Celebrating a Clear Title

Luis Batiston in what was then his apartment

Last night we raised a glass of Cinco Sentindos Extra Brut (acquired, of course, from our good friend Eduardo) to the memory of Matilde Milagros Paulliere, who passed away 10 years ago yesterday at the age of 92 years. We never had the pleasure of meeting Srta. Paulliere, but we do know her nephew, Luis Alejandro Batiston Paulliere, who in 2006 sold us the apartment where we now live.

Sr. Batiston had inherited the apartment from his maternal aunt, as specified in her will. Under Argentine law, however, a direct descendent has rights to real property that trump any bequest to another person, related or not. Although Srta. Paulliere never married and had no known descendents, the law also provides for the possibility of offspring and stipulates a 10-year period from the date of death to allow any offspring to make themselves known.

All this was carefully explained to us when we entered into the contract to buy the apartment and at each subsequent step in the process. The escribano (a cross between a lawyer and a notary who handles real estate transactions) called the issue a "cloud" on the title, or escritura. This cloud previously had dissuaded an Argentine family from purchasing the apartment. But Escribano Monte - as well as Sr. Batiston - also told us it was highly unlikely an heir would materialize. Being the adventurous souls we are, we readily committed to the deal. We had fallen in love with the apartment and felt that in this case the cloud was sure to have a silver lining.

Yesterday, all clouds lifted. Cheers!

Economic Snapshot: Living in Buenos Aires

"So how much does it cost to live in Buenos Aires?" That's probably the question most frequently lobbed to us from people in the United States. (A close second is "And what about health care?" but we think we've covered that topic already.)

So as Linda was pulling together all the pieces of paper necessary to file our U.S. tax returns (because Uncle Sam does indeed tax all worldwide income, unless you're in a special exempt group), she decided to add up the receipts for just about everything we spend money on regularly in Argentina. The spreadsheet to the right basically lays out the details. All amounts are in Argentina pesos, which has been trading for some time now at around 3.95 pesos to the U.S. dollar (down from 3.78 a year ago).

Some quick observations:

• Basic living expenses are low. Utilities, especially electricity costs, are subsidized by the government. Without the subsidy, our electric bills for the year would have totaled slightly over 1,000 pesos (still low by U.S. standards). Water is not metered, so consumption is estimated.
• Property taxes, called "rentas," are collected by the city government and used to pay for street lighting and cleaning and maintenance of public roadways and sidewalks. The taxes on our 88 square meter apartment have not increased since we bought it in 2006. For us, then, the taxes actually have gone down, since the dollars we transfer here have increased in value against the peso.
• Our laundry expenses appear high because we do not own a washing machine or dryer. Our 88 square meters don't offer enough space. On the upside, for every 7 "valet" services (one bag full washed, dried, and folded for 15 pesos), we get one free from our favorite laundry. 
• We've obviously failed to add in expenditures for such things as clothes, entertainment, transportation, and travel. Suffice it to say that public transportation - subways, buses, and domestic airlines - are also subsidized. Bus and subway tickets run about 1.10 pesos per ride for everyone. And thanks to our residency status, domestic tickets on LAN Argentina and Aerolineas Argentina are about half what they cost nonresidents.

Additionally, our living costs also are low since we own our apartment outright. Mortgages are uncommon here; interest rates for those few in existence hover around 22% (meaning real estate bubbles do NOT happen in Argentina). But rents are low, and very nice apartments can be found for under 3,000 pesos per month.  All in all, a couple can live well here on an income not much beyond the poverty threshold in the U.S. Put another way: our "grand total" for 2010 is well below what we paid in property taxes alone in Austin in 2005.

Feliz Navidad 2010

BA's obelisk as Christmas tree

All is calm, all is quiet . . . finally! Last week was hectic in Buenos Aires, as inhabitants wrapped up business and school activities and prepared to head to the beach or the mountains for summer vacations. Traffic is now down to a minimum; the constant horn-honking piles of cars, trucks, and motorcycles backed up for blocks is gone and in its place is heavenly peace and quiet. "Muy tranqui," as the porteños say.

