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dtb
Feb 1, 2011

I like to traveling world and take pictures of.
Yea, I took my DSLR with me everywhere (except Chile where it was promptly stolen) and I'm glad I did; especially in Rio.
If you have a DSLR, you know how bulky it is and know how to carry it with you as you do things. Just keep your stuff on your person so you don't get robbed like I did.

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Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th

dtb posted:

Yea, I took my DSLR with me everywhere (except Chile where it was promptly stolen) and I'm glad I did; especially in Rio.
If you have a DSLR, you know how bulky it is and know how to carry it with you as you do things. Just keep your stuff on your person so you don't get robbed like I did.

How did it get stolen?

dtb
Feb 1, 2011

I like to traveling world and take pictures of.

Vanilla posted:

How did it get stolen?

My whole bag got stolen on a bus. I put it on the bag racks above the seat and when I got up to get off, my bag was gone. It was at the start of the day and I hadn't taken my camera out or anything, the person just saw me and thought I was a tourist so they took my bag.

I'm told by my Brazilian friends that many people get robbed in Chile because they let their guard down. The day before I had my bag stolen, my friend had her iPhone stolen in Santiago Cathedral. Similar situation; she set it down to take pictures with her DSLR, when she turned back for her phone it was gone.

Thesaurus
Oct 3, 2004


Vanilla posted:

Fair point, i've got the cash so i'll fly where possible. I like the sound of over the counter Valium.

I'm planning on bringing the usual tourist drugs for all types of situations. It looks like the more specialist ones needed are:

- Valium
- Cipro (anti-shits antibiotic, apparently easy to get in SA?)
- Altitude sickness drugs
- Malaria drugs depending on where I go

You can buy antibiotics easily in any pharmacy (at least in Bolivia and Peru). I bought a package or two after arriving and had them on hand for the occasional bouts of horrific food poisoning. I got used to the the more run of the mill intestinal problems. I'm not an expert on these matters, but I wouldn't recommend popping a cipro every time you have the runs. Since it obliterates all of the bacteria in your system, it can throw you out of balance for a while, so I tried to hold off on them unless I was totally crushed.

I know there is an altitude drug that you can take a few days before going to altitude that will help you adjust, but most "altitude sickness" remedies are just some sort of mixture of pain killer and caffeine (or coca, in Bolivia). Unless you are flying from low to high altitude (e.g. into La Paz), I don't suspect you'll have much trouble. I flew straight from Miami to La Paz's El Alto airport (from zero to 13,325 ft...) and it was pretty lovely, but I got over it in a few days.

The malaria drugs I had were just an antibiotic that I took every day for a month, and it actually worked out pretty well, because during that final stage of the trip I didn't really have to deal with nasty intestinal issues. Ceviche and other questionable foods, here I come!

Regarding Bolivia: I'd recommend flying from La Paz to Rurrenabaque while you're in the area. Cool, affordable jungle and pampas (i.e., lots of animals) tours in the Bolivian Amazon! You could technically take a bus, but this falls squarely into the hell-bus "what the gently caress were you thinking?" category.

Make sure to hit up Uyuni and the salt flats before you get to Potosi/Sucre to avoid backtracking there.

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

I used a number dial lock to permanently affix my clothes/everything bag to the bus overhead luggage rack, and slept with my netbook/phone/passport bag in my arms on the bus, I can't imagine putting something like a triangular SLR bag out of reach like that. People are generally good, but you tempt a sex deprived man with a dark room and a triple breasted whore, things will happen.

Thesaurus posted:

You could technically take a bus, but this falls squarely into the hell-bus "what the gently caress were you thinking?" category.

It probably wouldn't hurt to make a list of "hellish bus trips" in the OP

TheLizard
Oct 27, 2004

I am the Lizard Queen!

Hadlock posted:

It probably wouldn't hurt to make a list of "hellish bus trips" in the OP

Wouldn't that just be "all of them"?

hello i am phone
Nov 24, 2005
¿donde estoy?
Argentine buses tend to be pretty comfy but with the long distances between cities it's still a hellish trip.

