Some recent club experiences

I've enjoyed reading the blogs that guys have been posting recently. When you're stuck thousands of miles away in the wilderness, it's fun to re-live the adventure in someone else's shoes when the story's being told in real time, with all the ups and downs mixed in. I'm not going to try and match that. But as I owe the board something for the good information it gave me during my recent visit, here's a random look back at some things I did and places I went.

I was in town for two separate spells adding up to just over a fortnight. My mongering activities were confined to the boliches (clubs). That's only a small element of what's on offer here. In VFM terms it makes no sense to do it that way but I've got my own reasons. Guys who don't like the club scene should probably stop reading here.

STATS. Some of you like to know these. I visited about a dozen clubs (call it thirteen if you include Café Orleans in the afternoon). I didn't take chicas out from each of these places, but I ended up with thirteen different outings (salidas) , spread between the larger and smaller clubs. Five of these were repeats, making it a total of eight chicas in BA. About half of these I knew from previous visits to the city. I'm not as prolific as a lot of you guys and that strike rate was about right for me. The average spend per chica came out at 800 pesos. The least I paid was 500, and the most was 1200. The range seems to get wider every trip (two years ago my baseline was 600 in the top places). I was happy enough with that average spend, although I haven't included the overheads which come with chica drinks, your own drinks, transitorio room fees, tips etc. You're looking at a 50% minimum surcharge for these items over and above the girl's asking price. Time spent with each chica was between one hour and two hours, plus the warm up time with her in the club getting up close and personal over the exit drink.

SATISFACTION RATING. Overall, I had a good time of it, with some standout memories. Of my thirteen outings in BA, I'd rate two of them as failures, the rest were good or very good. Linking up with chicas who already knew me probably boosted that rating. Success rate with the new chicas was more mixed – the two disappointing outings were in that category. Going with a new girl is always a higher risk but many of us need that adrenalin buzz. The prices I paid bore no relation to the quality of service I received. Some of the best performances came from the less expensive chicas. That backs up what experienced members of this board have been saying all along. On the other hand, the prices tended to go hand in hand with the chicas' looks. Generally, the higher the price the better looking the girl. At the lower price ranges, it tended to be a pretty face or a hot body, but not easy to find both. All the chicas were willing to negotiate when I felt I needed to. Old acquaintances offered a fair price right from the off. As a city, BA didn't disappoint although it's a lot more expensive now. I don't just come here for the mongering, even though I don't seem to do much else these days. It's a place I immediately feel at home in, tune in to the popular culture and want to be a part of on a short trip. In some ways it's like parts of Europe twenty years ago with the rough edges, before the fun was squeezed out. I'm talking here with the perspective of a regular short stay visitor who hangs out in the centre. Living here longer term dealing with day to day problems or trying to survive on an Argentino's salary would be a different story. If I didn't like the local people I wouldn't come here.

VENUES. BA offers a very wide range of these in a short travelling distance. You don't have to keep going to the same joints night after night, and you can do several in a single night, even on foot. Many of the club and bars from the venues boliche list have now closed, but for anyone new in town, here are some of the more central ones that I visited this trip.

