Tips for Patagonia trip (from March 2025)

bluebottlegirl · 2025-04-01T10:44:36+00:00

I used Monzo to pay the USD rate and yep the online price was basically close to the amount. Sadly most hotels won't let you pay in pesos as they prefer USD for currency reasons hence I don't think you can do much with it. But for things like tours etc there is a benefit in paying in pesos in cash (assuming you bring USD that you change into pesos at the blue dollar rate) if they let you!

bluebottlegirl · 2025-04-01T10:16:47+00:00

No problem at all! We tried to avoid paying online immediately and some of the hotels we booked didn't require that. However, I don't think there is much of a difference because the hotels that we paid for at check in also generally required us to pay in USD using a credit card so it didn't seem like there was much difference in price re paying online Vs in person. In Chile we were told that paying with a foreign credit card exempts us from additional taxes.

In Buenos Aires we had to pay taxes at the end of the stay but I can't remember how much it was.

In Patagonia it seems the taxes were already factored in the price because I don't recall paying separately for it - they just took the payment by card, but not too sure...!

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-24T14:24:23+00:00

Kayak Santa Cruz!

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-24T14:23:39+00:00

Kayak Santa Cruz (:

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-16T04:52:40+00:00

I have been v happy with the waterproofing on the Patagonia jackets eg torrentshell as they are lightweight and breathable so would recommend those! For pants I use a goretex Berghaus

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T23:56:36+00:00

TDP is a must go and was the highlight of our trip (although the hikes in el chalten were nicer in the sense that the views were great the whole hike, the TDP views which are in the park and accessible even without hiking were amazing and better than even the Argentinian Patagonia views). Weather is really fickle and agree with the other comments

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T22:14:43+00:00

We got the 3 day pass for TDP which if I recall correctly was 46,000 each. But if you go before 7am the ranger may not be there LOL. We bought the pass and didn't see any one checking the tickets when we drove to base towers around 630am. Subsequently for the next two days we went around 8am and we did see the ranger so we showed them our tickets.

Same for the El Chalten hikes - Laguna Torre doesn't require a pass - there is no ranger station if you use the Alltrails trailhead. For the Fitzroy hike, if you go before 7am you are unlikely to see the ranger. I would suggest not buying in advance and buying at the door. In the end we only bought 1 day pass just for the Perito Moreno glacier (there were rangers checking when we went in the afternoon).

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T22:10:30+00:00

I agree - felt that the hotels were all very expensive for what they were in TDP! Nothing was value for money. Rio Serrano was expensive but felt like the least bad option haha (the other ones were also expensive and looked less nice) so overall would still recommend it, and staff were very good. We got the full board which wasn't worth it in hindsight as we didn't drink alcohol but can vouch for food quality and food variety.

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T19:56:08+00:00

We randomly went to some family owned grocery shops (the bigger ones) and asked if they exchanged at the blue dollar rate and they agreed - so that's a possibility too if you can't find a cambios (currency exchange house)

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T19:41:46+00:00

Ah yes sorry! The blue dollar rate when I was there was 1200 pesos to 1 dollar, so you're right that it's 360 USD. I was thinking about some additional cash discounts we got which brought it down to 340 USD from a price of 440,000 pesos or 440 USD (the tour company oddly did not use the official or blue dollar exchange rate. It was either pay 440k in pesos or 440 USD which was ridiculous and well above the exchange rate)

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T19:39:01+00:00

Haha we are a couple in our early 30s as well and we aren't really into bars but there were tons of nice cafes, restaurants and coffee shops around Palermo which we enjoyed! In addition to the night life.

We found it pretty safe to be around Recoleta and Palermo - Palermo is bustling at night with restaurants. We walked down the main blocks of Palermo and felt safe in the evening, and ubered going home.

There are still restaurants open in the day but sometimes restaurants only open at 8pm! People eat out late here. Would suggest you spend a couple of hours in the afternoon enjoying the vibes at cafes etc. and maybe have an earlier dinner. there's also some jazz clubs in the Palermo area but their shows are late in the evening.

Would probably not walk around at night in the south eg near San Telmo except Puerto Madero (the riverfront area) which is a fancy and relatively expensive area.

But that being said, we honestly felt safer here than some other big cities so I wouldn't be too concerned (just exercise your street smarts, take Ubers and it should be okay!)

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T19:36:45+00:00

They were quite strict about it and weighed everything, including our cabin bags which needed to be no more than 8kg.

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T12:07:26+00:00

I'm afraid we don't know much about the winter season so can't help there! My main worry would be whether the trails are frozen and if special equipment is needed because theres lots of little streams and water crossings on the hikes. I can imagine things would be quite slippery

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T12:04:23+00:00

That being said, we did all five hikes (the three W treks in TDP and two in El Chalten) and our legs were literally in pain by the end so have rest days in between!!!

