"Dispatches from the Pampas"...Day 4, Sunday, February 9, 2014

Just a few last observations before I turn to the events of Sunday. I liked Lima a lot. The people are very friendly, Lima is a clean city...things work there. I really loved the bars in Lima. Pisco, distilled from grape juice/skins/seeds/stems, is the national drink. Most bars have a rows and rows of jars, in which Pisco is macerating with different flavors...coca, cinnamon, lime, tamarind and a host of local fruits. The display is colorful, and the drinks excellent (as well as potent).

My 7:00AM wake-up call this morning is brutal. While I did get a few hours of sleep, all those Pisco Sours and beers are exacting their revenge on this morning. I just finish my second cup of coffee and a shower when the phone rings...it's Lucy. We're having breakfast and then going to the airport together. She has been an attractive and most helpful companion. I made her the "Jefe de Pagado"...turning over cash, and letting her negotiate, figure out tips and pay. Every cab ride...every souvenir...there was Lucy chattering away in rapid-fire Spanish negotiating the price down. I saved a lot thanks to Lucy.
So...now...this morning, we have cafe con leche at the hotel and relax for an hour or so. At 9:00AM, we're off to the airport (at a discounted fare negotiated by "you know who"). We split up briefly while I check in (no problems), then rejoin right before security. We are able to relax again for another hour or so over coffee and a light breakfast.

And...then...it's time for me to go. Another tearful farewell...a friend who be missed.

I'm at the gate a full hour before boarding...time to relax and read a little. And then, I hear my name announced..."Mr. Thee William, please report to the gate, Mr. Thee William". After several decades of travel, I can tell you one thing...when they call your name at the gate, it is almost never a "good thing". In this case, they have found some "banned items" in my checked bags. I have to go with an agent and remove the items for disposal. This is not all bad...the agent is an attractive Peruvian gal who lived in Dallas for awhile and who speaks fluent English. I walk with her back through security and down into the bowels of the airport where the luggage gets handled. I've never been in such a place before, so it's kind of cool. We walk down a few dimly-lit corridors before arriving in a small room where one of my bags is sitting on a table. The banned items are three Zippo lighters and a can of iso-butane fuel for my camping stove. I find them right away, turn them over...then...back to the gate.
The flight from Lima to Buenos Aires is a little over four hours. I read, listen to music, have some wine and a light dinner. Shortly before dinner, they hand the Argentine "Customs Declaration", and I feel a moment of panic. Excepting clothes and books, you can bring in $300.00 worth of "goods"...everything above that is subject to a duty of 50% of value. I'm thinking, holy crap, I've got probably $1000.00 in camping equipment alone...not to mention cameras, iPod, and miscellaneous other stuff. I could soon be broke.
But, after immigration, I get my bags and...and...there's no one at customs. My bags go through the x-ray, and I'm out...no one is there to even look at my declaration. And that, in a way, sums up Argentina. It's a country that works...kinda. When I was working, we always had Argentine companies interested in our machine tools, but they couldn't ever buy any. Deflated currency and duties of close to 100% put U.S. goods out of reach...hmmm...need U.S. dollars?...a loan maybe...forget it. Argentina has defaulted on so much debt that there's no chance for an Argentine company to get a U.S. loan.
Now, I'm outside of the airport looking for transportation to my hotel. The cab ride that I expected to be around 200 Argentine Pesos is now close to 400 pesos. I look around...I bargain...dicker...no luck. So...all of the Argentine currency that I bought in the U.S. for this very purpose...all of it...goes to one cab ride.
Welcome to the world of "hyper-inflation". Imagine that your pay check loses...oh, say...20% in a month. How do you plan for that??? How do you contract to build a house...who bears the loss in value of the money? How, on earth, can a company negotiate a "long-term" supply contract?? I mean, it's possible, but there's so much risk...so many "hedges", "swaps", etc., it is extremely difficult to do business at all.
When I was in high school, there was an article in Time Magazine..."Brazil and Argentina...Poised for Take-off". That was several decades ago...and they haven't left the runway.
OK...no more politics.
It's after 11:00PM by the time that I check in at my hotel. I'm hungry, so I drop my bags in the room and head out for something to eat. Fortunately, like most Latin countries, Argentines eat late...so I find a nice Italian restaurant just up the block from my hotel. Some gnocchi with creamy mushroom sauce, a salad, and many glasses of red wine. They bring the bill...if I pay in U.S. dollars, dinner is about $20.00 but if I pay in Argentine pesos at the "official" exchange rate, dinner is almost $60.00. See what I mean?
Back to the hotel, post to the blog and sleep. After my Peruvian "burn-out", sleep is most welcome tonight!