today we're going to figure out how much ten dollars can buy you in Buenos Aires I've seen
a lot of these videos that are basically just tours gloating about how cheap a country is
and I think that's super tacky that's not my intention today what I want to do is I
want to show you how much it really costs to travel around Buenos Aires and also talk to
you about my experience of navigating the local economy because of the really high
inflation because it does make traveling here a little more complicated than it is in other
countries we are now going through one of the worst Economic Times our country has ever been
through a last year inflation rate ended up 95 percent on the inter annual from last month May
to May was 114. we now have the lowest salary in the last 30 years and every month will be
the record because inflation goes so much faster every Argentina knows that in the moment you have
a best of Bill in your hand it will start losing its purchase power and if you have something to
spare you change that into Dollars immediately you keep your business for one month you lost
10 percent governments impulse restrictions for Argentinians to buy and sell dollars legally so
immediately a black market sprung out yes now we call the blue Market but this is a
black market okay from your perspective there are four different rates of the dollar they're
actually 18 but let's talk about all these tools the official rate which is only a fiction in the
mind of a couple of government officials and the real raid which is the Blu-ray which is the rate
that the every Argentina has to deal with in their normal life if you you want to bring in
dollars and exchange them on the blue Market I will show you how later in this video right now
we're inside the old San Telmo Market it's known for its Sunday market which is much bigger this is
just the indoor portion but it's still really really beautiful to restaurants patisseries
from here there's a visitor the main thing you need to know about the market is that it's really
lovely it's got some great food options but it is super touristy like this micro area this exact
part of San Telmo is probably the most tourist per capita that I've seen so far but I haven't been
to la boca yet and I think that's the epicenter that is not to say that Santa itself is somehow
inauthentic I mean local people live here all around me you can see residential housing and
it is a really unique really interesting area before moving to San Telmo I stayed in Palermo
and then in Vincente Lopez and this so far is my favourite it's the closest to the city center I
just really like the vibe here I was hoping to go to this English bookstore walrus books but
it appears to be closed this is one thing that I will say on Google Maps if you look up the opening
times that doesn't always mean that the place is going to be open so far I've been out for
about an hour I have spent exactly zero pesos and we have seen some amazing things already I
love the train track Crossings here in Argentina there's always this windy little pathway I feel
like I'm at the airport going towards security one thing I want to point out buenos is obviously is
an absolutely massive City and I've decided that I'm only gonna walk in this video I'm not going
to take any taxis and I'm not going to take any form of public transport but the public transport
here in Buenos Aires is actually really good it's not as good as what you'd find in Europe but they
have a really big bus Network they've got the underground and all you need to navigate that
entire system is one car so the sun is really strong it's one card and that is the sume card
you can find it in selected kiosks I had a little bit of trouble finding a kiosk that would tell me
one so here's the website where you can figure out where you might find the places that do once you
get that you will load some credit onto it and you'll quickly realize that the fares here are
actually very affordable even to the locals they cost about 30 pesos per Journey which compared
to getting taxis as I have been through an app called cabify is just incredibly affordable this
area we've crossed into right now by the way full of skyscrapers and financial buildings is called
Puerto Madero it's very wealthy upscale part of town you can probably feel the contrast between
here and Santa where before personally it's not the kind of area that I would choose to stay in
because it's a little bit soulless there isn't all that much happening I likened it to Canary Wharf
in London if you've ever been in a previous video and this is what it looks like at night by the way
loads of Pretty Lights loads of restaurants that you can go and visit but obviously I
haven't brought YouTube Puerto Madero just to stare at skyscrapers there are some really
interesting sites in this area number one being that sculpture over there that was created by a
famous Argentine sculptor by the name of Lola Mora and now we are gonna go to a local museum
It's actually really amazing especially considering the fact that it's completely
free which is the case for a lot of museums here in Buenos Aires and in Argentina in
general the signs are all in Spanish so if you don't speak Spanish you might struggle
a little bit but you can use Google Translate you can just point the camera at the sign and
then it will translate it for you in real time it's not always reliable but it's pretty good
