Jacarandás 2009

Plentiful spring rains in recent days have washed most of the flowers from the jacarandás while creating a beautiful purple carpet beneath the trees. Photos don't do justice (especially on an overcast afternoon), but we did our best to share the beauty.

These photos were taken along Avenida Libertador, about a dozen blocks north of our apartment, from the Museo Nacional de Belles Artes (and the Law School directly across from it) down to the Museo de Arte Decorativo and Plaza Chile, then back to Plaza Francia.

November is a good time to be in Buenos Aires.

Tomatillos in the Making

In an ongoing effort to promote Mexican cooking in Argentina, we bought packages of tomatillo and chili poblano seeds during our last visit to the States in June. Once the cold weather had passed here in Buenos Aires, Kurt started the germination process on the roof of our building.

Planting occurred Sept. 3; tomatillo seedlings sprouted Sept. 15 and poblanos about 2 weeks later. Kurt thinned out the seedlings about the middle of October. Today, after a weekend of heavy spring showers, the first tomatillo blossom appeared. More are on their way. We are encouraged.

North to Brazil

For Kurt's birthday trip this year, we headed north to Bombinhas, a small village on the coast in the southeast Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Quite a change from last year's celebration, in terms of both weather and world financial news.

Getting to Bombinhas took some doing. First Linda had to get an emergency US passport, since the one she had was due to expire in February 2010. Brazil requires that the passport be valid for at least 6 months. Then we had to apply for a Brazilian visa, paying $130 USD each for that document. We had to admit the fee was fair, though -- it's exactly what Brazilians have to pay to apply for a visa to the United States. Apart from the pain to the pocketbook, the process was relatively straightforward and efficient. You apply at the embassy, go pay your fee, and then come back in two days to pick up the visa.

Bombinhas was everything we had hoped for. Small, quiet, clean, and with lots of secluded beaches, plus we were able to get by speaking Spanish. The food - both seafood and Brazilian style BBQ - was great and inexpensive. On the recommendation of Argentine friends, we stayed at a complex of six bungalows built on the side of a hill halfway between "Four Islands Beach" and the town itself. Because we were there before the start of high season, we paid only $45/night for a very comfortable and well equipped cottage. Dubai Bungalows is another place we plan to revisit.

Photos here.

Investing in Argentina

We did it again: bought another apartment in a gorgeous French-style building in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. No, we're not moving, though we certainly plan to take advantage of some features of the new place that our home here doesn't have. Like a patio with a real Argentine parilla (or grill).

The new apartment is an investment. Before we retired in early 2008, we'd made certain assumptions about the income that our savings would generate. That was then . . . we've spent the last several months revising those estimates and trying to figure out how to preserve principal and earn more than 1.35%.

Argentine real estate has consistently held its value, in large part because mortgages are not easy to come by and have more stringent terms. Purchases generally are cash transactions. Speculative bubbles, like the one that most recently blew up in the US and elsewhere, are nonexistent.

Tourism from the US, meanwhile, is on the rise here, as exchange rates continue to make Europe too expensive for many Americans. So we've dipped our toes into the vacation-rental business, buying a new apartment in an old Belle Epoque building that has been completely refurbished and retrofitted over the last 3 years. The photo here shows it off nicely!

UPDATE 2011: We have sold the apartment.

Mas Pastas

Pasta - in all shapes - is a staple here in Argentina, thanks to the Italians who immigrated in masses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Pasta "factories" offering freshly made noodles, gnochis, raviolis, and pizza dough, and more abound; we've sampled the wares of at least four such fabricas, all within easy walking distance of our apartment. Each offers great products at great prices, but we like the service best at Mas Pastas, located around the corner and one block down. Our friends in this photo are Hugo, Eusebio, and Mario.

One-half kilo of tallarines at Mas Pastas costs 9 pesos and 80 centavos, a "bollo de pizza" (after a recent price increase of 10 centavos) is 2 pesos 50, and a large container of grated parmesan is 6 pesos 50. (One US dollar currently buys about 3.85 pesos.) Great deals, no?

What Happened to August?

It's a good thing we're retired. This is the only post in August because we've been working overtime (ha!) to finish out and furnish a 66-sq. meter apartment 3 blocks away at Junin 1280. The building is an old family manse estilo frances that has now been added to and converted into 18 short-term rental units. Ours is on the planta baja (ground floor) and thus has its own private patio. We put in the plants last week as the building nears completion. A parilla (grill) is coming soon. We're looking to start renting Oct. 1.

Yet Another Home Improvement Project

We marked this chilly mid-winter day by having burletes installed on the balcony doors and the front and service doors of our old apartment. What a difference! We could immediately tell that the burletes -- a type of weather-stripping made from cloth -- were working. Cold drafts (and, hopefully, dust and dirt) are now blocked and the street noise has been reduced considerably.

Our burletes were made and installed by the Alberti family. Esteban (son of Eduardo, the marketing and estimating chief) and Martin (cousin to Esteban) did the job for us today in a little under 3 hours. Their next stop: the factory where the family makes the burletes in different colors and sizes. When they're not installing, they're helping out there, under the supervision of Esteban's mom. The burletes are guaranteed for 4 years. We're happy.