The GCW Tour, Buenos Aires & Antarctica: Mo' (About) Money

Near my hotel is Florida Street. It's a narrow pedestrian-only street that runs for miles and is lined with shops and the odd restaurant. As you walk along Florida Street you start to notice the sound of strange birds which, after you start paying attention, you realize aren't birds Instead, about every ten to twenty feet -- sometimes less, sometimes more -- is a human chanting "cambio, cambio" under their breath. 

It took me awhile to figure out what this was, and it was only when one of them tossed out "cambio dolares" that I realized these are people are all offering to exchange money. How can an economy support that many money changers. And more important, what exactly are they exchanging it for? The guidebooks I've read all say to watch out for counterfeit money, so have a hard time believing the pesos these folks are distributing aren't likely to be fake. How good would the exchange rate have to be to warrant the risk.

In my case, I'm not sure there's a rate high enough.

Anyway, as I was noticing this, I also noticed that Argentina seems to have a currency issue. While prices are all in pesos, people are more than happy to take dollars or pesos; some actually seem to prefer it. 

I can't say I know what's going on, but it is kind of strange.