Argentina Travel Tips 2022

 

We went to Argentina twice in 2022. First in March, just as the country was opening up again to tourism. And then, because we loved it so much, we went again in November-December. Every time I have been there, I've ended up chatting with people and becoming friends. It's the people who really make visiting this country a wonderful experience!

Here are our top travel tips for Argentina.

Language & General Info

You will find people who speak English, but if you’re off the beaten track it might be complicated. In Argentina things can be “complicated” and require extended discussions to resolve.

Carry a photocopy of your passport with you at all times. This is your identity document and you might be asked for it at any time, including at the grocery store when they want to give you the “senior’s discount!”

Argentine toilet paper is rough. If you have a brand that you like, bring your rolls with you as you travel. On the plus side, most bathrooms have bidets.

 

Currency Exchange  (This info will cut your costs in half.)

Argentina has two exchange rates: the official bank rate and the informal/blackmarket rate known as the “blue dollar.”See https://bluedollar.net/ to compare the rates.

 

Credit cards

 If you use a foreign credit card or take cash out at an ATM, these transactions will be exchanged at the official and you will get half the amount of pesos that you would receive if you had used the blue rate.

In November 2022, the Argentine government announced that it would bring the official exchange rate in line with the blue rate for foreign credit card transactions. This had not been enacted while we were there. Test the real exchange rate by making a small purchase with your credit card and then checking online to see how much you were charged in Canadian dollars.

 

The most economical way to live in Argentina is to acquire cash at the blue dollar rate (see below) and pay for everything in cash. This will cut your costs by 50%.

 

Getting cash

 

Western Union (WU) gives you a rate very close to the blue rate. Most Canadian banks offer the ability to do Western Union transfer from their online banking applications, or you can download the WU app to your device. You can then send a Western Union transfer to yourself periodically as you need it.

Then show up at a WU office in Argentina with your passport and collect the cash.

There may be maximum amount you can transfer by Western Union each day. When we were there was a government-imposed maximum of $105,000 pesos (about $380 CAN) per day. Maybe you can send more, but we never tested it.

Some vendors or travel agents accept WU transfers directly. If you need to make a purchase and don’t have enough cash, ask if they will accept a WU transfer to a bank account.

Important Caveats:

• If your bank has two-factor authentication, make sure that you can receive a text message on your phone in a foreign country, or else disable two-factor authentication.
• You must show the transaction number and your passport to pick up the cash.
• Check the opening hours of the destination WU outlet before going there. Many WU outlets operate inside stores or post office branches (Correo Argentino).
• The WU outlet at the airport in Buenos Aires operates inside the branch of CORREO ARGENTINO and is closed Saturday and Sunday, and despite the fact that the website says that this branch closes at 5:00 p.m., the day that we arrived it closed at 3:00 p.m.
• Smaller WU outlets do not always have enough cash on hand to be able to pay out.
• Others might only have small bills so they might hand you huge wads of low denomination cash (imagine receiving $400 in bills that are equivalent to 25 cents each. Seriously, this happened to us…and nobody blinks an eye when you pay with these wads of cash). Carry a bag into which you can stuff cash!
• These limitations are more prevalent in smaller cities, so make sure that you have enough cash on hand.

 Tipping

 Tipping is appreciated but not always expected. A tip of 10% is considered generous.

 

Paying in cash

Pretty much everywhere you will get a better price when paying in cash, versus a credit card, because vendors want to avoid credit card fees (and probably avoid taxes). Remember to always ask for the cash price (precio por pagar en efectivo).

 

Phone Service

The easiest way to get phone service and data is by buying a pre-activated Claro SIM card from a convenience store (kiosko). You put the pre-activated card into your phone and then add a money top-up (recarga). Claro will send you a text message confirming the balance on your phone and offering you different data packs (X GBs for Y number of days). If your balance is not enough to buy the data pack that you want, pay for an additional top-up (recarga) right away. Once you have enough balance, you can select your data pack.

DO NOT go to a Claro dealer to do this. They will require you to have a national ID number and it will be complicated.

Not every kiosko has these cards or can do this transaction. Some have limits on the amount they can give you for a top-up. You might need to ask around a bit.

Keywords

una tarjeta Claro preactivada

una recarga de xx pesos.

  

Whatsapp

Everyone and many businesses use whatsapp! You will need it to make restaurant reservations and to call taxis, etc. Install it on your phone and get it working before you go to Argentina, as your phone number has to be working when you install it.

 

Getting around Buenos Aires

 From the airport

 There is a Taxi stand inside the terminal, near the exit, where you give them the address of your destination and they will give you a slip with the official fare. Pay the driver in pesos or with a credit card. This fare will take into account number of passengers and bags. Taxi drivers do not expect to be tipped.

 

Public Transit

Public transit is excellent in Buenos Aires.

• You need a Sube card, which can be purchased at a convenience store (kiosko). Multiple people can travel on one card; you swipe it for each person. You might have to check several kiosks to find a Sube card.
• The bus fare depends on how far you are going. When you get on a bus, you have to tell the driver the cross street where you are getting off. Use Google maps to figure this out. It takes a little time to get used to doing this!
• Google maps works pretty well for bus and subway (Subte) routes, right down to providing the street address where the bus stop is located.
• Transitapp is reportedly also good (and better for GPS location of busses). We didn’t try it in Argentina.

