My last day here. I had planned to go up the elevator to the roof of the tallest building in South America which is right next door to my hotel. But, as it is a bit overcast and somewhat drizzly, it seems like a waste of money. I did wander around a bit, stopped and had a coffee, and wandered through some shops. I always like to go into local supermarkets and the little convenience stores just to see how they are laid out and look at prices. So I’ve collected a few fun facts…

Cost of (in US Dollars)	Rio de Janeiro	Buenos Aires	Santiago
Rent 900 sq ft furnished	635.00	408.00	690.00
Monthly utilities	179.00	100.00	121.00
Internet 8 mbps/month	21.00	22.00	26.00
One dozen eggs	1.55	1.49	2.81
One liter Coca Cola	.82	.81	1.00
One quart milk	1.03	.84	1.14
Big Mac Combo Meal	7.00	4.57	6.00
One liter gas	1.27	.88	1.18
One beer in pub	2.90	2.34	4.30
Four rolls toilet paper	1.49	1.44	2.31
Compared to world countries	213 out of 331	305 out of 331	214 out of 331
Compared to Latin countries	10th out of 49	45th out of 49	11th out of 49
Average monthly take home pay	435.00	550.00	795.00

Now, most of the above I actually got from the internet using expatriate reporting as of early this year. When I asked our tour director about the disparity between the take home pay and the costs, very few people live alone in the cities unless they earn much more than the “averages” as reported.

I shouldn’t have been surprised to see so many of our American chains in these cities as I had encountered all of them in Europe…

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and of course, many more. BUT, do you see PUBLIX (top right) and it was a grocery store in Buenos Aires!

Despite warnings all over the internet regarding carrying your backpack to the front and not taking your phone out, I observed that most do not follow this advice (nor did I). Being aware of surroundings and walking like you know where you are going (I was not always with my group) make you less of a target but I think that is probably true anywhere. I never felt scared or worried as I wandered around markets or streets. I do wish I had spent some time learning a bit more Spanish as very few people speak English. I am including shopkeepers as well as hotel staff. I could usually figure out signage but the spoken word was quite difficult.

All in all, a fun trip and one well worth taking. I’m off to the airport in about an hour so am heading down to the hotel bar for a final cappuccino here in the city of Santiago. Then, off to Miami where it is also very helpful to know how to speak Spanish.