Nope.

SW - Chap. 11 filing is now official
 

The rumors have been confirmed, SW announced that is has filed for BK protection. Still nothing on SW's website but I assume they will have some more information by tomorrow. As soon as I have more information on the impact (if any) on operations, I will let you guys know.

I've been in Buenos Aires a number of times during Easter Season (and will be this year as well) and remember no important closures that I can think of. Because it's early Fall the weather is very pleasant... The leaves are turning color and the nights are cool. If you are a Catholic, Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services in the national Cathedral across the square from the Pink Palace are quite nice. There's an outdoor procession on Palm Sunday.

San Antonio de Areco
 

hi,
The guidebooks make San Antonio de Areco sound incredibly appealing, and I wonder if anyone's been there...also, I won't be arriving in BsAs until Nov. 11, which I think puts me smack in the middle of the Dia de la Tradicion there, however, I'm unable to find the exact dates for the festival for this year. Massive googling has turned up nothing.

Does anyone know the dates for 2005? Has anyone been in the past...if so, is it a cheesy tourist extravaganza, or a more or less authentic celebration of gaucho culture?

Finally, has anyone been to the estancias in the area?

Thanks for any answers!

ciao, Ellen

I'm going to BA flying in 3/25 and leaving 4/18/05. Any recommendations for trips into the country side? I'm afraid i'm going for to long, but i got a great award ticket and i'm taking a break between jobs.

Gaucho100K:
Thanks for keeping us posted.

Here a "statement about Argentina situation" from LAN's website:

What is/are "...all of the LAFSA employees..."?

Phew...........I just finished ALL 45 pages in one sitting !!
A few days opened up for two of us to make it down to Buenos Aires, April 9 to 15. I feel alittle guilty seeing how much advance planning others have done and hopefully can benifit from all your hard work, and will try and limit my questions.
We'd love to try and make it to Iguazu, the bus sounds pretty nice, from what I gathered, comfortable and travels all night; Is it possible to do that, spend the day at the falls and return to Buenos Aires the same evening ? Or is that asking for trouble ?
I've read some favorable reviews about the Hotel Ibis (and the rates seem almost too good to be true), What's the neighborhood like ? How far from Recoleta ?
Thanks in advance, I really appreciate the amount of tips and knowledge shared on this thread. Both of us are looking forward to our first trip to Argentina.

Here's a story that seems to summarize the latest on Southern Winds. For consumers, it's not all bad news. Reading between the lines, it seems like the Argentine gov't has set the groundwork for an orderly transition from SW to LanArgentina. If I were in the unfortunate position of being a future-date SW ticketholder, this plan would seem to offer at least some hope that my ticket would be honored, even if SW does disappear.

That said, I would still obviously not buy a new SW ticket until the situation is further clarified.

http://www.falkland-malvinas.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=5286

I stayed at the Ibis in October. Nothing special about the neighborhood. Interesting to look down on the Congreso park. But you're staying here for an incredible value in hotel, not the location. And the hotel is a great value. But bear in mind the walls are very thin, the rooms are small, and the HVAC was not working very well when we were there. But the beds were very very comfortable. It kicks ... for US$27 a night. Yes, you can walk to Recoleta, and we did lots of walking. But for US$3 you can get almost anywhere in a taxi.

We had such a great time on our first trip that we're taking a second visit in just over a week. Not staying at the Ibis this time. A few days at Bobo hotel in Palermo Viejo and a few days at NH Latino. We stayed at Latino last time. We liked it. Big room. Big bathroom. Very modern. All a great value at $65US. Come to think of it, just about everything in BA is a great value if you're paying with US dollars. Probably explains why we're going back to Argentina so quickly instead of Europe.

Yes and no. Things are not that simple, as there is a lot of noise coming from the various unions involved, and on top of that LAN officials have been openly saying to the press that a purchase of SW is out of the question. I guess the jury is still out on this one...

The above is the kind of post that makes my day... :D As Ive said from day one, its important that you come to Argentina - but what is most important is that you choose to return to visit us... ^ ^ ^

Argentina is my favorite leisure and business destination. For what it's worth, Argentina is currently cost-competitive to outsource certain types of work with Bangalore or Delhi. :)

If you are looking for a nice and very cheap Restaurant in the Provincia de Buenos Aires try the Tio Pablo in Villa Ballester it`s a new Restaurant with German and Argentine food, quite good.

Argentina prepaid SIM card??
 

Not exactly related to dining and travel but I didn't know where else to post this.

I have an unlocked Nokia GSM phone (European phone). In Buenos Aires, can I purchase a prepaid SIM card and use my phone? Does anyone know what my options and what the costs are?

Thank you!

Absolutely correct. Argentina (not only Buenos Aires, but various provinces as well) is getting tons of call center and other offsite service business. This is a great thing for our economy, not only short term but also for the long term development of our workforce. Many people are getting access to English training that before would have been much harder (and costly) to receive. Whats great about this is that even though its probable that 4-5 years from now call centers may prove too costly to operate (as real wages increase), the staff will be better trained to move into better jobs, so this is a great win-win situation.

(sorry to get off topic) :D