[J.] Finally, we start relaxing in an absolutely lovely little apartment very close to the suburb Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And what kind of a 36 hour day was it to make the trip from New Zealand to this big city. We are both sitting now, tired and exhausted, in front of our computers. Husband is playing an online action role playing game and I am trying to summarize this day into a blog post while constantly sipping on a glass of whiskey which we bought at the duty free at our departure. Buying whiskey really seems to be our preferred way of spending the last cash amounts left when leaving a country. And I would say, that it is well spent money and such a good treat for ourselves when finally arriving at a new destination - being all smiles.
The day started very relaxed, packing up in Christchurch where we spent the last two nights in New Zealand. We could check out a bit later than the usual 10am time and arrived at the airport in the afternoon, dropping off the rented car when the guy from the check-in counter explained to us that we were risking being denied entry in Argentina without having proof of a return or onward flight, which well... we had not. We both looked at each other, checked all our Argentina visa and entry requirement information we had at that time again to make sure we have not had overlooked something. But we were left with shrugging our shoulders as no information we had was pointing at such an entry requirement. Luckily, we were checked through without providing such a proof of a return or onward destination. While waiting for the boarding procedure, I checked the web for further information in this regard and indeed, there are web-pages pointing out that apparently some airlines require their passengers to show such proof. But it seemed that it is rather an airline requirement instead of being an Argentinian entry requirement as the costs of returning tourists who are denied entry to Argentina are left with those airlines who checked them through. And indeed, on our arrival in Argentina, the officials did not even asked for such a proof of next destination and we were granted a 90 days tourist visa. Puuuuh, we felt like the first hurdle was taken! And a 90 days visa!! Oh, this country is going to see us around for some time!!
The 12 hour flight itself was a very bumpy ride; one that I have never experienced to such an extend before. Every now and then, the turbulences were quite intense and the air-plane was shaking a lot; or, at least it felt like that! However, all was good in the end; only husband left the plane with my finger prints on his legs. I did not even noticed I was clinging onto him to such an extent! Haha...
When we arrived at our AirBnB accommodation for the next four weeks, we were welcomed by our host and had a really nice chat with her. And it turned out that she is an actuary too!! How small is this world :)
We quickly did some grocery shopping, organised some dinner around the corner and figured that speaking English might be helpful in this country, but certainly cannot be relied on. This will give our Spanish knowledge some proper improvement opportunities over the next weeks!
By the time of heading home for a late dinner, we were already awake for more then 36hours with only some random naps in between and thought of a really relaxed evening that was lying ahead of us. Well... don't count your chickens before they are hatched! Plugging in an adapter to recharge our devices caused a proper power circuit and suddenly, we were sitting in the dark. Wooooah! Finding the power board was easy, but turning all power switches into the upper position did not change anything and darkness was still surrounding us. No internet and no phone roaming connection... absolutely great situation being all dead tired at 10pm in a foreign city. Doooooh!
With a lot of luck, gained roaming access after turning off and on various devices and a really quickly responding host we found the solution and power came back. What a relief! Sometimes, I really think that angels are with travellers... :)
In the meantime...
1) Getting more and more drunk on whiskey.
2) Knowing that we have to get up early tomorrow morning starting our Spanish course for the next four weeks, four hours every day and homework on top of it, does not seem too appealing. And I am not sure how I am going to cope with this new daily structure. The other day, I almost felt already exhausted by noon just because we made a longer breakfast... But finally being in Argentina does feel so good and I know I am going to love this country. Argentina, buckle up... here we are. :)
3) You have to like a country who's rugby team is called 'Los Pumas'
The day started very relaxed, packing up in Christchurch where we spent the last two nights in New Zealand. We could check out a bit later than the usual 10am time and arrived at the airport in the afternoon, dropping off the rented car when the guy from the check-in counter explained to us that we were risking being denied entry in Argentina without having proof of a return or onward flight, which well... we had not. We both looked at each other, checked all our Argentina visa and entry requirement information we had at that time again to make sure we have not had overlooked something. But we were left with shrugging our shoulders as no information we had was pointing at such an entry requirement. Luckily, we were checked through without providing such a proof of a return or onward destination. While waiting for the boarding procedure, I checked the web for further information in this regard and indeed, there are web-pages pointing out that apparently some airlines require their passengers to show such proof. But it seemed that it is rather an airline requirement instead of being an Argentinian entry requirement as the costs of returning tourists who are denied entry to Argentina are left with those airlines who checked them through. And indeed, on our arrival in Argentina, the officials did not even asked for such a proof of next destination and we were granted a 90 days tourist visa. Puuuuh, we felt like the first hurdle was taken! And a 90 days visa!! Oh, this country is going to see us around for some time!!
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When we arrived at our AirBnB accommodation for the next four weeks, we were welcomed by our host and had a really nice chat with her. And it turned out that she is an actuary too!! How small is this world :)
We quickly did some grocery shopping, organised some dinner around the corner and figured that speaking English might be helpful in this country, but certainly cannot be relied on. This will give our Spanish knowledge some proper improvement opportunities over the next weeks!
By the time of heading home for a late dinner, we were already awake for more then 36hours with only some random naps in between and thought of a really relaxed evening that was lying ahead of us. Well... don't count your chickens before they are hatched! Plugging in an adapter to recharge our devices caused a proper power circuit and suddenly, we were sitting in the dark. Wooooah! Finding the power board was easy, but turning all power switches into the upper position did not change anything and darkness was still surrounding us. No internet and no phone roaming connection... absolutely great situation being all dead tired at 10pm in a foreign city. Doooooh!
With a lot of luck, gained roaming access after turning off and on various devices and a really quickly responding host we found the solution and power came back. What a relief! Sometimes, I really think that angels are with travellers... :)
In the meantime...
1) Getting more and more drunk on whiskey.
2) Knowing that we have to get up early tomorrow morning starting our Spanish course for the next four weeks, four hours every day and homework on top of it, does not seem too appealing. And I am not sure how I am going to cope with this new daily structure. The other day, I almost felt already exhausted by noon just because we made a longer breakfast... But finally being in Argentina does feel so good and I know I am going to love this country. Argentina, buckle up... here we are. :)
3) You have to like a country who's rugby team is called 'Los Pumas'
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