Maxim Levoshin

Category: Argentina

  • 🚘 Car guide to the north of Argentina

    🚘 Car guide to the north of Argentina

    The provinces of Huhui and Salta are my favorite part of Argentina: the Martian Andes, salt lakes, fluffy llamas and flawless blue skies.

    The most beautiful places are in the untamed mountains. Which means you need to plan three things: when you’ll refuel, where you’ll spend the night, and how to gain altitude so you don’t vomit from the highlands. Nature has figured out the rest for you: every road is beautiful. Multiply the road time from the navigator by two: you will want to stop often and take photos. And, of course, you should drive a tall four-wheel drive car – the roads are wild

    ⛰️Low-altitude routes to adapt:

    San Miguel de Tucumán – Cafayate. Perfect slow climb to enter, forest of cacti all around and hotels in vineyards.

    Cafayate – Salta. That Martian road among the red mountains. Devil’s throat canyons, amphitheater and other viewpoints. Stop at all of them!

    Salta – Cachi. Cacti and a park with lagoons at Parque National Los Cardones.

    Cachi – Cafayate. James Turrel Museum: Argentina’s best museum, 4 hours semi-highway from the nearest civilization. Wrote a separate post about it! Beautiful mountains in Quebrada de las Flechas.

    🌋 Higher routes:
    Careful – the altitude really feels it! My favorite way to combat mountain sickness is to have an oxygen tank with me or stop to breathe at the aid stations if the tank runs out. Much more effective than coca leaf tea and other folk methods.

    The planning is simple: there are hotels only in Purmamarca and Tilcara, you sleep here, fill up a full tank and drive out to see the beautiful:

    14-color mountains. You can drive to the first viewpoint, but to the most beautiful view there is a half-hour trek up the hill.First you go down, it’s very easy, going back up is more difficult, calculate your strength.

    Salinas Grandes – huge salt lakes, a must see.The most interesting thing about the lakes are the ojos (eyes), deep crevices with clear water.Blue sky, white salt going deep – incredibly beautiful! Near the eyes everything is very touristy and they will try to get a guide to come to you, all other sides are wild and empty, just the way we like it.
    Route 40 above Salines to return to Cachi via the highest point of the legendary Route 40: Abra de Acay.

    For the brave: Cusi cusi. Cafayate – Salta.That Martian road among the red mountains.Devil’s throat canyons, amphitheater and other viewpoints.Stop at all of them!

  • Helicopter flight rankings: the best and worst routes in South America

    Helicopter flight rankings: the best and worst routes in South America

    I really love flying, and if there is an opportunity to see something beautiful, I definitely take it. Here’s my ranking of experiences:

    🤮 Chile, lines in the Nazca Desert – 4/10
    School textbooks say that geoglyphs in the desert are only visible from a bird’s eye view. That’s a lie! Near the highway there are metal towers from which everything is perfectly visible. Above the desert tourists are taken by a shaking corncob, the views are monotonous, you get seasick. I don’t recommend it.

    😎 Brazil, Rio de Janeiro – 10/10
    The most beautiful helicopter tour on the continent! Ocean, beaches, impressive city in the hills, Jesus statue above the city. At the same time – the most careless security system at the airport. Bags are not checked, documents are not even asked. Apparently the aura of the city’s saint keeps everyone safe.

    😁 Brazil, Iguazu Falls – 8/10
    The most powerful waterfall system in the world. The most famous part is the Devil’s Throat, a 270 degree circular space surrounded by waterfalls. Powerful and beautiful: a helicopter flies right up to the Throat itself! I took off two points, because from the bottom, from the boat, you can drive into the waterfall itself, and it is much cooler in impressions! Brazilians are leisurely, both the boat and the helicopter will take half a day. If you have to choose one thing, definitely the boat!

    😎 Argentina, Martina Garcia Island – 9/10
    The exile island of a former president on the border with Uruguay. Perfect location for a date: beautiful flight over the La Plata river delta, interesting architecture of the island (even a theater building has been preserved!), lunch in a small authentic restaurant, crocodiles on the waterfront.

    😁 Argentina, Buenos Aires – 8/10
    It’s just really nice to fly over your city and take a look at your favorite places.

    🥲 Peru, Machu Picchu – 0/10
    A place that doesn’t have a helipad, but would really like one! The ancient Inca temple is protected on all sides by the high Andes Mountains. You can only get here by train, but it would be great to fly in.

