Ya'alili's Buenos Aires, Iguazú/Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro TR

[Yaalili]

A little more than a month ago, in late December, I took a trip with a few friends, to visit Buenos Aires and Iguazu/Iguacu Falls. We are studying this year in Brazil, so it did make flights alot easier to plan and alot more affordable.

Getting to Buenos Aires and the 1st Day
We used 7,500 BA avios points to go from Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires on Qatar. Qatar flies this route as a 5th freedom flight, and is probably the best option to take for this route. They fly their 777 with personal screens at every seat, legroom and seat space is very decent too. The flight is just about 2 hours long, but that doesn't mean that you don't get a full in-flight service. We were served a fleishig meal catered by Matok in Sao Paulo, and it tasted very decent.

Just as we started our descent into EZE, they made an announcement that they will be coming through and spraying the entire cabin in preparation for landing in Buenos Aires.

EZE airport is probably the most modern airport in South America. Everything is really clean, modern, and some amazing art as you go through the corridor to the customs. The customs itself went really quickly, no official form had to be filled out, they just need the passport and the confirmation paper that you paid the reciprocity fee.

The baggage came really quickly too and we were out on the road about half hour after we deplaned. We got a private taxi to take us to Once for just $25 USD. A bargain of a price for the one hour drive and including the three toll fees.

We stayed at the San Luis Suites 2774, located right in the center of Jewish community in Once. The rate we got was $40 USD per night, while the official rate is 500 pesos a night. The hotel is a great place to stay in Once, very affordable and very comfortable. When we were in Buenos Aires lots of people in Once lost their electricity, because of over using it in the 95 degrees that there was. In our hotel BH we had great air conditioner and no power was lost. Each room has a flat screen TV and a small kitchen, some have a living room too. They also have a large 'lounge' for all guests to use on the main floor, with couches, dining area and two computer workstations.

Our first morning there we walked over to the Yeshiva and Chabad on Aguero. This building is the main headquarters of Chabad in BA and Argentina. There they have the Chabad house, school, Mesivta and Yeshiva Gedola all in one. We found someone there who would switch our US currency on the blue rate, in our case 9.5 pesos to the dollar. With our wallets now stuffed with hundreds and hundreds of pesos it was time to get going, and buy anything we want at about 40 percent off.

For lunch we went to Pizza Romini, as we came there at about 12:30 they didn't have any dishes other than Pizza. Their full menu only begins later on in the day. The pizza (95 pesos) is the worst i have ever eaten in my life, we were three bochurim, and we couldn't even finish one pie! The sauce is too much, and the cheese just taste awful. - 1/10.

After that we were off to the downtown area of Buenos Aires, here called Congresso and Microcentro. Buenos Aires is a very religious city when it comes to holidays, the whole city literally shuts down. Our first day there was December 25, and wherever we went there was no sign of life that day. We walked from the Congress building to the Casa Roseda along Plaza de Mayo, and passing through the widest street in the world Av 9 de julho. Truly a sight to see how big and grand it is. We easily did the crossing of the street, as there were no cars at all, everything was closed. As u get closer to the Casa Roseda you pass along many narrow cobblestone streets, like small alleyways, this is where the whole city started. Its got a very European feel to it.

Next stop was to the port side called Puerto Madero. Very clean and calm place to take a stroll with the water nearby. Not many people live or work here, just a nice boardwalk with some interesting shops. And the iconic women's bridge.

The metro called here the Subte, was running a very limited but free service on the holiday. We took advantage of it, and took if back from downtown to Once. Usual price of the metro is 3.50 pesos. Metro is clean, but not modern at all, no air conditioner or ventilation, just some open windows. In BA the metro has a very big fabric bench with no dividers, so if no people are on like on a holiday, you could get a little nap

When we got back we headed to Maichel for a snack, their helado (ice cream) is incredible and very affordable too. We got cups of 1/4 kg that were 27 pesos. They will let you try any flavor before you get it too. - 8/10.

