During this trip we have had an ongoing debate with a few fellow travelers about what constitues a genuine visit to another country.

The issue that keeps coming up is: at what point can you say you've been to a country? The issue is spurred on by the checklist or scorecard mentality. The "Where you've been" app on Facebook is a very tangible example of this.

After heated debate an eventual agreement was reached at a round table in El Calafate, Argentina. We had people from 4 countries in on the discussion. This was not a formal event. It involved beer and sitting around.

We concluded as follows:

"I've Been To": This is good enough to check it off a meaningless list or adding it to Where I've Been. All that needs to happen is that you step foot in the country for any amount of time. For an airport connection/transfer you need to actually step foot outside of customs.

"I've Seen (or visited)": A much more debated point. Do you have to spend the night? Two nights? Three? Is it about time at all? Is it about seeing a certain percentage of the country? The general consensus was that it depends on the country and what you do. Generally a night spent was a requirement.

This debate isn't over! We'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

We've been in South America for a month now and Buenos Aires for half of that time. We've just started to get a feel for the city and all that it has to offer. We have learned a few tips and tricks to make our time in BA a little better. We hope they help you out.

Get a Prepaid Movistar SIM Card

I have an unlocked iPhone 4 and it's been a tremendous help when exploring Buenos Aires. I acquired a pre-paid SIM card from Movistar after we first got here and have been using it on a daily basis. We use Google Maps, Google Translate, and generally just do everything we would normally do using it at home. I tweet, post photos, etc.  Do I feel safe using an iPhone here? Absolutely. I'm careful about when/where I take it out but for the most part it's not a concern. We also have a cheap Nokia that we got a sim card for as well. This allows Becky and I the freedom to explore yet always be able to get in touch.

Get a Monedero Card

Bizarrely coins are incredibly hard to come by here. In fact we had to go wait in a bank for 45 minutes to get enough coins to do our laundry the first week we were here. It's better than it was a few years ago but it's still noticeable. Two of the places you'll use coins the most are on the subway and on the busses. Thankfully they've released a pre-paid card system. You can pick up the green cards at any 25 Hours convienience store (it tooks us three stores to find on with cards available). The stores are everywhere. You can recharge your cards at any subway (Subte) stop or any 25 Hours Convieniences. The cards are free.

Upgrade Your Flip Flops and T-shirts

We're staying in the classy Recoleta neighborhood but this seems to be a general theme throughout the city. People dress quite well. You'll probably feel a bit out of place at mid-range restaurants if you're sporting the typical traveler/backpacker uniform of cheap flip flops and an ironic t-shirt. A simple shirt with a collar can spiff you up enough to not stand out. All of that said, the people here are so nice that they will welcome you with open arms and you'll be the only person who noticed you don't have a nice shirt.

Learn Some Spanish

Spanish is a beautiful language, for that reason alone you should learn it. We've found that by making an effort to speak to everyone we meet in their own language it's really been appreciated. This isn't unique to Buenos Aires and is true the world over. Here in Buenos Aires though there is something more than the usual appreciation. There seems to be a genuine pleasure for those we interact with when we whip out our best phrases. Maybe we're just entertaining them :).

Eat Meat

If you're a vegetarian you might want to consider a brief lapse in your eating habits while in Argentina. Simply put the beef is second to none. There are salads, chicken, and ham dishes but for the most part beef is everywhere and eaten all the time. Our favourite thus far has been the Bife de Lomo.

Drink Coffee

There are cafes everwhere and they are used heavily. Everyday around 4-6 they fill up with people having snacks, coffee, and drinks. The coffee has been superb. Tip: Argentinians typically don't drink Cafe con leche past the morning.

Drink Wine

Red is the most prevalent and it's incredibly cheap. A nice wine at a nice restaurant will cost you $10-12 dollars (~40 pesos) for a bottle.

Use the Subte (Subway)

The subway is very reasonably priced (1.10 pesos/trip ~35 cents). It is a relatively clean and fast way to get around some parts of the city quickly. We're luck to have a stop just a few blocks from our apartment.

Buenos Aires Free Tours

This free tour service (they make their money on your tips) is excellent. We've been on two tours so far and have found the guides to be very entertaining, knowlegable, and easy-going. They also make their personal email addresses and phone numbers available to everyone on the tours so you can continue to ask them questions as you explore the city. Well worth the tip you gladly give them at the end of their tours.

Before coming to Buenos Aires I did a lot of research on how I was going to get my Iphone4 hooked up and working with a pre paid micro-sim card. I found a few really helpful blogs (thanks Dave!) that talked about the Movistar Prepago packages and how to get that working with an iphone4.

I was certain that the prepaid cards Movistar would give me would be the full size sim card and that I would have to cut it down to fit in my iphone4 (which is a microsim).

After arriving in the city and hunting around for a few days I found the Movistar Mothership at Av. Santa Fe 1844 (corner of Callao and Santa Fe). Luckily it was only a 10 minute walk from our rented apartment. It is also close to the Subte (metro).

