thanks a lot for reading my posts. I hope you enjoyed and found my trip interesting. I truly recommend everyone to go to the south America, especially Argentina!

Next month I go two months to Nairobi, Kenya for a project for my school. If you would like it, you can check out my next blog:

bastiaannairobi.wordpress.com

Pictures will follow, they promise to be pretty amazing, so stay checking out my blog!

So this is the last post, the next posts will be about my personal holiday.

]]> http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/last-day/feed/ 0 IDPeepoople http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/boca-juniors/ http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/boca-juniors/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:18:50 +0000 Chris http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/?p=370 ]]> We went to a football match between the Boca Juniors and some other team. And because I am such a fan and can talk hours about football, I will let the pictures speak…

Bastiaan and his travel mates were our first couchsurfing experience, it couldn´t be better! We had an amazing holiday sharing our cultures, learning a lot of each countries always joking and having fun. Our english is not very good so their patience was very important! They are very polite, nice and warm-hearted people! =) Were hosted this group was a really good decision.We are very happy to have known them.

]]> http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/good-reference/feed/ 0 IDPeepoople http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/355/ http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/355/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:09:10 +0000 Chris http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/?p=355 ]]> I am writing my blog in the bus with Rosario as destination. We stay 2 days in Rosario for a meeting with a guy that knows a lot about a big train project planned in Rosario. It is 19.22 and very dark. No street light and a very bumpy road. It has been said that 1500 people die in Argentinean buses every year. The bus is very spacious and the chair seat can be arranged as nearly a bed. 6 other people are with us in the bus.

We booked a hostel in the city but yesterday we got called by the hostel that they suddenly did not had any place for us anymore the day we would arrive, and we already paid. Luckily something like couchsurfing exists. We posted a message that we needed a couch a couch to sleep for 1 day, two people reacted and said that they could host us. So now we have a free bed and guided tour in Rosario.

So we arrived at 22.00 o clock and we met the 2 girls in the busstation. They brought us at their home and prepared some food for us. They had 3 places to sleep so the girls went to a hostel nearby what the 2 girls arranged for us. That evening we went to have just another drink at a pub nearby.

The two girls Lucía and Talía.

When we came back from the pub they insisted that we slept in the beds and they would sleep on the couch. That gives couch surfing a whole other dimension.

The next day we got the tour through Rosario.

We waited for the bus to take us to the beach. But as I already told, you need coins to take the bus and with 7 people times 1 peso 49 you need more than 10 pesos in coins. It is also possible to buy a bus credit card, but they are scares as well so no kiosk could give us one.

When we were at the beach we had a very nice view on Rosario, we drank a Jugo de Naranga and something to eat.

We visited a museum of contemporary art, and had again a great view over the city.

That afternoon we sat in a park and drank Mate.

Rosario is famous because Ché Chuevara has born there and the national flag has been designed there by general Belgrano.

Plaza San Martín. This guy is everywhere…

Flag monument by night

Karaoke

The second day after our meeting we got a tour through the university of Law.

The bus back we had even better chairs.

]]> http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/355/feed/ 1 IDPeepoople DSCN6017 DSCN6019 IMG_2250 DSCN6031 DSCN6032 DSCN6039 DSCN6040 DSCN6043 DSCN6048 DSCN6058 DSCN6059 DSCN6064 DSCN6068 DSCN6072 DSCN6089 DSCN6103 DSCN6107 DSCN6128 DSCN6133 DSCN6154 http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/rugby1/ http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/rugby1/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:59:20 +0000 Chris http://bastiaanbuenosaires.wordpress.com/?p=325 ]]> As I probably told before, we would go to a rugby match with El Ingenieria Jorge of Trenes de Buenos Aires. This happened yesterday, the day after Uruguay. This was again a beautiful weather. We took the train without doors. During the trip we could see a lot of crap and slums next to the tracks.

After 1 hour in the train we were collected by Jorge himself from Station Bella Vista. Jorge has 5 children so he has a big car as well.

We were going to a rugby match of a club that used to play in the 14 best club of Argentina: Regatas Bella Vista.

