Sorry for walking into this forum without an invitation..... my intelligence sources tell me that a group of die-hard AC loyalists are " on my turf " these couple of days to see Bono and his boys..... Can anybody here confirm this............???? Cheers from EZE, Alex / Gaucho
mtacchi was posting on FT last night from EZE. It seemed obvious that he had been sampling both the "grain and the grape". Not sure if he is there to attend the U2 show.
It would be criminal to visit EZE and not partake of some fine Malbec and some excellent red meat. Forget Bono, steak and red wine and the cafes are a far greater attraction in BA.
AC better bolt down everything in sight if those characters are flying back with them. I would suggest that the ground staff has already been alerted, and if not, should be.
Unfortunately now the cost of entering your country for a Canadian passport holder is more than buying a ticket to a U2 concert. As a result, Argentina has been added to my travel boycott list (as has been the UK via air) and I shan't be visiting until the visa fee issue is changed and we can at least pay once for a multiple entry visa valid for the life of our passports. In the two years prior to the introduction of this outrageous $100+ fee, I paid six visits to your country. Now I head instead to Uruguay for equally fine steak and wine dinners, flying into SCL (where my visa is good for the life of the passport and unlimited entries) and taking Pluna over Argentina into MVD! As much as I liked Argentina (its shabbiness part of the charm), I advise all my friends and acquaintances to pass it over for Chile and Uruguay. (I can get my boxes of Havana alfajores in Santiago, and Loblaws now sells President's Choice dulce de leche for $2.95 a jar so I don't need to source my supply from Argentina. Chile's wines are just as good as your Malbecs, and better prices, so Argentinian wines too have been added to my boycott list!) Not to mention that according to Seth's excellent chart, Canada-EZE is hardly MR fodder given the fare is now in the range of 17¢ a status mile!
He was an excellent host. Thanks Gaucho. And Terry, you're be pleased to know I was on a paid Club Class ticket on BA. I know how you hate bottom feeders.
Comandante Tacchi... it was a pleasure to meet you, thanks for the kind words. Hope to see you here in EZE again soon !!!
I think AC was spared of both of these characters..... one tormented BA and the other, UA (at least until Houston)...
I need to reply to the above in detail... will be back to post my reply later this evening. Thank you for you patience. (please see reply below)
Allow me to congratulate you on your opinionated stance regarding your visits to Argentina. You, and you alone decide what to do with your travel budget…. so you have every right to avoid Argentina if this is what you fancy at this time. My initial response to the beginning of your post was of sadness… I’m a big advocate for Tourism to Argentina so it saddens me every time I hear someone chooses not to visit. However, after reading your above post completely… I would have the following things to say to you, Sir…. Perspective is sometimes an interesting exercise… so it may be a good idea for you to do a little basic research and find out what expenses, time investment and procedural hurdles an Argentine Passport Holder has to go through to enter Canada, and what sort of Visas we are issued by the Canadian Embassy in Buenos Aires. The fee you are charged is based on the principle of reciprocity. I’ve lived in many different countries during my little over 40 years of life. My parents’ job took me on the road very early in life and when I left the family nest I also embarked on an International career that made me make homes in different cities on four continents. I’ve met and befriended many Canadians, and all of them (100%) have always been some of the most polite, balanced, thoughtful and respectful people I’ve ever come into contact with. You, Sir… are the exception that proves the rule. Coming from an OECD and G7 Nation State, I would assume that you were taught that condescending remarks such as calling someone else’s home shabby is rude, impolite and clearly out of line. I guess you didn’t learn that lesson. It begs to be asked.. why have you been slumming it down in Argentina so many times (by your own post above you seem to have been here a lot)…?? It says a lot about what type of a person you are that would hold such a negative view of a place but still come down so often… this attitude only makes your Colonial remarks even more insulting. Please don’t misunderstand me. There are certainly a lot of things that are shabby in Argentina… especially so if you compare them to Canada. Argentina is not a developed nation, income distribution is horrible, and we have weak Institutions that are crippled by mismanagement and corruption. Poverty is a huge issue to a little over 10 million Argentines… that is a lot for a nation of just over 40 million souls. Nobody on these boards knows better than I what is wrong with Argentina… and I have a record on the Internet for calling things like they are. FlyerTalk, Trip Advisor, and various Wine Boards are proof of that. Speaking of comparing to Canada… I’ve been blessed to visit Canada on various occasions… and I’m a huge fan of Canadian Maple Syrup… the great Fish and Seafood that’s readily available… Canadian smoked Bacon is out of this world, and your Dessert Wines are world class, as are your Ski Resorts that have some of the best snow you can find. In contrast to your apparent crusade to dissuade folks to come to Argentina, I tell my fellow countrymen that they should visit Canada every opportunity they have, despite the nuances of getting a Canadian Visa. On a few closing notes… I didn’t know that you could get good Malbec in Chile… but if you mean that Chilean Carmenere, or its other red wines of normal price points can compete in the same league as similarly priced Argentine Malbec… hmmm, well… I guess that each Wine Aficionado can draw his/her own conclusions… (I rest my case). Happy travels to SCL and MVD, both are great destinations with lots to offer… and remember Uruguay makes great Tannat… and, before I forget the airfare thing... guess Canada to EZE is no mileage run because loads are quite nice... tells you a lot about what your Countrymen are doing about the Reciprocity Fee, or...?