The big three clubs in Recoleta (Madahos, Hippopotamus, Black) offer the largest choice of hotter looking chicas. They are also the priciest. I tended to gravitate towards those places, as the way a chica looks, dresses and makes out is key to whether I'm willing to risk spending my pesos on her. Throw in the upscale nightclub atmosphere, music and eye candy, and I would pay to visit these places occasionally even if I wasn't planning to pull anyone. Madahos (your drink at the bar 180 pesos, chica drink 400) is for me the best of these. Sliding scale of drinks here – ask your chica to order the 400 peso drink, not the 500 peso drink (such as the little bottle of imported champagne). Around 3am is the watermark when the chicas don't have to return to the club if you take them out. Best memories were two fine outings with bottle blondes on separate nights, killer bodies, all the time I needed. I actually prefer brunettes but whenever I get complications it seems to be with them. Maybe I should stick to brunettes who dye their hair blonde. One of the blondes is on her second tour of duty at the club under a new name after a two year break. Meeting her again, re-igniting the chemistry and laughing together over some of the things we got up to first time around was a tour highlight. Hippopotamus (your drink 160, chica drink 400 or 590 for unlimited outing time) has the best selection of dancers. Dancer drinks start at 590 and it's serious money to take them out. Black (your drink 150) is cheapest if you just want to window shop. It's a decent club but chica quality was disappointing when I visited. These drink prices apply if you get waived through at the door. If not, no need to be upset as the entry will cover your drink for a small premium. All these three clubs are in easy walking distance of each other in Recoleta. Best nights are Wednesday through to Friday. Numbers of chicas and punters drop dramatically at weekends and on Mondays, and it's better to go earlier those nights (but not before 11:30 to midnight). On strong nights the clubs are still going at 4am and beyond. The chicas' opening bid in the big three clubs will be 300 US dollars but most expect you to negotiate and you should get 1200 or 1000 pesos and some will go lower if the timing is right or they like you. I did run into one or two 'princesses' in Madahos whose attitude was that I should be grateful for breathing the same air as them. The majority though were easy to approach or came over with eye contact. One new tactic I used on this trip was to suggest a lower price in return for using one of the transitorios (short stay motels or telos) located along the street from Madahos. If you're planning to take her to the telo anyway, you might be able to cut a better deal since many of the chicas prefer that option and you're not wasting time in the taxi. The higher end telo (Acapulco) can be a fun place to take a chica, nicely appointed rooms, you can turn up the volume on the sound system, adjust the lighting effects, put on a porn movie, use the wall mirrors, order drinks etc (40 pesos for a fernet & coke) and scream the place down without waking up the neighbours. Some of the rooms have a jacuzzi if you pay extra. Sliding scale for rooms, an average one in Acapulco would cost around 300 for 2 hours, or 150 in Guaruja the much shabbier motel nearby.

Plays is another club on Vicente Lopez street in the same vicinity. 100 to get in with 2 drinks. 150 chica drink or 360 in the more private VIP area. Less chicas, lower quality but not a bad place. Met a masajista in there who was just starting out on the club scene. Probably should have gone with her, sexy body, good onda, so-so face, but I had other plans for later. If you can't find what you want in the big three, there are some down market very late opening smaller clubs in the same Recoleta zone. Sodoma, Hellas and Loreto are all in the same street near Madahos corner. Rather sketchy places and not for the novice monger, but I've done ok there. Loreto in particular stays open until 9am in the morning on busier nights and features a separate screened off lap dancing / up close area at the back. The 'anything goes' get naked area upstairs is now closed off. 100 to get in for 2 drinks, chica drink 200. Most of the chicas are 5s or 6s at best and salidas are by the hour but it's somewhere to fall back on particularly Fridays and Saturdays when girls from other clubs sometimes join around 5am. I repeated with a couple of the chicas there, maybe not Miss Universe material but they are good people who deliver what I like. Cigarette smoke builds up uncomfortably inside this small club when it gets full. At best there's a good buzz to the place, other nights it's as dead as Recoleta cemetery. Players (not to be confused with Plays) is another club, in Guido street not far away from Hippo but I didn't try this despite (or maybe because of) the pressure from the tout.

New Port is the other quite distinct option in Recoleta. A walk-in bar with more reasonable drink prices and no chica exit fee. Not really for me but lots of good info in the relevant thread. As usual, I stopped in there a few times but never stayed. The selection here seems to be better near the end of the month, when independent chicas are chasing the money to pay their bills.

In the microcentro, I sampled Cattos, Hook, Periplo, Cutty Sark and Café Orleans. Periplo had nothing of interest but Hook (your drink 80, chica drink 160 or 180) was ok on two visits with some slim looking dancers although the chicas seem to congregate at the dimly lit far end of the bar where there's little space to move around and see them properly. Cattos had a more intimate atmosphere around a centre stage. Quite a lot of chicas when I visited, forget which day of the week. Drink was 70 pesos. Met an ex dancer from Pelvi's bar in Sarmiento who was just starting out there. As others have commented, Cattos and Hook are places where you might find the occasional gem. Cutty Sark seems to be the last bar standing in the San Martin / Reconquista zone. Many years back, I used to stay in this area when I visited. The other nearby places like Black & White, Jazz, Ladies and other nameless dives have all gone now or are operating as normal bars. The scene down there was never that good although I did sometimes strike lucky. This time round Cutty Sark (your drink 50) had nothing going for it, but BA always throws up some odd co-incidences and I ran into a chica there who I had a single good outing with in 2003/4 or thereabouts in another club nearby. Had been thinking about her as I walked down the street earlier! Didn't immediately recognise her but she knew me and greeted, I remembered her name and ended up buying her a drink (100 pesos). The years hadn't been kind to her so I didn't renew, although the chemistry was still there and I could still see why I found her attractive so many years ago. A long chat and tipped her for her time. Nice moment. Incidentally Reconquista is now a pretty fair street to people watch on a warm Thursday or Friday evening, open air café terraces etc. Plaza Serrano out in Palermo Soho is another good people watch venue on a Saturday night. I like to be in BA when it gets above 30 degrees and humid – perfect chica watching weather. Swapping two weeks of Northern Hemisphere winter for BA summer is another good reason for coming, although I'm told the place can be deserted in January as people head for the beaches.

