Happy Birthday, Mutti! Upon waking up today, my calendar reminded me of Mom's birthday. Amazing when someone close passes, it seems like they were in your life just yesterday.
Speaking of yesterday, the day that went sideways from morning till bedtime. You can't go on a trip like this and come out smellin' like roses every day- or, cheap '70s French whores smelling like Palmolive dish soap.
The Morning That Set the Tone
To set a proper image, the morning started badly with my first bathroom trip. Travel day takes at best an hour to pack, with such few items you'd think it'd be faster/easier: two carry-ons, Heather's large backpack, and my small one. Again, Heather still brought too much, better than last year in Poland, which was beyond ridiculous and always somehow my responsibility.
Arrived at the Aeropuerto for our (discount airline) trip from Buenos Aires to Rio. Since it was Saturday, it was slammed with humans. I'm already seething thinking I got screwed at purchase, fearing that our carry-ons weighed too much (meaning = Heather's monster backpack), so I bought extra luggage space when we may not have needed to.
The Visa Bombshell
After sweet-talkin' an agent, I scored free under-carriage space for our larger bags- I can't stand taking my bags through security, walking miles to the gate, through humans into a human-laden flying contraption, to find an eventual spot and the dread of knowing there is a reverse cycle to this madness-- all the while Heather walking to the left of me wearing a t-shirt that screams "I'm with stupid! <--".
Just as happiness reigned and I was satiated with glee about this win, literally bags on the conveyor and receipts in hand, smiling, the agent then asked, "May I see your Visas, please?"
I'd like to fancy myself as one who has traveled quite often in my life (+/- 50 countries, some countless times), seen/done all things airplane/airport/travel related... I even got a new passport a year prior to my old one expiring. But this came outta left field.
Reciprocity: A Lesson in Foreign Policy
I'd done my homework on baggage weights, but not on the part where Brazil decided to stop giving Americans a free pass (since April 2025) and go back to "reciprocity"—you know, treating our tourists about as warmly as our own "tough on everybody" foreign policy has treated theirs.
Somewhere between "America First," the promise that "only other people [countries] would pay," and foreign policy by tweet, Brazil brought back visas and an extra $80 fee for U.S. tourists, and we got to discover that at the airline counter, with our bags already on the conveyor. Apparently, other countries do notice when our leaders slam the door on their visitors, and sometimes they hand the bill to people like us standing in the check-in line at $80/person!!!
What's Hanging in the Balance
Those flights, Buenos Aires - Rio
New hotel back in BA
The stay we had booked in Rio
The flights from Rio to São Paolo
Heather's flight back to the States
My flight to Bolivia
Enter, another issue. The American embassy is closed for the weekend. Of all the places not to staff weekends, foreign countries wouldn't be one. A place where your citizens are clearly fish outta water.
The Hotel Hunt
I ended up finding a reasonably priced, last-minute, nice place back here in BA through 'Booking'. Got here and they didn't see our reservation. Since it was last-minute, it hadn't hit their computer. Also, they didn't have a room for tonight. Somehow, the dates changed on Booking, putting us into the next 2 nights.
Good god, where's the bathroom and a bed at this point! Somehow, they 'found' a room, supposedly the best one they had, you know, a hush-hush deal not to be telling others- like we have anyone to tell!?
Enter the Blue Market
Then the payment portion enters the realm. Cash is cheaper than credit, which we don't have that amount. So, she tells us of a place 5 blocks-ish away, where we can Cambio. Enter, the black market. Here, it is a real thing, but called the 'blue' market. Guys wandering around certain tourist areas changing money.
We first decided that I needed to take a nap. Nap achieved, feeling a touch better, and on to discovering the blue market trail. Once we found the area, we found our dealer. We bartered, he didn't budge, I questioned my abilities, but in the end, it was a relatively good deal. I received $1,400ARS/$1USD, International trade yesterday was $1,477ARS/$1USD. If I had $100 USD, I would have gotten $1,500ARS- now you know.
The Man Behind the Curtain
Upon reaching an agreement, we now had to follow him somewhere. This was beginning to feel a bit sketchy! Next, we arrive at a flower shop kiosk. He spoke to someone inside the tiny backroom of the kiosk, and I was ushered in to meet the man behind the curtain.
Again, nothing inside this room, other than the man and a built-in shelf. Upon the shelf rested a money sorting machine. The dude takes and counts my money ($40), and pulls out a monster wad of ARS, counts mine out, sticks it into the machine, the machine proves the count, and "transacción realizada". I put out my hand to shake his hand like a gentleman (I could tell that wasn't the norm for him). Now that our business transaction was concluded, we all went our separate ways. He sat back down to sell flowers, and we went to find soup and eventually pay for our lodging.
Buenos Aires Vibes
Old World Beauty
As an aside, we were in an outdoor retail walking area. Some of the buildings were beyond fabulous. We found out-of-the-doors lines of guests to two of these places were historical and noted for dining/confectionery. We peeked into them and were in awe. Incredible old-world beauty that is unexplainable by words.
So, we found an Italian place for dinner that had weird lasagna made of crepes and sliced boiled ham interiors, and a Gato wandering around like he owned the place. Heather got kitten/mother attention from him. That made our day, since we've both been needing our cat fixes.
We used the cash for dinner, realizing we had just spent the money needed to pay for our stay. Shit. We had to walk all the way back to Cambio Corner, now with far fewer people, darker, and a touch more sketchy-feeling. We walked for a while til we finally found another money whore. Calculator out, price agreed upon, then walked at least 3 blocks to another flower shop. Business concluded yet again.
The Maduro Celebration
On the way back, we took a different path. Lots of people and lots of energy in the theater district. We heard a crowd in the distance. Like moths to light, we had to check it out. It was a celebration by a contingent of Venezuelan expats about the overthrow of Maduro. This was on a major road and intersection, and there were upwards of thousands of people celebrating.
I was now starting to feel better and alive in this melee of craziness.
Real-Time Travel Concerns
Being in the thick of it down here, though, I'm a touch uneasy about my planned Latin American travels; Latin American leaders are pissed, to say the least, and when the president of Colombia was warned to 'watch his ass', it makes a traveler think twice about choosing Colombia as an eventual landing spot.
We're traveling where 'real-time' events are unfolding around us- we don't have the luxury of a bubble insulating us here.
The Final Twist
We finally got back to the front desk of our stay to pay. After all those underworld interactions, the desk person proceeds to tell us that we can use a credit card and save the 21% VAT (tax). Good god. What an ordeal again.
At least we got to see pretty buildings, lots of humans, a great celebration, and get some food. That said, the jovial lady screwed us with the pricing... that's Heather's problem to figure out. I'm busy keeping you abreast of the Latin American movement.
Speaking of movement, I'm feeling somewhat better today with less baño time! It's 1:30, and time for a nap. Later, I'll start figuring out our next steps, maybe even beginning tomorrow at the embassy, once they've enjoyed their well-deserved weekend break.
Stay tuned, as of now, I'm thinking we're really phucked with all our arranged accommodations and flights!!!
