Lets Go On Strike For A Day!

Yesterday, March 31st, all public transportation in all of Argentina went on strike. When I say all, I really mean all. Some of the things that were are strike include:
Buses (local, mid and long distance)
Trains
3 out of 6 Airlines
Ports
Banks
Gas Stations
basically if it can get you from one place to another, they were on strike

My bus stop to go home from my university. I take number 18.

Why did they do this you may ask. Its because they don't like the president. I am sure there is more specific reasons beyond that but basically, that is why. Also, it was only for a day. Most things were closed because the majority of Argentina takes public transportation to get to work and it just wasn't possible to get there. My university gave out excused absences for anyone living 30+ blocks from school. As I live that far and normally take a public bus to school, I didn't have to go. Can't say I am complaining.

Getting from one place to another here is somewhat of an art in my opinion. Not everyone uses cars so there are so many ways to get places. I have used the public bus system most. A one-way ride costs 7.15 pesos (less than 1USD) and I take it at least twice a day on a regular school day. There are also private bus companies which have additional routes, are less crowded and often come more frequently. I haven´t had the need to take one yet but they cost slightly more and are not a bad alternative. You pay in cash which is convenient when your bus card does not have any money on it. In order to ride the public buses you have to pay for a card (about 25 pesos) and then add money to it periodically. You can only go negative on your card up to 2 bus rides so I try to keep a decent balance on my card on all times.

Bus 18, which runs next to my house, university, and all the way to downtown. 

There are also taxis, which the cost varies depending on how far you are going. From my house to downtown (a 40 minute ride completely depending on the traffic) can cost me upwards of 150 pesos. Most of the time people divide a taxi so that it does not come out that expensive. A short trip can be as low as 30 pesos (they normally charge a start up cost of about 15 pesos). There are two types of taxis, the yellow ones and the green ones. The yellow ones are the kind you normally flag down on the street and the green are called Remis. Generally you call the Remi company to come pick you up. I normally take Remis because they record in their system exactly when I am picked up which adds a little extra safety.

As Cordoba is a city, many things are in walking distance. At my first house I would walk to school which took about 20 minutes. I can walk to a mall, supermarket, some of my friends houses, and several other businesses from where I am currently living. Many people also own bikes and use those as their main form of transportation during the day. I have now had the uncomfortable pleasure of riding the crossbar of other peoples bikes side-straddle as a way of "catching a ride" a couple of times.

Some people own motorcycles or motorbikes. I haven't ridden one of them yet, but they are pretty common, especially among the young professional crowd as they don't have family to tote around. Of course there are always cars but most don´t have one and often times there is only 1 for an entire family when they do have one.

People can get pretty creative here on how they get themselves from place to place. You can even see a horse drawn cart from time to time. With so many ways to get where you need to go, its always a bit of a chore to figure out the best way to go. While I am not going to be saddling a horse to get to a friend´s house anytime soon, I have definitely started to master the art of transportation in Argentina.

I Have A Secret.

I have a secret. I like to travel. I guess that isn't exactly a secret, but you might not realize that I travel low budget. I will start out with my most recent trip which was 3 days/ 4 nights to Mendoza, Argentina.  

There is not just one secret magical trip to traveling cheap but I will share a couple of the ways I have traveled cheaply in the past. 

For my trip to Mendoza March 21st-March 25th I went with a group which can sometimes be the cheapest way to travel. I went with a travel agency from my city in Argentina called Intercambio Cordoba which was created by a german about 5 years ago to provide cost affordable trips for exchange students living in Cordoba. It is run and organized by young adults who understand where to cut costs and what is important to students in their early 20s. Basically, they didn't have us spending the entire weekend looking at art displays and discussing the history of the region in great depth. 

Some of the activities included: rafting, an afternoon at a pool, big asado dinner, optional night out, visiting an Inca carved/natural land formation "el puente del Inca", hiking next to Aconcagua (6956 meters above sea level), a visit to a statue of saint martin crossing the andes (which required hiking up a hill to get to), and a bike tour to different wineries/vineyards. 

The trip included transportation, the cost of all the activities, all the food and drink except for 1 lunch,  and the hostel. The trip cost me about $230 USD. I would say that is a win. The only additional things I paid were my one lunch, snacks, taxi to get to and from the place the bus left from, and souvenirs. Without souvenirs, the trip cost me around $250 USD. Two of the nights were spent on the bus in transport, the other two at hostels. We ate burgers, sandwiches, a big asado, typical breakfast foods, had snacks periodically provided and were completely taken care of. It was a great way to see a place that is about an eight hour drive from where I am living and in a cost effective manner. 

For me, the two most important ways to save money on a trip is housing and transportation. The cheaper the hostel/hotel/bus/flight/taxi/walk/bike ride/ whatever, the better. As long as it is safe, obviously. 

For spring break freshman year I spent $227.63 for 2 weekends+ 1 week by sleeping in homes of people I know, buying groceries for some meals, and traveling by car (splitting cost of gas), and taking advantage of free activities (AKA beach and window shopping). In Brazil I took a bus (about $50 round trip) to a different part of the country to visit a city I had not been to. I stayed at a French girl's house that I had met while previously traveling, traveled around the city on the public bus system, and took advantage of some of the local tourist opportunities that were very cost efficient (museums, tourist bus system, overlook of the city, public parks, etc). I have learned that often times city governments offer some great tourist attractions or interesting places to visit for almost no cost as a way to encourage tourism. It doesn't require deep pockets, 5 star hotels, and 3 weeks of entry to disney theme parks to have some really cool experiences.