incredibly you can really see the folds of the clothes let me show you I'm very impressed see
what I mean over there like how do you prove something that feels so light in ethereal out
of stone actually really glad I found this little Museum really is really nice and that
little Courtyard right there really reminds me of Morocco very nicely done and look at
this world this is amazing this is a wall dedicated to inspiring women and activists
and lgbtq people Argentina but also outside of it here we've got Jane Goodall we got Malala
yousafzai and it's got QR codes so you can learn more about all these inspiring people
wow this place I'm gonna go buy some water I should have brought my own bottle but I forgot
that costs 330 pesos so we've got 4 670 remaining also I'm getting a little bit
peckish so I'm definitely considering that but I think we're gonna push on to
our next destination and then I'm gonna go sit down somewhere okay I got some bad news
the Nature Reserve that I want to go to is closed because of bad weather I mean okay um so [Music]
this is so good I'm really really glad that I decided to eat here because I
was actually a spectacular lunch that was the best Cherry fun that
I've had in Argentina so far and it was not my first I'll tell you that
um I am really sad that the reserve is closed because I was really excited to see it and to
show you around but it's all good I've got loads of other places that I could potentially go and so
far we have spent about a thousand of our five thousand so I've got tons of budget left right
now we are on Puente de la mujer it's a famous bridge that is going to take us to the other side
[Music] and and I realize this is a very nice problem to have but I don't know what I'm gonna do
with the remaining money because I am incredibly full you saw the size of that Charlie and
um yeah I don't know I don't really want anything else like I'm having such a nice
time just walking around I mentioned earlier in this video how beneficial tourism can be to the
local economy obviously tourism wouldn't be very beneficial if you spend literally zero
money but even on a day like this where I was spending very little and traveling on
a very tight budget I'm still paying for accommodation and other things that are
contributing to the economy obviously days like this are really important as well especially if
you're traveling long term like I am before we get to Boston imagine I thought we would
squeeze in another Museum this is a cultural center and it's got a few different exhibitions
inside completely free to enter again and now we're gonna wrap up by going to Plaza de madre
this is where argentinians people from Buenos Aires this is where they gather to protest
this right here this beautiful building is apparently named that because it was painted in
Bulls block I know that's true if that's an urban myth but either way it's a very nice shade foreign
money I think I've got an idea
this right here is Florida Street and if you hear people shouting
it is people asking you to exchange your dollars on on the market like I mentioned before
[Music] not a great day Perfecto mucha gracias treatment ciao
okay I've made my mystery purchase I'm heading home where I'm gonna reveal it but first I want
to talk to you about these statues I have been walking for about 15 minutes now and everywhere
I go I see them and I don't know what they are but if someone knows that please let me know in
a comment below can I just say this thing that I got I am so incredibly excited about it it costs
300 pesos it's a little hint in case you're gonna try and guess before we get to it in the video
um but yeah I've been wanting one for weeks and weeks and weeks and I yeah I'm very happy with it
all right I've made it back to the apartment and I can reveal my purchase let's go to the kitchen
in an attempt to deepen my cultural oscillation here in Argentina I got myself a mate and this
is a very special type of cup because it's made with Palo Santo which is a really popular type
of wood here in Argentina if you've ever come across it you'll recognize that smell and I
am obsessed with that smell in fact I have been obsessed with that smell like since long before
I ever came to Argentina but it's so ubiquitous here you can it doesn't really smell the same
but you can kind of pick up that faint Aroma now I've Googled these palisanto cups and apparently
they're a bit temperamental which will match my personality perfectly but it does mean that I
have to do a little bit of Maintenance before I start using it I need to cure it in order to
cure this I'm gonna fill it with a little bit of butter or oil well in fact I know it's going to
be oil because that's what I've got here and the reason I'm pointing is because I was using it as a
stand for my camera I read on a website somewhere that the greener it is the better the quality of
the wood and this is super green and also you're supposed to look for the knots on either side and
it's got them so I hopefully haven't been ripped off but if you think if you have any opinions
about this mate then please let me know what they are in a comment below I'm super super tired now
I'm surprisingly because this is how much I've walked but I haven't even spent my full budget
which just goes to show you that traveling can be affordable and I will see you in the next video
which might be from tonight because tonight I am going to my first ever Argentine football game
thank you for watching and bye