hoieunkim,

I have found the Florida street prices to be a little pricier (i.e. overpriced) than the original stores (from the manufacturers) on Murio street off the red subway line in the Villa Crespo area of town. The stores I have found to have more variety, condensed (all right beside each other) and good prices (and most of them will even give you a Tax refund certificate allowing you to get some of your money back upon exiting).

Canarsie,

flying out of EZE to montevideo is not that convenient as you are out of town (take into consideration the transport time and cost) plus you have to pay the departure tax of US$30 (could be slightly lower) CASH on top of any taxes you've allready paid. The AEP airport is very convenient in town and has many flights a day. This option wil save you time and money.

The ferry is o.k. but nothing spectacular as fsexman says all you see is water and it's about the same time to get to the harbour (with traffic) than to the AEP airport. I've taken both and would reccomend the AEP route.

Thank you for the information, sargento — it is greatly appreciated.

However, the reason I am considering flying to Montevideo from EZE instead of AEP is that the flight on which I will initially arrive in Buenos Aires lands at EZE in the evening. I wanted to book a room just for that night at a hotel near the airport (if there even is a hotel near EZE) for the sole purpose of getting some sleep without venturing far from EZE airport and depart for Uruguay for a couple of days the very next day.

After that, I would return to Buenos Aires to either explore it and then venture off to Iguazu Falls for a couple of days, or immediately fly to Iguazu Falls (out of AEP, of course) and then return to enjoy Buenos Aires.

As a bonus, I could earn American Airlines miles on the round-trip flight between EZE and Montevideo.

Are there any hotels near EZE where I could simply book a room for the night?

Yeah,Posada de las Aguilas

The rates seem to be quite reasonable, and the rate appears to include breakfast and transfers to and from the airport.

Thank you, eperaltaotero — and, believe it or not, I still have the correct spelling of your FlyerTalk name memorized from the days when I used to guess that you would be the next FlyerTalk member to post in the now-defunct Who Will Be The Next FlyerTalk Member To Post? An OMNI Game thread...

Southern Winds' drug problem
 

An FYI for anyone planning on booking a cheap Southern Winds flight. Not sure of the ramifications, but it sure doesn't sound good. Drug smuggling allegations at the highest levels of the company. If the conspiracy actually involves the President, you might think the whole company would be in jeopardy.
__________________________________________________ ______________

Argentina Airline Execs Charged With Drug Trafficking


DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
February 14, 2005 10:21 a.m.

BUENOS AIRES -- Two officials at closely held Argentine airline Southern Winds have been charged with drug trafficking after unclaimed suitcases containing 60 kilograms of cocaine were placed on a flight to Madrid.

The Associated Press' Spanish-language service reported Monday that Southern Winds' marketing manager, Fernando Pablo Arrieto, as well as the airline's base chief at Ezeiza international airport, Fernando Baudino, have been detained and charged in federal court. A third employee, Walter Beltrame, a Southern Winds employee in charge of frequent flyer customer service and also the son of the chief of Ezeiza airport, remains a fugitive, according to the AP.

Local daily La Nacion broke the story of the investigation in its Sunday edition, claiming exclusive access to legal documents in the case. The newspaper report said four suitcases, addressed to the Argentine embassy in Spain, were found unclaimed on the baggage claim at Barajas International Airport after a Southern Winds flight to Madrid in September. Officials opened the suitcases and found 60 kilograms of cocaine, estimated at 1.5 million euros, in a hidden compartment, according to the newspaper report.

La Nacion, citing the court documents, said the four suitcases had been placed in a preferential airline compartment for flight crew luggage, which is unloaded first. The newspaper said Southern Winds President Juan Maggio, who is also under investigation, testified that Beltrame asked the four suitcases to be checked in on behalf of two frequent flyers, who are currently in Spanish prison for another drug trafficking case and were not on the flight. Southern Winds Vice President Enrique Montero, who was on the flight, was detained but has not been charged.

The Argentine embassy in Spain has denied any involvement in the matter, according to media reports. The AP quoted a Southern Winds statement as saying "airlines are often the target of this kind of crime, and because of that, the company headed the accusation that started the investigation."

Southern Winds receives fuel subsidies from the government as part of a September 2003 agreement brokered with state-run airline LAFSA. Officials created LAFSA to provide jobs for 800 former workers at financially troubled carriers Lapa and Dinar. As part of the Southern Winds-LAFSA alliance, the private carrier granted some infrastructure-sharing rights to the state airline.

Aerolineas Argentinas (AR.YY), which controls about 85% of the local market, has criticized the Southern Winds-LAFSA alliance for giving Southern Winds an unfair advantage over other private carriers.