 Uber

Uber drivers prefer to be paid in cash (not what we normally expect). Go into settings and look for the option to pay by cash instead of credit card. Uber is not cheaper than taxis but is considered safer.

Be prepared to have Uber drivers cancel on you even after they have confirmed pickup. This happened to us frequently.

Be prepared that they might message you (in Spanish) to confirm that you are ready, with pickup details, to ask how many passengers, to ask if you are paying in cash.

Taxis

Taxis can be hailed on the street, or you can get the number of a taxi company and call for a taxi.

We used Taxiezeiza to book a taxi to the airport: + 54 911 4090 8580.

I was warned that taxis are not safe (ie, reports of being mugged by the drivers of taxis hailed on the street). We did not have any bad experiences with taxis.

 

Domestic Flights

You cannot book a flight with Aerolineas Argentinas online because you need at national ID card number and you have to pay with a credit card at the official exchange rate.

You can, however, book an AA flight through Expedia and other revendors. Hot tip: Set your location as Argentina and search in Spanish to get the Argentinean rate (Aerolineas has a higher rate for foreigners than for residents).

Or you can go to a travel agent, have them book flights for you at the domestic rate and pay in cash. We used the travel agency Almundo, which meant taking a huge stack of pesos into the travel agency.

Almundo Recoleta. Av. Santa Fe 1608. Tel. 0810-220-1031 (Extension interno 177).

Jonatan at the Recoleta branch was our travel agent. +54 911 5346 2920

Almundo.com.ar  Search flights, prices, etc.

 

Buenos Aires Lodgings

We used Airbnb and were overall happy with the places we stayed. Prices were reasonable at CA$45 to $100 per night.

Stay in the neighbourhoods near the sites that you want to visit. Mostly likely Palermo, Recoleta, maybe San Telmo. We stayed in Balvanera twice because we loved our Airbnb, but the neighborhood was not great.

 

Restaurants

At high end restaurants, expect to pay about CA$25 per person, including wine and dessert. Make reservations at high-end restaurants. As well as the famous beef, Argentine cuisine has lots of Spanish, Italian and German influences. You will see a lot of milanesa (veal schnitzel) and suprema (chicken schnitzel). Side dishes are almost always potatoes (French fries or mashed) and winter squash purée.

 The best restaurants we ate at in Buenos Aires:

• Don Julio, Guatemala 4699, Palermo. We ate there in March just as tourism has reopened. Now it is pretty much impossible to get a reservation. Your best bet is to show up early and wait in line for a table.
• La Cabrera, José A. Cabrera 5938, Palermo. Now having the same reservation problem as above. Of the two, we preferred Don Julio.
• La Brigada, Estados Unidos 465, San Telmo. This restaurant will famously cut your bife de chorizo with a spoon! We were able to get a table as a walk-in.
• El Club del Progreso, Sarmiento 1334, Centro. Beautiful dining room, wonderful meal. Betina gives tours of the history of the club. It’s an amazing place with an amazing history

 Surprisingly Argentine beef is usually cooked to medium (término medio or al punto). If you prefer your steak medium rare, ask to have it “sangrante” and be prepared to send it back if it is overdone.

Bife de chorizo = rib steak. This is considered the best and most flavourful cut.

Lomo = tenderloin. A more tender cut, but it does not have the same rich flavour.

 

 Other Restaurants that we enjoyed

• La Gran Taberna, Combate de los Pozoz 95, Congreso. Spanish dishes and seafood are the specialities. I had one of the best seafood stews of my life there (cazuela de mariscos). You will be given an enormous amount of food.
• El Imparcial, Av. Hipólito Yrigoyen 1201, Congreso. Spanish. We went with a group of friends and shared a paella, then ordered 8 desserts that we shared around the table. My favourite was zapallo en almíbar (winter squash cooked in syrup with a bit of bicarbonate of soda, which gives it a crunchy texture. It was surprising and delicious.)
• Invernadero, Agüero 2502, Recoleta. A lovely tapas and cocktails spot tucked in the shadow of the National Library.
• Perón Perón, Lavalleja 1388, Palermo. Charming and quirky place where everyone knows the Peronist anthem (and sings it heartily a few times over the course of the evening). A carafe of house wine is a pinguino that comes in a little ceramic penguin jug.
• La Ferneteria, Serrano 1349, attached to the Museo de Bellas Artes. The name refers to Fernet, a bitter herbal liqueur that Argentines drink mixed with Coca cola. It’s an acquired taste. I had a salad that was an explosion of flavour in every bite (on the menu, it was the one with the curry vinaigrette). Visit when you go to the Bellas Artes museum.

