerous favelas.

- The food has a mostly bland taste with little spice

- Graffiti is everywhere and is greatly appreciated

- Lots of stray dogs...and the messes they leave behind - ripped up trash, dog crap, etc.

- Guys sell many various things directly on the freeway during rush hour traffic jams and many other times - water, biscuits, tissues, kid's toys, etc. 

- Airport security was laughable...it was like the USA about 20 years ago.  The metal detector beeped but almost no one was stopped or further searched.  I went through security in Rio, Mendoza and Buenos Aires carrying at various times a full bottle of wine and two full water bottles, I never removed my shoes, I never removed any electronics from my bag, etc.

- The concept of a bar in the restaurant does not really exist.  Restaurants serve beer and many hard liquor drinks and there is a bar area for the servers to make the drinks, but there are no bar stools.  I often use the bar for dining by myself.  For my time in Rio I always had to have a table.

Overall, glad I visited and saw Rio de Janeiro - it seems to be a very in vogue city now - with having just hosted the World Cup and hosting the Olympics in 2016.  However, I think I was expecting it to be more.  It is not a location I would return to anytime soon.

Final Thoughts on Argentina, mostly Buenos Aires:

- Dinner doesn't start until at least 8 PM, usually more like 10 - 11 PM.  Many restaurants are closed from 5 - 8 PM. 

- Dance clubs don't even open until 12 midnight or later and don't get busy until about 2 AM.  Not that I ever went to one, but that's the advice I received from the B&B.

- There's little understanding of sharing the sidewalk.  Many folks will walk 3 or 4 people wide and not even think of stepping aside as they encounter someone.

- My typical sidewalk etiquette is to move to the right.  Many folks in Argentina moved to the left which I found surprising since they drive on the same side of the street as we do in the USA.

- The conditions of the sidewalks are terrible - they have not made an effort to maintain their infrastructure.  Between the abundance of dog crap and missing tiles or entire missing sections of the sidewalk, walking through town is a constant obstacle course.

- The street lights give you a yellow light to let you know that it is about to turn green...love that idea.

- Street lights are often mere suggestions, especially in neighborhoods and smaller streets.

- None of the bus stops have maps.

- The subway closes at random times.

- Cafes are filled at all times of the day and night.  I'm not sure when Argentines work.

- There are festivals and fairs - everywhere and all the time

- I'm going to miss the live musical performances on the subway.

- Mate is everywhere in Argentina!  I mis-spelled it in a previous post and wasn't sure what the blog site would do if I tried to correct and re-publish.  The special cups and straws are mainstay items for sale at every street festival and souvenir shop.  I finally found the actual herb in a few grocery stores.

- A "glass of wine" in a restaurant often means a half bottle of Mendoza Malbec for less than $10 US.

- Service in restaurants is very slow at best.  You are certainly not rushed and could have the table for hours and hours without anyone caring.

- Lucky for me the Aerolineas Aregentinas enforcement of their baggage policies was quite lax.  On my flight from Buenos Aires to Rio, my bag was a few kilograms over the limit even for Premium Economy - nothing was said.  Their website lists strick weight limits for carry-ons as well as the number of carry-ons (only allowed one).  My carry-on was four times the carry-on weight limit - nothing said.  I saw some people boarding the flights with anywhere from 2 to 6 carry-on bags - again nothing said.  The US airlines should take on this approach!

- There are no flashy or fancy cars.  Every car I saw was a small, compact car with the exception of a few smaller, sedan-like SUVs.  No pick-ups, no luxury cars, no big vans, no huge SUVs.  Perhaps those make appearances in the suburbs, but no sightings within the city center over 5 days.

Overall, was very pleased with my time in Mendoza and Buenos Aires.  

     - LOVED the wineries in Mendoza and the topographical differences between the various wine sub-regions.  I didn't explore the city as much due to timing, but seemed friendly and livable; however, outside of the city center seemed very poor. 

     - Buenos Aires was a beautiful, huge city.  There is so much history on every corner.  There is a sense of an on-going celebration and street fairs and festivals everyday.  I loved the cafes, the avenue strolls and sense of history.  I will not miss the 11 PM dinners and not going to bars/clubs since they don't get busy until 1 AM or later.

I have also enjoyed traveling by myself thus far in the trip.  I've set my own schedule, left museums or shops based on my interest and made myself open to meeting locals or other travelers.  However, I am extremely grateful that I get the spend the next 4 weeks in Europe with others.  Sharing the experiences with someone else will be fantastic: relaxing in a cafe discussing our plans; lingering over dinner reliving the exploits of the day; having someone else to include in my daily selfie photos!

I join my caring, insightful friend Bridget in Paris on Wed morning.  We will explore Paris for four days, take a day trip to Champagne (where we will also see friends Nick and Jason who are driving over from Luxembourg), travel to Bordeaux for three days, then make our way to Madrid for two days and finally ending in Barcelona for four days.

When Bridget leaves Barcelona to head back to the US, I fly to Rome to meet my loving, excitable sister Amy.  We'll be experiencing the wonders of Italy for the first time together.  We start in Rome for three days, head south to the Amalfi Coast for two days, travel back north to Florence for two days, then finally end in Venice for three days.

Adios South America!