Money Money Money
Cash is king - if you can get it.
Forget mastercard in most places.
New pieces of paper plaster over the symbol on the signs in shop windows to show that it is no longer accepted. Visa works, sometimes. But you must present your ID with your card for your transaction to be permitted.
The queues at the central bank of Argentina are up to 2 hours long to change foreign currency. And that's an estimate. You enter one room, wait. Then you leave the room to stand in a hallway. More waiting. Grafitti inside the men's toilet is political in nature. The queue snakes round into another room; this queue is never-ending. For a few pesos less to your buck you can go to a private bureau de change.
And then, there is the limit to up to four transactions each month for each bureau de change. Up to any limit, but who wants to walk around with so much cash? If you go to another bureau more paperwork to fill in. The complex bureaucratic system has made paying in cash the only alternative in many places.
The ATMs have queues up to 15 minutes long. At Western union, the queue starts before it opens and is already round the corner.
That little pasty (empanada) a few weeks ago cost you 20$ ARG, now costs $25 ARG, that's about 12 pence in inflation from one week to another. Your salary stays the same.
The city breathes deep. It is busy, hectic, the traffic never stops and despite the metro (subte) being hot, if you live near a subte station it's good news. Deep in the subte, fans above the lines blow hot, damp air onto the passengers waiting to board. The few lines for a city of over twenty million are functional and handy. Otherwise, you jump on a bus and then there is the traffic. Take a deep breath when you step on board because those lines marking the lanes on the road are not obligatory, they are suggestions only as to where your vehicle should be. You get off the bus, it pulls away. It is Spring in the southern hemisphere. Bienvenido.
And then, there is the limit to up to four transactions each month for each bureau de change. Up to any limit, but who wants to walk around with so much cash? If you go to another bureau more paperwork to fill in. The complex bureaucratic system has made paying in cash the only alternative in many places.
The ATMs have queues up to 15 minutes long. At Western union, the queue starts before it opens and is already round the corner.
That little pasty (empanada) a few weeks ago cost you 20$ ARG, now costs $25 ARG, that's about 12 pence in inflation from one week to another. Your salary stays the same.
The city breathes deep. It is busy, hectic, the traffic never stops and despite the metro (subte) being hot, if you live near a subte station it's good news. Deep in the subte, fans above the lines blow hot, damp air onto the passengers waiting to board. The few lines for a city of over twenty million are functional and handy. Otherwise, you jump on a bus and then there is the traffic. Take a deep breath when you step on board because those lines marking the lanes on the road are not obligatory, they are suggestions only as to where your vehicle should be. You get off the bus, it pulls away. It is Spring in the southern hemisphere. Bienvenido.
Buenos Aires, jueves, el 8 de noviembre 2018
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