Getting Excited for Buenos Aires

For the first time in my life, or at least in a very long time, I’m traveling somewhere in one week that I know very little about. I literally booked my flight one week ago to Buenos Aires. It was a last minute deal, as they say, and I’ve been so preoccupied with other things (like the new design of this blog…well? You like?) that I haven’t really thought about it. The idea, ironically, stresses me out. You may be thinking that this a bit of a paradox for a “professional” traveler….

Well, you see, I sort of “hijacked” my sister’s trip (her word). Actually, my other sister hijacked it first, then my dad, then I thought, “well shucks, that path is just laid out in front of me, like a glistening runway, waiting for my happy ass to jump on the plane!” And, like I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a travel opportunist. You kind of have to be, or you’ll miss so much, you know?

So, what’s an ignorant girl to do? I have loads of work that I should be focusing on this week, and it is so tempting to let someone else plan our days away and not stress at all about seeing this, that or the other while I’m just so close. But the opportunist in me kicks in, and I fear more than anything the regret of not having gone somewhere or had a certain experience while I had the chance because, you just never know.

I travel like I will never return to a place. This is a contentious debate in the travel world: Is it better to stay longer in one place, really soak it in, and get a more authentic experience, or should you try to cram in as much as possible and try to do it all. Often, a delicate balance between the two yields a near-perfect trip. It’s just like politics, though. You tend to sort of lean one way or the other. I definitely lean more towards biggest bang for my buck (that sounds so crude!); getting the most out of my time, but never at the expense of quality and enjoyment.

My friend and fellow travel blogger Stephanie wrote a great post about the places you can’t go back to. She’s also realized that no matter how often you say, “next time”, many things will change (as things do with time), and you may not have the same opportunity twice.

That being said, I’m trying to decide at this point in my pre-journey countdown how much I want to try to plan and how much I want to cram in to two weeks in Buenos Aires. Is it worth the stress of trying to see everything I want to see? Day trips to Uruguay: Punta del Este, Colonia, Montevideo; a 2-3 day trip to Iguazu Falls (already in the works), an overnight Estancia stay (already booked), a day with Gauchos (Argentinian cowboys) at a ranch, a tango show or even lessons(?). What about time to simply explore the city? Am I trying to do too much?

Let me know what you think. And check out these shots or our amazing apartment in BA… Maybe I should pencil in some R&R, huh?

I’ll be covering the trip on all my social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, so come along with me!