• If you eat near the Recoleta cemeterio, the restaurants along Pres. Roberto Ortiz are better than the ones on the Vicente López side. We ate at La Parolaccia (Italian), Pres Roberto Ortiz 1865 and it was excellent.
• Parrilla El Litoral. Moreno 2201, Congreso. This is a tiny hole in the wall kind of place, but it was just down the street from out Airbnb and we loved it. Have the bife de chorizo and the bondiola (grilled pork). If you go to El Litoral, also visit the nearby wine store El Franjamar, Moreno 2291. Owner Mariano gives great recommendations and the wines are reasonably priced. Tell Mariano that we sent you.
• Bellagamba, Rivadavia 2138, Congreso. Great ambiance and lunch specials. You are given a menu, then you have to go place your order and pay at the cash. Beside the cash you can pick out your beverages, desserts, etc. They then give you a number and bring the meal to your table. The florentina was the best dish on the menu.

 And of course there are the famous coffee shops and cafés:

• Café Tortoni, Av. De Mayo 825, Congreso. It’s nice. It’s famous. It’s full of tourists. Go see it but don’t wait if there’s a line. There are plenty of other places for coffee or a drink in Buenos Aires.
• Café de los Angelitos, Rivadiavia 2100. This was a home base for tango composer and singer Carlos Gardel. The café was abandoned but has been restored. It’s a nice little café for a bite or a drink. The tango and dinner show is pricey. Gardel’s first home in Buenos Aires is around the corner at Rincón 137.

 Bares Notables

 In the older parts of town there are “bodegas.” These used to be small general stores that have been restored as bars and are known as “bares notables”, which are kind of like officially designated heritage sites. Drink in as many of them as possible. Order their specialty cocktail and be surprised. You’re welcome!

  

Things To Do and See

 Museums, etc.

• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Av. Pres. Figueroa 2280 (resto. La Ferneteria), Recoleta
• Biblioteca Nacional
• Un Cafٞé con Perón, Austria 2631, Recoleta. A little café attached to the Perón museum, beside the National Library. The library was built on the location of the Peróns’ former home. The café staff will give you a tour of the museum and research centre.
• Floralis Genérica, Giant metallic flower sculpture that used to open with the sun at dawn and close at sunset (currently having mechanical problems).
• Museo de Arte Latinoamerican de Buenos Aires, Av. Pres. Figueroa 3415, Palermo. Rotating collections. Always something interesting to see.
• Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo, Libertador 1902) Museum on a former mansion, showcasing beautiful period furniture. (their resto La Croque Madame is very good. Reserve)
• Museo Sito de Memoria ESMA, Av. Del Libertador 8151. North. Museum to honor the memory of the people who were abducted and disappeared during the years of the military junta. This is the police compound where they were held and tortured. Currently only open on weekends. Check website for updates. http://www.museositioesma.gob.ar/  
• The famous Recoleta cemetery
• Jardín Japonés
• Los Rosedales
• The Hop-on Hop-off Bus, https://www.buenosairesbus.com/recorridos.php?lang=en  is not a bad idea for getting an idea of the city’s layout. Get the two-day ticket, you’ll need it. Buy it in cash at the ticket booth on Pres, Manuel Quintana 1763, near the Recoleta Cemetery. They give you plug-in earphones but the cord is not long enough to reach the outlet in the front window seat, so having your own long cord earphones is an advantage. Click on the stops for descriptions and to find out where the bus stop is located.
• Walking tours. We did a paid walking tour with Viator. It was terrible. I’d try a free walking tour next time. As the city is so big, most tours stick to just one area.

 

Tango Dancing

The best source to find out about tango dance events (milongas) is the website and app Hoy Milonga

https://www.hoy-milonga.com/buenos-aires/en

The birthplace of tango was in La Boca and the most famous street in the area is the Caminito. The area is colourful. The corrugated tin shacks have been restored. They were always brightly painted, with leftover ships’ paint. But the area itself is just so overrun with tourists that it is no fun to visit, unless really bad weather or a World Cup game is keeping people away. Go see it, but keep your expectations low.

There is tango everywhere, from the street to the theatre. Keep some small bills in your pocket to tip street performers. I never take my wallet out in public (a leftover from my Colombia days) and watch out for pickpockets.

Our tango instructor was Edgardo Fernández Sesma (contact info available on request). His English is rudimentary but he teaches to all levels and abilities and is very involved in the Queer tango scene. About CA$15 for a private lesson and he comes to you; it's less if you go to his place in Recoleta for the lesson.

We never went to any of the famous tango dinner shows. They are expensive (over $100/pp and you can see tango everywhere).

 

Music

Centro Cultural Kirchner, Sarmiento 151

www.cck.gob.ar

Click on Agenda, Conciertos y actividades for a list of upcoming concerts. Most events are free but ticketed.

 You have to go online about a week ahead of time to book tickets for events. When asked for your ID number, use your passport (numbers only). The ID is eight digits long, so add two zeros to the end of your passport number.

 

Futball (soccer)

Live football tickets are expensive and very hard to get. Find a sports bar, order some food and drink and cheer with the fans. Two bars that we liked for sports:

• Locos X El Futbol, Gral. Las Heras 2101, Recoleta
• Pizza Lo+Hot, Gral. Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid 801, La Boca

 

Polo

• Polo season is October-December.
• Buy tickets at the polo field box office on the day of the game.
• Buy the cheapest ticket available (which will be in the sun), and then stake out a table in the field-side bar where you can sit in the shade and enjoy drinks and tapas while watching the game. The cool drink among polo fans: Aperol spritz.

