Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Colonia Dollar? ATM Access in Uruguay


When I was in Buenos Aires in late November, I was running short of US dollars to turn into Argentine pesos on the so-called “blue” market, which had made my stay there considerably cheaper than it would have been at the official rate. I had, however, planned a brief trip to Uruguay, whose ATMs would yield the dollars I needed to get me through the rest of my stay in Argentina.
After taking the Buquebús ferry from Buenos Aires, I spent three nights in Colonia, twice hitting local ATMs for the maximum withdrawal of $300 to get me through my remaining weeks. Unlike Argentina, where the option to withdraw US dollars disappeared some time ago, Uruguay has no restrictions on such withdrawals, other than the daily maximum.
Argentines, in fact, cannot use their own ATM cards outside their borders but, being resourceful, they’ve found a way around the dollar restrictions by taking cash advances on their credit cards. Since the Argentine government has recently levied a 20 percent tax on credit card transactions by its citizens traveling abroad, those cash advances exceed the official rate within Argentina.

That’s pretty irrelevant, though, when the government has made it difficult or impossible to purchase dollars without jumping through the taxman’s hoops. Imagine the howls if the Internal Revenue Service demanded US citizens prove their creditworthiness before traveling overseas, and it’s clear why many Argentines will do most anything to purchase dollars to protect their savings in an inflationary economy.

To do so, individual Argentines have been taking the ferry to Colonia, but not necessarily for themselves alone. Rather, groups of friends and neighbors have been “loaning” their MasterCard and Visa to each other for raids on Uruguayan ATMs – an individual will take the first morning ferry across the River Plate and then hit the banks, withdrawing as much as possible for themselves and their friends. They return to Buenos Aires on the afternoon boat, having presumably limited their total acquisitions to less than US$10,000, to avoid having to make a legal declaration.

Today, the Argentina peso’s official rate was 5.235 to the dollar and, with the 20 percent tax, Argentines who cross the river are paying approximately 6.3 pesos for each dollar. On the open market, though, the “blue” dollar recently rose above 10 before receding under government pressure on the quasi-legal cuevas (caves) that sell dollars semi-surreptitiously. Today the “blue” closed just above nine pesos, but that means that those taking advantage of Colonia ATMs still come out about 30 percent ahead.

For Uruguayans and non-Argentine visitors to Colonia, though, this has been a headache because the long lines of Argentines have made it difficult for them to obtain Uruguayan currency, let alone dollars. The lines at Colonia’s ATMs can be dozens deep and, with many Argentines undertaking multiple transactions, the machines empty quickly. According to Uruguay’s outspoken president José Mujica, who’s had his differences with the government of Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, “The Argentines have always been in a rush to keep their savings in dollars, because they don’t trust their own currency…”
Until the situation resolves itself, which doesn’t seem likely in the short run, Uruguay-bound visitors should be aware of the situation in Colonia and, if possible, try to hit the ATMs early in the morning, before the Argentines arrive. It’s not such an issue in Montevideo, as the Uruguayan capital has many more banks, and is three hours from Buenos Aires rather than Colonia’s one hour. For those crossing the river only to acquire dollars, the ferry ticket to Montevideo is more expensive in both time and money.

Moon Handbooks Chile, in Saratoga
In a little more than a month – Monday, June 17, at 7 p.m., to be precise – I will offer a digital slide presentation on travel in Chile at Santa Clara Country’s Saratoga Library (13650 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga CA 95070, tel. 408-867-6126, ext. 3817). Coverage will also include the Chilean Pacific Islands of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Juan Fernández (Robinson Crusoe), as well as southernmost Argentina (Tierra del Fuego and the vicinity of El Calafate) that appear in the book. I will also be available to answer questions about Argentina and Buenos Aires. The presentation is free of charge, but books will be available for purchase.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Against the Wind? Chile's Patagonian Marathon Returns


Last year, the initial Patagonian International Marathon took place in Chile’s Torres del Paine. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, September 28th; although I wouldn’t normally mention an event so far in advance, the need to train and make travel arrangements for one of the world’s more remote races takes precedence at this point.
That said, the Paine event – whose goal is to support Patagonian reforestation – is not just for elite athletes. In addition to the full 42-km and a more challenging 63-km ultra-marathon, there are also options of a 21-km half-marathon and a 10-km jog. Perhaps only a few truly dedicated individuals will travel so far to participate competitively, but others who are or will be in the vicinity can take advantage of the race (map and photograph of last year's event courtesy of Patagonian International Marathon).
As I wrote in my earlier post, Patagonia’s brisk spring winds can make any run a challenge, but the site and scenery are unmatchable. The surface, along the park’s gravel roads, is generally good, but if there’s rain or snow (not unusual at this time of year), runners will need to be dressed warmly and dryly, and avoid the puddles. At the very least, though, the organizers can pretty much guarantee that both athletes and spectators will be able to complete the race and watch the finish without incident.