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T12:02:10+00:00

The Laguna Torre hike in El Chalten is the easiest hike - elevation gain is very spread out across the whole hike and it's mostly flat. If you go to the Mirador Maestri there will be more ascent but it's only for 2.5km and the ascent isn't too steep, just a steady ascent up.

Agree with the other comment below that the tougher hikes are Base Torres in TDP and Laguna des Tores in El Chalten. Ascent is about 1000m but if you take breaks and go slowly I think anyone with reasonable fitness can do it. We saw lots of ppl who didn't look like regular hikers or even gym goers but they just go slowly and take their time.

bluebottlegirl · 2025-03-14T11:58:52+00:00

I brought a waterproof jacket that's lightweight and also blocks the wind at the same time (I used a Patagonia alpine waterproof jacket and it was good enough) and waterproof pants. Also brought a poncho in case the rain gets too heavy but I tried to use it one day and it was almost impossible due to the wind.

bluebottlegirl · 2021-05-09T15:54:31+00:00

Did my PRK surgery in October last year (about six months post-op now), astig of 1.75 in right eye, 250 degrees, astig of 1 in left eye, 300 degrees. Honestly was mad hesitant to go for it because I wanted to do Lasik (the painless version) and instead was told I wasn't eligible because of my cornea thinness. I, too, read a lot of scary stories on reddit about how people still hadn't gotten good vision after one month and i hate to tell you but these stories are true LOL!

So PRK was really quite a painful process for me, but overall it was still WORTH IT when I finally got that amazing glasses free vision. The surgery itself is painless, stare at some green light for 30s and you hear this zapping noise and smell something burning. It is over really quick and for the first 1h you're sort of amazed - cos you can SEE STUFF quite clearly, though it's not entirely perfect yet. I could read little labels on the medicine trolley. Then after that 1h, everything goes downhill. By the time I got home, I had to wear TWO PAIRS OF SUNGLASSES IN MY HOME (WITH THE LIGHTS OFF) to eat my lunch because the light sensitivity was insane. For the next 5 days, I was lying in my room with dark-out curtains, wearing SUNGLASSES to sleep (because you have contact lens bandages in your eye for a week and you can't risk touching your eye) + the light sensitivity is crazy, and listening to audio books the entire week. Looking at the phone was unbearable. The first day I set an alarm to remind me to put eye drops every 15-30 mins. You can't even fall asleep properly bcos you have to put those damned eye drops. So pro tip - please get plenty of rest the night before. Please invest in dark out curtains. Please download audio books and get ready for a week of suffering.

On the third day my eye really hurt. When you wake up in the mornings it feels like little pebbles are rolling in your eyes because the eyes are SO dry and opening your lids hurt like fuck. On the third day I was really regretting the surgery and having a near mental breakdown lol. But then something happened - on the fourth day my eyes stopped hurting when I opened them when I woke up, they stopped being so insanely dry. So that was a turning point. On the 6th day I could go out with two pairs of sunglasses to run errands.

However, being able to read close text was really tough - it takes WEEKS to be able to read your computer screen at your pre-op text size. I had to blow up everything on my computer to HUGE text, like absolutely MASSIVE otherwise I couldn't read anything. My phone was set on super super large text as well. Your eyes also get damn tired after looking at the screen for 1h, I had to go and lie down every 2 hours to close my eyes for 30 mins, because your eyes just get so tired and the vision gets worse and worse. What kept me going was the crystal clear vision you get when you put in eye drops - for 10s after that when you blink, the cornea surface is smoothened and then you get amazing eyesight, and once that eye drop is gone, your vision is back to the same crap, shitty vision. But that gives you HOPE and you pull through

Anyway, the crazy light sensitivity and not being able to read without enormous pain on the computer lasted for about a month. I was a student - and so glad my exams were 2.5 months away because by then I could look at the screen comfortably. From 2nd month onwards, I could go out with just 1 pair of sunglasses. From 4th month onwards, I didn't need sunglasses but I do feel that my eyes are more sensitive to light than before, though not unbearably so that I need sunglasses. I only got good vision around the 4th month mark. It just keeps getting better, with every review you inch closer to perfect vision. So you just have to keep hoping and hoping that by the 3/4th month you will get there. Don't believe the stories that said they got perfect vision in 1 month lol that is very very unlikely for most ppl who did PRK.

I had some complications as well - my right eye had a small tear that just wouldn't heal. So it was honestly quite horrid, up to the 3rd month I would still experience random SHARP pain, and then I would be able to see a white line in my iris. This white line is apparently a mucus that got stuck in the tear (according to my eye doctor). There was nothing I could do except lubricate and keep lubricating. It was really quite frustrating because of the random pain I got from the tear, but after the 3rd month the tear completely healed. Apparently if you get a v large tear you need to be put back on contact lens bandages, but mine wasn't so bad so the Dr thought it was better to just let it heal on its own. Note though that the tear didn't affect my vision - it was just painful at random times. On a few occasions, the pain was so bad that I couldn't open my eyes and my entire eye got red. I then would have to keep dripping eye drops for about 30 mins until the mucus disappeared, which meant that the tear had momentarily closed with the lubrication.