 

Feria de Mataderos Folk market

There is a weekly flea market and handicraft market in the Mataderos neighbourhood. When you get off the bus, you’ll see endless flea market and low-end consumer goods and will wonder if you are in the right place. Ask directions to the música folclórica which is by the handicraft market, and food vendors. Folk dancing is hugely popular in Argentina and many people know the traditional dances and come out to dance in the street. This market was a find in terms of hanging out to enjoy the street entertainment and I even bought some handicrafts!

 If you want to buy handicrafts as gifts for people back home, the San Telmo market is also a good choice.

 

Side Trips

 Tigre

 This fabulous day trip from Buenos Aires takes you to an amazing little town in the delta in the Lujan River. It is accessible by commuter train, which is worthwhile for the view of the suburbs surrounding Buenos Aires. The train stations along the way have, charming cafés. The town of Tigre has a handicraft market but the big draw is the boat tours through the delta islands. A whole community lives in these islands, served by grocery boats, police boats, school bus boats, etc. The boat tour gives the history of the region and takes you through the delta. Highly recommended.

 

Iguazu Falls

The falls are best viewed from the Brazil side. https://cataratasdoiguacu.com.br/

Seriously, they are much better on the Brazilian side; more water and fewer people.

Your entrance ticket includes the park bus. Don’t bother with the “boat trip.” It’s expensive and doesn’t actually get you close to the falls.

 We hired a driver for the day to pick us up at our hotel on the Argentina side, take us across to Brazil for the day and then bring us back. Cost was about CA$60 and it was well worth it. You can do both in one day, the falls in the morning and the birds in the afternoon. Driver contact info available on request.

Across from the entrance to the falls is the Parque das Aves, https://www.parquedasaves.com.br/

This reserve park rehabilitates injured birds. It was wonderful. We visited at the end of the day, after the crowds had thinned out. The park says it closes at 4:30, but my recollection is that 4:30 is the last entrance and that the park is open until 5 or 6. To be safe, go around 3:30.

A great restaurant in Iguazu: La Rueda 1975, Av. Córdoba 28.

 

Patagonia

We visited two sites in Patagonia: El Calafate and Ushuaia.

The first thing to know about Patagonia is that it is pretty much always windy!  Dress accordingly.

 

El Calafate

This is the place to see glaciers and icebergs.

When you take a taxi from the airport, get the taxi company’s phone number. There are no buses in El Calafate.

The main strip is all of tour operators and restaurants. All the tour operators offer pretty much the same things at the same prices.

 

The top tours in Calafate are: 

• Todos los Glaciares tour. This boat tour takes you to see the Upsala, Spegazinni and Perrito Moreno glaciers. If you can only do one glacier tour, do this one.  About US$90.
• Perrito Moreno Glacier. A bus tour to view this spectacular glacier from the walkways on land. Perrito Moreno is constantly growing and calving (dropping icebergs into the water). It is breathtakingly impressive. There is a good chance that you will see it calve while you are there.
• Hiking in El Chaltén (Mt. Fitz Roy). This is a long day trip from Calafate. If you’re interested in hiking, stay in El Chaltén as a base.

 

Other things to see in the town of Calafate:

• Reserva Laguna Nimez, Av Costanera Presidente Nestor C Kirschner 2075. https://www.facebook.com/lagunanimez.elcalafate/ This bird reserve was one of my highlights in Patagonia. I thought we wouldn’t see many birds because it was so windy….I was wrong! The reserve gives you a checklist with pics that makes it easy to identify the birds that you’ll see. About US$1.30
• Centro de Interpretación Histórica Calafate, Almirante G. Brown 1175. https://centrodeinterpretacionhistorica.negocio.site/ A very interesting museum about natural and social history of the region, including what happened to the indigenous people of the region.

 Lodging

Cabañas Nevis, Av. del Libertador 1696.

https://cabanasnevis.com/es/

This is where we wish we had stayed. It was next door and much nicer than our Airbnb.

It is across the street from the Distrisur Supermercado (Casimiro Bigua 1-99 at the corner with Av. Libertador), the best grocery store for hearty premade sandwiches and other supplies.

It is also right beside our top value restaurant pick, Cervecería Artesanal Chopen.

 

Restaurants

• Cervecería Artesanal Chopen - La parrillita del Pueblo, Av. del Libertador 1696. Good food, good drinks, good value in a town that is overall pricey for what it offers. https://www.facebook.com/cerveceriachopen
• Panadería y Confitería Don Luis, Av. del Libertador 1536. Café with good breakfast and snack options and lots of pastries.

 The calafate bush produces a small blue berry. Try the calafate ice cream.

 

Western Union

Branch is located in CORREO EL CALAFATE, Av. Del Libertador Gral San Martin 1133.

When we were there, this is the only Western Union branch that had service, and it usually did not have enough cash to meet demand so don’t count on being able to get cash.  

 

Ushuaia

 The city at the end of the world. This is where the cruise ships depart for Antarctica.

As we were not taking a cruise, we had to plan our own activities. Everything departs from the Puerto Turístico, Av. Prefectura Naval & Augusto Laserre. Or the bus terminus which is right next door, Av. Maipú & Juana Genoveva Fadul.