  • The sun shines brightly 300 days a year in Argentina

    The sun shines brightly 300 days a year in Argentina

    the sun shines brightly 300 days a year in Argentina?

    In the world rating of people’s happiness by country Argentina has fallen from 30th to 49th place, the reasons for this are quite a lot, one rapid dive of the local currency – peso affects the mood of the natives.

    However, the problems of Indians sheriffs (working for US dollars) do not bother. The shopping paradise for Europeans and Americans is obvious – every month you become 5-7% richer, without any of those bitcoin investments of yours.

    A five-hour trip to the surfing mecca, with the clearest ocean – Mar del Plata will cost $16 (5,500 pesos) in a luxury coach with lie-flat seats with more room than an airplane’s business class.

    Lunch for two with fresh fish/steak and wine is $15-20, a nice 5* spa hotel is $120.

    A two-hour massage or a personalized tai chi class?
    ⁃ $15, señor.

    Promised land for all kinds of digital nomads and entrepreneurs with well-established remote management processes ♥️

  • Argentina has a quick and easy legalization process, and the passport is the 11th strongest in the world

    Argentina has a quick and easy legalization process, and the passport is the 11th strongest in the world

    Argentina has a quick and easy legalization process, and the passport is the 11th strongest in the world, excellent affordable (including free) medicine, education – the University of Buenos Aires is among the 10 best in the world, locals love children and are tolerant of newcomers, a huge number of events, including art and music (Billie Eilish came in the summer, for example), unique purest nature – ocean, glaciers, volcanoes, mountains, whales, ski resorts, lakes, steppes and forests. Inclusiveness and 100% tolerance to minorities and any other social groups.

    Excellent climate, cheap gasoline, fruits, vegetables, the best restaurants in the world for the price of McDonald’s in neighboring countries: a huge steak in the capital restaurant – $10, a kilo of strawberries $2, nanny/driver/gardener/chef – $2-3 per hour.

    The capital itself – Buenos Aires – is buried in greenery, with convenient pedestrian and bicycle paths, parks and copybars, squirrels and hummingbirds right in the center of the city.

  • How to pay less in Argentine hotels

    Over the past year, I’ve driven over 40000 kilometers across Argentina and Latam and stayed overnight in all sorts of places, from small rooms in the ass-end of the world mountains of Huhuya to luxe boutique hotels. As you know, everything in Argentina is ambiguous with prices. Last time, for example, I paid 60% less than what I was first offered. How do you do that again? I’m going to tell you the best ways to do it!

    1. Compare prices. On booking, the official website, in Votsap and at the reception you will be told the different cost of the night. Most often in Votsap the cheapest, but it is not certain.
    2. Cash or card? Be sure to ask if there is a discount for cash. Tiene discuento para effectivo? Pro tip: right off the bat, ask if you can do a bank transfer. You’ll likely get a discount, but you won’t spend cash, which is not easy to withdraw far from civilization.
      3- Juggle passports. The rules are that Argentines get added +20% IVA tax. Foreigners can pay with a foreign card tax-free, but often no one checks what card you have. Be sure to ask if they quote you a price with or without tax.
    3. Juggle passports even more. In some places, prices for Argentines are lower than for foreigners simply because you want it that way.

    As you can see, it’s very simple: 5 minutes of friendly conversation in Spanish and presto!

  • What I love most about traveling are the beautiful roads

    The most epic mountain serpentine is Los Carcaroles, on the border between Argentina and Chile.

    There is also the longest border in Latam: border guards unload all the things from the car and with dogs look for illegal goods. A huge sheepdog sniffed the car and suddenly barked loudly and joyfully. You know what they took away from me? The worst offense I will never repeat in my life: two apples and a handful of raisins.
    The explanation was that Chile is closed off from the rest of Latin America by the high Andes. So high that not a single fly could pass through. Chileans are terribly proud of this (the absence of flies and the Andes, too) and that is why they do not allow fruit from Argentina – what if they turn out to be rotten and insect-ridden?

    The three-hour wait was worth it – the road is magnificent, look!

