travel – Page 3 – Ryan and Debi & Toren

Iceland – Day 5 – Húsavík, whales, puffins, sailing, and Akureyri

Posted on June 29, 2017 by rcragun

While we spent the night in Akureyri, on day 5 in Iceland we wanted to go whale watching and Rosemary really wanted to see puffins. So, we booked a trip on a boat out of Húsavík, which is about an hour and 15 minutes away from Akureyri, called: Whales, Puffins, and Sails.

We had nice weather the day we went to Húsavík. Húsavík is a very cute town on the north coast with a very clear emphasis on shipping, fishing, and whale watching. I could definitely envision renting a house here for a couple of weeks to enjoy small town life in Iceland.

Before boarding the boat, the company we booked with had us all put on full body jumpsuits that doubled as both insulation and a flotation device. Given the cold wind on the boat, this added layer of protection was quite welcome.

We then boarded our re-purposed fishing boat that was also a sailboat, Haukur, and headed toward Puffin Island. Puffin Island is a small island off the coast that is filled with puffins and other seabirds. There are literally thousands of puffins living on the island, which meant when our boat sailed by, we saw hundreds of them floating on the water, diving, and flying. Despite seeing so many, they are quite small and even with my telephoto lens on my camera, I didn’t manage to get all that many great photos:

Even so, we saw hundreds of puffins, which fulfilled a life-long dream of Rosemary’s. (In all honesty, Debi and I didn’t even know what a puffin was before we booked the boat ride. Happy to learn something new!)

We spent a good 30 minutes or so navigating around Puffin Island then sailed (really, motored, we only sailed for about 5 minutes of the 3-hour tour) across the bay to look for whales. And whales we did find – perhaps as many as 10. We observed probably 50 different instances of whales surfacing for air, with the whales exhaling, swimming on the surface for a minute or two to take a few deep breaths, then diving back down to feed. Some of the whales came up kind of far from our boat, but others were so close that they genuinely scared everyone on the boat when they let out their breath of air. One came up about 10 feet from the boat. We spent at least an hour just floating around while half a dozen whales surfaced all around us. I did manage to get a lot of great photos of the whales, but I’m not going to post the hundreds of photos I took. This one should illustrate how amazing the experience was:

After watching the whales, we put all the sails up and sailed for a few minutes. The crew also had hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls for everyone.

enjoying hot chocolate and cinnamon roles

We then slowly motored our way back into port.

After we returned to Husavik, we walked around for a bit, enjoying the very, very small town, and even checked out souvenirs (something we never buy, but Rosemary wanted a puffin souvenir).

We then drove back to Akureyri and walked around Akureyri for a bit. It’s a much larger town, but the downtown area isn’t all that large and it’s quite pretty and interesting. Akureyri is another place I could see myself getting a two-week rental and just enjoying small town life.

Iceland – Day 4 – Dettifoss, Godafoss, Selfoss, Grjotagja cave, Namajfell Hverir, and Myvatn Nature Bath

Posted on June 28, 2017 by rcragun

Our goal for day 4 of our Iceland trip was to make it from the east coast of Iceland to Akuyreri, the largest city in the north of the country, which is quite a drive. However, along the way, we also wanted to stop and see lots of cool stuff. We had to cut down the stuff we wanted to see to a reasonable number but still managed to fit in a fair amount this day.

The drive out of Djúpivogur, while on unpaved, gravel roads, was still very scenic. I should have stopped at least once to get some photos, but was so focused on driving that I didn’t. Our first real stop of the day was at Dettifoss, a very powerful waterfall in Northern Iceland.

There is a bit of a walk from where you park to the overlook of Dettifoss – perhaps 1 kilometer or so. The terrain is a bit rugged but largely flat. Toren loved the hike, but it was a bit more challenging for Rosemary. Regardless, the hike is worth the view:

Here’s a shot of us there:

There’s another, smaller waterfall just up the river from Dettifoss called Selfoss.