• Hiking in the national park: Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/parquesnacionales/tierradelfuego Catch a bus to the park from the bus terminal. At the park you can buy a one or two-day park pass. If you are into hiking, the two-day pass is worthwhile.
• See sea lions, aquatic birds, condors. Cruise the Beagle channel, 3 hours. 9:00 a.m. daily. Get tickets from the Puerto Turístico. The boat trip is not very exciting, but you’ll get some great photos.
• Go to see penguins. Magellanic and Gentoo penguins are only around during nesting season, November to April. All of the tour companies will take you to where you can see penguins from your boat. Only one company, Piratour, lets you land and walk around on the island where the penguins are nesting: https://piratour.net/. Go to the green Piratour hut at the Puerto Turistico, and buy your ticket for the next day.
• Penguins can also be seen in Puerto Madryn.

 

Restaurants

• El Viejo Marino, Av. Maipú 227. King crab is the speciality and this is the place to eat it. They don’t take reservations, so get there before it opens and stand in line.
• Salitre Restaurent, access to the restaurant is down the pedestrian stairs, Calle Onas 181 with Gobernador Deloqui.
• Ana & Juana Café, Av. San Martin 1485

 Western Union

The Western Union is located in the Carrefour grocery store. There is only one for the town and the line there is unbelievably long. 

*****

Jury Duty

 

On Thursday, January 5, 2023, I had to present myself for jury duty at 8:30 a.m. at the Ottawa Courthouse.

I arrived, went through security, and was sent upstairs to mill about in the hallway with a group of about 80 people, from which 12 people would be chosen, plus two alternates. Some people were chatty. I was not. I didn’t especially want to be there and I didn’t want to make friends.

We were ushered into a waiting room and lined up to present our summons and ID to the court clerks. They checked our information against their list and assigned us a number. I was juror number 1405.

Another hour or so later, we were brought into the court chamber to be briefed on what the trial would entail. Indictments are public record. We were informed that the trial was that of Tristan Campbell, who was being charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder concerning an incident that took place in May 2018 in Ottawa. The prosecution, the defense and the accused were in the courtroom as we were being briefed. The judge asked us to consider any conscious or unconscious racial bias that we might harbour and whether this would impact our ability to serve on the jury in the trial of a black man. The trial was scheduled to start on Monday, January 9 and was expected to last one month.

We were sent back to the waiting room. A court clerk came and called out 10 numbers, and those people were taken back to the courtroom to be interviewed individually. The rest of us waited. Another hour or so later, another group of 10 was called. Most people had brought a book or spent their time on their phone. The courthouse had free wifi. I settled into reading a book on my iPad. Another group of 10 was called. And then another.

By noon, we were starting to get hungry and restless. At 12:45 the court clerk said that we’d probably be released for lunch soon. We were released for lunch at 1:10 and told to be back by 2:00. I hadn’t brought a lunch with me. I thought that lunch would be provided. It wasn’t. I went out to a sandwich place a couple of blocks away.

At 2:15 another group of 10 was called. And then another group. The time was going on 4:00. Someone asked the court clerk how much longer it would be. The clerk said that the 12 jurors had already been picked and only the two alternates remained to be chosen. He said that it was likely that they would be found in this last group. So, could we leave? Not yet. Not until the selection process was completed.

Feeling like I had dodged a bullet, I waited with the remaining people for permission to leave. About 40 minutes later the court clerk came back. They needed just one more person. Number 1450. Whew, almost like my number! The clerk waited expectantly. No one answered to 1450. He called out the number again. No answer. The clerk checked his paper: 1405. Crap. That’s me. I gathered my things and followed him.

In the courtroom, the judge asked if there was anything I wanted to say before the questioning process began. Well, yes. On Sunday, January 1, New Year’s Day we resumed hosting our Hair-of the-Dog music jam, after two years of being suspended due to COVID. It was our best jam ever, with a great turnout of musicians. However, on Monday we got a call from a person who had attended the jam, saying that they weren’t feeling well on Sunday night and Monday morning they tested positive for COVID. Oh my. We contacted everyone who had attended the jam to let them know that one of the guests had tested positive. On Wednesday, our brother-in-law messaged to let us know that he had tested positive too. This was now Thursday. I had been in close contact with two people who had tested positive for COVID, spread at an event in my home. The judge nodded and dismissed me from jury duty. The clerk went back to the waiting room to find another prospective juror.

My case was one of a number of reasons why a group of 80 people is summoned to find a jury of 12 and two alternates. Many people can’t be available for a month-long trial because they have other commitments, as workers, business owners, parents, caregivers, students, etc.

At the time of writing this, February 1, 2023, the trial is still underway. In Ontario, compensation for serving on a jury is as follows: day one to ten: No compensation. From day 11 to 49: $40 per day. From day 50 to the last day of trial: $100 per day. Employers are required to give employees time off to serve as jurors but they are not required to pay their salaries. Who can afford to be a juror? The retired, the unemployed?

Between economic constraints and other commitments, are the people who end up on a jury actually “peers” of the accused? I didn’t end up serving this time but I appreciated the outside glimpse into process of justice, and it makes me wonder about the system’s inherent biases.

*****

Lingering Thoughts

What would have happened if the court clerk had not realized that he had mistakenly called out the wrong number? Would I have been reported and convicted for allegedly having been absent or failing to respond when summoned?

