Backpacking South America

Learning how to get around Buenos Aires was no easy task. Our first foray into public transportation was on our first full day in the city. We had successfully coordinated to meet up with our friend Emily at Plaza Italia in Palermo. Now the struggle was, how do we get to Palermo?

There are many methods of transportation in Buenos Aires, so at the hostel, we decided to ask the front desk their recommendation and they said that we could take the colectivo (bus) or a taxi. The colectivo would only cost 2.50 pesos (about $0.80 for the both of us) or if we decided to take a taxi, it  would cost 25 pesos (about $8.30). We opted for the colectivo, after all, we are on a budget. We had heard that the colectivo only takes coins and that coins are difficult to come by and we did not have that many coins yet. So, nervous about the pending experience, we confirmed with the attendant at the hostel that it was okay if we have the exact amount, just not all in coins.

This is the bus we take every day

Somewhere, something was lost in translation. We got on the colectivo with a 2 peso bill and 50 centavos (equivalent of 50 “cents”). The driver said “sobre monedas” (only change) and proceeded to drive off with us still on. I was wondering what we were to do. We never received a ticket. We waited our turn to pay, but we didn´t have coins and people kept getting on the bus and passing right by us. We both looked at each other trying to figure out what to do next. Finally, a young man approached us who spoke some English, he asked if we needed moneda (coins). We said yes, and he gave us coins and showed us how to get a ticket. Whew! We were legitimately on the colectivo. Now, we just weren´t quite sure where to get off the colectivo. We were told that it should take us 30 minutes to get to Palermo. It had already been 40 minutes and Jared started to feel that we were going away from Plaza that we needed to get to. Already 10 minutes late to meet Emily, we decided it was best to get off the bus and walk. During our walk to the meet Emily, a key topic of conversation was the disadvantages of not having a cell phone… By the time we got to the Plaza, we were 40 minutes late! We had no way to reach her. But, as they say, in Argentina, nothing starts on time…

We walked around the square and found a bench in the middle to sit and wait for her. We figured she had already been there and maybe she´s just been waiting for us and hadn´t veered to far. Jared decided to go walk around outside the Plaza and I decided to stay put, just in case she came back to the meeting place. Just as I looked up, I caught Jared´s eye from afar and he waived me over. I quickly grabbed our things, as he began to run. Emily was walking on the other side of the street. Mind you, this was not just a 2 or 4 lane street – this was 7+ lanes of one way traffic entering the plaza from multiple directions. It was chaos. Meanwhile, Jared was trying to get Emily’s attention without drawing to much attention to himself. I caught up to Jared and we kept our eye on her as we paced her on the other side of the street. She began to walk down into the Subte station. We needed to catch her! Acting on impulse, I jumped into the street and Jared followed. Dodging a few cars, we made it across the street and down into the Subte, just in time to catch her as she walked through the turnstile. We made it!

All’s well that ends well, right? We had a wonderful day with her. We headed to Belgrano to one of her universities so she could get her ID photo before her classes started. Since she had been around for 4 weeks already, she showed us around, took us through Chinatown and gave us many tips for navigating the city. It was so nice to be with someone who understood what was going on around us and could communicate it to us in terms we could relate to. Most importantly though, Emily was our savior for helping us learn the entire transportation system. She gave us a guide book of a map for the colectivos and helped us get a subway card that we can store value on. Most importantly, she was our money exchange for COINS!

As we’ve discovered, you must have coins to take the colectivo. It’s not too hard to navigate the colectivo system, but it’s hard to get coins. The government doesn’t create a lot of coins and everybody hoards them. Stores would rather decline a sale or round your change up to the next peso just so they don’t have to give out coins. It’s actually a racket. The colectivos get so much change everyday, they then sell the change back into the system with a surcharge. So not only do they profit off the fare, they profit off the money itself. I guess it’s similar to an interest rate, but it seems like a scheme to me.