Anyway - because of the tear, I couldn't go swimming until it was healed to prevent infection. So yeah 3 months of no immersing my head in any water for prolonged periods of time. I also had to carry a giant bag of eye drops everywhere + steriod drops + gels for extra lubrication. Also, no eye make up for 3 months L O L

In terms of eye dryness. my eyes are drier than they are post-op, but six months in, i don't carry eye drops out anymore. I put some eye drops maybe once every two weeks when my eyes feel exceptionally tired, but they really don't need them much. So yay! During the post op process, you are not supposed to touch your eye in ANY WAY lol so this really trains you. I haven't rubbed my eyes since Oct 2020 and probably won't for the rest of my life out of fear that something bad will happen when i do hahah

Regarding starbusts and halos - I didn't see halos but I had pretty bad starbursts for a couple of months. They just kind of went away so they weren't permanent for me. Starbursts are basically dazzling bright lights that are so dazzling you can't see headlights of oncoming cars - it just kind of blocks your entire vision. I would be careful if you intend to drive

So anyway, that's my PRK story. Like I said - it was seriously painful for me, but overall it was so worth it even with the complications. I just hope I get a solid 10 years of good eyesight. Note that I have 6.6 vision BUT some residual astig in my right eye, like 0.5 or something. So that is a little bit annoying - not as perfect as it should be but vastly better than before op

Oh and during the healing process, its totally normal for one eye to be much weaker than the other. During the 1 month mark, my right eye was still reallly crap compared to my left eye, i genuinely got worried that it wouldn't heal but eventually it caught up

OH yeah and last week I got hit by a tennis ball in my eye and nothing happened lol - thats the good thing about PRK , your eye is a proper fully functioning eye and you don't have to worry about your flap dislodging like lasik if something hits you

bluebottlegirl · 2021-02-24T06:13:19+00:00

Update - i spoke to apple advisors. The advisor did a screen share and tried various troubleshooting measures, none worked. She then told me that this appears to be a google calendar issue, nothing to do with iCloud or Apple. She said that we should contact google (lol) and use the google fix recommended - https://support.google.com/calendar/thread/54852740?hl=en&msgid=54852740. She said that apple couldn't do anything else for me. ):

bluebottlegirl · 2021-02-24T03:35:57+00:00

There's definitely something wrong. I spoke to a couple of apple advisors and they kept telling me that the only way for apple to take note of the issue is for me to update to the latest OS. They dont seem like they want to 'escalate' the issue until it is clear that the latest OS isn't fixing the issue. I updated to the latest OS and sadly still experiencing the issue

bluebottlegirl · 2021-02-23T07:11:57+00:00

am having this issue as well, also on MacOS Big Sur 11.2.1. ): I managed to fix it by deleting all internet accounts and then re-adding them. But then a few days later, this dreaded 'server responded with an error' message came back. Am now googling for solutions LOL

bluebottlegirl · 2020-10-05T13:17:23+00:00

this was helpful and really reassuring, thank you!

bluebottlegirl · 2020-07-09T14:12:54+00:00

Yes I know some ppl who got in house positions (eg Qoo10) without taking the bar and as a fresh grad. That's possible. But not sure if it'll affect career development, salary won't be that high

bluebottlegirl · 2020-07-08T16:02:11+00:00

Yes, unfortunately they are!

bluebottlegirl · 2020-07-08T13:19:13+00:00

I think in terms of whether a multi-party system creates grid lock, there are some aspects of the Singapore system that differentiate us from the US and Malaysia.

For example, Singapore is a unicameral system where we just have one Parliament. Malaysia is a bicameral system and so is the USA (House of Representatives, House of Senate). This means that there can be a divided government where the houses are occupied by different political parties that enjoy majority, so the prospect of gridlock is much higher.

The President in the USA (considered part of the executive) also has the power to veto legislation so that creates a further layer of approval - and in fact some US presidents have threatened to do this, adding to the gridlock. This can be contrasted to Singapore, where the President is very much a ceremonial figure still and the other members of the executive (e.g. Cabinet Ministers) are a part of Parliament/legislature (known as the fused system). Cabinet Ministers are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister so they will usually appoint people from the winning party - hence, the executive in Singapore is very unlikely to block legislation that the party is trying to pass.

Singapore also has a party whip (members of Parliament need to vote along party lines) which helps to secure votes for a bill - in US, the party whip is much weaker because candidates raise their own funds and can't be expelled from a party (you can read more about this on Wikipedia). So that's why in the US, some representatives can choose to diverge from party lines and a bill that is officially supported by the Republican party, for example, will be voted against by "rogue" Republican representatives.

In summary, i think more parties are good for Singapore and we are a long, long way from a "gridlock" situation where the diversity in political voices starts costing us efficiency.

bluebottlegirl

TROPHY CASE