Destroyenator
Dec 27, 2004

Don't ask me lady, I live in beer

Hadlock posted:

I used a number dial lock to permanently affix my clothes/everything bag to the bus overhead luggage rack, and slept with my netbook/phone/passport bag in my arms on the bus, I can't imagine putting something like a triangular SLR bag out of reach like that. People are generally good, but you tempt a sex deprived man with a dark room and a triple breasted whore, things will happen.
Yeah I had a small length of plastic coated wire with loops at the end so I could secure a backpack to footrests/rails/myself. Wouldn't hold up against decent pliers but it stops the casual pickpocket. The more expensive busses tended to be better at checking tickets for stowed luggage.

Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th

Destroyenator posted:

Yeah I had a small length of plastic coated wire with loops at the end so I could secure a backpack to footrests/rails/myself. Wouldn't hold up against decent pliers but it stops the casual pickpocket. The more expensive busses tended to be better at checking tickets for stowed luggage.

I like this idea for simple securing your bag to your feet / arms rest / etc.

Any other simple tips? I plan on:

- Keeping some cards separate so in the even of a theft I wont lose everything.
- Keeping some cards at home, enveloped and ready to be posted to me in the even I lose everything.
- A fake wallet in my pocket with a little cash and real wallet in an internally stitched pocket (a friend mentioned this but I thought it was going a bit too far).
- I wont bother carrying a wallet when i don't need to, i'll leave it locked up.
- Copies of all paperwork on paper and on an email to make getting new paperwork easy.

Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th

Thesaurus posted:

I got used to the the more run of the mill intestinal problems. I'm not an expert on these matters, but I wouldn't recommend popping a cipro every time you have the runs.


No, the Cipro is only to be used in dire circumstances as your advice is correct. I got Bali belly *bad* a year ago and a friend gave me Cipro, amazing how quickly it had me up and going again. Saved the holiday.

Trabisnikof
Dec 24, 2005

Vanilla posted:

I like this idea for simple securing your bag to your feet / arms rest / etc.

Any other simple tips? I plan on:

- Keeping some cards separate so in the even of a theft I wont lose everything.
- Keeping some cards at home, enveloped and ready to be posted to me in the even I lose everything.
- A fake wallet in my pocket with a little cash and real wallet in an internally stitched pocket (a friend mentioned this but I thought it was going a bit too far).
- I wont bother carrying a wallet when i don't need to, i'll leave it locked up.
- Copies of all paperwork on paper and on an email to make getting new paperwork easy.

I think the fake wallet is a little overkill, but where on earth would you safely lock up your wallet? Also, you'll still want paper copies of your passport/tickets because you want those copies for when everything goes wrong...email doesn't help you then.

I usually kept ~$20 in my hat, $500 in my shoe, passport with credit card and spare money in a money-belt, and a wallet with just cash and one card. All in local currency of course.

It is way more important to not look like a target instead of focusing on what to do after you've been targeted.

Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th

Trabisnikof posted:



It is way more important to not look like a target instead of focusing on what to do after you've been targeted.

This is true and probably the most important point. I'll avoid doing anything that marks me as a tourist (map checking, looking lost, etc).

it helps i'm half Italian so can pass as a native South American is many places as long as I don't dress like a tourist :)

roffels
Jul 27, 2004

Yo Taxi!

Vanilla posted:

- A fake wallet in my pocket with a little cash and real wallet in an internally stitched pocket (a friend mentioned this but I thought it was going a bit too far).


Eh, I put a day's worth of cash in my wallet, and either put the rest in a money belt or in an internally stitched pocket. Depends on how paranoid I'm feeling.

Destroyenator
Dec 27, 2004

Don't ask me lady, I live in beer

Vanilla posted:

I like this idea for simple securing your bag to your feet / arms rest / etc.