Toren and I ran up to that waterfall while Debi and Rosemary made their way back to the car:

After Dettifoss, we headed to a spot with volcanic activity called Namajfell Hverir. There are steam vents and hot pots. The sulfur smell is a bit overwhelming, as this photo indicates:

Toren, Debi, and Rosemary at Namajfell Hverir

I shot a few videos here to illustrate the activity:

I also put together a photosphere:

We didn’t spend very long here but did walk around a bit. We still had two more stops this day. The next was to some nature baths. The Blue Lagoon, near Reykjavik, is a pretty typical visit for many people visiting Iceland. To avoid the long lines, we opted, instead, to visit the Myvatn Nature Baths in Northern Iceland, which are right next to Namajfell Hverir. There was some trepidation in our group about the baths as you’re required to shower before entering the baths. At some nature baths, you have to shower in open showers, but here they do have some showers with curtains for privacy. The curtains won over the skeptics and we enjoyed a very nice, warm bath for about an hour and a half.

It is very much a mineral bath. The water is so filled with minerals that you can’t see the bottom of the bath and it feels a little like there is a residue left on you after you get in. Even so, the temperature is wonderful. It was like swimming in a giant hot tub.

From the Myvatn Nature Baths, we had two more stops for the day. First was a cave that has scalding hot water in the bottom, Grjotagja cave. This cave has become particularly famous as it was the setting for a famous love scene in Game of Thrones. The cave isn’t huge, but it’s pretty cool and the water inside really is too hot to swim in, so the scene from the show wasn’t actually shot in here, but it was fun to visit:

Our last stop was another waterfall – Godafoss. This is one of those waterfalls that happens to be right next to the ring road and is visible from quite a distance. We stopped for a quick visit:

Godafoss isn’t the biggest waterfall, but it’s very scenic, as it is split into a few falls by rocks.

We made it to our apartment earlier than we planned, which was good as it took a little bit to get inside (this was more like an AirBnB place than a hotel). It turned out to be a nice apartment with plenty of room, a kitchen, and a washer and dryer, which allowed us to do some laundry before settling in for the night.

Iceland – Day 3 – Fjadrargljufur Canyon, Vatnajökull glacier, Jokulsarlon Lagoon, and Djúpivogur

Posted on June 27, 2017 by rcragun

After a busy day with lots to see, we had a relatively relaxed day on day 3 in Iceland. From Vik, we headed out fairly early to our first stop, Fjadrargljufur Canyon. Think Grand Canyon on a much, much smaller scale and green, with a beautiful blue waterfall. That should give a little picture of Fjadrargljufur Canyon. It really is stunning.

The parking area is a little tight. From the parking area, you can walk down to the mouth of the canyon or walk the path up alongside the canyon to peer inside. The walk up the path is what most people do as it provides great views. If you want to hike up the canyon, you should bring good sandals or water socks (or prepare to have some shoes get really wet) and be prepared to get wet up past your knees, closer to mid-thigh and perhaps your waist. The river inside the canyon doesn’t look that deep, but I considered wading in with waterproof hiking boots and quickly realized that the boots would be useless – the water is just too deep.

Anyway, enough description. On to pictures. Here is a shot of the canyon from one of the lookouts about midway up the canyon looking toward the entrance:

A mediocre photosphere may give a little perspective on how stunning this place is:

And here are Toren and me at the entrance of the canyon after I realized that hiking up the canyon would take too long and get me very, very wet and cold:

Ryan and Toren in front of Fjadrargljufur Canyon

I also shot some footage of the waterfall that drops into the canyon about 3/4 of the way up the canyon:

And, because it’s so relaxing, here’s some footage of the stream at the mouth of the canyon:

Our next planned stop was Jokulsarlon Lagoon, but on the way, we ran into a finger of the Vatnajökull glacier that was just off the side of the ring road. Since we were driving ourselves and had the freedom to stop if we wanted, we stopped and hiked up beside the glacier.

Toren really wanted to keep hiking until we could cross over onto the glacier, but that seemed a bit too treacherous. And, unfortunately, on the way back down, Toren lost one of his good, warm gloves. So, if anyone finds a kids glove near the Vatnajökull glacier, it’s Toren’s.

