Look at this image. Can you spot the fake? It was bound to happen. On one of the first taxi rides we took, we used a $100 peso note to pay for the fare, the driver inspected it thoroughly. He held it up to the light, felt it with his fingers, held it up to the light once more. I simply chalked it up as a paranoia that was common amongst their profession - one that has them carting people from all walks of life, all over the city - encountering the most bizarre and probably the most criminal of scams. We must not forget that less than 10 yrs ago, Argentina was in economic collapse and is still recovering.
Yet, you walk around BA and see vibrant commerce. Puerta Madera is probably the biggest contrast in all of BA. A rich, gentrified area located on the port side of the river, with high rise apartment buildings that resemble more of South Beach Miami than the old, colonial side of BA. This is where we had our meal last night, at Cabaña Las Lilas. Recommended to us by almost everyone we spoke to, known for their beef and their level of service. We ate among the BA elite, enjoying wonderful wine and food that was probably one of our top 5 meals yet. Asking for "la cuenta", we paid and left, taking a stroll around the "madera", enjoying the cool evening. It was almost 12pm, so we hailed a taxi home. TRAVEL TIP: A taxi in almost any direction in BA centro should never cost more than $25-30 pesos. Our fare came out to $24.56 pesos. I paid with two $10's and three $2's. As we got out, the driver quickly called out to us and told us that our two $10's were fake. At first the verbal exchange was civil - I asked him how this could be and if he could show me. He started to become annoyed. Was this a taxi scam? If so, I decided to play dumb - I call it "being American" - and told him it was all we had. He then got really annoyed. I should have just left him with those bills and walked, or better yet, have him call the police (they are on various corners in Palermo) and have them settle it. Scam or not, whether Las Lilas gave us fake bills unintentionally or not - we were on a busy street with a pissed off cabbie. I gave in - handing him a $50 note instead. I decided his punishment would be having him wait while I took my goddamn time getting a new note. That seemed to annoy him more - and with that I paid and walked away.
Travel Tip: The bills we got from Las Lilas were indeed fake. How can you tell? There was no magnetic strip and the almost transparent faces hidden on one side were different than real notes we had.
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