Buenos Aires to Santiago
In BA we met with two guys I've been selling to for years, Martin and Ignacio (Nacho). During the prior few months these guys had all but purchased nothing, as the Argentine government had restricted public access to $US, but this odd phenomenon was part of the reason I had become so intrigued by the market-- that which is bad for many is typically great for a few... those few who learn to capitalize on the brash government policies.
Getting back to that later, Martin and Ignacio were totally amazing guys. We were only in BA for three days, none of which ended up being business days; we arrived late Friday night, stayed Sat, Sun and Mon (Mon being a holiday), and left late that evening. We did spend the entire time with the guys from Pedaldoctors, as our other Argentine reseller didn't reply to emails until we were in Chile. The guys met us at BA Sohotel, and we got them an apartment down the street last-minute. It wound up being a perfect spot for them, so it was really convenient to spend time with them while still maintaining a comfortable bit of separation.
The night we met Martin and Ignacio we decided to all go out and have a very relaxed, casual time together. I had met a gal in NYC during the Steinberg dealer summit with Tim named Juliana, of all places on the share-ride to JFK from our hotel. She lived in BA and offered to give us some help experiencing the city. Thus we all met at a place within a block of Sohotel to check out some authentic Argentine music and food. Her friend, Yohanna, joined the party, and thus the six of us ate and drank typical Argentine fare while watching some musicians perform traditional music. Martin and Ignacio were utterly bored by the music, but overall everyone had a good time. The girls were quite prim and proper, and the guys were complete hippies, but after we fed them a whole lot of alcohol, their differences melted away. The night ended entirely too late for me, and both Squiggy and Martin wound up rescinding their drinks to the porcelain goddess at some point. The downfall was a Jagermeister promoter Squiggy found outside the bar we visited after dinner, who gave multiple shooters to everyone in our party aside from Juliana and me-- Juliana had to drive Yohanna home, and I was well aware of my limits... enough that Jager was hardly enticing at that time. I have no idea how many pesos we spent that night, but it was a LOT! Regardless, everyone had a spectacular time, so there was no nervousness between Martin / Ignacio and SQ / I the next day.
The next day we were much more focused on business, and we came up with a few solid ideas regarding how to capitalize on the tumult in Argentina, particularly related to the $US situation. Unfortunately at this time (a week later in Florida) there are still questions to be answered, but there are some very promising circumstances in Argentina. Even if we cannot convert profits back to $US, Squiggy and I are considering buying property there for part-time rental and potentially vacation or part-time residential use. Buenos Aires is a remarkable place, and we feel the circumstances that scare so many Americans away at present could provide great opportunities for those who aren't so weak ;)
The final day in BA was spent checking out some tourist attractions with the guys and finalizing plans for follow-up on our ideas. We sincerely hated to leave there, as the city was magical and Martin and Ignacio were such awesome friends. We spent our last 210 pesos on the long trip to the airport and snapped photos of every real estate sign along the way. We waited for nearly two hours in line at EZE, which was remarkably irritating, though we spoke with a middle-aged Australian couple of definitively Asian descent in line about their 27-night cruise from Florida around the southern tip of Argentina via the Panama canal, which was enjoyable. Later that night we would arrive in Santiago, me for the second time, Squiggy for the first. The flight was pretty short-- only a few hours-- and the line for military police wasn't too bad. I knew about the reciprocity line, so I held our spot while Squiggy went to pay the fee. This saved us a little time, and even though we couldn't get an internet connection there, we paid for our cab with Visa and were deposited at our apartment in Santiago within a very reasonable time.
In Santiago we stayed at Americo Vespucio Norte 22 at the apartment of Shagun Mal, an NYC transplant living part-time in Chile on a government grant for entrepreneurship. With her at the apartment was a guy named Eugenio, presumably her boyfriend. After a brief introduction to the place, we were left alone. We would later meet up with Eugenio in a remarkable small-world situation... we only knew two sets of people in a city of eight million, and they happened to be long-lost friends from college. That and the rest of Chile will have to wait for another time.
Ciao !!!
Getting back to that later, Martin and Ignacio were totally amazing guys. We were only in BA for three days, none of which ended up being business days; we arrived late Friday night, stayed Sat, Sun and Mon (Mon being a holiday), and left late that evening. We did spend the entire time with the guys from Pedaldoctors, as our other Argentine reseller didn't reply to emails until we were in Chile. The guys met us at BA Sohotel, and we got them an apartment down the street last-minute. It wound up being a perfect spot for them, so it was really convenient to spend time with them while still maintaining a comfortable bit of separation.
The night we met Martin and Ignacio we decided to all go out and have a very relaxed, casual time together. I had met a gal in NYC during the Steinberg dealer summit with Tim named Juliana, of all places on the share-ride to JFK from our hotel. She lived in BA and offered to give us some help experiencing the city. Thus we all met at a place within a block of Sohotel to check out some authentic Argentine music and food. Her friend, Yohanna, joined the party, and thus the six of us ate and drank typical Argentine fare while watching some musicians perform traditional music. Martin and Ignacio were utterly bored by the music, but overall everyone had a good time. The girls were quite prim and proper, and the guys were complete hippies, but after we fed them a whole lot of alcohol, their differences melted away. The night ended entirely too late for me, and both Squiggy and Martin wound up rescinding their drinks to the porcelain goddess at some point. The downfall was a Jagermeister promoter Squiggy found outside the bar we visited after dinner, who gave multiple shooters to everyone in our party aside from Juliana and me-- Juliana had to drive Yohanna home, and I was well aware of my limits... enough that Jager was hardly enticing at that time. I have no idea how many pesos we spent that night, but it was a LOT! Regardless, everyone had a spectacular time, so there was no nervousness between Martin / Ignacio and SQ / I the next day.
The next day we were much more focused on business, and we came up with a few solid ideas regarding how to capitalize on the tumult in Argentina, particularly related to the $US situation. Unfortunately at this time (a week later in Florida) there are still questions to be answered, but there are some very promising circumstances in Argentina. Even if we cannot convert profits back to $US, Squiggy and I are considering buying property there for part-time rental and potentially vacation or part-time residential use. Buenos Aires is a remarkable place, and we feel the circumstances that scare so many Americans away at present could provide great opportunities for those who aren't so weak ;)
The final day in BA was spent checking out some tourist attractions with the guys and finalizing plans for follow-up on our ideas. We sincerely hated to leave there, as the city was magical and Martin and Ignacio were such awesome friends. We spent our last 210 pesos on the long trip to the airport and snapped photos of every real estate sign along the way. We waited for nearly two hours in line at EZE, which was remarkably irritating, though we spoke with a middle-aged Australian couple of definitively Asian descent in line about their 27-night cruise from Florida around the southern tip of Argentina via the Panama canal, which was enjoyable. Later that night we would arrive in Santiago, me for the second time, Squiggy for the first. The flight was pretty short-- only a few hours-- and the line for military police wasn't too bad. I knew about the reciprocity line, so I held our spot while Squiggy went to pay the fee. This saved us a little time, and even though we couldn't get an internet connection there, we paid for our cab with Visa and were deposited at our apartment in Santiago within a very reasonable time.
In Santiago we stayed at Americo Vespucio Norte 22 at the apartment of Shagun Mal, an NYC transplant living part-time in Chile on a government grant for entrepreneurship. With her at the apartment was a guy named Eugenio, presumably her boyfriend. After a brief introduction to the place, we were left alone. We would later meet up with Eugenio in a remarkable small-world situation... we only knew two sets of people in a city of eight million, and they happened to be long-lost friends from college. That and the rest of Chile will have to wait for another time.
Ciao !!!