After our detour, we headed to Jokulsarlon Lagoon. I remember thinking as I was driving up to this spot, “the hype for all of these natural wonders has to be overstated for at least some of them.” Part of the reason I was skeptical is that the Jokulsarlon Lagoon is shielded by large berms of dirt and rocks as you drive up to it and around it on the ring road. As a result, you really can’t see the lagoon until you get right up to the river that leaves the lagoon and runs into the ocean. But once you do see the lagoon, well:

a panoramic view of Jokulsarlon Lagoon – click to enlarge

We spent quite a while here enjoying the fabulous views.

I also shot a few videos of the icebergs floating down the river that connects the lagoon to the ocean:

The lagoon was cool but even better is crossing the ring road to the black sand beach and seeing the hundreds of little icebergs floating in the ocean or lying on the shore. We spent another 45 minutes on the beach here shooting amazing photographs of each of us holding icebergs, like this:

Toren at the beach by Jokulsarlon Lagoon

From Jokulsarlon Lagoon, we drove to our hotel up the coast in Djúpivogur. It was a cute little hotel and perhaps the only one in town, so we were lucky to have a room. It had an amazing view of the harbor as well. The drive up the coast to Djúpivogur was also pretty amazing as parts of it are along steep cliffs overlooking the ocean:

our car on the cliffs on the way to Djúpivogur

Iceland – Day 2 – Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Dyrholaey, Reynisfjara and Vik

Posted on June 26, 2017 by rcragun

Our plan for seeing as much of Iceland as we could in a week was to drive all the way around the country, hitting highlights as we went. We hit out fairly early on our first full day in the country and made it to our first stop, Seljalandsfoss in the morning.

“Foss” is a waterfall or “fall,” and we stopped at a lot of amazing waterfalls, though we saw thousands of other waterfalls as we drove around the island (which wasn’t something we expected but it does make the drive even more scenic). The first one is a popular stop as it is a very tall waterfall right next to the ring road (Highway 1 or Þjóðvegur); it also very visible from the ring road. Here’s a shot of Seljalandsfoss:

This was also the one waterfall we visited you can hike behind. If you plan to do so, be prepared to get very wet as the mist from the waterfall is pervasive. Luckily, we came prepared with waterproof winter weather gear:

Turns out, you can hike up above the falls if you’re willing to hike up some steep terrain at the bottom (you have to hike to the left of the falls first before you see the trail). Since I’m always up for a hike, we decided to go for it. It was quite pleasant once we made it to the top of the falls:

Our next stop was another waterfall that is also close to the ring road and, as a result, quite full of tourists: Skogafoss. Skogafoss is a wider waterfall with more volume than Seljalandsfoss.

You can’t walk behind the water at Skogafoss, but there is a nice trail up to the top of the waterfall that continues for a bit above the waterfall to some nice, smaller waterfalls and small canyons.

Debi, Toren, and Ryan above Skogafoss at another small waterfall

Lots of people view the waterfall from the base; probably 2/3 hike to the top, but very few hike further up the trail. So, if you’re looking for a spot with fewer people, hiking up the trail is a good option.

Here’s a photosphere from the top of the falls:

After Skogafoss, we drove further along the coast to a famous double-arch rock outcropping called Dyrholaey. The road that takes you to the trailhead so you can hike out toward the arch is gravel, rutted, and a bit harrowing, but we made it (despite Debi freaking out a bit) in our Mazda wagon. From the parking area, you can walk out toward the arch and around a lighthouse.

And here is the double arch:

We saw a cave just off the road toward Dyrholaey and saw some people hiking to it, so we did the same after checking out Dyrholaey. It was a small cave, but a fun little hike.

We then headed to our last stop of the day, Reynisfjara. Reynisfjara is known as the most dangerous beach in Iceland because the waves can be erratic, with massive waves coming up the beach very suddenly and sweeping people out to sea. The point being, you have to be aware of your situation at this beach.

Reynisfjara is known for its black sand and stunning rock formations.

