Getting To Know You...

Wow, we've already been here five days and the time has flown by. When we arrive in a new city for the winter, we always start by exploring the neighborhood, stocking the fridge and pantry and making our temporary home as comfortable as possible.

Our first stop was to pick up the money we had wired to ourseves at Western Union. When we left here last January, the exchange rate was 250 pesos per Canadian dollar. On Thursday, the rate was 685 pesos per dollar! Of course, the prices in stores and restaurants are also much higher, but once one calculates the true cost at the new exchange rate, many items are less costly to us. Both Chandon and Mumm's have production facilities in Mendoza, and their bubblies are available for about $5.00 CDN. Insofar as the quality goes, it's just as good as the French version and, in the case of Mumm's, much better. We've been scouring the stores for our local favorite sparkler, Los Perdices Rosé, but we haven't found it anywhere. YET!

Sunday was the inauguration of the new president, Javier Milei and we wisely decided to hang around Palermo, far away from the huge crowds and rabid supporters downtown. From what we saw on TV, it looked like things went pretty smoothly with less pomp and circumstance than the US inaugurations I've seen. I don't care for Milei's politics, but his whole campaign focused on getting the country's economy back on track. He's got a big hill to climb, but with 40 % of the population living in poverty, I wish him the best of luck.

As usual, we're been putting quite a bit of mileage on our shoes the last few days and have come across some interesting local wildlife. On our morning walk around the park, we saw some cute little critters grazing on the grass in the botanical garden. I first took them to be Capybaras, but they were much too small and had long thin legs. Brenda said they looked like a cross between a bunny and a dog. BAD ROVER!!! In the end, Google identified them as Patagonian Maras. Huh?!?

The next day, on our way to lunch, four parakeets flew overhead and perched on the electric wires above us. These little guys were making such a racket, I couldn't resist filming them. Of course, the minute I hit record they shut up. Thankfully, they gave another brief serenade before flying off.

And so now that we have all our shopping done and errands run, we can get down to the serious business of getting into our daily routine and fully enjoying this fascinating city.Read more