Much of the activity in the streets seems to have revolved around the wine business. Wine deliveries to the wine stores, wine purchases at the wine stores, wine deliveries from the wine stores. We experienced this first hand at our favorite wine store right around the corner from our apartment: la Cava de Vittorio Enoteca, where Kurt had been helping our friend Eduardo Molteno cope with the holiday rush. Lots of physical as well as mental exercise: running up and down the stairs to fill orders, packing up gift boxes and bags, making deliveries both in our neighborhood and further afield (in rush hour traffic and worse), and assisting English-speaking tourists with their wine selections. And all this in record heat of 33 to 34 degrees celsius. 

On the terrace for the fireworks:
Stella, Curt, Linda, Kurt, Caron
(photo by Eduardo!)

Eduardo and his wife Stella joined us for Christmas Eve dinner at the rental apartment, along with our good-natured guests Curtis and Caron Seebaldt, the latter a classmate of Kurt's from Balboa High in the Panama Canal Zone back in the days.

We grilled a few kilos of great steaks and sausages and Eduardo served up some of his excellent wares, including one of our favorites, the delicious tannat-malbec spumante from Familia Perulan, a small bodega from Mendoza. Feliz fiesta indeed!

Linda's Medical Emergency

Nur für Krankenwagen

One of the things we really like about where we live is the proximity of just about everything we need. We walk to our grocery stores, fruit and vegetable stands, subway station, gym, shoe repair and pedicure shops, barber, bank. Early on the morning of Thursday, November 4, we even walked - albeit slowly and with several pauses - to the nearest emergency room, located about 4 blocks away at Hospital Alemán.

Linda had awakened hours before with what she thought was stomach pain that grew steadily more severe. Finally we agreed that the situation required medical attention and headed to the emergency room, where Linda was whisked right away into an exam room. There blood samples were drawn, an IV with pain killer hooked up, and an exam conducted by the very capable and personable physican on duty - Dr. Alejandro Fabian Irastorza - assisted by two eager young residents. Something was wrong with her liver. A consult with a team of surgeons was ordered, as were an ultrasound and a CT scan, all conducted promptly and efficiently. Meanwhile, with each order, Kurt was given a receipt and directed to the cashier's office. A real pay-as-you-go system for those without applicable insurance.

Eight hours later, with pain and nausea conquered, Linda was allowed to leave, but with a strict diet of no medications and only crackers, white rice and pasta, the latter of which, Dr. Irastorza said, could be flavored with a little olive oil. (Surprising how good that is!) Follow-up blood samples were conducted the next day and again three days later. Levels of bilirubin and other indicators of liver functions that had been off the chart were falling dramatically to normal levels. In the meantime, it became clear that the probable culprit was a medication that Linda had been taking for several years and that evidently had accumulated to toxic levels in her liver. That element was dispensed with and she's now long since back to a regular diet. Subsequent tests have confirmed the source and - more importantly - the resolution of the problem.

some of our "facturas"

We have no idea of what all the diagnostic procedures and professional consultations and analyses would have cost in the States. One friend has suggested at least $15,000 for the emergency room alone. Our total bill worked out to just about $1,500 USD, under the threshold for filing an out-of-network claim with our US insurer.

Feriado

Entrance to Barrio Chino

 December 8 in Argentina - as in most if not all of Latin America plus Spain - is a holiday. The Immaculate Conception of Mary. Occurring as it did on a Wednesday this year, the feriado makes for interesting vacation plans. Some folks connected to the past weekend, others to the next weekend, using the "puente" (bridge) concept we learned about decades ago in Mexico City. We applaud those who do both.

In any event,  the occasion is an opportunity to anticipate the "real" summer and holiday vacation times of late December, January, and half of February that are looming. For us, these times are the absolute best to be in the city: warm weather, blue skies, and much fewer people with whom to share the streets and the subway. And the jacarandas, of course, though past their November prime, still are gloriously lavender.

Jacarandas 2010

So this afternoon we decided to head to China Town, the very small barrio of about 4 square blocks located in the Belgrano area of town. The grocery stores there carry a good assortment of items hard to find in regular Argentine stores. We got wild rice, dried mushrooms of various types, American style freshly made oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies (go figure), and 4 cans of frijoles negros enteros imported from Mexico.

El Jefe

On the way back to the subway, we stopped at Big Mamma, a cafe attached to the Sarmiento Museum, for some liquid refreshments in the outdoor section. Next time we'll also get some food: Kurt is dying to try the Rueben that marched past our table to another guest. Linda's interested in the Salad Nicoise. Something for everyone.