Toren with a rock pile he built on the black sand of Reynisfjara

Debi, Toren, and Ryan on some of the rock formations at Reynisfjara

Conveniently, Reynisfjara is right next to Dyrholaey, so you can see one from the other, but you have to drive around a bay to get between them. The rock formations at Reynisfjara are really varied. The picture above really doesn’t do them justice. Perhaps this photosphere will help illustrate the variety:

Reynisfjara was our last stop of the day. Amazingly, we had been able to book hotel rooms in Vik, which is just over a large hill from Reynisfjara. We ended up getting an entire cabin to ourselves, which was delightful:

The cabin looked right over the ocean as well, making it a real treat.

Iceland – Day 1 – Reykjavik – Hallgrimskirkja, Sólfarið, and more

Posted on June 25, 2017 by rcragun

I submitted a paper to a conference in Switzerland in November 2016 and it was accepted. When I started looking for flights, Icelandair was actually the cheapest and that led me to remember that they have a free stopover program – you can fly into Reykjavik, stay for up to a week, then continue your flight to your destination for no extra charge. Since my brother-in-law, Brent, who is a pilot for Delta, visited Iceland a couple of years ago and said it was amazing, I’ve really wanted to visit. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. So, we booked our flights to Switzerland with a week stopover in Iceland.

We made this our family vacation for the summer and my mother-in-law, Rosemary, indicated she’d like to join us. So, it was four of us – me, Debi, Toren, and Rosemary, for two weeks – one week in Switzerland and one week in Iceland.

Our trip began on the 24th of June when we flew from Tampa to Boston then from Boston to Reykjavik. We didn’t realize just how short the flight was from Boston to Reykjavik – 4 hours and 20 minutes. We were hoping we’d be able to get a good six hours of sleep in so we’d be okay walking around Reykjavik the next day, but no such luck. Toren probably got the most sleep, but only he managed about 3 1/2 hours. The rest of us probably got just 2 hours of sleep. That definitely was not enough.

I had planned ahead a little bit. I ordered SIM cards for Debi’s and my phones through Icelandair and they delivered them on the flight. That meant we would be up and running with internet access and phone service as soon as we landed. Turns out, it was a bit more complicated than that.

We landed around 6:00 am. I had already switched the SIM card in my phone and my phone indicated the SIM was invalid. I tried it in Debi’s and it worked fine. My carrier had told me my phone was unlocked for international travel, but it was not (I even checked with them again and they insist the phone is unlocked, but it definitely is not). Long story short, I ended up putting the SIM in Toren’s phone and it worked great, giving us two phones with internet and phone service.

Arrival in Reykjavik went okay, short of the phone situation. We got all our bags, found our way to the rental car place, and got in line. And that’s when I realized that I had left my driver’s license in Florida! Our entire vacation was based on us having a rental car to drive the ring road (an entire loop around the island). I genuinely started to freak out at this point, but the staff at Thrifty were cool. They asked if we had a photocopy of my license and, luckily, I did have one on my laptop. I pulled it out, emailed it to them, and we were good to go. Phew! Major crisis averted!

Our car was a little smaller than I thought it would be, but our Mazda wagon was sufficient for our needs. With the car loaded, we headed toward Reykjavik.

Our first stop was the iconic church in Reykjavik, Hallgrimskirkja. We arrived just as it was opening, at 9:00 am on Sunday morning. There were not too many people there at that time and we paid the small fee to go up to the top of the tower. The view from the top really is quite nice, especially when the weather is cooperating. You can walk around the tower and see views from all four sides.

We snapped a bunch of photos here, including a couple of photospheres:

Rosemary, Toren, and Debi at Hallgrimskirkja

From the Hallgrimskirkja, we drove down to the waterside and walked to the statue Sólfarið or Sun Voyager, which is a really magnificent piece of art right on the water:

From there, we walked down the coast to the new Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center. We explored this really beautiful building for a bit, let Toren build a few rock cairns, which became something of a passion for him this trip, then headed back to the car.

Toren's rock cairn by Harpa Concert Hall — Toren’s rock cairn by Harpa Concert Hall

With so little sleep, we were all feeling exhausted. We ate a snack, but that did very little to help with our exhaustion. It was still early, but we were hoping our hotel might let us check in and take a nap. We drove up to our hotel and, luckily, our room was ready. We checked in and then we all crashed for about an hour and a half. We didn’t want to sleep too long as we would then have a hard time sleeping that night and we wanted to try to adjust to the time change (just 4 hours different from EST).