The process was quite simple:

• Walk in the door
• Someone will greet you once you enter. They will have a phone/pda thing. They will ask you your name and what you are looking to do. Give your name to them and thell them you are looking to buy a prepago chip. They will enter in your name into their little device.
• You'll go up an escalator where you'll see an LCD screen with your name. There will be two numbers associated with your name. A No. 0XX and a Caja/Box. Don't worry about the No. Just the Box/Caja number. There will be a series of desks around the floor. They all have numbers on them. Find the number that correlates to your box/caja number on the screen. The lower numbers are located back down the escalator on the main floor.
• Ask for a pre-paid chip and show them your phone. They will know which phone takes which chip (at least they knew an iphone4 takes a micro-sim). I just said "Chip prepago" and they knew what I was looking for.
• There will be a series of questions thrown at you. Most of them you won't understand unless your spanish is MUCH better than mine. You will need your passport, a credit card, and your address in Buenos Aires.
• They will write all of that down in their computer, they will probably dissapear once or twice to a printer and to get the chip.
• They will insert the chip into your phone and ensure it is activated and working.
• You will need to sign the document they print out.
• Cost: For me in December of 2010 it cost ~12,00 pesos to get the microsim and have it activated.
• There is one person in the entire place that speaks english. She is very nice and very helpful. Ask for her (don't know her name, sorry) if you get stuck.
• In about 15 minutes I was back on the streat with a working microsim pre-paid plan.

Recharging

Your phone won't have any credit on it when you walk out of the Movistar office. You'll need to add credit to it. I buy pre-paid Movistar cards that I can add to my account. There is a Kiosko just a minute away from our apartment. Typically you buy an amount and get a bonus when you add it to your account. Dave has summed this up better at DiscoverBuenosAires.com. I bought 30 pesos worth but was given 60 pesos when I added it to my account as it ws a 2 for 1 day.

To add the credits you bought at the Kiosko simply:

• call *444 and wait for the nice voice
• press 2 and wait for the nice voice
• press 1 and wait for the nice voice
• Enter the number that was under the scratch away section of the credit you bought
• Enter #
• Hang up

You can also recharge without having to go through the voice commands.

• Go to your phone application
• Dial *444*The number that was under the scratch away section of the credit you bought#
• Hit call.
• You will receive an instant confirmation that your credit was added.

An other, and often easier way to add credit is to simply go into any Locoturiou (you'll see them everywhere) and ask to recharge your moviestar phone. They will ask you what your number is and how much you'd like to add to your account. They will type that information into a machine and you will receive a text telling you the amount has been added. You pay the clerk in cash.

You should almost immediately receive a text saying that the credit was added to your account.

Buying Data Access

There are a ton of pre-paid packages you can buy. The only one I was really interested in was the data package. It is 1GB (gigabyte) of data to use over the next 2 days. That is a LOT of data for that period of time. It costs 9 or 10 pesos.

To activate it simply text "Datos" (without the quotes) to 2345. You'll get a text back saying it will be activated shortly. Then a text a moment after that saying that it is activated. You're now all set.

So the long and the short of it: Yes, you can now get pre-paid (prepago) micro sim cards from Movistar in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 

I would love to think that the music North America is best known for the world over would be something substantial, something worthwhile, something we could be proud of. Sadly it's not. I submit into evidence the soundtrack of a single cab ride from the bus station to our current hostel in Santiago, Chile:

• Richard Marx - Right here waiting for you.
• Elvis - Shake Rattle and Roll.
• Hanson - Mmmmmmbop.
• Kenny G - I'm very pleased to tell you that I don't know the name of the song.

Yes, it was just a single cab ride. That doesn't explain that at dinner the night before it was Rick Astley's - Together Forever and the previous meal Celine Dion.

There are many things about this seaside town that you'll notice while walking around. Perhaps the two most striking for those of us from North America are the dogs and the graffiti.

Dogs are everywhere. Everywhere you go you will find pooches of all shapes and sizes lazing about, sauntering around, and frollicing about. These are not the sickly stray dogs you may have seen in other countries. These dogs are living the life. All of them that we have seen seem to be well fed, a little shabby, but generally happy.

I know what you're thinking: THE RABIES! Calm down. These dogs don't seem to be agressive. If anything they seem to quite the oppposite. They are just laying there, not interested in the world around them. After two days of wandering around and stepping over and by many dogs we have not been snapped at, barked at or even growled out. These canines are content.

I know what else you are thinking: DOG @#%! - That's more of a valid concern. While there is definitely some it isn't as plentiful as one would expect with the number of production facilities wandering around. There is suspiciously little fresh evidence steaming about. We are starting to think there might be crews dedicated to cleaning up after their friends.

And I know your final thoughts on the topic: WOOF! Yes. They bark at night. A lot.

Graffiti is everywhere. The other striking visual thing about Valparaiso is the sheer volume of graffiti. Yes, there are plenty of untalented "tags" (people just writing their name/symbol) but far outweighing them, and worth the nuisance of them, is the amazing street art. It is everywhere and it is diverse.

It's located on most flat surfaces or stairways that wind up the steep twisted streets. It hangs out under ledges and overhangs.

Sometimes it's just a dude greeting you as you walk in a door.

I think the most impressive thing about the graffiti/street art is not the sheer volume or talent of the pieces but the interaction of the art with its canvas. No space is wasted, each piece is considerate of its place and each place influences its piece.