Any other simple tips? I plan on:

- Keeping some cards separate so in the even of a theft I wont lose everything.
- Keeping some cards at home, enveloped and ready to be posted to me in the even I lose everything.
- A fake wallet in my pocket with a little cash and real wallet in an internally stitched pocket (a friend mentioned this but I thought it was going a bit too far).
- I wont bother carrying a wallet when i don't need to, i'll leave it locked up.
- Copies of all paperwork on paper and on an email to make getting new paperwork easy.
I spoke to my bank before I left and upgraded myself to a Gold account ($12/month?) which gave me free international ATM withdrawals so I was never pressured to get out more than a day or two of money. I always kept my wallet on me and I would leave my passport in hostels if I could. Probably not that secure but thefts inside hostels tend to be iPods/cash/cameras, things other travellers could use. Didn't bother with a fake wallet or shoe money. Outside of the "don't-go-here" sections of town and bus terminals unless you're being really dumb you'll be fine.

If you do lose your bank card when you ring the bank ask for a temporary stop. It'll mean if it does turn up you can reactivate it without having to get a new one sent out. I managed to lose a bank card to an ATM that crashed and was able to get it back from their head office a few days later.

Dr Rotcod
May 20, 2004
I see the consistently reoccurring disappointment and failure you will continue to cause yourselves.
So Perutreks is all booked up for the Thanksgiving week in November. Are there any other options around there worth trying?

Angstronaut
Apr 26, 2005

is there no shame?
I know this isn't specific to South America but I have a question: I'm flying out of Santiago today and I want to bring my dad back some pisco. My (Delta) flight is to Atlanta and then I have a connecting flight to Chattanooga. Could I put booze in my checked bags from Santiago, if so is the duty fee incredible($15?$20?)/would anybody hassle me at customs? Maybe I could buy the pisco at duty free in Santiago and then go through customs with it in Atlanta and put it in my suitcase and re-check my bags for the Chattanooga flight? Oh god help I don't know what I'm doing :psyduck:

TheLizard
Oct 27, 2004

I am the Lizard Queen!

Angstronaut posted:

I know this isn't specific to South America but I have a question: I'm flying out of Santiago today and I want to bring my dad back some pisco. My (Delta) flight is to Atlanta and then I have a connecting flight to Chattanooga. Could I put booze in my checked bags from Santiago, if so is the duty fee incredible($15?$20?)/would anybody hassle me at customs? Maybe I could buy the pisco at duty free in Santiago and then go through customs with it in Atlanta and put it in my suitcase and re-check my bags for the Chattanooga flight? Oh god help I don't know what I'm doing :psyduck:

Buy it at Duty Free. You will go through immigration and then pick up your bag in ATL. At that point, pack the pisco in your bag and then recheck it through to Chattanooga. No worries as long as you're 21 and aren't bringing back more than 1 liter of liquor.

Or, buy it in Santiago, pack it and then declare it at customs. As long as you're bringing back less than 1 liter, you don't have to pay duty. Either way you'll recheck your bag after going through customs and immigration in ATL.

On a side note, I hope you have a LONG layover.

TheLizard fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Sep 3, 2012

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Brought back two bottles of Cuban rum from Mexico in to the United States, bought them at the duty free shop there in the airport, I was skeptical at first when they didn't give me my liquor and said "we'll bring it to you", I thought they were scamming me, but another customer reassured me that this magical airport liquor delivery service was real.

Jose Cuervo
Aug 25, 2004
My parents want to visit Brazil and want to do it through a tour package. Does anyone have experience with package tours of Brazil and how to identify a good tour company for Brazil (I have tried Googling some of the tour companies I found but found nothing conclusive)?

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Brazil is larger than the continental US (and only 4% smaller than the US + Alaska & Hawaii), what part of Brazil did they want to tour?

TheImmigrant
Jan 18, 2011
They'll want to focus on a particular region of Brazil. Rio de Janeiro state would be good for a first-timer to Brazil. It's relatively small and full enough of attractions to keep a person busy for weeks. There's Rio city, Teresopolis and Petropolis (mountains and summer home to imperial families), Paraty (old colonial town on the beach), Ilha Grande (lush island covered in Atlantic rain forest). The colonial gem Ouro Preto isn't terribly far, in Minas Gerais state, and they could take a quick flight to Iguacu Falls.