  • Argentina: two years later

    Argentina: two years later

    Nothing has changed globally, come and visit!
    Still the same easy legalization, still the same strong passport – 11th strongest in the world, still the same ruthless slow-moving bureaucracy (don’t do it at home without professional stuntmen). Still the same friendly society, tolerant of all races, nations and other modes of expression. The unique nature has not gone anywhere! Mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls – everything is still there. The whales have raised their calves and swam out into the big ocean, but they will be back by spring. The climate has not deteriorated, Buenos Aires is still as beautiful and pleases with exhibitions and music festivals.

    Yes, steaks are no longer the same: instead of $10 for a half kilo, they are now $20. Terrifying prices. And a babysitter/housekeeper/gardener is no longer $2 an hour, but $3, just brutal.

    The only good things new are a fun extravagant president who makes out on stage with pro-actresses, takes selfies with Ilon Musk, and is about to turn the economy in the direction of capitalism.

    The nice facts:

    1. My Argentine stock portfolio is up 53% in $ in six months (hello, skeptics)
    2. Banks have added settlement in dollars and crypto with no restrictions
    3. Contracts in any currency are allowed in the country, even in noncoins
    4. The national currency has strengthened, and inflation has slowed down significantly

    We are waiting for customs duties to decrease, real estate prices to rise, and we are happy to see new memes every week.

  • How to pass the border quickly by car

    In a year of road-traveling around Latin America, I’ve learned the cardinal rule:

    Never cross the border at a popular place. You will spend three hours in line, they will make you unload all your stuff from the car, take away your bananas (did you know that banana gnats travel only in four-wheel drive cars with air conditioning, and can’t fly across the border because your passport is the wrong color?), and will explain for a long time that you should have bought a special toilet paper with a printed questionnaire for a dollar in advance, and if you don’t have the paper – well, go look for it somewhere in the night yourself.

    Change countries through villages in high mountains or impenetrable jungles. There will be a strong wind outside, so they won’t even look in the car, all customs officers and their dogs will take pictures with you, because ruso gringo turisto in such a hole is the main entertainment of the week, maybe even pour coffee. If you don’t get caught in the lunch break of the only migration officer, you will pass everything literally in 10 minutes.

    What was the most epic thing that happened to you at the border?

  • I am often asked: Max, how safe is it to drive in Latin America?

    I am often asked: Max, how safe is it to drive in Latin America?

    I tell you about my experience (Argentina/Paraguay/Uruguay/Brazil/Chile/Peru/Ecuador). During the year I was attacked only once by petty thieves: monkeys in the jungle got into my travel food bag and snatched chips. Be careful, though!

    Basic rules:

    🌃 Drive around the arc of tourist areas in big cities. Locals know there are gringo white tourists with money walking around. Of course, you can see us all from a kilometer away and the risk of your phone/wallet being stolen is quite high. In Brazil, it’s also dangerous in megacities.

    🗻 It’s quiet in villages in the mountains: locals often don’t even close their doors. Fences are immediately low, there are no bars on the windows.

    😎And the obvious: don’t talk on the phone on the street, don’t put valuables on the table in cafes, don’t drive into slums at night, check that your hotel has parking (for example, in Cusco, the streets are so narrow that even five-star hotels without parking, I was shocked😳), when renting a place for a long time – choose gated neighborhoods with security guards.

    I feel like the danger of latam is exaggerated, the chances of something being stolen from you in London/Barcelona/San Fran are about the same.

    What’s the security situation in your city?

  • I was driving along the ocean yesterday and realized that one of my wheels is dead

    I was driving along the ocean yesterday and realized that one of my wheels is dead

    I was driving along the ocean yesterday and realized that one of my wheels is dead. It’s Sunday, and usually everything is closed, but I’m lucky – there’s a garage with an auto mechanic near the highway.

    While the master removes the tire and pulls out the nail, I chat with his ten-year-old son Danilo. Children are, of course, the best tutors for language. It never occurs to them that someone might not understand them, so they chatter at first space speed and of course with all the slang.

    I divert the conversation from questions about how much my iPhone costs to school and geography: Danilo likes school, but he doesn’t know where the exotic country of Russia is.
    “You’re going to Chile, do they have beaches and blue water there too?”

    – Yes

    However, after about 10 minutes, the boy guesses something:
    “You don’t understand everything in Spanish. Is your mother tongue Quechua?”

    Quechua in Peru is spoken by the indigenous population in the mountains, about 13 million speakers. I couldn’t explain what Russian or “another language” in general was😂

    The older kids taught me how to say hello:
    Nuha essence Max – my name is Max.

    And what new things did you learn from the children?