After our nap, Toren, Debi and I decided to walk down to a park we saw nearby while Rosemary rested. We walked for quite a while and saw a bunch of fun parks, the zoo, Laugardalshöll Athletic Center, and some botanical gardens. We were still exhausted, but we needed some exercise and we wanted to explore a bit.

We returned to our hotel around 5:00, walked down the street to a grocery store to pick up some supplies and, because our hotel had a communal kitchen, we also picked up dinner and ate it at the hotel. After dinner, we did our best to block out the light leaking into our hotel room through the blackout shades but didn’t have much luck. During the summer, it doesn’t ever get dark in Iceland. Toren and I woke up around 11:00 PM and couldn’t sleep for a while, so he watched a video while I read. An hour and a half later it was still bright as day outside and I was feeling tired again, so I took Toren’s phone away and we both tried to get some sleep so we were ready for our adventures the next day.

Triple Falls Trail – Dupont Forest, North Carolina

Posted on May 10, 2017 by rcragun

I was attending a conference in Asheville, NC, and had half of a day free. Rather than stay cooped up in my hotel, and knowing there were hills in the area, myself and my colleagues, took a trip out to Dupont Forest to hike Triple Falls.

We didn’t have a lot of time – just about an hour and a half. That worked well for the hike as it isn’t particularly long. Also, there was a risk of rain. There was a light drizzle in the surrounding area as we approached the hike, and a light mist at times for parts of the hike. The light mist was nice as it cooled us down while we climbed the hilly sections.

Here are a few videos from the hike:

We made it to the top of the falls fairly quickly. Here are a couple of videos of the scenic view from the covered bridge that crosses the river just above the top fall:

Just as we were headed out of the covered bridge, which provided some protection from any possible rain, the rain really picked up. It lasted for about 20 minutes and got us pretty wet. Despite getting soaked, it was a fun hike and I’m sure even more delightful on a bright, sunny day.

Here’s the GPS track:

Hiking in Silver Springs State Park

Posted on April 15, 2017 by rcragun

I was invited to give a presentation to a freethought group in Ocala and thought it might be a good opportunity to explore a little more of Florida. I looked up hikes near Ocala and found Silver Springs State Park. From what we were told by some of the people where I gave my presentation, Silver Springs used to be a privately owned amusement park and Florida’s first tourist attraction. Apparently, the park fell on hard times and eventually was taken over by the state. Now it’s a state park with boat rides on the springs and some hiking trails.

My presentation was supposed to be in the early afternoon, so we decided to go to Silver Springs State Park in the morning, try to get a hike in, go to my presentation, and then come back for another hike afterward.

We got a bit later start than we had hoped as we had to pick up a few supplies before we left Tampa. We got to the park around 11:30 and walked through the main area where they sell boat rides and have a restaurant.

Toren and Ryan at Silver Spring State Park

We managed to get in a short hike in the primary part of the park before we had to leave for my presentation. We did a newly created hike called Creek Trail, which wasn’t much of a hike. It looped around in a circle, with Silver Springs Blvd. on one side and Silver River on the other side. It did give a bit of a sample of what Florida’s natural land looks like, but it was a very quick taste. Here’s the route:

We had to leave after the hike to get to my presentation on time. The presentation went well and then we went to a late lunch with some of the people who were at the presentation. After lunch, we headed back into the park to do another hike. This one was a bit longer. It took us through some Florida wilderness and eventually to the Silver River, as seen in this photo.

The trail then looped back around. This was called the Swamp Trail; here’s the route:

After that hike it was getting dark, so we headed out for a bite to eat and headed home. It was a fun little outing. No elevation gain, of course, but a good chance to stretch our legs in Florida wilderness.

Half Dome – Yosemite National Park

Posted on August 18, 2016 by rcragun

I was in Northern California on a speaking tour but had a couple of days while I was there that I didn’t have any speaking engagements. I had combined the speaking tour with a conference I was attending in Seattle, the plan being that I would travel to several locations in California to talk about my books then fly to Seattle for the conference before heading home.