The club was next to the Urquiza line .

Regatas Bella Vista

After the match he invited us to come to his house and we ate sandwiches and typical food they eat during teatime (around 18.00). Of course there was Mate (spreek uit: maateej). After a group picture we were taken back to the station and headed our way back. That evening we ate in a very chic restaurant with very good meat (16 euro p. p.)

Our trip started at 5 o clock in the morning when we had to wake up, check in at 7 o clock in La Boca where our boat took off at 08.00 h. We slept, of course.

There was a beautiful sunrise.

After 1 hour we arrived in Colonia. We also could go to Montevideo but this was an other 2 hours driving and it was told that Montevideo was not that spectacular, so we chose to stay in Colonia.

License plates in Uruguay…

… compared with those from Argentina:

The architecture in Uruguay (or at least Colonia) was a world of difference compared with Buenos Aires. Everything is very simple and colorful. It is quiet, clean and has its particular charm.

After we thought we saw the most important part and a lazy breakfast, we decided to rent 6 bicycles and to cycle on the boulevard.

After a while we stopped and laid a little bit on the beach at Playa El Oreja De Negro.

But we also knew that this day would be the only day to feel a little bit of summer in time when it actually should be summer. So we had to swim. But the water was cold…

very cold…

It even hurt…

But we did it…

and we were proud, like we should be.

We went to a cafe a little further, and felt the summer!

(he likes it too)

Last group picture before we had to take the bicycles back

Even in Uruguay they have rails. And the use it for all kind of purposes.

The trip back was also marked with sleeping, and a beautiful view again of the skyline of Buenos Aires.

I was asked to tell a little bit more about what we are doing instead of nice things. What do we actually do for Strukton here, in Argentina?!

To rectify our trip to Uruguay last friday, when the travel was half price, we worked all sunday. So we are actually working, quite hard.

Strukton wants to know whether or not it is possible for them to sell their products, or to sell their expertise to Argentinean railway companies. To say this, it is necessary to make a complete overview of the important players here in Argentina:

- who operates the service

- who performs maintenance on the metro, trains and track

- who owns the trains and track

- who refurbishes the trains

Well in Argentina there are concessions for different lines. In the begin 90′s the Argentinean government gave the concessions to different companies who now operate on different lines. The government also fixed the price of the tickets. In the metropolitan area you can not loose more than 4 peso for a ticket with the train. So the government gives money to all the concessions to let them be able to operate. Government pays 75 % of the total income of the concessions, 25 % derives from the tickets.

The train business was booming before around 1940. A lot of track has been build all around the country, from the 40.000 km, now just 12.000 is in use. For every passenger that uses the train, the government loses a lot of money. It is even cheaper to let passengers travel for free, than to pay someone to sell them the tickets. A lot of trains are powered with diesel, and not electricity. Last weekend we took a train which did not had electrified doors so people were sitting on the stairs with the doors open, and they could even jump in when the train already left.

After some weeks here, we talked with a lot of people from concessions, the government, renovation companies, consultants, train magazine director, embassy, amateur people that know a lot about the trains and a lot of other people. Everyone says that the railway in Argentina nowadays is not what it you used to be, in fact, it sucks.

We make meetings with sending an email, then we call them. After calling we usually have a meeting or we have to send our questions by mail. At the day of the meeting we prepare a little slideshow of who we are and what we do and want. Also we prepare a list of questions we want to know of these people. 1 hour before the meeting we go partly, or all together. We put on our suits and take a taxi or metro to our destination. Every meeting is a big success, people are enthusiastic and like it that Dutch people want to invest time in the job they are doing. Every meeting means also more meetings since we can use again their contacts.

The only draw back is that, telling you are doing a research on trains isn’t really a “cool” topic when you are trying to have a nice conversation with someone in a club or cafe. Talking about clubs, when you are long and blond and come from, in our case Holland, you do not have to stand in line with the other Argentinean people, but you can enter immediately, the fact that you forgot your i.d. also isn’t that big of a problem any more.