If they are interested in Amazon tours, Manaus is the base for these. To give you an idea of Brazil's size, Manaus is a 4-5 hour flight from Rio. The Pantanal is supposed to be even better for wildlife viewing than the Amazon.

The country really is too big for a snapshot-style tour in ten days.

Jose Cuervo
Aug 25, 2004

Macunaima posted:

They'll want to focus on a particular region of Brazil. Rio de Janeiro state would be good for a first-timer to Brazil. It's relatively small and full enough of attractions to keep a person busy for weeks. There's Rio city, Teresopolis and Petropolis (mountains and summer home to imperial families), Paraty (old colonial town on the beach), Ilha Grande (lush island covered in Atlantic rain forest). The colonial gem Ouro Preto isn't terribly far, in Minas Gerais state, and they could take a quick flight to Iguacu Falls.

If they are interested in Amazon tours, Manaus is the base for these. To give you an idea of Brazil's size, Manaus is a 4-5 hour flight from Rio. The Pantanal is supposed to be even better for wildlife viewing than the Amazon.

The country really is too big for a snapshot-style tour in ten days.

Sorry for the very vague question. I guess I was looking for recommendations along the lines you gave. Now that I know some of the places they would want to visit in Rio de Janeiro state, how would I go about finding a reputable tour for them? I cannot seem to find reviews of tour companies. Any advice on how to best accomplish this?

Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th
A few questions:

1.) So what did everyone do for vaccinations when going to SA? I know there's lots of websites about it but just wondering what YOU did.
2.) Which malaria tablets did you use and when did you start taking them? Whole trip or certain areas?
3.) Are malaria tabs easy to come by and cheaper in SA?

I'm a pussy who hates needles so i'm trying to avoid as many as possible. To summarise:

Going to: Chile, ARG, BRZ, BOLIV, ECUAD, COLOM, PERU.

Going to get a vaccination for:

Hep A + Typhoid (c-c-combo)
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Polio (combo)
Yellow fever

There was a Hep a, Hep B nd typhoid combo but i don't think many places do it for some reason.

I don't intend on going off the beaten track...

Miike
Nov 7, 2003
Free Mandela
I did Bolivia ( went to Jungle there), Peru, Equador and Colombia last year for 4 months. I didn't do anything for Malaria, didn't hear of any outbreaks so I didn't take anything, plus from experiences in India, the side effects of some could be quite intense.

I got a yellow fever vaccine because I heard it was mandatory for one of those countries, but they never checked. I already had the DTP combo from a long time ago. I probably also took a Hep + thypoid at one point in the past. But there was one Hep that was like 3 shots in 6 months or something which I never finished.

Vanilla posted:

A few questions:

1.) So what did everyone do for vaccinations when going to SA? I know there's lots of websites about it but just wondering what YOU did.
2.) Which malaria tablets did you use and when did you start taking them? Whole trip or certain areas?
3.) Are malaria tabs easy to come by and cheaper in SA?

I'm a pussy who hates needles so i'm trying to avoid as many as possible. To summarise:

Going to: Chile, ARG, BRZ, BOLIV, ECUAD, COLOM, PERU.

Going to get a vaccination for:

Hep A + Typhoid (c-c-combo)
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Polio (combo)
Yellow fever

There was a Hep a, Hep B nd typhoid combo but i don't think many places do it for some reason.

I don't intend on going off the beaten track...

Destroyenator
Dec 27, 2004

Don't ask me lady, I live in beer
I went to a travel doctor here. I had already had my DTP recently enough to be covered (it's 5 or 10 years), had Hep B and TB earlier and was still good for them.

I got Hep A, Typhoid, Yellow Fever (as mentioned above mandatory but never checked) and Rabies.
Hep A is worth it because as I understand it you can get it from any dirty water, including from washed salads etc. No idea about typhoid. Yellow fever can kill and there are still outbreaks occasionally and in theory they'll check you on entry/exit to some countries.

The rabies I ummed and ahhed about because it was 3 x $100 for the full set and it's not immunity but it does give you another few days to a week to get to a doctor before you go mad and die in agony. I did eventually get it because it's not just getting bitten by a rabid monkey in the jungle it could just be a scratch from a street dog in a town a few days from decent medical care and I value my life at slightly more the $300.

