Recent content by After5

Some gold dealers trade in foreign exchange as well. Look for a sign saying "Compro oro" (Ï buy gold) and ask ("Se compra dolares?").

I thought I saw an automated check-in kiosk at Delta. It would have been useful since I was traveling without checked bags. AA didn't have one, though.

Leaving Buenos Aires on Monday night, I found the check-in line at American Airlines spilled out to about half the length of the terminal. It took 1-1/2 hours to reach the counter and obtain a boarding pass. Only four counter agents were handling the main cabin check-in for two international...

Another issue to keep in mind is that airlines will refuse to transport dogs if the temperature at embarkation OR destination airport is below 45 F. or above 85 F. I just had an immense hassle with American Airlines, bringing two dogs back to Argentina in early March. The temperature at JFK...

Last year my wife successfully brought two dogs from Buenos Aires to the U.S. The necessary document is titled 'Certificado Veterinario Internacional Para La Exportación de Caninos y Felinos Hacia Los Estados Unidos de América' / International Veterinary Certificate for the Export of Dogs and...

How do the restrictions on buying dollars affect foreign tourists? If a tourist has unused pesos and wants to sell them for dollars when leaving Argentina, will the bank perform this transaction? We are here on an extended stay, in a leased apartment with rent payable in dollars. When our U$S...

Someone I know who is 64 just got her monthly bill from Hospital Italiano. It was about $675 pesos. The amount went up because she will turn 65 this year. She signed up two years ago at age 63.

According to one article I found, "Although lead was phased out of printer's ink beginning in 1978, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission doesn't know when its presence actually disappeared. As a result, the agency has ruled that any book printed prior to 1985 might contain the toxic...

Most European bank branches in Uruguay (I'm speaking specifically of Colonia) cater to Argentine and other foreign residents. Several years ago we opened a US dollar account at one of the European branches using a North American address -- no Uruguayan address or utility bill was required. Last...

Mercosur could provide a large enough market for import substitution. But its members would have to stop putting up tariff and nontariff barriers between themselves to make it work. Giving a local producer a leg up with a 10% tariff advantage is one thing. But one sees too many examples in...

Davonz, We've had similar experiences tracking registered mail sent from Thailand and Germany to the US. It seems that the sending and destination post offices exchange information, and both have access to each bar code scan along the way. That's why I share your conclusion that our...

Thanks, this is helpful. Usually there is no issue at all with US Customs, so I suppose EMS may be a better choice next time.

On July 1st my wife sent out an envelope of documents (papers only) at Correo Argentina, addressed to a US destination. She asked for express mail service, but it seems they treated it as registered mail -- it has a tracking number starting with 'RR.' The last entry on the USPS website (as of...

The timing cited makes sense, since the peso had been linked one-to-one to the dollar in 1991. With the two currencies equally valued and circulating in parallel by official policy, it was logical in 1993 to allow either currency to be stipulated in rental contracts, mortgages and the like...

The pensionado visa requires AR$ 2,500 a month income, which has been the standard for several years now. Migraciones sometimes gives out wrong information, though. I have an email from Migraciones sent last November, saying that there is no income requirement for pensionados (which is...