Abrams Family World Travel

Buenos Aires & Montevideo: Cabbing It

You hear warnings about taking taxis in Buenos Aires. But in five weeks we never encountered a single problem.

Admittedly, we seldom took a taxi late at night. Zenchai was usually in bed and we tended to use the Subte (subway) or walk as much as possible, so long as the distance wasn’t outrageously far for a pregnant mother and four-and-a-half-year-old boy.

Taxis within Buenos Aires are fairly inexpensive. Each journey starts at 5.80 pesos (less than a UK pound). Be sure to use the black and yellow (radio) taxis. For extra safety, call ahead or a remise, which are considered safer than the regular cabs.

Going from Buenos Aires airport, we’d recommend the Manuel Tienda Leon shuttle service. It cost us 174 pesos (£29) to Palermo. If you need to change cash, there is a bank (with an ATM) around the corner from the doorway when leaving the terminal.

However, if you are travelling light, take the subway around once in town – unless you are on the move during the rush hours (trains can get seriously cramped). Better still, use one of the many buses (there are more than 100 lines in the capital), though sussing out the routes can take some work. They run 24 hours a day, too, and make sure you have the right change as only coins are accepted.

We preferred the subway (decent and cheap at 1.10 pesos per person) and taxis when required.

Although some drivers, when recognising you are a tourist, will take you round the houses, it didn’t happen to us often. We learned the layout of the city quite quickly and found most drivers took the most direct route and didn't try to cheat us. On one occasion the driver was so eager to help that after he'd removed our luggage from his car he nearly took off without asking for his money.

Because you pay the fare displayed on the meter, you avoid the sort of disputes that can arise in other countries (tipping isn’t expected).

However, in Montevideo, for example, the meter doesn’t directly reflect the price. At the end of the journey the driver consults a chart which determines the cost of the journey. It’s puzzling until you learn how the system works. Be warned!

Also in Montevideo, driver and passenger are separated by a glass panel. This is for the driver’s protection (introduced after a taxi driver was attacked). However, make sure you are buckled in. On a few occasions passengers not strapped in securely have been seriously hurt in accidents when colliding with or going through the glass.

Paying the driver in Montevideo might also seem peculiar, because it’s done through a small hatch – like you would in some petrol stations at night. Expect to pay a little more in Uruguay. Everything seems to be more expensive than in Argentina!

Buenos Aires: 'The Spitting Tree' And Foul Pavements

We were standing in a Buenos Aires park on a sunny, cloudless day in early summer when a drop of water landed on my head.

I looked up but could only see the lush green leaves of the tree above me. On the ground, though, I could see spots of water. Seconds later I felt another drop and then another...

This is a little prank played by a tree, which we dubbed 'The Spitting Tree'. It is, in fact, called a Tipa Tree. It is native to Argentina and we have seen them all over Buenos Aires, especially along the large boulevards, in parks and throughout the Palermo district, where trees line all the streets. They are also in Montevideo.

Tipa trees (apparently known as Rosewood, Tipu and Tipuana Trees, too) are stunning. The branches weave into the sky and form almost a roof along the roads. They can grow as high as 100ft and be as wide as 60ft.

What's interesting is that the trees have powerful roots and can even crack concrete, which makes one wonder why French-born Sr Carlos Thays, a landscape artist who in 1891 became the director of the city's Parks and Walkways, chose this particular tree to decorate much of Buenos Aires' pavements (sidewalks).

Somehow, though, the trees haven't caused too much damage. You see the pavement lifted in parts. But that's the extent of the problem.

Much more of a concern is dog poop. Argentines are dog-lovers and in Buenos Aires they foul the streets everywhere. Don't spend too long admiring the trees, walking with your head up, or else you're likely to step in some.

Montevideo: Vegan Survival Guide

Uruguay, like Argentina, is an enthusiastic meat-eating nation. Vegetarian options aren't widespread. You have to seek them out. But it's far from a nightmare.

We stayed in an apartment for part of our stay and then in a hostel. When cooking for ourselves, we went to one of many fruit and vegetable stalls, bought our produce and cooked it. All fairly simple. But if you don't have cooking facilities and want to eat out, it becomes more challenging.