For dinner it wasn't easy to find a place, we called up three kosher meat restaurants, two in Once and one in Palermo and they were all closed because of the holiday. We finally found one place that was open, a dairy restaurant Masliah, located on San Luis just about a block away from where we were staying. While the place was nice, the food was just OK, nothing special. Service is not the best here, they take their time and they didn't have enough waiters. - 4/10.

To be continued...

[Joe4007]

Nice! Keep it coming.

Interesting to see that less than two months ago the blue rate was 9.5... Now it's more like 12-13.

Also, EZE is the only major South American airport I've been too and I didn't see it as modern and clean. I guess that means that the other airports are awful...

[Yaalili]

Nice! Keep it coming.

Interesting to see that less than two months ago the blue rate was 9.5... Now it's more like 12-13.

Also, EZE is the only major South American airport I've been too and I didn't see it as modern and clean. I guess that means that the other airports are awful...

Thanks. Yes the blue rate keep on climbing by the month. Well GRU and GIG are both undergoing major construction now to prepare for the upcoming world cup and the olympics in 2016. GIG is really a hole now.

[Yehoshua]

Thanks. Yes the blue rate keep on climbing by the month. Well GRU and GIG are both undergoing major construction now to prepare for the upcoming world cup and the olympics in 2016. GIG is really a hole now.

Nice report so far. Looking forward to the rest! GIG looked like it had been hit by a bomb; it was in shambles during the renovation.

[Yaalili]

Nice report so far. Looking forward to the rest! GIG looked like it had been hit by a bomb; it was in shambles during the renovation.

It is supposed to be really nice soon. Btw tks for all your help planning my trip.

[Yehoshua]

It is supposed to be really nice soon. Btw tks for all your help planning my trip.

YW!

[HP58]

Nice TR! Very clear, concise, well written. Looking forward to the rest of it!

[Yaalili]

Our 2nd Day in Buenos Aires and a trip to Lujan
After finishing Shachris at the Yeshiva, we headed over to the Abasto Mall, where you will find the only Glatt Kosher Mcdonalds in the world. It is clearly marked with a big Kosher sign under the logo, and is located right after you come up the escalator. Lunch service starts there at 12, so we had to wait around a little. The food court filled up very quickly a few minutes before 12, with lots of hungry tourists and locals, waiting to get their hands on some very cheap, but kosher fast food. We ordered the "Big Mac" combo for 35 pesos, which includes fries and a fountain soda. This is the cheapest item on the menu, as the Argentinian government enforces the price on this item, to make affordable food for everyone and subsidizes some of it too. The burgers here were quite good, although they taste different because they are fried. The fries were just ok. A friend ordered the "McNuggets", you get 10 pieces for 38 pesos, they were really good. - 5/10.

Our next stop was one of the highlights of the trip, the famous Lujan Zoo. The only zoo in the western hemisphere that will let you get inside the cages of the big cats. Here you have a chance to pet and even to feed Cubs, Lions, Tigers, Elephants and so much more. Getting here on a budget is a little tricky, as it is a good 60km outside the city of Buenos Aires. There is a bus number 57 that will take you from Plaza Italia to the Zoo for just 16.5 pesos,  but it doesn't have a very consistent schedule, and we wanted to get there with lots of time ahead. That left us with our option #2, to take a taxi. After a few negotiations gone bad, we at last found a taxi ready to take us to the zoo for 300 pesos. The driver did not really know where it was - or at least he claimed he didn't - and he took quite a while to find it once we got to Lujan. He had the meter running for the duration of the ride, which was showing over 500 pesos by time we reached the zoo. He tried to get us to go in the middle at 400, but we insisted that we arranged a price beforehand and a deal was a deal. Anytime you take a taxi here always arrange a price before, especially if you are going far.

The zoo is really dirty and not kept up that well. There are stray dogs running around you, and lots of poop all over. The weather here was a lot more bearable than that of the city, gets more cool out in the suburbs. As you enter, a lady greets you to pay your admission fee, which if you are foreigner it's 150 pesos. There wasn't so many people there, so the lines to get insides the cages were usually about 10 people deep. Our first stop was to the baby lions, they had 4 of them in a little tiny cage with two domesticated dogs at their side. (All the cats here grow up with these dogs, who teach them what is right and wrong, if they do something they are not supposed to, the dog will bite them in a vulnerable area.) The process is simple, you go in and get anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes - depending on the trainer and how long the line is - to be with the animal and snap a few pictures. The trainers will get the animal to "pose" for the camera too.