Didn't bother with antimalarials because I figured they'd be cheaper there but I never actually made it to anywhere with malaria so I didn't find out. I did manage to get $200 back from my health insurance toward the injections so if you've insurance ring them and ask.

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Destroyenator posted:

Didn't bother with antimalarials because I figured they'd be cheaper there but I never actually made it to anywhere with malaria so I didn't find out.

I think I paid either $9 or $12 for 74 days worth of malaria antibiotics (Doxycycline ?) at walmart. loving awful stuff though, because they come in enormous horse pill size and nuke everything in your gut for the first few days and things can be, uh, messy. When they say "start taking these a week before your trip", that's what they're talking about, I'm pretty sure. gently caress it, if I ever go somewhere with Malaria again, I'll just get treatment when I get back stateside if I actually get infected.

*I am not a doctor this is not medical advice

TheImmigrant
Jan 18, 2011
I took Doxycycline for a couple of weeks. Awful stuff - it gave me a persistent, hacking cough, and awful nightmares. I went off it and took my chances.

Antimalarials generally have very unpleasant side effects for many people.

Thesaurus
Oct 3, 2004


I was on an antiobiotic anti-malarial... can't remember the name. Basically, I took a pill a day for a few days before I was in the area and for 3 weeks afterwards. No horrible side effects or anything like that. Supposedly it made you more sensitive to sun burns, but I was always covered up anyways so I didn't have any problems.

The bonus was that I could suddenly eat whatever I wanted (e.g. street food) for the last leg of my trip and not have to worry about continuous stomach illnesses and diarhea because I was constantly downing antibiotics.

If you know where you will be travelling within those countries, you can consult a CDC malaria map to see if you'll need to prepare. For example, the Bolivian jungle (around Rurrenabaque) is actually fine to visit, but if you were to go into the lowlands around Santa Cruz, you'd need to take medicine. The only reason I needed the pills was because we flew into a jungly area of Peru (Tarapoto). The map said that we didn't need to take pills if we stayed in the urban center, but we didn't know where we'd be going, so we took them anyways.

If you are scared of getting shots, you can at least get the typhoid vaccine in pill form.

Cometa Rossa
Oct 23, 2008

I would crawl ass-naked over a sea of broken glass just to kiss a dick
So my friend and I are looking to do some hiking in Peru and Bolivia in the midst of a longer South America trip. Is it worth it to bring a small sleeping bag or will it be easy/cheap to sort that out once we get there?

joepinetree
Apr 5, 2012

Jose Cuervo posted:

Sorry for the very vague question. I guess I was looking for recommendations along the lines you gave. Now that I know some of the places they would want to visit in Rio de Janeiro state, how would I go about finding a reputable tour for them? I cannot seem to find reviews of tour companies. Any advice on how to best accomplish this?

It depends, really, on how independent your folks are. If they are able to get around on their own, and can manage to communicate things despite not knowing the language, they might just be better of arranging something while in Rio. I was able to visit Petropolis by getting a referral from the hotel front desk and hiring a cab driver for the day on a flat fee. This, of course, for the stuff that is within the state of Rio itself.

If they want to travel to cities that are a bit farther away, there is stiff like the Brazil airpass by TAM airlines:

http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/vgn/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ef41105ac2e7b110VgnVCM1000005f05a8c0RCRD

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Putting a sleeping bag in a compression bag and then strapping it to your existing bag/checked luggage shouldn't be a problem. Sleeping in a used sleeping bag seems pretty gross to me. REI sells a hostel "cocoon" made of tshirt style cotton for about $19, but it's not a whole lot smaller than a sleeping bag in a compression bag. It's designed as a liner for hostels and questionable hotel beds. A sleeping bag is a good thing to have anyways, and they last pretty much forever. Just remember to take it out of the compression bag when you get home, the filling doesn't like it for long periods of time.

dtb
Feb 1, 2011

I like to traveling world and take pictures of.
Does anyone know about Spanish language requirements to study at UBA in Argentina?
This has caught my eye: http://web.econ.uba.ar/WAppFCE01/CrudBoxContainer01?Function=getXhtml&boxContainerPOID=2610

dtb fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Sep 27, 2012

Professor Lazy
Jun 25, 2011

dtb posted:

Does anyone know about Spanish language requirements to study at UBA in Argentina?
This has caught my eye: http://web.econ.uba.ar/WAppFCE01/CrudBoxContainer01?Function=getXhtml&boxContainerPOID=2610

The classes are given in Spanish, so at least you need to be able to understand it. I'm sure most professors speak English to some degree, though.

