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Argentina

Argentina

You can´t talk about Argentina without mentioning Eva Evita Perón, Diego Maradona or their food where both the beef and the wine are absolutely top class.

The first Europeans arrived in Argentina in 1502. Argentina, the name of the country, came from the Spanish word, argento, which means silver. Argentina had a lot of silver, and it was used as trading goods between the natives and the colonisers.

The foundation of the capital Buenos Aires was laid in 1536 but was abandoned in 1541 due to disorder. The building of the city started once again 19 years later. The development to become an important trading post was started in the 18th century when the harbour was built, amongst other things. The harbour has still an important part to play in Argentina’s foreign trade.

The country is 3400 kilometres long, which gives Argentina six different climate regions, ranging from the subtropical climate in the north that gives warm summers and mild winters to the quite chilly polar climate in the south. Argentina has a bit more than 44 million inhabitants, which is 16 inhabitants per sqm.

One notable person in the history of Argentina is Bartolomé Mitres, who was the president in the late 19th century. His presidency brought a long period of stability – the population of the country increased from approximately 800,000 to almost 8 million due to a massive wave of immigration from Europe among other places. Immigration, in combination with industrialisation and exports of products such as meat, wool and wheat, made Argentina one of the wealthiest countries in the world in the early 20th century.

As most of the country´s population was working class, there was a disorder during the 1930s due to a lack of political influence. A former military, Juan Perón, entered politics and became very popular with the Argentinian working class while being hugely unpopular among the middle and upper classes. Even though his political colleagues tried to remove Perón from the political scene, he became the president of the country in 1946. Influenced by the Italian fascism, among other things, he nationalised huge parts of the domestic industry, His wife during this time, Eva Duarte Perón, became hugely popular due to her charitable work. Eva’s life was later on turned into one of the world’s most famous musicals, “Evita”. Haven’t we all sang along to its most known piece, “Don´t cry for me Argentina”?

Eva Perón died at a young age, only 33 years old that time, and her husband Juan was removed as president in a military coup in 1955. He fled to Spain but kept his political interest and hunger for power. In 1973, Juan Perón returned to the country and became president once again, but passed away the year after. After Juan Perón’s death, the political scene changed. Both economical and political crises have hit Argentina several times since then.

No matter how bad the situation in the country has been, there is always football. The world has been given world-class players from Argentina, such as Maradona, Batistuta, Crespo and Messi. The highest division, Primera División de Argentina, consists of 26 teams and there is always huge attendance at the games. There are few places such as an Argentinian soccer stadium that can bring all kinds of emotions, ranging from euphoria, despair and dismay.

Tips

In all of Latin America, the tips are a huge part of the paycheck, for a work well done. The usual tip is 10% of the total bill when going to a restaurant. But how much should one pay for such services as hotel cleaning, helping to carry your bags, as well as guides and chauffeurs? This is all up to you. Keep in mind that you pay for good service – if you are not pleased, leave less or no tip at all.

Electricity

In Argentina, they have 3 “pins” electrical sockets so we recommend a universal adapter.

Airport tax

In Argentina, you need to pay both a domestic and an international airport tax. The domestic tax varies depending on which airport you depart from, but it is usually around 5-10 US dollars per person. International airport tax is included in the ticket price if you fly from Ezeiza (EZE) Ariport. All taxes are to be paid in cash on departure.

Climate

The seasons are the opposite from what we have in Scandinavia, which means that there is summer from November to March in Argentina. Due to this, please check what the weather will be like when you are travelling.

Phones

In Argentina, there is a generally good mobile reception in highly populated areas, but whether your phone works or not also depends on which operator and which kind of phone you have. In Argentina, you need a phone with a so-called tri-band. For more information and costs, please contact your mobile network operator.

Currency

The Argentinian currency is called pesos. You should exchange to US Dollars at home, and then exchange them to Argentinian pesos when you arrive to get the best exchange rate possible (travellers’ cheques are not recommended!). The major credit cards such as VISA or Mastercard will work without any problem in the major cities, and there are lots of ATMs. Please check with your bank prior to your departure to make sure that your card is not limited for international payments or something similar.

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