Baby tigers were up next, and were lots of fun, the had only two of them but in a larger cage, so they had more room to roam around. At the elephants, you get to touch and feed them, but there a metal pole separating the elephant itself from you. The elephants pose their best with groups, shooting their long nose all around everyone. The parrots here are lots of fun to talk to, and will repeat back what you say to them.

We were now ready to come face to face with the big cats. In the tigers cage there were three of them, one was sleeping, one walking around the whole cage, and one acting as the visitor attraction, posing with all the guests. The trainer in this cage is the best in the zoo, and is very patient, always friendly to everyone, the lines here are also bigger, because you get to spend more time inside. You are given the chance to feed them with a bottle if you want. For the real experience, pour some in the palm of your hand and they will suck it out.

It started to pour shortly after we got out of that cage, which meant we would not be able to pet the big lions.. Whenever it rains, they don't allow visitors to interact with the animals. We left the zoo, and about 15 minutes later we were on the bus number 57 taking us back to Buenos Aires. The buses are very comfortable with great air conditioning and was a fairly quick ride.

After settling back into our hotel and resting up, we walked over to Bali Helado. The ice cream with "granizada" is a special treat. The pistachio and chocolate mint flavors are really good too. It is a very small place, just 2 tables inside to sit right near the counter, better to take it to go. They will also let you try as many as you want before ordering. A 1/4 kg cup was just 25 pesos. - 8/10.

We had reservations for Asian that night for dinner. After waiting about an hour in our hotel for the dairy to subside, we got a taxi to take us to Asian in Palermo. The ride was quick at about 15 minutes, and costed under 30 pesos. When we made the reservation, we asked to be seated in the main area, but some diners overstayed, and the restaurant was packed, there was no empty table in the annex either. It was a nice night outside, so we agreed to sit on the terrace outside on the balcony of the restaurant. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful and spoke a perfect English. Right after we were seated we received some cocktails on the house which were really good. For appetizers we ordered Meat Spring Rolls (110 pesos) and Caesar Salad with Crispy Chicken (126 pesos.) Both were very generous servings, and they tasted excellent. For the main we ordered the Rib-eye Steak 500gr (325 pesos) and Beef Premium Ribs (198 pesos.) All the mains on the menu, are served with a small salad and house fried potatoes. The mains were a bit short-in-coming, definitely had better meat before, and the potatoes were tasteless. We were not able to order the Roasted Beef, they didn't have any of it left that night, got to leave something for next time. For drinks the waiter recommended to me an off-menu passion fruit and guava blended fruit drink (40 pesos) which was phenomenal. - 8/10.

To be continued...

[Yehoshua]

Our 2nd Day in Buenos Aires and a trip to Lujan
After finishing Shachris at the Yeshiva, we headed over to the Abasto Mall, where you will find the only Glatt Kosher Mcdonalds in the world. It is clearly marked with a big Kosher sign under the logo, and is located right after you come up the escalator. Lunch service starts there at 12, so we had to wait around a little. The food court filled up very quickly a few minutes before 12, with lots of hungry tourists and locals, waiting to get their hands on some very cheap, but kosher fast food. We ordered the "Big Mac" combo for 35 pesos, which includes fries and a fountain soda. This is the cheapest item on the menu, as the Argentinian government enforces the price on this item, to make affordable food for everyone and subsidizes some of it too. The burgers here were quite good, although they taste different because they are fried. The fries were just ok. A friend ordered the "McNuggets", you get 10 pieces for 38 pesos, they were really good. - 5/10.