The reality is that I doubt there is a single Canadian who would wish to settle in your country (by overstaying their visa) while each year we are visited by tens of thousands of residents of various countries (including Argentina) who overstay their visas and have absolutely no interest in returning to their home countries. Argentina's economy is such that economic "refugees" continue to leave the country which is now heading down the same recessional course as it went through during the unhappy 80s. I have no objection to honest visas and their charges, but merely ask that they be of a reasonable cost and last for the life of a passport, or five years, with multiple entries. As you point out, I can spend my money the way I wish. I used to be an advocate of visiting your country, but no more for the reasons already stated. There are better uses of one's money. Not only that, but both Santiago and Montevideo are far safer than BA. Santiago is booming, while Montevideo is a quaint backwater. BA is just in a decline that has spanned several decades and losing its gentility year after year.
South African beef is just as tender and inexpensive, and the wines as impressive. As an MR, you get twice the mileage for the dollar. Or as I noted, try Montevideo The beef's also as good but actually cheaper. And if you pay by credit card, you get a pleasant surprise a few weeks later: They actually refund the sales tax you paid automatically!
Canadian, maybe you should boycott Canadian airports. Almost the only tax your Tory friends have increased in their 5 years in office is the airport security tax. They are not quite as rapacious as the Brits but its just a matter of degree. If you are boycotting the UK because of their outrageous taxes, surely in the interests of consistency you should do likewise with Canada. As for Argentinian reciprocity fees, it would be wise to remember just what they are, reciprocity fees. Because our government chooses to use a hammer to keep out illegals and our government is too lazy or too stupid to use modern intelligence methods and immigration laws, we clamp these ridiculous visa rules on legitimate visitors form other countries to avoid the off-chance that couple of illegals will sneak in or overstay. Who can blame foreign governments for responding tit for tat to Canada's foolish actions. As a keen observer of the economy perhaps you could tell us how many hospitality workers in your home city of Toronto lost their jobs when our foolish government imposed their stupid visas on Mexico. A thriving tourist trade bombed overnight as our brilliant government killed the business from what was Toronto's fourth largest source of international arrivals. We should focus our efforts to get rid of these stupid fees on our own government. It is their actions which cause all this inconvenience and cost to ordinary Canadian travellers.
the reason we have a Visa fee in Argentina is because of Canadian visa fee to Argentina. WE have to impose a visa requirement because we have not changed our stupid refugee problem. [ i think i read it was $32,000 per refugee claim] Perhaps after a new govt is elected we can fix that problem and take away visa restrictions from many countries. Shareholder the visa issue is a Canadian problem! Countries like Russia that are fed up with our visa process and take the average amount of time Canada takes to issue a visa to a Russian, and delays a visa to a Canadian the same time. PS i have 2 passports so there were no visa fees to Argentina to me. Interesting Canada spends $$$ on tourism promotion but can get our refugee process streamlined.
Gaucho, your posts have motivated me to let my wife know we'll come to visit this year. Hopefully there will be wine tasting classes. You can never know too much
I enjoyed a short 2 day stay in BA in May 2009. I would enjoy going back and spending some more time there.
