To Plan or not to Plan?

I love planning trips probably as much as traveling. I got plane tickets to Santiago and Buenos Aires since February. Finally, after waiting for over 3 months, we are leaving in 2 weeks. I have friends that live in both Cities that I can't wait to hug. For months, the only thing I knew about the trip was that I was going to spend some quality time with them. My only plan was to taste many bottles of Chilean and Argentinean wine. I ordered some travel books soon after I got the plane tickets. I read enough to reserve the hotels in Santiago, but I decided to book the hotel that Kyle and Emily recommended. Kyle will take us to a winery close to Santiago, so I'm not worried about the lack of wine in this trip. In Buenos Aires, we are staying with 2 of my childhood friends. I like the idea of having 2 local tour guides in each City. 

Last week I sent a lot of emails trying to find out what to do where we are going. I also bought $200 dollars worth of Argentinean and Chilean pesos to have some local currency with us. I don't like to carry a lot of cash, but I always like to have enough for a taxi, phone calls, or just buy something to eat at the airport. We will be 4 days in Santiago, 6 in Buenos Aires, and 1 in Colonia. This gives us just enough time to see the basics.

I started looking for a good tango show in Buenos Aires. I emailed a friend of a friend who has a travel agency in Bs.As.. She sent me information about several shows. I got excited and was convinced that I had to reserve one. When I told one of my friends that will host us about it, she said that the packages are ridicously overpriced. Basically, I was going to pay around $90 dollars for a gourmet dinner (with wine included) and a tango show. My friend said that she can take us to a great local place that costs $5 dollars. It doesn't include wine, but according to her you can get a decent bottle of wine for around $10 dollars. After knowing the price difference for tourists, I might not book anything in advance. Except the tickets to go to Colonia to make sure that we can go the day that we want.  Also, I found out there is a Boca Junior's game while we are there and I want to go. I've never been to a futbol match and what a better way to start than going to La Bombonera!!! My dear friend Andi gave me a lot of advice about Buenos Aires. Andi's Argentinean husband, also gave me advice about the game and some good restaurants. 

I'm not worried about planning too much for this trip. I got a short flight to Atlanta, a few hours layover, and a long 11 hour flight to Santiago. I think that is enough time to read my travel books. I typically create a map to group the sights that are nearby to divide the days. I haven't even looked how far I'm staying from the places that I want to see. I might do this for Santiago since I feel that I have less time there. For Buenos Aires, I think that I have plenty of days to see everything I want to see and more. I only have to get through 2 more busy work weeks for a well deserved vacation.