Argentina
Buenos Aires
February 2023 • For a country with such great resources, traditions, landscapes, and people, what a tragedy it is that Argentina can't fix its 90% inflation rate. I'd need a master's degree to ever understand its two-tier currency exchange (one called “blue dollar” and targeted to visitors). All I know is don’t come to Argentina with U.S. notes smaller than $100 or with any folds or marks on them. And don’t bring notes that have a puny Ben Franklin face—only the big-faced Ben will do. Burned a lot of time and adrenaline trying to get money via Western Union transfer from my bank account, eventually walking out of one exchange with a stash of pesos that looked cartoonishly obscene in my front pocket. Buenos Aires is a wonderful city, but right now the difficulty of obtaining money at a reasonable rate cannot be overstated, and it falls especially hard on those who aren't just passing through.
![Cementerio de la Recoleta](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF1316 copy.jpg)
![= 500 USD](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/IMG_6970 copy.jpg)
![Palace of the Argentine National Congress](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF1357 copy.jpg)
![Banco Hipotecario](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF1372 copy.jpg)
![Eva Perón's tomb, Cementerio de la Recoleta](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF1296 copy.jpg)
![La Boca](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF2187 copy.jpg)
![El Ateneo Grand Splendid](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF1233 copy.jpg)
![Downtown sidewalk](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF1359 copy.jpg)
![Cesáreo Bernaldo de Quirós,](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/IMG_6355 copy.jpg)
![Maradona](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF2119 copy.jpg)
![Floralis Genérica](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF2091 copy.jpg)
![La Boca](https://www.johnmikulenka.com/assets/images/travel/argentina-2023/DSCF2104 copy.jpg)