As far as I know, they don't require any kind of language certification, but they may ask you to take a test.

I've studied at UBA, but I went to a different faculty (and each one is somewhat independent from the others), so I'm not sure of what you need. The website doesn't say a lot, but you can write them here and ask them any questions you have about it: posgrado@econ.uba.ar

Labradoodle
Nov 24, 2011

Crax daubentoni

Vanilla posted:

-I know everyone has stories about which countries are safe but at the moment it appears Venezuela has the ‘unsafe’ tag. Agree?

As a venezuelan, I'd scrape it from my plans for now. Violence and crime aren't contained to some towns such as seems to be the case with Mexico. I'm sure lots of people have enjoyed their trips here, but I'd say the risks outweight the potential enjoyment, seeing as if anything happens to you the police are absolutely useless and just as likely to rob you as any other thug.

If you're still interested though, I'd be happy to provide travel advice or answer questions.

Labradoodle fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Sep 30, 2012

Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th
Anyone here experienced with Patagonia? Obviously it's a massive area with lots to do but it's hard finding information about the various areas and best place to start for someone who doesn't really know what they want.

I intend on arriving in Santiago early March and spending some time there to get over the jet lag and relax.

From there I need to get over to Patagonia before the weather turns.

- How would you recommend getting from Santiago to Patagonia?
- I'm not a climber, but don't mind a bit of hiking (not extreme!)
- I guess I can spend up to a month exploring Patagonia.
- What absolute must-see's would you recommend?
- I'm unsure about many-day camping trips. I'd probably look use a company that had accommodate (even tents) already set up at each point.

Some people have recommended to just get a flight down to Ushuaia and take it from there. Work my way slowly up Patagonia.

Any advice?

Edit: Thinking about it i'm actually wondering if I should go to Patagonia or just spend that month exploring more of Chile and central Argentina. I may just go to patagonia for a week to see the main sights and bug out!

Vanilla fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Oct 1, 2012

jjack229
Feb 14, 2008
Articulate your needs. I'm here to listen.

Vanilla posted:

Anyone here experienced with Patagonia? Obviously it's a massive area with lots to do but it's hard finding information about the various areas and best place to start for someone who doesn't really know what they want.

This past November we spent almost 3 weeks in Chile. We flew down to Punta Arenas, spent a night, and then took a bus north to Puerto Natales, where we spent another night. We then went to the main focus of our trip, Torres del Paine. We spent five nights there at the lodges hiking the W-circuit (with an extra day of hiking in the beginning). The park is absolutely amazing.

We returned to Puerto Natales, were we spent a couple of nights doing local trips (including kayaking and horseback riding), before taking the Navimag ferry north through the fjords to Puerto Montt (three day trip). We then spent a couple days in Puerto Varas (and went to the Osorno Volcano) before returning back to the US.

The trip was great and I would definitely recommend it. I can go into more detail if you have any questions, or share photos if your interested.

Vanilla
Feb 24, 2002

Hay guys what's going on in th
Thanks but I may actually be skipping Patagonia in the end.

Well....maybe. I was looking at spending a month there and a friend simply asked me 'why??'. I'm not much of an outdoorsy person. Sure, i'm fit and active but my idea of a good time isn't hiking & climbing. I own zero pieces of North Face clothing and a few months ago for all I knew Patagonia was a city. Now i'm looking at spending a month there.

So I may pop down to a key part but all in i've been advised to save patagonia for another holiday. The month could be used elsewhere, i'd save a bit of money and find what i'm looking for elsewhere.

Another question!

