Argentina Inspection Trip Day 1-Day 3

As we are a worldwide tour operator, it stands to reason our posts will be mainly about travel. And as a tour leader, it is my (Judy's) passion to write a daily journal whenever I travel, which could be on an escorted tour with clients or occasionally on an inspection trip on my own. These are undertaken before we introduce a new destination, to make sure we include all the best places and activities for our clients. 

In 2017, I combined an inspection trip in Argentina and Peru with an escorted tour in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. My blog for the next while will be taken from my journal of this month long journey to South America. 

ARGENTINA INSPECTION TRIP: Day 1- Day 3 

28 May: After a 10 hour flight from Johannesburg in South Africa to Sao Paulo in Brazil, followed by a 3 hour flight to Buenos Aires in Argentina, I arrived at the Savoy Hotel around 23h00 on 28 May. Not much registered through my post flying stupor and I barely unpacked. Just cut the plastic wrapping off my suitcase with a neat little tool I had acquired in Poland, took out my pyjamas, showered and fell into bed. Would have killed for a cup of tea to wash down the sandwich I did not eat on the plane, but there was no tea station in the room and I was too tired to wait for room service. So settled for bread and water! I subsequently discovered that many hotels in Argentina (in fact in South America), do not include tea stations in the rooms. A great pity as I often keep my inspection tour costs down by having a cup-a-soup and some crackers brought from home for supper.

Managed to get connected onto the wi-fi  and make contact with husband Graham via Whats App, text and call. We spoke early on the morning of 29 May and it was as clear as a bell. Technology when you are traveling has  indeed come a long way.

29 May: Duty before pleasure today which meant 4 hotel inspections in the morning. First the Savoy where I was staying and was shown around by Silvina. We are always shown different rooms so we can decide which to use for a tour and for private people for whom we might arrange a tour. Then comes their restaurant and any other facilities on offer such as sauna, fitness room, business centre, all of which are free for all guests, and maybe a spa which is for guests' own account. This hotel is a restored old hotel from the 1800s. The public areas have been retained as they were with beautiful pillars and frieses.    Only the rooms are fully renovated. Sadly many hotel rooms in all the hotels I inspected have dreadful views of dilapidated old buildings, ugly rooftops and dingy streets. 

Savoy Hotel beautiful interiors

This could be a deciding factor in the end, no  matter how good a hotel is. We do not want our guests first impression of the tour being an ugly "city view." I won't bore you with the other inspections. Suffice it to say this is going to be a difficult task: no one hotel was a total wow and not one ticked all the boxes. So we will have to do a pros and cons list, check them on Tripadvisor and see which one comes up tops for our guests in Buenos Aires.

A short time to rest before departing on my City Tour shared with guests from other hotels, 15 in all. Quite a  lively bunch including 2 dear old gentlemen from Paris who were always lagging behind when we got out and walked. Buenos Aires on a Monday is hectic with traffic and our driver seemed to be practising for the next Formula 1. I decided later it would be best to take this tour on a Sunday when there is less traffic and the nearby San Telmo market is open – artisans and crafters selling their wares - and everyone loves a market! 

From the bus we saw various buildings of interest, none of which have stuck in my mind,

sad to say. A mix of architecture as a result of being colonized by Spain and after independence the

influence of Italy and France, both of whom had good relationships with Argentina.  Twice we alighted from the bus and walked around a bit, through an important square and also in a suburb called La Boca.  When Argentina was on the up and up, people from around the  world were invited to immigrate and they came in their thousands.  La Boca is the area where they landed on the Plate River and settled, building mainly tin houses clad on the inside with timber. It fell into neglect after a time and is now the haven of artists and bohemians who live off the tourist interest in their neighbourhood. Because they had little money, they painted their houses with whatever paint was cheap at the time, resulting in delightfully colourful rows of buildings of all shapes and sizes and in the colours of the  rainbow. It is charming to walk through, although I did feel as though I was intruding on their privacy. Rather like the Bo Kaap district in Cape Town,  benefiting from tourism but at the cost of their privacy. 

Buenos Aires city tour

Colourful La Boca

Then on through the upmarket suburb of Recoleta with its tree lined avenues with old mansions, many now  the week end homes of the rich.  The Recoleta Cemetery is something to behold: 6,000 acres and 4,800  family mausoleums,  many of which are still entombing family members to this day. In some cases old coffins are visible through glass panels on ground level while the new comers are buried below in the  "basement." I found it quite overwhelming, the sheer numbers cheek by jowl in a relative maze. Would  have got lost without our guide, I am sure.  But there is no more space for new mausoleums to be built, the  last one being for a young daughter which includes a lovely statue of her with her faithful dog - not that he was buried with her!

Recoleta Cemetery

Young girl with her faithful dog. 

30 May: 05h00 flight to Mendoza in the desert meant no breakfast at the hotel, despite being assured I could get coffee and a croissant  from the bar - which was very closed at 5am. Had coffee and a pastry at the airport before boarding. Just  as well as all we were given on the plane was nuts and a cakey thing. Uneventful flight, was met by my guide, Matheo and had free time until 13h30 when he would collect me for hotel inspections. It was very cold and  there was snow on the distant mountains. My hotel, the Amerian, was a bit of a disappointment. An uninspiring high rise and my room on  the 3^rd floor  had a dreadful view of crummy buildings and rooftops.  Higher floors have much better views of the city.

I made use of the free time to explore in the area and found a tiny shop where I bought the makings for  supper. Again no tea making facility in the room so my cup-a-soup remained intact in my suitcase. I bought cheese, salami, yogurt, a cereal bar and chocolate! Yes I could have eaten out but not much fun on my own in a strange place where very few people speak English. Even hotel staff battle with the language. Also watching  the budget as inspection trips provide no income to offset the cost. After hotel inspections I laid out my  supper on a towel on the desk in my room and enjoyed my solitary feast, accompanied by water as I had forgotten to buy anything to drink and refused to pay the mini bar prices.