Buenos Aires

10 Days in Buenos Aires: A Capital That Surprised Us

Because of (or rather thanks to) the delayed delivery of our motorcycles, we completely changed our plans and spent 10 days in Buenos Aires at the end of October and beginning of November.

We came to Latin America for wide open spaces and stunning landscapes… but we have to admit we were almost sad to leave the Argentine capital. This stay was incredible and full of surprises!

Buenos Aires has everything you'd expect from a world-class capital: skyscrapers, impressive architecture, historic monuments, and streets buzzing with people around the clock. But it's also a one-of-a-kind capital. It takes a little time to figure out how it works and make it your own.

Daily Life, Argentine-Style

We got our first lesson pretty quickly when we needed to withdraw Argentine pesos. There are two exchange rates here:

• The official rate
• The blue rate (parallel market), widely known and accepted by everyone

Between the two, Western Union offers a rate close to the blue. When we arrived, we visited no fewer than 5 Western Union branches before finding one that would actually give us cash. Because even though there are plenty of locations, not all of them hand out money — or they simply run out of bills past a certain hour.

Buying a SUBE card (for the urban transit network) is no simpler. Some places sell the cards, others top them up. Don't bother trying to do both in the same spot — it's a lost cause!

Fortunately, luck was on our side: one vendor agreed to dig through a stash of old cards to sell us one and load it on the spot. A bit of French charm probably helped.

Buenos Aires runs by its own rules. We haven't figured everything out yet, but when you're resourceful and willing to go with the flow… the city reveals a whole lot of charm.

A Jaw-Dropping Architectural Heritage

The architectural heritage of Buenos Aires is simply extraordinary.

What can you say about the Palacio de Aguas Corrientes (the old water reservoir) or El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a stunning former theater transformed into a bookshop?

From Plaza de Mayo to La Boca, passing through San Telmo, we discovered the unique atmosphere of each neighborhood. Our eyes barely had time to recover between sights.

The Bitcoin Community and Kendo

During our stay, we had the chance to discover a very active Bitcoin network. We had a great time with LaCrypta, the largest Bitcoin community in Argentina: meetups, rooftop asados, and even a Halloween Party!

In a country with a fragile economy and an unstable currency, Bitcoin makes complete sense. You can feel it in the passion and commitment of Buenos Aires's Bitcoin community.

We obviously couldn't spend several days here without getting some kendo in. We met the Kumakai Kendo Dojo, who welcomed us warmly for an intense and fun training session. Afterward, we went out to dinner with the sensei and his partner — a really enjoyable evening where we talked at length about the state of the country ahead of the legislative elections.

What We'll Take Away from Buenos Aires

• The kindness and warmth of every person we met
• The extraordinary passion Argentinians have for football
• Their love of a good party
• And of course… their devotion to the asado!

This start to our journey is nothing like we planned… but it's been wild. It's been incredible.