With the number of cases of COVID-19 growing, Chile and Argentina are taking dramatic measures as we fluctuate between feelings of normalcy and feeling bizarre. This epidemic has caused us to evaluate our travel options.

A few weeks ago, our travel to Argentina started out so innocently. We made plans to take a bus from Chile into Argentina in what was advertised as the “most beautiful bus ride in the world.” We hoped it would be as beautiful as they said to justify eight hours on a bus, took the risk and bought the tickets. We planned to travel to the city of Mendoza, Argentina located on the slopes of the Andes in western Argentina. It is a city of one million people known for its wine and vineyards.

However, in the span of a few days, life changed. We went from watching the U.S. reaction to COVID-19 from the safety of South America to being unwilling participants in a full-on quarantine. Before the borders between Chile and Argentina closed and the increasing likelihood the U.S. borders will close, we reconsidered our travel plans.  We weighed the risks and benefits of taking a few month break or even ending our nomadic life and returning to the U.S. with being locked down here so far away from our families.

Wednesday

It all started on Wednesday, March 11th. As of this writing, it hasn’t even been a week yet, but Wednesday seems like a long, long time ago. We were planning to leave Chile on Friday the 13^th to take an 8-hour bus ride through the Andes from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina. However, we received a text from our Mendoza Airbnb host telling us that Argentina had just imposed a 14-day quarantine on all U.S. citizens coming into the country.

We were following the Coronavirus news closely and knew that Europe was being hit hard and also that the U.S. had closed its borders to Europeans. But we were in a bubble here in South America because there had been so few cases that we didn’t think it would have a big effect on life here.

We went to a few official Spanish language news sites to try to figure out what was going on. We realized that the quarantine affected U.S. citizens coming from the U.S. but not U.S. citizens coming from other South American countries. However, we were unsure if border agents at the border between Chile and Argentina would interpret the news the way we were. To complicate matters, Kathy had been suffering from a bad cold for a few days. Although she didn’t have a fever, she might have one on Friday, the day we were crossing.

We discussed whether to stay in Chile. Our nice apartment was located in the wonderful town of Puerto Varas where no one seemed to be concerned about the virus nor about two Americans in their midst. We were drinking Chilean wine and eating some of the best seafood we had ever tasted. The weather was great, and we had a view of the mountains and lake. Maybe it would be best to try to extend our apartment for a few weeks and stay there.

However, we had purchased bus tickets, paid for an Airbnb in Mendoza, purchased airline tickets to go two weeks later from Mendoza to Buenos Aires and paid for an Airbnb in Buenos Aires. Also, we were slightly concerned about over-staying our tourist visa in Chile depending on how long we needed to stay there.

We were also concerned about riding eight hours by bus through the Chilean mountains and being denied entry at the Argentinian border and having to find a way back to Chile or worse yet, being quarantined in some remote location. If denied entry, would Chilean authorities allow us back into the country? On the other hand, we thought we would be admitted since our passports showed that we were coming from Chile and had been in Chile for the last six weeks. In fact, we haven’t been in the U.S. since the end of December and would not pose a risk of passing the virus.

We decided to stick with our original plans and go to Argentina. We felt relatively sure that we would be allowed to enter.

Thursday

Conditions were changing rapidly in the U.S. and South America. We followed the news and the internet informed us that the NBA had suspended the rest of the season. The U.S. was cutting off travel from Europe. That this dramatically escalating virus had even infected America’s treasure. That’s right: Tom Hanks had COVID-19.

The world felt apocalyptic. We were feeling like our opportunity to leave Chile may be evaporating. Would we be stuck in limbo?

Friday

The next morning, we showed our passports and tourist forms to the bus company check-in clerk and took our front row seats on the second level of the bus and gazed at the spectacular scenery.

When the bus arrived at the Argentine border, everyone got off and stood in line in the customs building. Knowing that we had U.S. passports, a bus company representative approached us and asked us to follow him. An Argentinian customs worker in medical scrubs led us into an office. He asked a few questions about when we arrived from the U.S. We told him we have been in Chile for the last six weeks. He reviewed our passports and visa documents and then told us he would take our temperatures. With a drugstore thermometer which he put under our arms, we waited for a couple of tense minutes. Luckily neither of us had a fever. He thanked us for our cooperation and told us to return to the customs line. After about 20 minutes, the border agent stamped our passports and allowed us to enter the country. We felt relieved. (Two days later the border was closed to all foreigners which would have included us).