Recovery Mode

I’ve lost many things over the years, from umbrellas and books, to jobs, practices, and people. Some were accidental losses, others were deliberately shed. Some disappeared without my even noticing. They got lost when I wasn’t paying attention to them.

With a few exceptions, I don’t particularly miss the material things that got left behind. I moved back to Canada with two bags. I regret not having brought back some of the decorations that we put on the Christmas tree in Bogota when the boys were growing up. I miss those decorations not because I need or want them; I miss them because they were meaningful to the boys. I wonder if I can recover them.

I held an independent contractor job as a translator for an international press monitoring service from February 1999 until December 2019, just over 20 years. The service was restructured and I was invited to apply to work under contract with the new service provider. I declined with no regrets as I had other professional projects to pursue. Jobs change.

I’ve lost practices. I lost the practice of writing this blog. It originally started as a by-product of Internet dating. I was exchanging messages with prospective suitors and I realized that some of the things I was writing about would be worth sharing with a wider audience. Then I found someone, fell in love, and we stopped writing to each other. While falling in love was a good thing, I don’t think that the fact that we stopped exchanging letters was a positive development. The habit of writing is one that I’d like to recover and maintain. My inspiration is my friend Sharon who has recently posted a flurry of short reflections, reminding me that a piece of writing starts with a moment of realization that I want to capture in words before it escapes. It doesn’t have to be a full-fledged essay. 

I’ve lost healthful practices. The pandemic was a hard time. I engaged in a lot of eating and drinking and neglected health self-care. Sometimes I still forget to act in ways that serve my physical and mental health. I need to recover healthful practices: More fruits and vegetables. Fewer sweets and drinks. More exercise. This isn’t rocket science.

I’ve lost people. I drifted apart from some; others were let go. There are people whose friendship I want to recover and I want to be more mindful about maintaining the friendships that I don’t want to lose. Jot down a note. Be diligent about answering. Schedule appointments to stay in touch.

******

Exercise in self-actualization

Finish this sentence:

I am a person who __________________________

Fill in the blank as many times as needed until you have created a person.

Are you that person? Do you really want to be that person? What is needed to be that person?

******

I feel like I’ve lost parts of my life, parts of myself, and I want to find them again.

I thought I’d lost my previous blog entries. It took some Internet searching and technical help from Gord to find and access them. They’re still there. The snapshots of what my life was.

I’m in recovery mode, looking for my backups. Some aspects of who I used to be don’t serve anymore, but I miss other aspects and need to recreate them. They’re not new, but they need to be recreated, recovered…like an old piece of furniture.

Sayonara, Yaris

I sold my car last week. It was great little car. I bought it from my cousins three years ago. It ran beautifully and I never had any problems with it, but I sold it because I really didn't need a car. When the summer tires were installed this year, the mechanic noticed rust on the front brakes from lack of use. Replacing the brakes and rotors cost $500. This was a sign that it was time to give up the car.

As a statement of principle, I never wanted to be a car owner. I don't want to be an active contributor to climate change. I don't want to add to traffic congestion. I resented the monthly cost of insurance for a car that mostly sat in the driveway. I never learned to love snow shovelling as a form of cross-training.

I'm not saying that car ownership is never ever justified. I am grateful that I have a job that does not require me to commute. Other people need their cars: Sharon provides therapy to shut-in patients, Gord works out of town, Penny has to visit employers all over the city to evaluate her students' work coop placements.

In terms of environmental activism, many people are much more engaged than I am in protesting global climate change and opposing actions like fracking. My decision to sell the car is activism on a very small scale, it is my own private protest, my statement of principle that I do not want to be a car owner. I support human power transport (walk, bike, skate). I believe in public transit. I will sign up with a car-share service (currently comparing the merits of VirtuCar or Zipcar) so that I can use a vehicle when I need one.

Lest this start sounding annoyingly self-righteous, let me point out that I am the beneficiary of a person who has a car, who drives me wherever I need to go and sends a note every afternoon asking if we need anything at the grocery store. I am grateful for this, I make use of it, and I am not suggesting that he should get rid of his car. Owning a car may be a luxury, but being able to live without one is a privilege.

****

Apropos, kudos to the G7 for the statement of intent to phase out fossil fuel use by the end of the century. At this stage the announcement is more of a symbolic gesture than a practical plan but it is the first step in the right direction.

Deeply Disturbing

Director Chris Abraham's production of The Taming of the Shrew is now in previews at Stratford (the production opens officially on June 5). It is looking very polished already and it is so fresh that it smarts.

The Taming of the Shrew is a difficult play to think about producing nowadays. The story line of how a man goes about taming his unruly wife is not exactly a paragon of gender equality. Chris Abraham is fearless in his handling of this highly problematic text. The director's first recourse is distancing. As the audience files into the theatre, some of the actors, still in their street clothes, are on the stage and chatting to members of the audience. Tom Rooney, who plays Tranio, remarks that he has been performing Shakespeare for years but this is the first time he has done so in Elizabethan dress. The actor who plays Kate is welcomed onstage and introduced by name: "Here comes Deb Hay!" All of this is a reminder to the audience: This is a play.

