After a red-eye flight and a total of 36 hours without sleep – thank you Skyscanner for finding the cheapest yet worst flight times possible, we landed in Buenos Aires. However, we landed without any cash, which couldn’t have been a worse mistake in this country. With insane inflation and a somewhat “legal” black market for cash – not having USD and understanding how to use Western Union or work the black market is the equivalent of drinking non-alcoholic beer (gross). So, the last thing we wanted to do after not sleeping was figure out how to get cash.

But, seeing as paying with a card costs us twice as much as with cash, and we were already extremely over-budget, we didn’t have much of a choice. After a lot of google translate, miles of walking to find an open Western Union, a few slammed doors and being called an “insta-bitch” by my dad, we finally had a 6-inch thick wad of cash that could rival a drug-lord. At that point all I wanted to do was take a nap, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meetup with a friend from Bozeman and experience the crazy nightlife of Buenos Aires. 

After partying till sunrise and catching a few hours of sleep, we made the most of our first full day in Buenos Aires and headed to the San Telmo Market. Packed full with hundreds of stalls selling every trinket you could think of, underground areas with the aroma of Argentine food wafting between the hundreds of people waiting in lines and standing at bars, and street performers of every kind, the energy and life was tangible in this area of town. Only held on Sundays, this is an absolute must see on the weekends!