Further afield, I visited the Barrio Norte clubs Madonna and Cocodrilo. Madonna was an early Friday visit with my wingman, charged 120 each to get in. I went back solo later that same night and they gave me a free drink. First chica drink is 130, and if you buy a second it's 110. The hot blonde girl Romina (sexy body, porcelain doll face) was there but busy as usual. Went with one of the brunettes, pretty face, ok body, very intelligent girl. 500 pesos for an hour in the transitorio next door (room costs 130). Good service and onda, let me massage her all over, fingertips then DATY to orgasm, unprompted BBBJ, CIM if I had wanted it. In the room, you get three bells to warn you that time is running out. Ignore the first bell. The second bell is hurry up time and the third bell is the chica's signal to leave, although you can stay on and get showered & dressed. One other oddity that might throw a nervous monger is that the chica takes a separate route to the room. You are escorted out the front door of the club into the street, and then into the front door of the telo alongside, while the chica makes her way through the inside. You go up the stairs and then wait for her to appear. Avoid this club early in the week as there is next to no action and a negative vibe from the girls. Friday was ok. Cocodrilo is a very different type of place, mainly locals, not for the faint hearted but another very late opening joint. Around 4:15am, straight in. 100 for a drink at the bar. More guys than girls this visit. Had fun messing around on the dancefloor with one of the chicas I'd met on a previous visit. Tipped her for some lap dances in a corner but no more action this time. Spotted a hot looking morocha from Hippo who must have moved on there after 4am but she was already taken by some Ricardo Fort look-alikes doling out champagne.

The notable omission on this list is Nuevo Estilo, see the thread and recent blogs for more. It's a longish taxi ride out to Belgrano, the advice is to get there early and I'm normally still eating then so I passed on this trip. I think the salidas follow the same pattern as with Madonna club.

OTHER FIRSTS THIS TRIP. Acquired a lot of US dollars while on a short visit to Chile in between BA stops. Changed them in the place in Junin at the blue dollar rate. Straightforward, safe, over the counter, no touts involved, thanks to the guys who posted. Money I saved probably paid for at least one top end salida.

Tried vitamin V for first time. Visited the farmacia Went on Suipacha & Corrientes. No prescription needed. Just as the guys described it in the thread, thanks again. Trick is not to wait in line but go straight to the counter at the far end of the shop right at the back and tell them what you want. They bag up the items and you take the bag and receipt to a separate desk to pay. Then you collect the items that were inside the bag at a third counter. Tried Cialis too for longer effect, making sure I didn't spend too long watching the bikini girls around the pool next day where I was staying. Similar effect to a good gym workout but main benefit was the confidence of knowing I was going to stay hard for as long as it took. Usual caveats here.

One of my repeat chicas enjoys DATY and usually comes. Magic moment when she got too carried away, throwing back her arms when she climaxed and knocking everything off the bedside table, condoms, lube, bedside lamp, girl's trinkets etc. Only thought that happened in porno movies.

Power cut during a salida, just as we were arriving at the apartment. Kind of killed the mood, never really recovered from there. Chica had to be somewhere else later so the lost time couldn't be made up.

Meeting a Chilean girl in Madahos, not long after I'd got back from Santiago. At the end of a slow night when I'd already made plans to head off elsewhere. Told her I wasn't in the market but she wanted to talk. Spent a lot of time with her comparing notes on what we liked about both cities. Never asked me for a chica drink and refused the tip I was going to give her for her time. Classy.

On the co-incidences theme, bumping into Esten in the street the day after our Madahos night out. The good company and getting out to try some new things like the Stravaganza show was a highlight, although the Impro soundpainting theatre night was about the weirdest thing I've done in BA since being taken by some local friends to the Mataderos horse fair in 2001!