The action begins with an interruption by "audience member Christopher Sly," who objects to this lack of suspended disbelief. He rails against being shown the visible underpinnings of theatre, noting that he should not be surprised at this, "coming from the director of My Big Fat Gay Wedding," a reference to director Chris Abraham's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, last year (http://noessinomivida.blogspot.ca/2014/06/stratford-1-nothing-was-what-i-expected.html), which was so flamboyantly gay that it would be inconceivable to accuse Abraham of upholding conventional gender roles. The Christopher Sly introduction is Shakespeare's creation, an indication that The Bard himself was aware that he was dealing with some seriously problematic sexism and he would be well advised to prime the audience with a reminder that what is said should not necessarily be taken at face value.

First of all, in the logic of the time in which the play is set, a woman was chattel. She was the negotiable property of her father and husband. Petruchio (Ben Carlson) is broke and he needs a wife who has a substantial dowry. He knows that Katherina (Deborah Hay) is rich and he makes it clear that his intention is to break her headstrong character and enjoy her fortune.

Petruchio gets off to a pretty good start. He is as sharp tongued and quick-witted as Katherina and the two can banter like nobody's business. Kate does appreciate that as quickly as she can deliver her zingers, he comes back with a retort. He does succeed in winning some esteem from her, but that promise of equality crumbles after he marries her (having lied to her father, claiming that she agreed to the marriage). The wedding is a mockery. He shows up late (leaving her to contemplate the possibility that she is being humiliated by being stood up at the altar), wearing a mishmash of odd clothing and riding on a half-dead horse.

Petruchio takes Kate home and implements his plan to break her through starvation, sleep deprivation, forced marches, and being made to wear her wedding dress, the symbol of purity in love, until it is ragged and filthy from being dragged through the mud. These deprivations he enacts "in the name of love," protesting that the food, the bed, the place, the new clothing are "not good enough for her." It is calculated manipulation on his part, and Petruchio voices his protestations violently and irrationally, making Kate doubt his sanity and fear what else he might put her through if she does not acquiesce. So finally, acquiesce she does.

In his plan, even an act of love, a kiss, becomes a form of debasement. Three times in the play, Petruchio asks Kate to kiss him. The first two times, she refuses, explaining that she would be ashamed to do so in the street (proper ladies of the time did not engage is public displays of affection). The third time he asks her to kiss him is at the end of the final scene, following her declaration of submission. In the context of the play, it is the ultimate debasement: she is being made to humiliate herself in front of her father and sister and neighbours.

The ending is dark. This is a Shakespearean comedy, so everyone gets married at the end (Kate and Petruchio, Bianca and Lucentio, the widow and Hortensio) but what kind of contract is this marriage? At the banquet to celebrate the marriages, a test of obedience is set and the women are summoned to come to their husbands. Only Kate obeys, and gives a speech about wifely duty. Petruchio gloats and points to his triumph in taming his wife. The characters onstage listen with astonishment and unease. Kate has entered into Bluebeard's bargain: her husband will care for and protect her so long as she obeys him. If she fails to obey, her very life could be forfeit. She is married to the insane manipulator and she will stay because she has no means to support herself. It is doubtful that her father would step in to help her, having finally married her off to a man who can keep her quiet.

The relationship between Kate and her father Baptista is not discussed at length in the play. Baptista dotes on his younger daughter Bianca, and he is aware that Katherina is a hellion. The unspoken question is what turned Kate into such a hellion in her relations with men? The audience is left to speculate on this. Kate and Bianca's mother is missing from their lives (presumed deceased). Was it the lack of a mother's love and influence that made Kate into what she is, or did something more insidious happen to her? Director Abraham does not explore the implications but allows audience members to ask themselves disturbing questions. The sense of unease is created without being explicit.

This production is conveyed with wit, social commentary, and a profound sense of danger. Laughter at the clever repartee gives way to horror. Petruchio is not a bon vivant, he is a manipulative psychopath. Starvation, sleep deprivation, defilement, public humiliation, and repeated reminders that she is mere chattel… this play is no longer funny and it is a poignant reminder that not that long ago women were not entitled to rights or property. It is deeply disturbing and for all the right reasons.

***
Saw three more productions during this trip to Stratford.
The Sound of Music. Creative set changes and great singing kept this somewhat wooden production alive. It was fun, it was competent but not surprising.
The Adventures of Pericles (Prince of Tyre). Like Odysseus, Pericles must journey and this production is all over the map: the people of Tyre are in Victorian dress, the people of Tarsus are in Elizabethan dress, the goddess Diana and her acolytes in Ephesus are decked out in some sort white habit that could be from the future or the past. Diana and her gang also act as Greek chorus, narrating where Pericles has landed and what has befallen him on the way. By the end of the play I was exhausted but not because of emotional intensity or engagement. Tyresome.
Hamlet. Passionate, intense, every line was laden with meaning and wordplay. This production deserves a review of its own.