Springtime in Mendoza

View from Catena Zapata bodega

A mid-November visit from Judy and Claes, Linda's sister and brother-in-law from Stockholm, was an excellent excuse to return to Mendoza Province for five days of bodega touring and wine tasting. Once again we stayed at Quinta Anabtawi just outside the small town of Lujan de Cuyo. Photos from the quinta here.

At the quinta, cherry, pear, apple, fig, almond and walnut trees plus rose, magnolia, and other flowering bushes testify to Mendoza's fertile soils and the transformative power of an irrigation system that brings snow melt from the Andes to a desert where rainfall averages less than six inches per year.

Great nose at Achaval Ferrer

 Of course, the trifecta of water, soil, and climate produces world-class wines, the underlying reason for our trip. Although Mendoza is home to literally hundreds of wineries, we concentrated on five bodegas.

Dining in style at Ruca Malen

Some were favorites from past visits - Carinae, Tempus Alba, and Ruca Malen, where we again enjoyed the 2.5 hour 5-course meal with wine pairings, complete with a wonderful view of the Andes to the west. Others - Achaval Ferrer and Catena Zapata - are now new friends. And with coaching from wine expert Claes, our wine tasting and appreciation skills are enhanced . . . though we still need to practice! More photos from the bodegas here.

Not quite to the summit!

We took a day off from bodega visits to head further into the Andes, to the base of Aconcagua. At 6,962 meters above sea level, this is the highest mountain in the world outside Asia. The name means "Stone Sentinal" in the indigenous Quechua. Our short hike on the visitors trail was enough to make Kurt vow to return for an overnight trek in the future. And more mountain photos here.

Egg production control at the quinta

Back at the quinta, down-time daylight hours were devoted to soaking up the sun, exploring the grounds, and - especially in Judy's case - encouraging egg production from resident hens Thelma and Louise. Not to mention visiting with Homero, canine director par excellence of pr and marketing. Evenings invariably featured new experiments on the parilla - all successful by both human and canine standards.

 

  Grill master at work & play

 Adios y hasta pronto

Censo 2010: We Count in Argentina

We arrived home yesterday after our wonderful trip to Fort Worth just in time to be counted in Argentina's decadal census, which took place today. Refusing to succumb to jet lag, Kurt made some speedy runs to our neighborhood grocery store, produce vendor, and bakery to replenish provisions: almost all businesses, including grocery stores and restaurants, were ordered shuttered until 8 pm on census day so that everyone in the country could be counted. The penalty for failure to comply: 5,000 Argentine pesos. The order also applied to public transportation, schools, events, just about everything except emergency facilities. For some reason, kiosks catering to the Argentine fondness for sweets also seemed to be immune to the penalty.

We woke this morning to a strange silence. No diesel-fume belching buses nor the near constant parade of yellow taxis roared down our street. Linda checked the scene from our dining room balcony: one older lady walking a small black dog. Nada mas.

Linda had to attend to the famous rental apartment, so Kurt stayed at home to wait for the censista. A nice young woman named Silvina, one of some 680,000 deployed across the nation, showed up at our apartment about 10:30 with the "short" 35-question version of the census (versus the 67-question list). How many people live in the apartment? What are our names? Where were we born? What level of education did we reach? How recently had we worked or studied? How many rooms in our apartment? They covered the 35 questions in about 4 minutes. As Kurt let Silvina out the front door, she gave him the typical Argentine beso to the cheek. Kurt loves that stuff.

In the afternoon, we hooked up with Lorenzo, our pretend dog from across the street, for a reunion walk after our 5-week absence. Usually our "walks" entail heading to a nearby cafe, where the humans have a copita de vino while Lolo chews on a rawhide bone. Alas, nothing was open. Poor Lorenzo was puzzled. We've promised to make it up to him this weekend.

Sadly, Censo 2010 will be remembered for the passing early this morning of former president Nestor Kirchner. Although we have different opinions about his political tactics, we agree on the fact that he and his wife - current president Cristina Fernandez - have done much to bring to justice those guilty of violating the human rights of tens of thousands of people during the "Guerra Sucia" of the 1970s.

For the curious: a Q&A on Censo 2010.