My coronavirus story and escape from Buenos Aires

[perry]

I have been a expat in Buenos Aires for 16 years and its been a city I have greatly loved until the last few years due to the deteriorating economic climate and now the panic and paranoia for the coronavirus made the last weeks there very difficult . I personally do not believe that this virus is natural but do believe its very dangerous as proven by what is happening in Spain and Italy with hundreds of deaths per day . It seems that the world is preparing us for a event that will be life changing but not in a good way and for me as I imagine for many of you it was fundamental that I could find the safest environment for battling this and hankering down for 6 months or longer . For many years I have been a prepper in my mind and have met many interesting people on this forum who opened my eyes to the ways of the world . People who prep have have lived off the land have been the subject of derision on many forums for now 20 years . Human beings are not meant to live in large crowded cities as for thousands of years we have lived in small communities , grown our our food , and were very independent of government control . Now in 2020 to have a small farm in the USA , Australia , and Europe the regulations and taxes have send many to bankruptcy and forced these same people to live in crowded unnatural cities . Now with the coroanvirus there is a clear pattern that isolated villages with good weather patterns are much less affected .
Its very well known that in the last 1918 flu pandemic that fresh air and sunlight was the best cure.

Living in Buenos Aires for many years I have travelled all through Chile . Peru , and Argentina . My goal was to escape to a beautiful village in the Peruvian amazon selva but unfortunately Peru seems to be the hardest hit of all the Latin American countries with close to 200 cases . Saying that the amazon region has not recorded one case but Lima Peru seems to be the epicenter there with close to 100 cases . I could not get to Peru due to the borders being closed leaving me with a lot of anxiety . Fortunately I could finally escape Buenos Aires to a small village in Rio Negro . Coming down here people were very nervous and suspicious of anything foreign looking or sounding . I did not speak english one time in front of others even though I am a argentinian citizen with a argentinian passport .
I became a citizen of this country in 2011 and am proud of this as this is imho one of the most beautiful countries in the world with a variety of scenery not matched in any other country I have seen .

I am finally installed in my new place and I feel one thousand times more relaxed and safe here . The last few days in the capital federal were distressing for me and now with a full quarantine just days away it is so much easier being surrounded by beautiful nature, fresh air, and sunshine . Where I am luckily has great access to food and water and this helped to define my decision . I understand for tourists to this country this would not have been possible now but I am very relieved that I am here .

 

[on the brink]

There's no winning with this flu.

I am fortunate to have a place in the Uruguayan countryside - it has the cleanest air and crystal-clear well water. The climate allows for growing vegetables and raising any kind of farm animals.

So far, so good. However, I was caught outside the country when Uruguay closed the borders. So my place sits vacant, while I sit out the quarantine here.

As I said, there's no winning

 

[nikad]

We recently bought a nice camper to travel around the country. If things get really nasty we will definitely leave the city with it and set camp somewhere else.

 

[Ceviche]

Perry,

How do u plan to access your USD or pesos or pay for goods?

 

[perry]

Perry,

How do u plan to access your USD or pesos or pay for goods?

I came down here with three months supplies of all goods . I restocked today at the only large supermarket here . Its very cheap to live here and it can be done on just 1000 dollars a month excluding medical insurance . The towns of rio negro and Chubut are stunning but now they are not open to foreigners and the border between El Bolson and Lago Puelo Chubut has been shut . The most beautiful towns are in The Comarca Andina including Lago Puelo , El Hoyo , El Maiten , El Bolson and many others are all great options . Unfortunately now it will be impossible to come here as planes shut down tonight

The curfew could last a lot longer than many believe here . Its unlikely to be lifted if the cases keep climbing as they will as the peak of this is in June 2020 meaning that there could be a very long curfew with maybe a few days of respite in between ,

If you cannot get out of Buenos Aires province there are some nicer larger towns that you could rent a house from AIRBNB . i certainly would not hesitate if you can do this as a lockdown in a large city trapped in a apartment is very unpleasant . If you have a backyard and sunshine this helps tremendously to lift your mood and ride out the storm

Best of luck Ceviche

 

[on the brink]

"How do u plan to access your USD or pesos or pay for goods? "

That is my concern, too. If worse comes to worst I can use my USA-issue credit card, but the exchange rate is dismal: last time, 59 pesos per dollar versus the blue 72.