Our next stop was one of the highlights of the trip, the famous Lujan Zoo. The only zoo in the western hemisphere that will let you get inside the cages of the big cats. Here you have a chance to pet and even to feed Cubs, Lions, Tigers, Elephants and so much more. Getting here on a budget is a little tricky, as it is a good 60km outside the city of Buenos Aires. There is a bus number 57 that will take you from Plaza Italia to the Zoo for just 16.5 pesos,  but it doesn't have a very consistent schedule, and we wanted to get there with lots of time ahead. That left us with our option #2, to take a taxi. After a few negotiations gone bad, we at last found a taxi ready to take us to the zoo for 300 pesos. The driver did not really know where it was - or at least he claimed he didn't - and he took quite a while to find it once we got to Lujan. He had the meter running for the duration of the ride, which was showing over 500 pesos by time we reached the zoo. He tried to get us to go in the middle at 400, but we insisted that we arranged a price beforehand and a deal was a deal. Anytime you take a taxi here always arrange a price before, especially if you are going far.

The zoo is really dirty and not kept up that well. There are stray dogs running around you, and lots of poop all over. The weather here was a lot more bearable than that of the city, gets more cool out in the suburbs. As you enter, a lady greets you to pay your admission fee, which if you are foreigner it's 150 pesos. There wasn't so many people there, so the lines to get insides the cages were usually about 10 people deep. Our first stop was to the baby lions, they had 4 of them in a little tiny cage with two domesticated dogs at their side. (All the cats here grow up with these dogs, who teach them what is right and wrong, if they do something they are not supposed to, the dog will bite them in a vulnerable area.) The process is simple, you go in and get anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes - depending on the trainer and how long the line is - to be with the animal and snap a few pictures. The trainers will get the animal to "pose" for the camera too.

Baby tigers were up next, and were lots of fun, the had only two of them but in a larger cage, so they had more room to roam around. At the elephants, you get to touch and feed them, but there a metal pole separating the elephant itself from you. The elephants pose their best with groups, shooting their long nose all around everyone. The parrots here are lots of fun to talk to, and will repeat back what you say to them.

We were now ready to come face to face with the big cats. In the tigers cage there were three of them, one was sleeping, one walking around the whole cage, and one acting as the visitor attraction, posing with all the guests. The trainer in this cage is the best in the zoo, and is very patient, always friendly to everyone, the lines here are also bigger, because you get to spend more time inside. You are given the chance to feed them with a bottle if you want. For the real experience, pour some in the palm of your hand and they will suck it out.

It started to pour shortly after we got out of that cage, which meant we would not be able to pet the big lions.. Whenever it rains, they don't allow visitors to interact with the animals. We left the zoo, and about 15 minutes later we were on the bus number 57 taking us back to Buenos Aires. The buses are very comfortable with great air conditioning and was a fairly quick ride.

After settling back into our hotel and resting up, we walked over to Bali Helado. The ice cream with "granizada" is a special treat. The pistachio and chocolate mint flavors are really good too. It is a very small place, just 2 tables inside to sit right near the counter, better to take it to go. They will also let you try as many as you want before ordering. A 1/4 kg cup was just 25 pesos. - 8/10.

We had reservations for Asian that night for dinner. After waiting about an hour in our hotel for the dairy to subside, we got a taxi to take us to Asian in Palermo. The ride was quick at about 15 minutes, and costed under 30 pesos. When we made the reservation, we asked to be seated in the main area, but some diners overstayed, and the restaurant was packed, there was no empty table in the annex either. It was a nice night outside, so we agreed to sit on the terrace outside on the balcony of the restaurant. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful and spoke a perfect English. Right after we were seated we received some cocktails on the house which were really good. For appetizers we ordered Meat Spring Rolls (110 pesos) and Caesar Salad with Crispy Chicken (126 pesos.) Both were very generous servings, and they tasted excellent. For the main we ordered the Rib-eye Steak 500gr (325 pesos) and Beef Premium Ribs (198 pesos.) All the mains on the menu, are served with a small salad and house fried potatoes. The mains were a bit short-in-coming, definitely had better meat before, and the potatoes were tasteless. We were not able to order the Roasted Beef, they didn't have any of it left that night, got to leave something for next time. For drinks the waiter recommended to me an off-menu passion fruit and guava blended fruit drink (40 pesos) which was phenomenal. - 8/10.

To be continued...

Cool. I'll have to check out the zoo on our next trip. Keep it coming!

