Houston, We Have A Problem!

“I’m sorry sir, but you can’t get your Brazilian Visa…“

were not the words I wanted to hear on that Friday afternoon. We already had our flights and hotels arranged for Brazil. We also needed to get there to catch our flight to Cape Town, South Africa.

I knew Brazil would be one of our more challenging visa applications after preparing the 50 pages of required documentation. Missing one page means NO. And, I needed one more pages for each boy: their original birth certificates. Copies weren’t acceptable. I asked the woman at the Consulate’s office  what options I had. “None.” I then kindly asked, “Could I speak to the Consular?” who had the same response. In a final comment, the Consular said that “If the US Embassy would notarize the copies, I will accept them.”

A dash of hope as we rushed to our Embassy. More hope when the guard said they have a Public Notary but I would need to make an appointment for next week. It was Friday and the first available appointment was Wednesday, coincidentally the last available day for me to get our visa without impacting all our arrangements. I sent an email to the US Consular with “Urgent” in the subject line, as suggested by the guard, explaining our situation. Thirty minutes later I had a response indicating they cannot notarize birth certificates and that we would need the originals.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

(Some words in this post have been replaced with less profane language.)

Audrey and I discussed our options and started each in motion:

          Plan B – Have my parents send us the originals.

          Plan C – Contact our airline broker to see if they knew anyone coming to Buenos Aires this weekend. A long shot.

          Plan D – Post on Facebook to see if anyone knew anyone coming to Buenos Aires. A much longer shot.

We focused on Plan B. DHL could deliver the documents by Monday afternoon — with no guarantee — so my parents rushed to the closest DHL office and sent them our way. Now we wait. Some have said I am not patient. Some are correct.

One month earlier while boating on Lake Titicaca, we met a couple finishing up their five-month journey around Central/South America. They lived in Buenos Aires and invited us to stay in the country at their parent’s home. Both Audrey and I believe that when a local invites you to their home, you cancel all plans and go. It was the second time this has happened and we weren’t disappointed. Nearby, we toured a relative’s 12,000 acre farm and got to ride on a tractor, watch calves being castrated, tour the silo’s and see real gauchos working. Kid’s loved it. Audrey loved it. I loved it. Then we came back for a BBQ and nice bottle of Argentinean wine. A perfect day.

It was our second BBQ in someone’s house that week as a few days earlier one of Audrey’s friends, who also lives in Buenos Aires, invited us for lunch. A variety of delicious Argentinian meats were served. For dessert we tasted 6 different kinds of ice cream. Heaven. My new favorite flavor is Dulce de Leche with chocolate chips. A week later he treated us to a professional futbol match allowing me to cross another item off my Bucket List. Life is good but will the birth certificates arrive?

Throughout the weekend I was tracking our DHL package as it came toward us hoping it would arrive by 3pm allowing me time to get to the Consulate’s office. Monday at 1pm I got the call that the documents arrived and I was sitting in the Brazilian consulate at 2pm when they opened. “Wow, you got the birth certificate quickly” said the women who three days earlier denied me access. Then she said the words I wanted to hear,

All your paperwork looks good so come back on Thursday to pick up your visa.

Disaster averted.

While my initial view of Brazil wasn’t positive, I’m hopeful it will change. On the other hand, I love everything about Argentina: the people, the scenery, the meat, and the ice cream. And, the capital city, Buenos Aires, will have a special place in our hearts because of the friends who made our stay so special.

Thank you to Jorge, Maiten, Carmen, Herman, and Marisu for spoiling us in your beautiful city. We hope to return the favor someday when you visit the USA.

The three most popular places to visit in Argentina are the Perito Moreno Glacier, Teatro Colon, and Iguazu Falls. We went to the first two and are heading to the last one tomorrow.

Highlights

• Riding on a tractor.
• Touring Teatro Colon then seeing the orchestra perform.
• Hearing the roar of the crowd at a professional futbol match.
• Getting our Brazilian visas.
• Watching 22 kids bring balloons and candy to Colin while singing Happy Birthday in Spanish then English.
• Receiving a big hug and kiss from Carmen (whom we’d never met) when we arrived and being treated like family at her home.
• Playing in the parks in Buenos Aires with other kids.
• Traveling with Grandma.
• Hiking around the impressive mountains and glaciers in Patagonia.
• Seeing Decker wear his Argentina futbol jersey on his birthday with his new friends.

Lowlights

• Hearing, “Sorry sir but you can’t get your Brazilian visa.”
• Arriving at the interactive science museum for Decker’s birthday only to learn it was closed.

After visiting Iguazu Falls, we fly to Rio then head to Africa where my parents will join us for a few weeks.