We Took a Trip to Buenos Aires With Our Stolen Money

Well, the good news is that we got our money back after the whole debit card cloning debacle, but our spirits were still down. Not that you could blame us. The thief ruined our Thanksgiving and anniversary, but we didn't want him/her/them ruining our Christmas spirit. So, we decided to treat ourselves to another trip to Buenos Aires.

We were so fortunate that our mini-adventure coincided with the final Argentina Comic-Con of 2019. We had planned on going months in advance, but that didn't seem possible after our money was stolen. I was pretty bummed about it too because I wanted to buy a photo op and autograph session for celebrity guest Alexander Calvert from "Supernatural." But I didn't have the money anymore and by the time the bank returned our money, all of the photo op and autograph tickets were sold out. But as it turns out, Alexander Calvert had to cancel because of his work schedule, so I didn't really miss out on meeting him. But we still needed to figure out how to get there.

So we went to a travel agent to book an airplane ticket, but the prices had gone up because of the country's declining economy. The last time we went in May 2019, the cost for three round trip tickets ran us about $8,000 Argentine pesos. But this time, the travel agent wanted to charge us $15,000 Argentine pesos round trip ticket per person. There was no way my husband and I could afford that on both of our freelance salaries. So, we took the El Practico Bus.

Now, from previous posts, you all know that I'm not a big fan of buses. But this bus trip was a real nightmare. For starters, the drivers were smoking pot and laughing all night. As a result of their impaired condition, there were a couple of near misses with other vehicles along the way. Then there were the people who insisted on talking all night. Some of the passengers were sick and the concept of covering one's mouth while coughing, sneezing, or yawning is an unfamiliar concept for most Argentines. Oh, and did I mention the constant disregard for the person sitting in front of them when they kick the back of someone's chair?

The food's pretty bad, too!

But we made it to Buenos Aires in one piece and I can't wait to tell you and show you how amazing it was. Who knows? It might convince more of you expats and locals alike to save up some money for the next Comic Con in May 2020.

So stay tuned. I'll be adding a new post very soon.