Aside from ordering a cheese-less pizza with vegetables (which are actually quite tasty) or a vegetable pasta or some faina (thick, sponge-like bread made from chick pea flour - but be sure to check they don't use animal fat), there are two restaurants we found that can meet your needs.

The best we discovered was Bambu (San Jose 1290), situated in the wonderful old town and not far from the Plaza Independencia. Like many of the vegetarian buffets in Buenos Aires, this one is also Chinese-owned. But we thought Bambu was better than any of the buffets we tried across the river that separates Uruguay from Argentina (special thanks to www.veganbackpacker.com for the recommendation).

Bambu offers a good vegan selection. The food is light and healthy. The salads are fresh. The place is clean. The staff are friendly and there is considerable seating on two floors. It was nice to see the boss and her husband chipping in, too, and making some of the pastries.

Bambu didn't charge for Zenchai (even though he consumed a healthy amount) and we bought two fresh juices (which were excellent) on our lunch visit. Our bill came to $440 (about $22 US). That was good value, considering we barely ate again for the rest of the day. There is also a shop offering plenty of Asian-type food items, but beware that many of the snack bars are filled with glucose syrup and sugar. 

We had also tried La Vegetariana (Rivera 2054-Río Negro 1311-Av. Brasil), but had a completely different experience. We asked about vegan options and were told only that it was 'lacto ovo vegetarian' even though we could see a fresh salad bar, which was clearly vegan.

We stayed for lunch nonetheless and worked it out for ourselves. They served fried rice, vegetable soups and boiled and fried vegetables as well as salads. We didn't think it compared favourably with Bambu. They charged half price for Zenchai. Our meal (without drinks) came to about the same as we paid at Bambu.

By the way, you may want to check out the street market on Pedro Berro (in Pocitos) every Friday. It has dozens of stalls selling a variety of fruits and vegetables although the choice wasn't as wide as it is this time of year in Buenos Aires.

Be careful, though, because in Montevideo we found that the vendors prefer to handle and pick the fruit themselves. Sometimes you wind up with some over-ripe and perished pieces. But we had some nice pineapple, peaches, nectarines, oranges, grapefruits and cherries. Most, if not all, of it was homegrown, which is a major bonus.

Montevideo: World Flip-Flop Tennis Championships

The venue: Playa Pocitos. The date: December 4. The time: 7pm. The event: The World Flip-Flop Tennis Championships. The winner: Zenchai Abrams.

How did he win? Who did he beat? It was an all-family affair. He defeated his father (me). The rules? Don't ask me. But it seemed the idea (Zenchai invented the game and name and I huffed in anticipation, as so many of his 'created' games have in the past had no style or substance) was to replicate tennis using flip-flops instead of a ball and dispense with rackets.

As a net, we used a row of palms growing in the sand. Zenchai tossed over his f-fs and I threw them back. He chased them down, did a few spins in the sand, carried them back and served again. I served back.

He got more exercise than I did. But I got plenty of laughs, played with a smile on my face and felt the warm glow of the sun going down behind me. As I keep reminding Zenchai, I don't mind if I win or lose so long as I have fun. That I did.

After a day of moving accommodation (again) and Zenchai being indoors for long periods, this was a great end and he got some much-needed exercise, particularly as it's harder to run in sand.

I thought he'd be wiped out after 25 minutes of dashing and lunging around. But it wasn't the end. This was turning into the Olympics.

He grabbed his f-fs and my sandals and then started planting them strategically in the sand.

What was he up to now? He had created a row of what looked like shoes and then began running and jumping over them. What was going on? Any guesses? This is hurdling - beach-style, Zenchai-style!

When I arrived on the beach without our ball, I thought we'd maybe struggle for some inspiration. But Zenchai, thankfully, keeps surprising me.

We came off the beach and dusted the sand from our feet and bodies. An old Uruguayan couple, looking happily in love and sitting by the main road running along the waterfront, smiled broadly at Zenchai and said something.

Zenchai asked me what. I didn't know, but (making it up) told him, "perhaps they'd just seen you in the World Flip-Flop Tennis Championships."

The couple looked back and laughed, as though they'd understood me and agreed.

*Footnote: The next championships, in four years' time, will apparently be held in Qatar!