Another drawback is that it mostly works at large places, not at the mom and pop's small stores I favor.

 

[perry]

We recently bought a nice camper to travel around the country. If things get really nasty we will definitely leave the city with it and set camp somewhere else.

Nikad if there is a curfew you cannot travel around the country with a campervan . Its best to be forewarned

 

[Ries]

We flew out of EZE on March 3, and got back to our 32 acre farm the next day.
I certainly feel calmer and happier to be here, if "sheltering" is the future.
But the community is as important as the isolation.
My friends with the bakery 2 miles away are now only doing curbside sales, closed the inside store, and lost all their restaurant orders- which is something like 500 loaves a day. So I was helping them today, lending them some things to set up a line and counter outside their front door. Of course, they gave me some bread.
Many of my neighbors have chickens, we got 4 dozen eggs this weekend.
Other neighbors brought over some frozen chickens.
Down the road two miles is a meat co-op, with about 30 ranchers who grow organic beef, pork, goat and mutton.
We bought some to put in the freezer.

All of these things help my neighbors survive, as well as me- I pay or barter for food, they make some money- it takes all of us to keep afloat. We all help each other out here, its always been that way, and the virus scare isnt changing that, merely increasing the distance we do it at. 2 meters...

Farm work goes on- my fruit trees all got pruned last weekend, as the pruning crew works its winter jobs. They usually do about 2 months solid of pruning trees, (not only mine- dozens of small orchards) so in spring, we will have fruit, to share and barter with the neighbors and friends.
Soon they will start plowing to plant potatoes, or cover crops, or feed for the animals, all around me.

My experience with 25 years of rural life, halfway between Seattle and Vancouver, is that nobody makes it on "prepping".
Everybody puts up food, and most have small kitchen gardens, but we also all help each other, barter and share, and lend tools or expertise as needed. No man, as they say, is an Island, even if you do get checks in the mail.

 

[Pensador]

There's no winning with this flu.

I am fortunate to have a place in the Uruguayan countryside - it has the cleanest air and crystal-clear well water. The climate allows for growing vegetables and raising any kind of farm animals.

So far, so good. However, I was caught outside the country when Uruguay closed the borders. So my place sits vacant, while I sit out the quarantine here.

As I said, there's no winning

Yea URU I am glad I was here and will be here I am sure there are wonderlands in ARG as well. This is not over till the fat lady sings that is for sure. No offense to fat people just an old saying. Yea the winning now I surviving most will some wont that is the way of life the process has surely been accelerated at this point. Busy day getting things in order here, the US and more. Wine and fire pit time one day at a time. I love this place all the different birds all the time by coast here. So much natural beauty.

 

[TWB103]

We flew out of EZE on March 3, and got back to our 32 acre farm the next day.
I certainly feel calmer and happier to be here, if "sheltering" is the future.
But the community is as important as the isolation.
My friends with the bakery 2 miles away are now only doing curbside sales, closed the inside store, and lost all their restaurant orders- which is something like 500 loaves a day. So I was helping them today, lending them some things to set up a line and counter outside their front door. Of course, they gave me some bread.
Many of my neighbors have chickens, we got 4 dozen eggs this weekend.
Other neighbors brought over some frozen chickens.
Down the road two miles is a meat co-op, with about 30 ranchers who grow organic beef, pork, goat and mutton.
We bought some to put in the freezer.

All of these things help my neighbors survive, as well as me- I pay or barter for food, they make some money- it takes all of us to keep afloat. We all help each other out here, its always been that way, and the virus scare isnt changing that, merely increasing the distance we do it at. 2 meters...

Farm work goes on- my fruit trees all got pruned last weekend, as the pruning crew works its winter jobs. They usually do about 2 months solid of pruning trees, (not only mine- dozens of small orchards) so in spring, we will have fruit, to share and barter with the neighbors and friends.
Soon they will start plowing to plant potatoes, or cover crops, or feed for the animals, all around me.

My experience with 25 years of rural life, halfway between Seattle and Vancouver, is that nobody makes it on "prepping".
Everybody puts up food, and most have small kitchen gardens, but we also all help each other, barter and share, and lend tools or expertise as needed. No man, as they say, is an Island, even if you do get checks in the mail.

LOL - Better to be in the US than Argentina in times like these no? Though your many Argentine friends might be wondering when you'll be back...