Road To Argentina - Update
This is only a brief update. It is a reflection on how fast things can creep up on you. I have been working on the paperwork to establish my residency in Argentina for almost 6 months now. Even here, in a relatively anonymous blog, I have to be careful about what I say. Which is sad, but, nonetheless, true. However, I can say that obtaining the paper requirements needed to be able to gain my residency permit has been horrendous. It has been greatly hindered by the fact that I am a permanent tourist. To put it another way, I’m not a resident anywhere in the world. I only have a PO Box in the US, in the Asian countries that I frequent, I am only on a tourist visa, I try not to have my name on utility bills, or leases. I don’t own any property anywhere. I deal mainly in cash. And as such it becomes extremely difficult to provide bona fides to a government that is looking to make sure that you are a legitimate person. Now of course I am a legitimate person. But nonetheless it was difficult to get those requirements satisfied. But with some steady work and the help of some good friends, I am almost there.
I have been working on it for so long, I have tried to not think about what will happen if it all goes through. And now, it is just around the corner. And all of a sudden, I am in a lather. I’m worried about my residence in Asia, because I must close it up for two months. I have staff who work for me here and I have to make sure that they are taken care of while I am gone and I have to also worry about bill payments, powers of attorney, etc. I am literally going to the other side of the world, and it is just crystallizing in my mind now just how much I must do. I wouldn’t want people to think that I’m totally disorganized. I am not. However, I have been met with so many barriers in trying to get my paperwork done, that I had forbidden myself to think about what would actually happen when it came about. And even now, I have to say that the last hurdle is taking two documents to the Argentinian Embassy to get them ‘legalized’. I am 99% sure it won’t be a problem, but you never know until you get there.
Nonetheless I am experiencing a barely contained excitement at the coming trip. A new country, a new language (I have been studying Spanish quite diligently for the last six weeks), and a really long trip on an airline. In fact, even for me a traveler since I was an infant, this is probably the longest trip I will have ever taken. It is 36 hours approximately door to door. And, as an additional twist, I had always planned to go on Qatar Airways, so of course they got cut off by the civilized world just last week. However, it turns out that I can still fly the route that I wish to fly from Asia to Buenos Aires using Qatar Airways. I did in fact look at using another airline like Cathay Pacific, but they wanted, believe it or not, almost $30,000 for a ticket from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires whereas going by Qatar Airways business class, is only about a fourth of that. No contest.
It is coming right down to the wire. Because it is now approximately the 10th of June as I write this blog, and I will only know for sure by around the 15th if the documents are okay with the embassy, and right now I have tentatively booked my flight for 29 June.
But all is well. I have my list, and I’m checking it twice. My frequent travels over the last six months have helped me greatly in our reacquainting myself with the best way to pack, (I am in love with packing cubes at this point), and making all the numerous arrangements I have to make in order to make sure that everything is secure in my absence. My post next week will reveal whether or not all my paperwork was good to go, so I hope I will have good news at that point. Until then. Hope to be able to see the picture below for real soon 😁...