We re-boarded the bus and rode the last two hours finally arriving in Mendoza. From the bus station, we took a quick Uber ride to our Airbnb apartment to meet our host and check-in

The Airbnb host told us that she was refraining from giving us the usual Argentinian greeting of a peck on the cheek and didn’t shake our hands. She was gracious and helpful, but seemed in a hurry to show us the apartment and leave.  We settled in, tired from the long bus ride.

Saturday

It felt impossible to think of anything except Coronavirus. Wall Street had its one of its worst day since 1987. Theme parks shut down. Broadway went dark. The NCAA canceled all its postseason games. Things were happening so fast, changing almost hourly.

We read reports that the Argentine government was thinking of closing its borders on Monday. And, we discussed whether to try to find a flight back to Santiago, Chile or to Buenos Aires, Argentina and go back to the U.S. We were concerned that after the border closed the government would still allow foreigners to leave but there would be no airlines flying back to the U.S. If airlines did fly out the country, their Argentinian crews would be required to quarantine for 14 days once they returned to Argentina. There wouldn’t be enough crew members to fly back and forth to the U.S. with all that quarantining.

We were concerned that if either of our elderly mothers developed symptoms, we would have a hard time getting back to the U.S. But since there have been no cases diagnosed in the city of Mendoza, we decided that it was riskier to fly back to the U.S. and risk getting the virus in a crowded airport and customs line and passing it to our families than to stay here. If we need to go back, we reasoned, we will fly or take a bus to a South American country which hasn’t closed its border (so far Mexico is still open) and fly back from there.

Only time will tell if we made the right decision. Our anxiety levels fluctuate daily with each new story about the virus in the U.S.

In the afternoon, we walked to a cell phone store to buy sim cards for our phones. A long line of people waited on the sidewalk because the store was limiting the number of customers inside. When we were allowed into the store the manager examined our passports while we explained that we needed sim cards. When she saw that we were Americans, she called over another manager and they told us we needed to leave immediately, and asked why weren’t we complying with the 14-day quarantine. She was very alarmed by our presence (we understood her fear) but we explained that we hadn’t arrived from the U.S. but from Chile. After some back and forth, in Spanish of course, she relented and escorted us to an employee who handled the transaction. We were relieved to leave the store and, I assume, the employees were also relieved to have us and our possible viruses out of there.

Life, here, is pleasant in a lot of ways. The restaurant we walked to for dinner was full and serving delicious food to Germans, Dutch, Americans, and Argentinians. We feel a little out of place speaking English to each other when out in public and wonder if the locals think we are virus carriers. But everyone is very polite to us.

Sunday

On Sunday, our Airbnb host texted us and asked us not to speak English in the hallways of the apartment building and not to share an elevator with any other residents. She was freaking out because Argentina had just canceled all schools, closed museums and restaurants, and national parks and all major sporting events and activities.

Life goes on

Although the news is frightening, life goes on. Outside, apart from traffic noise, all is quiet. We are quarantined in our apartment because the town of Mendoza only allows residents to go to banks, grocery stores, and pharmacies.

We don’t talk in the hallways or share the elevator, and there are few people on the street. Hand sanitizer is restricted to two small bottles per person. There are lines of people outside of stores as they limit the number allowed in at any one time.

I still haven’t heard of anyone else we know who has the virus (besides Tom Hanks, whom we all know), but we are all affected by it.

We are in a good situation to hibernate. We are renting a lovely apartment with a balcony overlooking a leafy street, in a nice, small city with a great climate. A bottle of wine costs a little over a dollar. The grocery stores are stocked. The people are nice.

We are fortunate that we have options during this epidemic. Since we don’t have jobs to go back to, we have “unlimited” vacation time so we can be flexible. We feel we can handle anything that comes up.

However, it is times like these that bring people together. For us, we miss being with our families and friends who provide comfort and security. We worry about our family and friends in the U.S. and South America and sometimes we long to be there with them. But the best we can do is abide by the recommendations the city and country we are in and do whatever they ask us to do to remain safe and healthy.

We don’t recommend traveling during this crisis and we plan to stay here in Mendoza, Argentina until the situation improves worldwide. Unless one of our family members becomes seriously ill we will stay in Argentina. We will stay in our apartment until March 31 and if we go to the grocery store we will limit our exposure to others.

We wish all of you remain safe and healthy.