[This message has been edited by pablo]
I was only able to find one marriage agency in all of Argentina (
www.vivaamar.com) and there were not many ladies associated with them. A few caught my eye but not enough to join their agency nor pay the hefty fees they charge. A one week membership runs $400 while the yearly cost runs $600. More on them later as I eventually stopped by later during my trip and spoke with the owner, Ignacio.
I heard from others that the Portenas were hard to meet so that is why I thought it was necessary to have a contact there. Thankfully, Maria, the lady I met through VirtualTourist stepped in and helped us out in many different ways. She was finishing up her job that week and could not spend any time with us until the evening hours. Fortunately, the four hour time difference going there worked to our benefit. When Maria invited us out to a few of the social activities that began late at night I was not feeling very tired and could sleep in late the next morning. Honestly, I do not know how she and some of the other ladies I met were able to get by on just a few hours sleep some of the nights before going to work the next day. There social "weekend" begins on Wednesday evening in BsAs. So during the day we were on our own, part time tourist, full time lady looking.
One gimmick I used was to go up to an attractive lady, introduce myself, ask if they spoke English and then if I could take their photo. Not one lady turned me down. I purchased a nice digital camera before going and after taking the shot would show it to them. I then asked if they wanted me to email them a copy and of course, all of them wanted me to do so. This was good strategy for future contact with these ladies. It got me thinking it might have been good posing as a professional photographer, asking if they had ever considered modeling, but as I didn't want to pretend about my vocation, I simple said photography was a hobby. It really was an ice breaker, and it was cute to see many of these beautiful women blush simply because I wanted to take their photograph. I had fun with one particular lady that was fluent in English when I said "my American friend told me that Argentine women were not very attractive. Could I take your photo to prove him wrong?" brought a big friendly smile to her face. Another tactic I used was to have a local map in hand and ask for directions.
My Spanish is poor and anyone considering going to any Latin American country would be wise to take lessons and learn the language. It was interesting to notice the differences the Argentines have in speaking Spanish. Y TU is not used, rather Y VOS as well as differences in pronunciation with the double L. They pronounce it with a "ja" sound rather that the "e". There are other examples but can't think of them now. They feel that their version is definitely superior to other forms of Spanish. They detest Castilian Spanish.
A good place to meet people was the neighborhood around the area where Evita is buried. Outside the old cemetery are many cafes, restaurants, street vendors, shops, a park and a university. We even found a brew pub featuring eight different styles of beer. One thing I did before leaving on my trip was to print up a bunch of wallet sized photos of myself along with my address and email. I would give this out to the ladies I was interested in which I thought was more effective than a business card or writing my information down on some paper that could easily get lost.
Day 3
Tigre was a suggested place to visit during the day. It is the delta region of the Rio Plata, the large river that BsAs is built near. We took a one hour very inexpensive train ride to get there. Not much to do once we arrived, but it was an interesting experience traveling along the coastline.
In the evening we went clubbing with Maria to a popular new place called the Museum. It’s a three story disco/techno club. It was packed with wall to wall people. People wanted to dance but there was no room. Again, incredible looking women everywhere. Later in the evening we went to a place called Tequila, an exclusive hip club. We met a guy at the first place who knew the owner of the second club which gained our entrance to the place. However attractive these ladies are, there is one drawback about Portenas and that is many smoke. After a short time in these nightclubs your eyes sting and clothes reek. The music in these clubs was so loud it was hard to carry on a conversation. Interestingly, the music that is played was mostly American wherever we went, from restaurants to clubs. One lady I met told me that Spanish songs were once banned by the government because many of the songs were protest songs. Musical prohibition.
I quickly began to dawn on me that women who frequented these clubs were not the age, or type of ladies I was searching for.
Day 4
One of the things Argentina is known for is their leather. Our guide knows a small family that produces wholesale leather coats for many of the shops around town. We visited their place where we ordered full length leather Matrix style coats. We can’t wait to see how these custom fitted coats turn out. They took our measurements and needed to stop by later before we left Argentina to pick them up. Henry and his wife were delightful to meet and he spoke fluent English.
Day 5
A happening neighborhood on the weekends is an area known as Las Canitas. It is about a four block area packed with cafes, clubs and restaurants with outdoor seating. Many locals frequent this area and walk up and down the street meeting friends and socializing. A good place to meet some ladies.
Next stop, Cordoba.