I have a bog standard day bag that came with my 70L rucksack. I'm thinking of getting rid of it and getting a nice new Lowepro (picture below) bag for my 12 month travels.

A few schools of thoughts on this i've discovered since asking around.

1.) Nice expensive camera bag is going to make you stand out for a robbing.
2.) It looks like a normal bag so who cares.
3.) If you're going to get robbed it's because you are a gringo and in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bag isn't going to make much of a difference.

Your thoughts?

Only registered members can see post attachments!

HookShot
Dec 26, 2005
It might look like a normal bag to your friends, but thieves are going to INSTANTLY recognize the Lowepro logo. If you do get the bag, get rid of the logo.

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort
I plan to fly to Buenos Aires from Europe and stay for two months in that part of South America. I could stay a month or so in BA and a week around New Year's eve in Rio, where I have friends. Other than that, my plans are open.

Any suggestions? I'm a guy in my 30's and have broad interests (culture, partying, nature) but not a big budget. I'd like to see the Andes and rainforests and Tierra del Fuego and gauchos and everything but I'm aware that distances are great, buses take forever and planes cost. I also speak some Spanish and I telecommute 4 hours a day so I need some private and peaceful space most of the days.

Some more specific questions:
- Is a month too much time for Buenos Aires? I'd like to make some friends, get a feel for the place, maybe take some tango lessons.
- Are there cheaper ways to get an apartment than Airbnb, other than couch surfing? Airbnb quotes for my home town are much more expensive than in local ads.
- A week in Montevideo or Cordoba?
- Or if those two cities are not that different to BA, maybe a week in Paraguay or Bolivia?

People usually try to cover too much in too little time, I feel I'm the opposite. The possibilities are so many it's kind of overwhelming so I'm trying to keep it simple.

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TheImmigrant
Jan 18, 2011

Doctor Malaver posted:

I plan to fly to Buenos Aires from Europe and stay for two months in that part of South America. I could stay a month or so in BA and a week around New Year's eve in Rio, where I have friends. Other than that, my plans are open.

Any suggestions? I'm a guy in my 30's and have broad interests (culture, partying, nature) but not a big budget. I'd like to see the Andes and rainforests and Tierra del Fuego and gauchos and everything but I'm aware that distances are great, buses take forever and planes cost. I also speak some Spanish and I telecommute 4 hours a day so I need some private and peaceful space most of the days.

Do you need office space? I've rented at a place called Area Tres in Buenos Aires, which is quite reasonable with plans and prices.

Be sure to have accommodation arranged in Rio around NYE. It's an enormous holiday there, second only to Carnaval. Also bear in mind that Brazil is VERY expensive these days, with Rio on par with Paris or London. It's also a very long bus trip up from Buenos Aires - I think something like 36 hours. Florianopolis is on the way, and would be a great place to break up the trip if you're doing it overland.

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Some more specific questions:
- Is a month too much time for Buenos Aires? I'd like to make some friends, get a feel for the place, maybe take some tango lessons.

A month is definitely not too much time in BsAs. It's an enormous city, culturally very rich, and has a lot of attractions within striking distance.

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- Are there cheaper ways to get an apartment than Airbnb, other than couch surfing? Airbnb quotes for my home town are much more expensive than in local ads.

AirBnB is generally for short-term rentals, and is never the cheapest option anywhere for monthlong stays. Try asking on http://baexpats.org/ for rentals. Generally, places in Palermo catering to expats will be very expensive. Almagro is a nearby neighborhood that's less expensive. San Telmo is very funky and artsy, with rents much cheaper than in Palermo.

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- A week in Montevideo or Cordoba?

I love Montevideo (did a semester of school there), but it's generally Buenos Aires-lite. I'd opt for a week in Mendoza, which has spectacular wine culture, and is in the shadow of the Andes.

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- Or if those two cities are not that different to BA, maybe a week in Paraguay or Bolivia?

Like I said, Montevideo is a little sibling to BsAs. It's worth a weekend trip on the BuqueBus, but probably not a week if you're already spending a lot of time in BsAs. Mendoza is distinct enough.

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