The day before I was to fly to Seattle ended up being free with no speaking engagements. I knew that a few days in advance, so I decided to put in for a permit to climb Half Dome in Yosemite. Whenever I tell someone from California that I like to hike, they invariably ask me if I have hiked Half Dome. They all seem to think it is the greatest hike in the world. In order to be able to tell them that I had hiked Half Dome, I figured I’d put in for the permit and, if I was lucky enough to get it, I’d make a quick trip out to Yosemite, hike Half Dome, then head back to Sacramento to catch my flight the next morning.

I had a speaking engagement on the 17th in San Jose in the evening. I also found out I got my permit on the 17th, so I had to inform the people who were going to host me that night that I was going to drive out to Yosemite instead. The presentation went well. After signing books and chatting for a bit, I took off for Yosemite around 9 pm. It was about a 4-hour drive.

I asked my wife to help me out by trying to find me a place to stay near or in the park so I could drive straight there, crash for a few hours, then start my hike. She ended up finding me a cabin in the park. Luckily, the office for the campground is open all night, so when I pulled in around 1:30, they were open, handed me my key, and gave me a map to show me where to catch the shuttle to the trailhead for Half Dome. I headed to the cabin and went straight to bed – around 2 am.

I got up around 6:30, packed up, checked out of the cabin, then geared up and caught the shuttle to the trailhead. There were quite a few people on the bus and most were getting off at the Half Dome trailhead. After I got off the bus, I made a quick decision to take the steeper trail to get away from the herd of people. It was a good decision. After I reached the first waterfall (Vernal Fall) and first set of stairs, the crowds started to thin.

By the time I reached the top of Nevada Falls, there were very few people hiking on the trail.

I continued to push my pace as I still had to summit, hike back out, and then drive to Sacramento that night. I passed a few people who asked me if I had a permit, as they didn’t and weren’t sure if someone was going to check for permits. Sure enough, about a mile and a half below the cables, there were rangers checking for permits. I had mine and showed it to them, but they were turning others away.

I made it to the cables after about 2 1/2 hours, where there was, unfortunately, a massive group of very slow climbers. I ended up helping a woman who was afraid of heights make it up the cables, but it took me almost 45 minutes with her and her slow-moving friends in front of me. I was happy to help and it made for interesting conversation.

After I got to the top, I took about 20 minutes to grab a bite to eat and air out my feet, changing my socks in the process. It was still fairly early, but the heat was starting to rise and my sweaty feet need to breathe.

Wary that I would get caught behind other rather slow hikers on the way down, I didn’t want to stay long. As it turns out, I did get stuck behind a very slow couple, but they eventually let me pass them. It is definitely true that you can make good time getting to the cables, but the cables are a traffic jam just waiting to happen.

Here I am just below the cables with Half Dome in the background.

After getting past the cables, I tried to move pretty fast on the way down. I did, however, stop just above Nevada Fall to let my feet cool off. I pulled my boots and socks off and soaked them in the river for about 10 minutes as they were getting really hot. It felt amazing.

From there, it was a quick trip back to the bottom.

Here’s my route:

Total hiking time was 6 hours and 45 minutes to cover 15.1 miles with 6,216 feet of elevation gain across the hike.

Half Dome was a cool hike. Is it the most amazing hike I’ve ever done? No. It was beautiful in spots, and the waterfalls were really pretty. But it has a serious competitor with Zion National Park, where the cliffs are equally amazing and the slot canyons are other-worldly. I have been to lots of places that are stunningly beautiful. I’d definitely do this hike again, but I think it might be more fun to hike half way and camp, summit, then hike out, giving yourself plenty of time to get stuck on the cables and to enjoy the river and scenery. Sorry, Californians, Half Dome is cool, but it’s not the best hike I’ve done.

Point Lobos, California Hike

Posted on August 15, 2016 by rcragun

While on a book speaking tour in California, I had a few days where I didn’t have any talks. One one of those days, while I was staying in Santa Cruz, I drove down the coast to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. I was using my down time to get some work done but also needed some exercise.