Moon Handbooks Chile, in Saratoga
In a little more than a month – Monday, June 17, at 7 p.m., to be precise – I will offer a digital slide presentation on travel in Chile at Santa Clara Country’s Saratoga Library (13650 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga CA 95070, tel. 408-867-6126, ext. 3817). Coverage will also include the Chilean Pacific Islands of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Juan Fernández (Robinson Crusoe), as well as southernmost Argentina (Tierra del Fuego and the vicinity of El Calafate) that appear in the book. I will also be available to answer questions about Argentina and Buenos Aires. The presentation is free of charge, but books will be available for purchase.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

It's A Mess(i): Argentina's Currency Conundrum Continues


Every so often, Argentine politicians must feel that they, like their newly crowned Queen Máxima of The Netherlands, are facing the fury of North Sea storms. At increasingly frequent intervals, they use their metaphorical fingers to plug the dikes of ill-conceived policies such as the “currency clamp” that keeps ordinary Argentines from purchasing dollars (or other foreign money) as a hedge against inflation (officially at 10 percent, but in reality nearly three times that).
That’s why so-called “blue dollar” (to use the current phrase for the black market currency) has, as of today, more than doubled the official rate of 5.21, with no short-term ceiling in sight. This is what local wits are calling the “Messi dollar” because Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the world’s best player, wears No. 10 on his jersey for Spain’s Barcelona franchise.

Part of the reason for currency controls is to maintain the reserves to allow the country – which is widely regarded as a deadbeat – to pay its international debts. Those reserves, though, have been declining and, in response, the government has announced a tax amnesty to allow Argentines with money in overseas accounts to repatriate their funds in exchange for bonds that will pay them just a four percent return by 2016 – an eternity in Argentine politics - when the current government may no longer be in office. To quote former economy minister Martín Lousteau, “As far as you put patch over patch all you are doing is creating a Frankenstein economy,” and even those Argentines not engaged in money laundering will likely prefer to keep their dollars under the mattress.

At the same time, as inflation rages, the Argentine Congress is considering yet another short-term fix, for the fact that the largest banknote, with a value of 100 pesos, is now worth barely US$9.50 on the open market. Yesterday the government authorized a debate over creating new bills of 200 and 500 pesos which, at the very least, could minimize the inconvenience of overstuffed wallets. Plenty of Argentines, though, remember the hyper-inflation of the 1980s, when million-peso notes flew off the treasury’s printing presses.

Moon Handbooks Chile Plays Saratoga
In a little more than a month – Monday, June 17, at 7 p.m., to be precise – I will offer a digital slide presentation on travel in Chile at Santa Clara Country’s Saratoga Library (13650 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga CA 95070, tel. 408-867-6126, ext. 3817). Coverage will also include the Chilean Pacific Islands of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Juan Fernández (Robinson Crusoe), as well as southernmost Argentina (Tierra del Fuego and the vicinity of El Calafate) that appear in the book. I will also be available to answer questions about Argentina and Buenos Aires. The presentation is free of charge, but books will be available for purchase.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Wining and Driving: Mendoza's New Winery Bus


Over the past couple decades, I’ve driven literally hundreds of thousands of kilometers through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay in the course of creating and updating my guidebooks to those countries. In the course of doing so, one of my favorite activities has been visiting vineyards, as the wineries of all three countries have achieved a growing presence on the global stage.

There’s a risk in this, though, as driving and consuming alcohol is, obviously, against the law. In Chile, with one of the continent’s most restrictive drunk-driving laws and a professional police force to apply it, visitors should be particularly attentive. If at all possible, use a designated driver or take a tour though, in regions like the Colchagua valley where the wineries are spread out, tours can be an expensive alternative.
In a few places, this isn’t an issue – in the northern Argentine town of Cafayate, for instance, many wineries (such as Bodega El Tránsito, pictured above) are almost literally within staggering distance of each other, so the big issue can be crossing the street. Fortunately, Cafayate’s traffic is far less ferocious than many other Argentine towns.

