Good for Another Year

Red letter day: we successfully negotiated all on our own the process of renewing our temporary residence permits for another year. Our advance work included ordering police reports proving we'd not caused any trouble over the last year and getting photocopies made of our US passports (all pages), Argentine identity documents (also all pages), apostilled and officially translated marriage certificate and proof of Kurt's pension, and our Argentine bank statements for the last 12 months.

At 6:45 this morning we arrived at the immigration office down by the port to find a line already some 100-125 persons long, everyone waiting for the doors to open at 8. Linda asked the third person in line what time he had arrived. "A las cuatro." Fortunately, residency renewal did not seem to be the most common reason for lining up at this hour of the day: we received numbers 8 and 9 for the renewal section and were on our way out the door by 9:15 with our passports bearing the required stamp and signature renewing our residencies through 27 May 2011. Next year we apply for permanent residency, which comes with additional benefits from other Mercosur countries. As permanent residents, for example, we will no longer have to pay $130 for a visa to visit Brazil. We can hardly wait!

Mejor en bici

Today was a great day to go running around in the parks near the Law School and the Museum of Fine Arts. Turns out it also was a great day to have a press event in the same place, featuring Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri officially inaugurating the northern link in the city's new network of dedicated bike paths.

We snagged some of the yellow booklets explaining the whys and hows of the program to encourage bike use. The material presents some compelling reasons for mejor en bici ("better by bike"), the slogan for the program. Most trips made in Buenos Aires are under 5 km, a distance easily covered by bike. Benefits include better traffic circulation, personal health, and the environment, not to mention the cost savings associated with NOT using a car.

We were caught without a camera, but there are lots of good photos plus more information on Facebook.

¿Vos Hablás Castellano?

For the last 2 weeks, Linda has been getting up early to navigate through 3 subway stops and 13 city blocks to the DWS language school. There she took lessons in Spanish - or Castellano, as it's called here - Monday through Friday from 9 to 1:30, with a 30-minute break at 11.

She had the good fortune to share the classes with Chloé from London and Camilla from Norway (with maternal family in Brazil). Instructors Ludmilla and Nicolás took them through the paces from the imperativo to the pretérito perfecto and imperfecto to the pluscuamperfecto. Cuando terminaron las clases, Linda había aprendido mucho. Best of all, she discovered that the dreaded "vos" she had been avoiding is actually the easiest form to conjugate.

At right is Camilla with her famous dictionary.

After a 1-week break, Linda's heading back for 2 weeks more, but starting at 2:15 pm instead to accommodate exercise time in the mornings.

Salta la Linda

Last November, we set out to explore another region of Argentina: Salta, located in the northwestern knob of the country, close to Bolivia and Chile. The name is shared by both the province and the capital city. It only took a little while for us to confirm the appropriateness of the epithet "la linda" for both localities.

The city boasts some stunning examples of colonial architecture (photos here), matched in grandeur by the impressive landscapes of the province. The area also produces wine, particularly Argentina's signature white, Torrontés. We took a day-long tour with a group of mostly European and Australian students to Cafayate (photos here), a center for wine production. So much wine that some enterprising souls also turn it into sherbet. But first, Kurt finally made good on his goal to consume everything - yes, everything - served in the typical parrillada.

Along the way there and back (photos here) we stopped at various rock formations, all designated with names appropriate to their shapes: the monk, the toad, the ampitheater, the nail, and more. We also got opportunities to visit with the goats of a roadside cheese stand and an extremely photogenic llama and his owner, both of whom blended perfectly into the landscape.

Later, back in Salta City, we took the teleferico up Cerro San Bernardo, which offers a different type of landscape as well as great views of the city below (photos here).

We loved the handicrafts we found in Salta, bringing back all sorts of items for our own apartment and our vigorously promoted (!) rental unit: things like footstools, bedside tables, wood and alpaca bowls, and old aguayos (woven poncho-like fabrics). Taxi rides, restaurant meals, admission fees, etc., were all substantially less than in Buenos Aires. Taxis here in Buenos Aires, for example, now start at 4 pesos 60; in Salta, the fares start at 1 peso 50.

But perhaps the most amazing part of our visit was our excursion to the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña, built specifically to house with reverence and dignity the "Niños del Llullaillaco," 3 mummified children of Incan heritage from 500 years ago discovered in 1999 at a volcano located 6,700 meters high in the Andes. This by itself is worth a trip to Salta.

When you go, make sure to stay at Hotel Solar de la Plaza. Great place with great customer service AND the very best restaurant in town, bar none.

And speaking of food (and how could we not?), we were enchanted to find that Salta produces tamales, small but sabrosos, rivalling those of Mexico. Yum.

Big Announcement 2

Today New World Digital Publishing is releasing favorite daughter Belén's first book, Coffee with Hezbollah, which recounts the story of her 10-week hitchhiking tour of Lebanon with friend and photographer Amelia Opalinska in the wake of the 2006 Israeli attack on that country. It's a surreal saga that blends political analysis and cultural observations in a decidely unique manner. Watch the video now.

But don't just take our word for it! Here's what Norman Finkelstein has to say:

"It's hard to pull off a book that's simultaneously silly and serious, but Fernández managed to do it. A delightful read."

We are proud. For more information about Coffee with Hezbollah and to order your own copy, click here.

Big Announcement 1

Good news seems to come in groups. Last night, our favorite son Joey proposed to his girlfriend Lauren and they are now officially engaged.

Of course, we are thrilled and need to tell the whole world. Here's a photo of the happy couple from their trip to Buenos Aires in December, in an appropriately loving embrace modeled on a statue in Plaza San Martin.

Another big announcement tomorrow. Stay tuned . . .

Feliz Año Nuevo 2010

Everything closed down by 3 pm on New Year's Eve, as the residents of Buenos Aires headed to family dinners. The three Fernandez (Kurt, Linda, and Belen) headed over to our rental apartment to see the new year in with friends Bobby and Nancy from Wyoming, whom we had met last Christmas in San Martin de los Andes.

We feasted on shrimp ceviche, a spread of avocado with salsa verde, watermelon, prosciutto pizza with arugala, green salad, and lots of wine and champagne up on the rooftop terraza by the pool. As midnight approached, people set off fireworks from adjacent rooftops. We cheered with each blast of sound and explosion of light.

Before the clock struck 12, we toasted son Joey in abstentia in honor of his 25th birthday on the last day of 2009. Happy birthday and happy new year!