Sorry for the delay in responding. I wish I had saved the exact name and address of this place. I think I found it in a Fodors guidebook a long time ago. I was actually somewhat surprised they were still in business last November. :) It's not an obvious thing -- they're in the back of this small shopping center a few blocks north of the Obelisk on Corrientes. It's in the theatre district, and most of the discount tickets they sell seem to be to Spanish language films in the neighborhood (my recollection is there are a couple of similar ticket outlets nearby). They don't seem to handle tourist excursions like Gaucho shows, but they do tango. The lady working the desk didn't speak English, but with rudimentary Spanish it was possible to figure out what was available and buy the tickets. The Taconeando show we saw was quite good and -- I later found out -- is pretty well regarded. Certainly no reason to pay 6 times the price for another show.

Gaucho -- could you be of any assistance in providing the exact name and address of this place? Is there some sort of directory of discount ticket outlets? Thanks.

Southern Winds winding down?
 

I've bought a flight to Iguazu with Southern Winds for April 2. I hope the company will stay afloat. Otherwise, I hope to be reimbursed, as I paid with my Visa Card. I have the impression that there is a clause stating that in case of services not rendered, Visa will reimburse the client.


Anyone with new developments, please post informations.

Thank you

Danny

I'll be in BsAs Mar 10-17 just in case anyone cares. I've been there before so I'm not a rookie.

I'll be staying in an apartment near the Obelisk on Cordoba and Suipacha.

Eddie

Estancias, etc.
 

Just finished reading all 30 pages --oops, make that 38 pages!--of this thread--started really skimming around p. 25 or so, so forgive me if this has been addressed (also, this isn't a strickliy BsAs Q, so forgive me if I've posted in the wrong place):

I'm in the very preliminary planning stage to a trip to Argentina and Uruguay for 3 weeks in November. (I already have the award tickets.) Besides BsAs, I plan to go to Iguazu, and also to Peninsula Valdez and Perito Moreno areas. First, is it possible to fly from Valdez area to PM w/o backtracking to EZE? Second, I would like to stay in estancias in/near those areas as well.

I've googled every possible confiiguration I can think of, only to find info either all in Spanish, estancias that are included as parts of tours, or estancias that seem to cost as much as my monthly mortgage. Can anyone recommend estancias in those areas, or a general site that could help me out.

BTW, this thread is truly incredible....thanks, everyone. Ellen

be careful!
 

returned last week from 10 days in Uruguay and Bs. As. I enjoyed the trip. However, we did get mugged at the Sunday street fair in San Telmo. Three guys- one grabbed me, the second ripped my wife's Rolex off her wrist, and the third rode up on a motorbike to make the getaway.

Ok, you say, only an idiot would wear a Rolex on a crowded street in a foreign country. Well, she had no other jewelry, and it wasn't even a particularly expensive watch. I think I'm pretty careful in crowds-- I watch my back and am always aware of my surroundings. We've been in similar situations in Rome, Athens, Bangkok, St. Petersburg, Miami, etc without incident.

Anyway, my point is not to disparage the city. Other than that, we enjoyed the trip. Travelers just might want to exercise even more caution than usual.

I dont want to play "guess the future" on this issue, but from what Ive been reading, this incident is related to wrongdoing by employees and should not have any relevant effects on the operations of the company itself. I say this in light of the other posts on this thread. SW has profitability issues yes, but the fact some of its people chose to deal drugs is an entirely separate issue.

Dear Delta50-- Im very, very sorry for this... :( :td: :mad:

Please don't blame yourself or your wife.... it seems clear that you took all reasonable precautions and that you just ran into a little bad luck. I feel really ashamed for what happened to you.

I hope that apart from the horrible moment and the loss of property, you were all otherwise unharmed. For what its worth, I apologize in the name of my city which I assure you tries its best to have visitors enjoy a great time.

I hope that despite this event you consider returning some day, and when you do, please let me know and I would be delighted to host you and your wife to drinks.

On closing, please allow me to commend you on your positive attitude towards the city, despite having had this bitter moment. Yours is a true Gentleman's attitude.

Yours respectfully,
Gaucho100K

That sounds like extremely bad luck, but I had heard reports of robberies at the San Telmo market. From my own experience, I agree that BA -- while not unsafe -- presents above average risk for street crime to tourists.

Stay at the Nibepo Aike Estancia near El Calafate and the glacier. Fantastic experience at affordable prices. Analía Peralta works for the co-op that does bookings for the Patagonian estancias, speaks good English and is eager to help. http://www.estanciasdesantacruz.com/ I recommend renting your own vehicle at the airport to get around.

Once you decide where you want to go, book ASAP, especially in the south. The estancias are generally small, and they book up well in advance. One place I was thinking of staying was sold out 6 months ahead of time -- and it wasn't even peak season.