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My Current Favorites – [February 2024]: Don’t Expect to Get Rid of Books
Umberto Eco is an author I really like. I’m interested in what he writes about books and bibliophilia because he had a huge collection of books (50,000). Recently, I read “Don’t Expect to Get Rid of Books” (Amazon link), co-written with Jean-Claude Carrière, and I really enjoyed it. Both authors were bibliophiles, and the book is structured as a conversation between them. I’ll comment on my favorite passages, but I think the quotes will be enough to make you want to read it. It’s a book about books, their preservation, their collection, their history, memory, and human knowledge. While I find Jean-Claude Carrière a bit chatty, a little too expansive,…
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How to Translate an Entire Book with OpenAI API and ChatGPT
This article is aimed at geeks. I’ve always thought it was unfair not to have access to every book in the world, just because a tiny fraction is translated into one of the languages I speak. I discovered DeepL and Google Translate, where you can simply drop a file (docx or pdf) for instant translation. However, the Vietnamese language is not very well supported on these two platforms, and I’ve been looking for an alternative to these two tools for a long time. A few days ago, I realized that the translation from GPT4 was extremely accurate compared to GPT3.5, DeepL, and Google Translate. I tried uploading a pdf file…
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Attending a Boca Juniors match at La Bombonera
Attending a Boca Juniors match at La Bombonera was at the top of my wishlist as a football fan, it’s now done! Boca Juniors is certainly one of the most popular clubs in the world: their supporters are known to be particularly passionate, their stadium is magnificent, Maradona played there, … As a tourist, it’s especially difficult to get tickets: 95% of seats are reserved for season ticket holders, and there’s no real indication of how the remaining 5% are distributed. So I used the agency LandingPadBA, with whom I’d already been to a match Racing vs San Lorenzo. Even through an agency, demand for Boca Juniors matches is so…
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Attending a clásico between Racing and San Lorenzo (Buenos Aires)
Back in Buenos Aires after our first trip in 2017 where I managed to attend two matches: one for San Lorenzo and another for River Plate, I’m looking to attend a Boca Juniors match. From my research, it’s impossible to go it alone: tickets are managed by fan clubs, and 95% of seats are reserved for season ticket holders. Even if you find them on resale sites (at exorbitant prices), it seems you also need a supporter card to get into the stadium. So there’s no choice: you have to go through an agency that provides the ticket and the supporter card, tampered with in some way I can’t quite…
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Prepaid 4G SIM / eSIM card in Argentina: How much does it cost? Where to buy one? (2024)
Buying an eSIM for Argentina If you have an eSIM-compatible phone and want one for Argentina, you can go through Holafly (read our article on the topic). See eSIM deals for Argentina. Don’t hesitate to use the promo code TOURDUMONDE5CONTINENTS Holafly offers packages between €27 and €79 depending on the duration you want. With the advantage of unlimited internet data. Buying a SIM card at the airport Having entered Argentina by land from Bolivia, I didn’t get the chance to see the SIM card offers at the airport. If you have any info, feel free to share it in the comments. Buying a SIM card in town As is the case almost…
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Currency Exchange in Argentina: Official Rate, Blue Dollar, Western Union, … (2024)
Argentina is experiencing an endless economic crisis. During our first visit, in 2017, we already encountered problems withdrawing money. Many ATMs were empty, and when they weren’t, withdrawal limits were very low. Since then, we had a recommendation for travelers: come with lots of euros or dollars in cash, and exchange money locally. In 2024, this recommendation is not really necessary. The economic situation is no better than before; price inflation and the devaluation of the Argentine peso are impressive, but for foreign tourists, there’s an easier way. The first point to keep in mind is that when you want to convert a foreign currency into Argentine pesos, there is…
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Bus from La Quiaca to Salta (Argentina)
After spending half a day on the bus, JB is very tired because he has a hard time sleeping and doesn’t dare eat while traveling by bus. We could have continued ASAP to Salta, but it’s better to stay a night in La Quiaca to recharge before another 8-hour bus ride. At first, I wanted to stop to see the 7- or 8-colored mountains, but JB is tired of moving around so much and prefers to get to Salta as soon as possible. Same for me, when I see that the mountain in question is at 5000 meters, I have no desire to hurt myself (I get altitude sickness as…
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Uyuni – Villazon – La Quiaca bus. Crossing the Bolivia/Argentina border
Most buses to Villazon leave at 10 PM or very early in the morning at 6 AM. The trip takes 6 hours, and the 10 PM bus arrives around 5:30 AM in Villazon. Who wants to be woken up at 4 AM to cross the border? Not us! Who wants to get up at 5 AM, walk among stray dogs to catch a 6 AM bus? Definitely not us! We had to go around the bus terminal in Uyuni asking each bus company what time they leave, and we finally find a company called Quechisla. They have buses leaving every day at 8 AM and 10 AM to Villazon. The…
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Back to Uyuni in 2024, One-Day Tour of the Flooded Salt Desert (Bolivia)
Our visit to the Uyuni Salt Flat (Salar de Uyuni) when it was completely flooded remains one of the most extraordinary experiences of our first round-the-world trip. We timed our visit to return exactly mid-January. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal We took the bus between Copacabana and Uyuni (prices and tips here). The travelers we met on Isla del Sol told us they hadn’t seen “a single drop of water” two weeks earlier, which worries me a bit. We arrive at 6 a.m. and indeed, the whole town is completely dry. This time, we arrive at the new bus terminal (https://maps.app.goo.gl/RN8wEtvGYPGvp9rd9), farther from the…
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Copacabana – Uyuni Bus (2024 Fares)
From Copacabana, there are very few comfortable options to get to Uyuni. All buses stop in La Paz. We opted for the company Titicaca. On-site rates are higher than online, so feel free to buy online. We first need to take a bus at 1:45 PM to La Paz. On the way, there’s a unique crossing. The bus crosses on a somewhat worrying boat (which takes forever to cross). Tourists must take a small boat they pay for themselves (2Bs/person). Then you’ll arrive in La Paz around 6 PM, where you have to wait several hours before getting a bus to Uyuni (9:30 PM). We waited several hours in a…