I had to park along the freeway, as the parking lot was full. As I walked in, I asked the woman in the booth what trails she would recommend for someone who wanted a good workout. She suggested climbing to the highest point in the park, Whaler’s Knoll. I made a note of that, then headed out.

Based on the map I had, I thought it made the most sense to try to do a big loop, with a side trip up to the highpoint for some elevation gain. I headed mostly northwest, to begin with, worked my way around the edge of the Reserve, took a detour up to the top of the Reserve, then returned to finish my loop around the edge. I ended up back where I started, doing about 5 miles of hiking and seeing most of the Reserve.

Sea lions nest on part of the Reserve. While I was there, that spot was blocked off as there were babies and they didn’t want people disturbing them. However, it was possible to still see the sea lions from a distance. There were also a lot of birds in the area and some really pretty beaches.

I didn’t get the impression that there were a lot of good places to stop for a picnic, but if you’re interested in nature and wildlife, Point Lobos State Nature Reserve has a lot to offer.

My GPS route:

Things to Know About Traveling to Argentina in 2016

Posted on June 7, 2016 by rcragun

I’m on my second day here in Buenos Aires, Argentina and am slowly figuring out how life works here. Here are a few of the things I didn’t know about that others may find useful.

How to get from the airport (EZE) to Buenos Aires:
- When you arrive at the airport in Buenos Aires (EZE), there isn’t really a way to get to Buenos Aires via train. I’m sure there is a bus, but most people take taxis. You have a number of options, but most of the taxis take cash only. However, there are a few that will take a credit card. You pay in advance and they’ll drop you off at your destination. I used WorldCar, but there is also TiendaLeon, which is highly recommended. These are called “Remis.” You can get one of these just after you clear customs (which is after immigration) but before you walk out into the area where non-ticketed passengers are.
Getting money out of an ATM:
- I was planning on using my debit card to get cash at an ATM when I got to the airport since I arrived after the government had gotten rid of the “blue rate” for exchanging currency and everything was a standard exchange rate. I don’t use the money changers (e.g., Travelex) as they screw you over big time (your credit/debit card company will give you a good or the best rate). Turns out, every single ATM in the airport was out of cash. So, that sucked. That’s why I was glad to find the Remis (see point above) that took a credit card. I’ve since tried three other ATMs in various locations around Buenos Aires and my debit card doesn’t work in any of them. I needed some cash to pay for a few things and started getting desperate. Eventually I found out about Xoom. If you’ve got a checking/savings account in the US, this is a great, cheap way to send yourself some money. They have a lot of places where you can pick up the cash (the primary locations are “]More[: Money Transfers” or “Giros” with a fair number of locations). This worked really well for me.
Buying groceries
- Now that people actually want to use credit/debit cards because there aren’t multiple rates for everything, any time you want to use a credit/debit card, you’ll need ID. If you’re a foreigner, that means a passport. I went to buy some groceries my first day here without knowing that and they almost didn’t let me purchase them. I gave them my driver’s license, since I had it with me, and they let me buy the groceries, but be prepared to show your passport whenever you use your credit card.
SIM cards and cellphones
- I brought my LG G3 from Sprint (I use ting.com as my carrier). It has dual modes, so it will work on LTE or GSM. I used it last year in Ireland, but it takes some configuring to get it working on GSM networks. The day I got here, I bought a SIM card from Movistar for about $3.00 US, but for some reason you can’t actually pay Movistar for service. You have to use a Pago Facil location to pay your bill. The closest one to me has a line that takes forever (nearly an hour). Also, they only take cash. So, be prepared for this. (FYI, the latest iterations of the Android OS for the LG G3 removed the option to adjust the APN; I had to download an app to let me do this after setting the network to GSM. Once I did that and got the settings from Muvistar’s website, I finally get internet access on my phone.)
Cars and Traffic
- I’ve already almost been hit by cars multiple times. Cars don’t yield to pedestrians. Be very cautious!
Uber
- Going to try Uber tomorrow. I’ll post here how it goes.

tech, travel, and talk

Category: travel