[Yaalili]

Nice TR! Very clear, concise, well written. Looking forward to the rest of it!

Cool. I'll have to check out the zoo on our next trip. Keep it coming!

Thanks. Yes you definitely gotta visit the zoo next time, though may not be practical with kids.

[sam28]

nice report picture's please .

[Yaalili]

nice report picture's please .

Thanks, my pictures are all too large to upload. Haven't found a good compressor program.

[Yehoshua]

Thanks, my pictures are all too large to upload. Haven't found a good compressor program.

Macs have built in compressors. I take it your using Windows?

[avremie]

Nice. What's with spraying the cabin?

[Yaalili]

Macs have built in compressors. I take it your using Windows?

Yes.

Nice. What's with spraying the cabin?

Lol i don't know, but it had this really toxic smell to it, people were covering their noses.

[Yehoshua]

Yes.

It appears that photobucket.com might work to compress pix. See http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=38305.msg729253#msg729253

[Yaalili]

It appears that photobucket.com might work to compress pix. See http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=38305.msg729253#msg729253

Lol i just saw that too

[Joe4007]

Macs have built in compressors. I take it your using Windows?

Windows do too. You can resize it with Paint.

[chucksterace]

It appears that photobucket.com might work to compress pix. See http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=38305.msg729253#msg729253

Lol. First time I used it and was actually pretty smooth and easy.

[Yaalili]

Recoleta and Shabbos in Once
Friday morning got off to a late start, after a late-night dinner the night before at Asian, (we were there till it closed). After shachris, we went over to a new place for brunch - Luba. The small eatery is located inside the same building as Chabad of Recoleta. We didn't have reservations, so we had to sit on a small round corner table near the counter, because the other tables were all reserved. It is very small inside, space there for maybe 15-20 people, though our server told us they are looking for somewhere larger. Once we were seated, they brought out complimentary fresh bread and dips on the house, which were good. I ordered Cheese Fingers with Fries, (48 pesos) the fries were perfect and so were the sticks. For a drink, I got the Mint & Chocolate Frapuccino, (38 pesos) it was more like a milk shake, but tasted amazing, highly recommend it. Friends ordered the Pacific Wrap Roll (75 pesos) and Mini Pizza (62 pesos), all were really good, and very reasonably priced. Service was on the spot, very attentive waiter, and our orders came out quite quickly, everything hot, fresh and delicious. Highly recommend this place to eat. - 9/10.

From Luba, you are just a few blocks away from the upmarket disctrict of Recoleta. This area of Buenos Aires, has lots of historic buildings, trendy shops, and an international feel to it. We strolled down Av Alvear where there are a bunch of London style telephone booths. Then there is the famous Recoleta Cemetery, worth a visit there to see the huge tombstones for the important people of BA's history. The weekend fair was being set up outside the cemetery, at a large trail going through the Plaza Francia park. About a 10 minute walk north of Recoleta is the Floralis Generica, a metal flower monument, that gradually opens at sunrise, and closes up later on in the day. There are many more places and sites to see too, great place to walk.

The taxi back to Once from Recoleta was under 25 pesos, like $2-3 USD for private door to door transportation. And that is with the taxi starting fare of 11 pesos. The manager of our hotel went around to all the rooms giving out a packet with some pastries for shabbos, was a nice touch.

Spending Shabbos in Once, is a great experience, and a must. There are so many Yidden walking the streets, with Shuls every other block. We were being hosted by friends for the meals, but there are many places where you can buy prepared Shabbos food in Once.

Motzei Shabbos we went to Pizza Soultani, the only place in Once open after Shabbos. We got there early, about half hour after shabbos was over. The counter there was already full with various kinds of Empanadas - from a few days before.. Pizza would only be ready another 20 minutes later, and we were starving, so we started off with the Empanadas (15 pesos) which surprisingly tasted decent. The Pizza here (140 pesos / pie) was alot better than what we had at Romini, but still a far call from what you can get outside of Buenos Aires. As it was Motzei Shabbos, they weren't making any of their Pasta's or main dishes, so Pizza and Empanadas it was. - 5/10.

To be continued...

P.S. I hope to post pictures soon.