It’s been over a month since our last blog titled “Early Fall in Argentina”. At that time, when the quarantine was first imposed, we planned to stay in Argentina until travel was permitted again.

Quarantine

Well, Argentina is still under strict quarantine. The government acted early, closing its borders and restricting travel within the country. Currently, Argentina has had 353 deaths and 7,134 coronavirus cases. With a population of 45 million, there are 8 deaths per million and 159 coronavirus cases per million. In contrast, just in the state of Minnesota, there are 120 deaths per million and 2,498 cases per million. So, it appears the Argentine style of quarantine is working.

However, we have grown concerned that the government might change the quarantine plan and extend the restrictions into the fall and winter. We fear that Argentina will decide not to accept planes full of Americans who may not be properly tested for the virus. So, commercial flights might not fly between the U.S. and Argentina for quite a while.

Travel within the country might not be permitted for months. Two weeks ago, the government announced that all air travel continues to be grounded until at least September. Even now, residents whose ID’s end in even numbers are officially only permitted to leave their homes for 4 hours per week, one hour per day on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday morning for exercise and grocery shopping. Our passport numbers end with even numbers so this is when we go out. Those with IDs ending in odd numbers can go out on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday afternoons.

The quarantine continues to be strictly enforced, and the police operate checkpoints in the city stopping all cars to check the driver’s ID to see if he or she is out on a permitted day. Everyone is required to wear masks when outside or in stores. Of course, schools remain closed, and people who are able to work from home.

Also, we fear that if the crisis worsens in the fall as predicted, restrictions might be tightened again. And, because we are becoming grandparents in the fall, we don’t want to take the chance that we might be stuck here past September

An email from the Embassy

Four days ago, the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires notified us that a van was taking passengers to BA for a May 20 charter repatriation flight and a van company would help us with the paperwork and permissions to travel. We decided that we should take advantage of this assistance and return to the U.S.

Returning to Minnesota will be a long, three-day journey. First, on May 19 we will take a 16-hour van ride from Mendoza to Buenos Aires. Highway travel isn’t permitted here without government authorization, and each province has installed police checkpoints to verify that travelers have permission to be on the road. In our case, we need permission from the Embassy, the Argentine government, a confirmed flight reservation, a confirmed hotel reservation, and the exact route the van will take and where we will stop for gas. In some towns, we will wait for police escorts to accompany us through the town.

We will stay overnight in Buenos Aires at one of the four hotels that are accepting guests (all the others are closed) and on May 20th we will fly nine hours to Miami. This is all coordinated by the Embassy and it will be a very costly flight for us. Of course, we understand that charter flights are not cheap. After a night in Miami, we will fly home to Minneapolis.

The Best of Plans….

Before the pandemic consumed the world, we planned to stay in Mendoza located in Western Argentina and to explore the Andes foothills for two weeks and then fly to Buenos Aires. We would spend a month or two in Buenos Aires exploring the city, dancing the tango, and eating empanadas. Unfortunately, we will not be able to experience these Argentinian delights. Even if the quarantine is relaxed, life and travel will not be the same. It may be winter or spring of next year before life will return to some form of normalcy.

Our Thoughts

We are conflicted about leaving. On the one hand, we feel safe here and we wanted to continue to travel and experience life in South America. We are sad that the virus is so widespread in the U.S., and our government is incapable of handling the situation. On the other hand, the U.S. is our home and we want to be with our family, friends, and in a familiar place during these troubling times.

We hope to travel again someday when it is safe to do so. We have enjoyed our time here and the people have been kind and gracious and we will make a point to come back to Buenos Aires to experience all that it has to offer.

One positive thought has come out of this – We will never take the freedom to travel for granted. Of all the things we thought would eventually stop us: health, boredom, travel fatigue, hankering to settle down – this virus has reminded us of how quickly and unexpectedly situations change. It’s good to be reminded of how lucky we are that we were able to travel in South America and Mexico full-time for almost two years.