On the highways, Argentina is another issue entirely. In all the years I’ve been driving there, I have seen plenty of dangerously and even willfully reckless driving, but I have never seen an Argentine policeman pull over anyone for a moving violation. It’s common, though, for Argentine police to camp out on the roadside and, between sips of yerba mate, pull over motorists to see whether their brake lights or turn signals are malfunctioning. Safety, though, is rarely their concern – rather, it’s the opportunity to supplement their meager salaries with a coima (bribe). This is common in Argentina, where particularly corrupt provincial governments control the police.

Given the slack police work, and the legal obstacles to getting any DUI conviction in Argentina, one might think alternatives for getting around the wineries in a city like Mendoza might be few, but they’re increasing in a city where more than 120 of them are open to the public. When I first did this, after the economic collapse of 2002, it was preposterously cheap to hire a car and driver for the day and, for a group of three or more persons, that’s probably still desirable. Nevertheless, there’s a new option in the Bus Vitivinícola, which connects downtown Mendoza with wineries just south of the city.
The new service offers two itineraries, known as El Sol and Luján Sur, with a hop-on, hop-off service that’s valid for up to ten hours, allowing extended tours and tasting of up to three wineries. The more northerly El Sol itinerary also stops at the suburb of Chacras de Coria, which has critical mass of accommodations and fine restaurants, and five different wineries, including Bodega Vistalba (pictured above) and Bodega Lagarde. The more southerly Luján Sur route offers a choice of seven, including Bodega Séptima (pictured below), Terrazas de los Andes, Dominio del Plata, and Bodega Tapiz. Most of these wineries have restaurants, and several also offer accommodations.
Given Argentina’s relatively lax treatment of potential DUI’s, it’s a little surprising to see this forward-looking service establish itself here first. Chilean and Uruguayan wineries would do well to look at its example (the Uruguayan cities of Montevideo and Colonia have similar sightseeing buses, but nothing that serves their wineries).

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Gateway to Antarctica? The Future of Puerto Williams


Last week, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) held its annual meeting in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. In conjunction with the IAATO meetings, the Instituto Antárctico Chileno (INACH, pictured below) published a mini-guidebook to the city’s Antarctic sites; though I didn’t have the good fortune to be in Punta, I have managed to obtain a PDF copy of Rosamaría Solar’s Traces of Antarctica: Around Punta Arenas and the Straits of Magellan (link in Spanish, but also available in English).
Punta Arenas is one of Patagonia’s most appealing cities, with a remarkable assemblage of Euro-American architecture that dates, mostly, from the wool boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its port infrastructure also made it, at that time, the main departure point for Antarctic explorations like the 1916 Shackleton expedition that concluded, famously, with the British explorer and several crewmembers rowing across the open South Atlantic, from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Eventually, the Chilean cutter Yelcho rescued the remaining crew from Antarctica to a rapturous reception in Punta Arenas.

This, and several other episodes linking Punta Arenas to Antarctica, plus biographical sketches on significant figures of several nationalities, make this booklet a valuable companion for any visitor to the city. It is subdivided into a walking tour around the central city, a scattering of sights on the northern outskirts, and a suggestion of rather less accessible sights on and near the Strait of Magellan, such as the newly established king penguin colony at Bahía Inútil, on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego.
One interesting piece of news to come out of the meetings is Chile’s interest in developing the settlement of Puerto Williams (pictured above), on the south side of the Beagle Channel, for Antarctic tourism. Punta Arenas is a full day’s sail from Puerto Williams, which adds two full days to each Antarctic excursion. Puerto Williams, though, is actually a couple hours closer to Antarctica than the Argentine port of Ushuaia (pictured below, on the north side of the Channel), which remains the most important access point to the frozen continent.
In the short term, using tiny Puerto Williams as an Antarctic gateway is problematical, as it would need major airport and maritime port expansion to service relatively small cruise ships, let alone the mega-vessels that sometimes dock at Ushuaia. Ushuaia also has a critical mass of hotels, restaurants and other tourist services that Williams would need decades or more to match, but Argentina’s erratic political circumstances – in which vessels that have visited the Falkland Islands are sometimes unwelcome in Argentine ports – could make scenic Williams a more desirable approach to Antarctica and, perhaps a destination in its own right.
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