I've heard that it's hard to get the football schedule more than a couple weeks in advance. True?

Nope... the schedule for the full tournament is announced everywhere some 2-3 weeks before the first game of the season.

Now, if you mean tickets - then its possible that these are not available as far in advance as in some other countries. Check with your service/package provider for details, my guess is that the earliest you can buy is 3-4 weeks.

Gaucho100k, do you ever respond to email or private messages? You had encouraged me to PT or email you a while ago but you never respond. I sent about 5 messages, but probably like many people in Argentina you never received them. If you don't bother reading your mail let me know.

gaucho is too busy coralling stallions and bison to reply to your piddling messages

j/k!

Thanks for the sense of humour.... ^

BlueWaterSail--- thank you very much for your email messages, I received all 13 of them, all dated September 23rd. Yes, I do read and answer my emails, as many FTers here can testify to. I have just responded to your question (via email); please feel free to contact me further on your transportation issues as I think you do need to consider re-visiting some details.

Please note that I never recieved a PM on the Flyertalk system from you, so you may want to check and see that you are using the system correctly. I PM often with many other FTers with no problems, so my PM receiving capabilities are operating normally. On a final friendly note, please rest assured that email and the internet is alive and well here in Argentina - so you can be confident that we all here do receive our messages.

Thank you for thinking of Argentina for your travel plans.

Cordial regards,
Gaucho100K

Ive received a couple of PMs on this subject matter. The entire issue of wine is very subjective and rather personal, still, I think that there are some basic objective parameters that one can use to recommend a few wines and wine-makers, and thats just what I will do in the next couple of lines.... with this info in hand, you should be able to get someone to point you in the right direction. Please remember that these wineries will have many wines and wine lines (different qualities, prices, and cellaring potential, etc.) - so make sure to ask all the right questions before buying. Hope this helps:

1) entry level wines

Callia
Trapiche (un-oaked line)
Septima
Los Montes Negros

2) mid-level wines

Trapiche Roble
Finca el Portillo
Sallentein (except for Primus line)
Vi�a Cobos - linea Nativos

3) premium

Luigi Bosca Gala 1 & 2
Norton Perdriel Centenario
Bodegas Esmeralda
Sallentein Primus

4) Boutique & Super Premium (Cult)

Catena Zapata Estiba Reservada
Catena Zapata Angelica Zapata
Saint Felicien - Estiba Catena Zapata / Estiba SF
San Pedro de Yacochuya - Yacochuya Rolland
Vi�a Cobos - Cobos
Terrazas de los Andes - Cheval des Andes
Mapema - Primera Zona
Benegas Lynch
Achaval Ferrer - Blend / Finca Altamira
Noemia - Malbec
Rossel Boher (sparkling wines)
Felipe Rutini

Remember that wines, especially on the high end side, tend to vary (sometimes the variations are very strong) in price according to the vintage.... Argentina's flagship varietal is Malbec, although there are also many superb Cabernets. Merlots are usually average, unless you go very high end, the same happens with our still white wines. Sparkling wines have also made great progress, so be sure to try some of those as well.

Its hard for me to cover such a subject in the detail that is required here, but if there are any follow up questions, please feel free to post away here.

Cheers,
Gaucho

Here is a good source of information for wines from Argentina (and other South American producing Countries).

Vineyards, Wineries & Wines
Austral Spectator
2005 - edition (there is a 2004 edition also available)
ISBN 987-20914-1-2
www.australspectator.com

This guide is available in Buenos Aires for AR$ 65-75, or approximately US$30. If you are interested in wines from this region, dont hesitate to buy it.

Gaucho100K:

Thanks for posting the link. I select "ENGLISH", still, everything is only in Spanish?!
What's wrong - is it me..?

BTW, in the recent months I purchased wine from the other side of the Andes (=Chile). Most of the labels are distributed (may be even bottled?) by Mondavi. They seam to have cooperations with some Chilean wineries!?!
I like the wine, and they sell under $10.

[QUOTE=USAFAN]
Thanks for posting the link. I select "ENGLISH", still, everything is only in Spanish?!
What's wrong - is it me..?


Seems to be some programming error - selecting English or Portugese still brings up the Spanish language pages.

John

Yes, the English version seems to be down, I guess they are stil working on it. Ive sent the webmaster an email and will get back to you guys once I get a response.

To buy a copy of the guide (which is printed in English as well as Spanish), you can send an email to the following address:

[email protected]

I'm traveling to Buenos Aires and Argentina for two weeks in November. I've been combing through all the airline schedules for flights into and out of Buenos Aires to destinations around the country.

My travel agent in BA wants me to book all my flights on Aerolineas Argentinas before I get there. Is this a smart idea? I know there are other airlines that are less expensive, LADE and American Falcon & others, but my agent says she cannot book. Should I wait and book when I arrive?

My research show that flights booked and ticketed in Argentina are cheaper, but I want to have the most flexibility. What are the chances the flights will sell out? Do prices fluctuate dramatically? My agent said that Aerolineas Argentinas doesn't charge fees to change flights, whereas Southern Wind charges $25 per change.

Also, anyone have an opinion on visiting Cordoba?

That's a great question! My experience has been Areolineas Argentina charges US residents double to triple what they charge Argentines. Southern Winds charges the same for all thier passengers, their prices are typically 30% to 50% less than their overprice competitor. You can book your own flights on thier website, they do electronic tickets too whereas Aerolineas will charge you 20 bucks to ship you paper tickets. I don't know about the other carriers down there. I flew SW once this year, from Aeroparque in Bs. As. to Iguazu, the service was fine, the aircraft were in good shape. I'd compare them to Southwest in the US on those characteristics. You may be able to wait until you get down there to book flights, I have no idea how their loads run or how flexible your schedule will be.

http://www.sw.com.ar/

Looks like you are also from New York City where I too reside. I enclosed a quote from a post found on page 15--you might talk to Eduardo, he's from BA. Maybe he has some good advice.

"You can pay $620 (tax included) for round trip tickets on Aerolineas Argentinas from JFK to EZE to JFK--economy class. 2K for First Class. Just call Zamar Travel--where I bought my tickets at. Ask for Eduardo Quevedo--he's from Buenos Aires. They have offices in Jackson Heights, Queens and BA.

Zamar Travel
Eduardo Quevedo
37-51 75th St.
Jackson Heights, NY. 11372
(718) 779-1270
Fax (718) 898-3151

Buenos Aires Location:
Esmeralda 740
Piso 10, Suite 1001
393-2079
fax 393-2079"

As a soccer-playing friend of mine from Gaucho's neck of the woods told me, "the only reason to fly Aerolineas Argentina is for the better-looking stewardesses".