Edwardian Oddities

Photo from www.shawfest.com

The Charity That Began at Home
By St. John Hankin
2:00, Sunday, June 8, 2014
Court House Theatre, Niagara-on-the-Lake


The Charity That Began at Home is a discomforting Edwardian comedy. Lady Denison (Fiona Reid) has been advised that the best way to be charitable and coax better behaviour from others is by setting a good example. She embraces this notion by inviting a group of undesirable misfits to her country home, in the hope that by enjoying civilized company they may improve their own manners and hence their social prospects. The menagerie of boors and bores shows no signs of reform. So long as they are only boring, they present no imminent danger. That, however, changes.

One of the guests, Hugh Verreker (Martin Harper), is a disgraced army officer who was dismissed over having made a loan to himself from the regiment's cash. He makes a convincing argument about how he intended to pay back the money and had arranged for a loan from his uncle, but the repayment did not arrive before the cash was discovered to be missing. In discussing his case, Margery (Julia Course), Lady Denison's daughter, is told that Verreker might be a scoundrel but that under the influence of good people he could reform. Margery therefore concludes that the best way to reform him would be to marry him. This is when the notion of commitment to charity clashes with practicality.

Even the servant Soames has been engaged to work in the household as an opportunity to give him a second chance in life after having been dismissed from his last position. The outcome is that Soames rapes the maid Anson and leaves her pregnant. When he is confronted, he acknowledges his act and he is entirely unapologetic about it. He adds that he cannot possibly marry Anson because he is already married. The Edwardian audience would have been horrified that he will not give his victim the respectability of marriage, but the modern audience is relieved that the rape victim is not forced to enter a binding relationship with her abuser. It is also uncomfortable to note that Lady Denison is much more concerned that Soames should be given the opportunity to redeem his respectability, rather than ensuring that Anson will be able to lead a respectable life. By the mores of the times, she will not, she is "ruined."

When does selfless goodness stop being a good thing and start to be a clearly foolish endeavour? Does anyone really change? The social concerns may be different nowadays but the notion of world responsibility toward the less fortunate remains a concern. How personally should we take the notion of "charity?" To what extent should we open our hearts and our homes to a person who needs rescuing? It is not an easy question.

Hankin was criticized in his time because he failed to provide "satisfactory" endings to his plays. How can this be a comedy is Margery's heart is broken? Will Lady Denison and Margery continue to pursue this kind of charity? Should they do so? Are they right to flaunt social convention in the name of kindness or is their intention misguided and foolish? Should personal sacrifice extend to marrying someone to redeem them? There remains a wide gap between the romantic ideal and the practical reality, and Hankin's comedy is not as light as it would appear. I consider the fact that he does not provide facile resolution as a strength, rather than a weakness. This play was deeper and more relevant than it would appear at first glance.

Photo from www.shawfest.com

The Sea
By Edward Bond
8:00, Sunday, June 8, 2014
Court House Theatre, Niagara-on-the-Lake

It is 1907. A storm rages at sea. A young man is drowned. The Coast Guard is at arms because invaders may be attacking. The play was originally produced at the Royal Court Theatre on 22 May 1973. The director's notes in the programme refer to Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, Pink Floyd, Monty Python's Plying Circus, and the invasion of the body snatchers. The play looks Edwardian --it is set in Edwardian times-- but it has contemporary concerns.

The opening scene shows the wind machine, property of the East Anglia Theatre Company, on the beach at night. Like Brecht, Bond reminds us that this is a play, not real life (epic theatre convention). As the machine is set in motion, the "storm" rages and the story begins to unfold. A young man's boat overturns and he is killed, either by the storm or possibly by Hatch (Patrick Galligan) the maniacal leader of the Coast Guard who is convinced that aliens from outer space are attempting to land on England's shores. Hatch, the draper, a seller of yard goods, is a bona fide mad hatter. He, in turn, is terrorized by Lady Rafi (Fiona Reid), the town's matriarch, who orders goods and then will not accept them when they arrive. She maintains the social order and runs the local amateur theatre society in which she is the star. Willy (Wade Bogert-O'Brien) survives the shipwreck and must go speak to the deceased's fiancée Rose (Julia Course). Hatch presumes that Willy is an invading aliens and threatens his life. Evens (Peter Millard), the drunken hermit who lives in an abandoned boat on the beach, comforts Willy and tells him that Hatch is harmless.

I felt like I was at sea for most of the first act. I could make no sense of this play until I latched onto the notion that the main characters are all Shakespearean fools. Lady Rafi is the tyrannical fool. Hatch is the mad fool. Evens is the wise fool. Once this became clear, the whole play started to make more sense. In the end each of the fools tells the young people to leave this place: Lady Rafi and Evens tell them to get away for their own good and Hatch tells them to get out. Staying would only lead to madness.

Several elements did not hold together. Hatch the draper was unconvincing in his over the top lunacy. It is hard to see how he could hold down any sort of job at all, much less run a store and serve as the head of the coast guard. The scene in which Lady Rafi is declaiming her lines in the theatre society rehearsal as Orpheus, asking a stalwart Rose as Eurydice to come back from the dead, is a moment of high irony, but not believable. The vocal battle and the tussle over the ashes at the funeral were delightfully uproarious but blatantly silly. There were moments of levity and seriousness, but overall, I am not convinced that this play manages to make enough sense of the madness. Also, the Shaw Festival could use a bit of work on its wigs. The wig lines were visible on every character in both productions and it is disconcerting.