TRAVEL INFORMATION Workshop on Developing a Drought Monitoring, Early Warning, and Mitigation System for South America Buenos Aires, Argentina, 8-10 August 2017 WORKSHOP LOCATION The workshop will take place at the Central Headquarters of Argentina s Servicio Meteorológico Nacional - Av. Dorrego 4019 (between Figueroa Alcorta and Lugones), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Barrio de Palermo). TRAVEL INFORMATION We would like to encourage all participants to attend the three full days of the meeting. All participants should plan to arrive in Buenos Aires on Monday, August 7 and leave Buenos Aires on Friday, August 11, because the meeting will finish around 5:30 PM on August 10th. Participants funded by NOAA have been emailed guidelines for their travel arrangements on June 30 by Ms. Gete Bond (gbond@ucar.edu) from UCAR. If you have not received this email, please first check your spam or trash folders, then contact Ms. Bond (gbond@ucar.edu) with copy to Ms. Viviane Silva (viviane.silva@noaa.gov). Please check if you need a visitor visa to enter Argentina. Most participants (including those from the US and European countries) will not need a visa. HOTEL INFORMATION Participants funded by NOAA Participants funded by NOAA and workshop organizers will stay at the hotel DAZZLER RECOLETA. https://www.dazzlerhoteles.com/en/hotels/argentina/hotels-in-ciudad-de-buenos-aires/dazzler-
recoleta/ Reservations for NOAA-funded participants will be made by UCAR staff. If you have not received an email from UCAR regarding travel arrangements, please contact Ms. Gete Bond with copy to Ms. Viviane Silva (viviane.silva@noaa.gov). NOAA-funded participants who wish to arrive earlier or depart later will need to make their own arrangements for the extra hotel days, but they will receive the group rate. Please see instructions for reservations in section Self-funded participants. Self-funded participants Self-funded participants have the option to stay at the DAZZLER RECOLETA or at any other hotel of their choice (Argentine hosts can provide advice on lodging alternatives if needed). Please note that transportation to the workshop location will leave/return from/to the Dazzler Recoleta hotel. Self-funded participants wishing to stay at the Dazzler Recoleta should make their own reservations. To get the group rate negotiated by NOAA (89 USD per day + 21% Value Added Tax), please contact Mr. Juan Pablo Herrera by email <jherrera@fenhoteles.com> or by telephone (54.11.2058.5556) and mention that the reservation is associated with the NOAA Workshop (Group number 30021482). Self-funded participants who are not Argentine citizens can get the 21% tax waived by (a) attaching a photo/scan of the first page of their passport when making the hotel reservation (please send copy of your passport to gpodesta@rsmas.miami.edu), and (b) guaranteeing the reservation with a credit card issued outside Argentina (these are governmental requirements to receive the tax waiver). To help with hotel logistics, please copy any reservation-related emails to Guillermo Podesta (gpodesta@rsmas.miami.edu) with copy to Viviane Silva (viviane.silva@noaa.gov). TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT Most workshop participants will arrive in Ministro Pistarini s International Airport (commonly referred to as Ezeiza Airport ). NOAA-funded participants: Transportation to the Dazzler Hotel must be paid by participants, who will later be reimbursed by UCAR. Rental car will not be permitted. Please keep any receipts for transportation or you will not be able to receive reimbursement You can get to the Dazzler Hotel in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires by a taxi or a private car with driver (called remise in Argentina). Both options are comparable in price (but prices vary among companies, so check a few of them). For a remise, as you exit the luggage scanners, you will be in a hallway with booths for several transportation companies. If you want a taxi, there is a
booth as you exit to the main hall of the airport (www.taxiezeiza.com). In either case, the cost for transportation may range between for about 700-900 Argentine pesos (approximately 43-55 US dollars, prices may change between companies). A 10% tip for the remise or taxi driver is customary. Do not accept taxis offered by people standing in the airport hallway: get a taxi only from the authorized booth. A slightly more economic alternative is a bus operated by the company Manuel Tienda Leon (located in the transportation hallway). The bus will take you to their Madero terminal (near downtown Buenos Aires) and you can either request transfer to a small van that will deliver you to the Dazzler, or take a taxi. Rides on Manuel Tienda Leon can be booked online (www.tiendaleon.com) or through a WhatsApp line (+54 9 11 5450-9599). Another bus option is the ARBUS that also drops you off in downtown Buenos Aires (in the corner of Av. Corrientes and Av. Madero). The cost from Ezeiza is about 200 pesos (arbus.com.ar). You can find ARBUS schedules from Ezeiza Airport in their Web page (www.arbus.com.ar/horarios/arbusezeiza.pdf). Note that tickets must be purchased at their Ezeiza ARBUS booth (in Terminal C). Those arriving in Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery Airport (or Aeroparque ) will also find counters for transportation companies where a remise can be booked (credit cards accepted). Alternatively, taxi service is available as you exit the terminal. Aeroparque is located much closer to the Dazzler Recoleta Hotel than the Ezeiza Airport. A taxi ride should cost about 250 pesos (15-16 US dollars). Most taxis do not accept credit cards and you will need Argentine currency. Finally, the ARBUS bus (arbus.com.ar) departs Aeroparque and drops you off at six locations in Buenos Aires for 60 Argentine pesos (about 4 dollars). The closest stop to the Dazzler hotel (about 15 city blocks away) is the Alto Palermo shopping center. Tickets may be purchased at the ARBUS booth near the domestic arrivals ( Arribos Nacionales ) sector. TRANSPORTATION TO WORKSHOP LOCATION Transportation will be provided from the DAZZLER RECOLETA hotel to the Workshop location (Argentine Met Service Headquarters) and vice-versa during the three days of the meeting. Please be ready to take the shuttle in front of the hotel by 7:45 am. If for any reason you miss the bus, take a taxi to the Met Service, located in Dorrego between Figueroa Alcorta and Lugones. The ride should cost about 120-140 pesos (8-9 US dollars) and needs to be paid in Argentine currency. This cost will not be refunded by UCAR. LUNCH / DINNER Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday lunches will be provided. In order to facilitate the lunch order, we ask that each participant please register for lunch by filling up this short lunch form here: https://tinyurl.com/sa-drought-workshop-lunch Lunches will take place at the restaurant of the Club Alemán de Equitación (a horse-jumping club),
a 5-minute walk from the workshop location. WEATHER IN BUENOS AIRES August is the middle of the winter in Buenos Aires. Average daily temperature is 12.8 C, with minimum and maximum averages being 8.8 C and 17.7 C. On average, about 7 rainy days occur in August. MONEY ISSUES The official currency of Argentina is the Argentine peso. AS Argentina uses the symbol $ to indicate pesos, do not get confused with US dollars. The current exchange rate is about 16 Argentine pesos per US dollar. Major credit cards are accepted at many places (including hotels and some means of transportation from the airport) but may not be accepted in some restaurants or bars. This is usually indicated by a Solamente efectivo (cash only) sign, but the sign may be absent. Ask before you order if you do not have Argentine cash. Argentine pesos can be withdrawn from many ATMs using certain credit cards, but fees may apply. If you wish to exchange foreign currency for Argentine pesos, you can do that at the Banco de la Nación Argentina located at the international airport. The bank is to the right as you head towards luggage scanners before exiting to the main terminal. OTHER INFORMATION Electrical sockets (outlets) in Argentina usually supply electricity at between 220 and 240 volts AC. If you're plugging in an appliance that was built for 220-240 volt electrical input, or an appliance that is compatible with multiple voltages, then a plug adapter is all you need. Please make sure your electronic equipment can handle the voltage. The plugs used in Argentina are shown below.