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Jul 01 2008

Buenos Aires Fishing Februrary 24 & 25, 2008

Published by Dalton at 2:46 pm under Patagonia Argentina Fishing Trip, Fishing Journal

Feb 24, 2008 9:45pm Departure on United Direct Flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tom arrived in National Airport from Palm Beach where he was on the boat. I met him at the airport after making a quick stop at the tackle store to pick up a few last fly lines and some wire for the Golden Dorado fishing we are doing the first part of the upcoming week. I left my car at National so Ivette could pick it up on her way back form visiting her parents vacation home in Mexico. Tom and I grabbed some sushi at National Airport and then headed to Dulles where we met Ryan who flew in from Oregon so we could grab our United dirWe arrived in Buenos Aires on time around 10:55am. Buenos Aires at this time of year is three hours ahead of United States east coast standard time. (Buenos Aires springs back one hour on March 16th, opposite our time change back in the US.) We picked up our luggage and cleared Customs quickly. We had arranged for a transfer (Spanish translation for a car or ride) to pick us up to take us to the Los Suites Recoleta Hotel in Buenos Aires where we are staying this evening (Monday). Gustano from Prana Tourismo was waiting for us as we cleared customs and had a nice van waiting for us. We packed our bags and headed into the city. Gustano got us checked in quickly and it was only a few minutes before we were in our room. We took showers, unpacked and got some of our fishing gear straight and then decided to grab something to eat since we were starving and would not eat until late. Because it was around 1:30pm and siesta, meaning most of the shops and everything would be closed, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the hotel. We all had steak sandwiches serves on some great tasting sour dough bread to get into the Argentine mood. After grabbing a very satisfying meal we decided to hit the Buenos Aires Anglers Fly Fishing Shop and see a bit of the town. We grabbed a cab and hit the shop. Fly shops are a very different experience then the ones that we are used to back in the US. The fly shop is located in a private apartment complex that has good security. The shop was small but jam packed with about anything you could every want from a very nice selection of flies from everything from golden dorado to dry flies for trout in the middle section of Patagonia to streams for sea run trout in the Terra de Fuego fishing region. We hung out and shared stories and bought a few last minute supplies. After the fly shop we hit a bank and exchanged some money. (the exchange rate at this time was 3.1 to $1US. The cab ride from the hotel to the fly shop which was about 10-15 minute ride with traffic was equivalent to $3.75US, a pretty cheap ride). We then hit the well known Florida commercial shopping district to take in some more of the Buenos Aires culture. After walking the area for about an hour we decided to head home and get our game plan together for our dinner meeting with a friend of mine, Santiago who runs sales and marketing for Nervous Waters Lodges. I called Santiago and he made reservations for us at 9pm at El Mirasol del Puerto (Av. Alicia Moreau de Justo 202, and fifeteen minutes from the hotel. Post dinner note: food, steaks were excelelnt, restaurant is right on the water/harbor, highly recommend the place) at which he recommend so we could take a good cut of Argentine beef. We changed clothes into some long pants and decided to go around the block to have a beer before dinner. We took in some more of the local evening social culture, had a few beers and then grabbed a cab to meet Santiago.

We met and had a fabulous dinner with a big salad, huge filet mignon cut of beef topped off with some Argentine red wine followed by a great tasting strawberry pie desert. We received word that there has been rain so we would not be able to land on the grass landing strip right at the lodge, we will have to land at a strip bout 1.5hrs away and take a van transfer from there. Still better then the overnight bus at the alternative option. Santiago dropped us off at the hotel and we hit the sack (well, not me I stayed up writing this travel journal entry and answering emails for a while) getting ready for a 7:30am wake up call for a 8:30 pick up from Stepnine from Prana Tourismo to take us to our charter plane to head to the Iberia Marsh to land our first golden dorado.

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Walking around Buenos Aires looking for a money exchange place. There are several with in walking distance of the Sight seeing around the block from the Loi Suites Recoleta Hotel where we stayed