Travel Notes 101 : Break Up with the Guidebook

Please excuse if this is just the most obvious thing to point out, but one of the things I've learned so seriously on this trip is that guidebooks are absolute bollocks.

OK ... I mean, not completely ... but insofar as you want to peruse some of the history on a place or find out the area codes or where the bus station is ... sure. Maybe some general and basic information ... but for the most part ... the listings of hotels and restaurants and "sights" are no bueno. First of all ... for every 5 hostels listed in a book, there's 75 that aren't listed. And the 5 that are listed, because they're listed ... are full (of tourons), expensive, and essentially useless to you. Whereas, letting fate guide you along (or doing internet research or talking to locals) yields stuff that's way more up to date and enjoyable, available, and cheap. Basically, if something's in the guidebook, it's dead to me. With a few exceptions.

At the moment I'm sitting by the pool ... at 4 in the morning ... it's 70 degrees ... the fountain is burbling, the crickets are chirping and I have a perfect wi-fi connection on the veranda ... just finished dinner/drinks after a super amazing soccer game that we went to. Our hotel is a little boutique joint that's just charming as all hell with an awesome staff and VACANCY ... and in this really really cool suburban neighborhood of Mendoza that was mentioned not at all in the guide books, even though we collectively have 3 different ones to choose from. This neighborhood is really unique and 10x more charming than anything in the downtown part of Mendoza ... which is all that is covered in the guidebooks. Everything that we've done in the last few days has been a result of fate and just letting it lead us wherever and it's been really great.

Basically, read the guidebooks with the knowledge that they have a serious bias (like Lonely Planet's incessant listings of museums, statues and old buildings as the only things to do) and are pathetically out of date and incomplete. Don't go to Buenos Aires thinking that you're "doing" Buenos Aires by going to the Recoleta Cemetary, hitting La Boca, seeing a tango show, and wandering the antiques fair in San Telmo, because you'd sadly be missing a lot. Perhaps that's what you do if you have just a couple of days, but there's other less touron activities that are well worth a spin and might just give you the feeling that you're actually living life instead of going on a tour of things that are intended and created for tourists. Not that they're all bad ... some touristy spots are popular cuz they're fucking great and there's no denying that ... but there's something to going with the wind that you don't get from a tourbook planned itinerary. Some of the best adventures happen randomly as hell.
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