Detour
We were really excited to explore Palermo. It is known as one of the hot destinations to visit in Buenos Aires. Well, the first full day we had in Palermo happened to be one of the hottest days we experienced in Buenos Aires; so hot that the city experienced a massive power outage that impacted over 700,000 people. To cool down, we had no choice but to go out and look for ice cream. We successfully located a cute cafe and ice cream shop and from the little bit of walking we did around town, we could already sense that there was a lot to discover in this barrio.
You know what they say about making plans. We knew that our risk for catching Covid on our trip would be high, and it happened on day 13 of our year long excursion. Due to having cold-like symptoms and not any of the old telltales of Covid such as loss of taste or smell, we were not convinced we had Covid; however, a week before we got sick, we had started hearing reports from home about minor symptoms now being typical of Omicron. We decided it was best to get tested.
Testing here was not quick or simple. It took time to figure out where we should go to get timely results; a clinic or hospital that would test both children and adults and preferably have someone that could communicate in English. Navigating our global health insurance with the local hospital added to the confusion. After spending a few hours in the hospital check-up room (the most painful part of the process), we finally got the deep dive up the nose and were sent on our way to wait for results.
We were all set to check out of our rental apartment the next day as we were planning to fly to our next destination of Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, when we received our positive results. “Detectable. El resultado es positivo...” By Argentina rules, seven days of self-isolation were required. Our option to stay in the apartment we had been in was not available as the owner had other tenants lined up the next day, but they were kind enough to let us stay through the afternoon. We needed to find something to move into fast. Preferably, somewhere we could comfortably self-isolate for the next seven days without feeling pent up. We reached out to a few different places on Airbnb and one owner got back to us quickly saying he had just gotten over Covid himself in the last couple weeks and would gladly host us. What a relief!
Wow did we luck out with his approval of our request. We couldn't imagine a better place to have gone through isolation in the city. First, the apartment was a 3-bedroom giving us much more space and the opportunity to also occasionally isolate from one another. It came with fast internet, a well-appointed kitchen, and a comfortable living area. Best of all, the apartment overlooked the Botanical Garden of Buenos Aires. Those of you that do not know Lauren may not realize that she has a fondness for all green growing things and keeps more than a normal amount of house plants. This view kept her sane. Meanwhile, the balcony also happened to look over the bustling Plaza Italia, which gave Jon the opportunity to people-watch and to find sanctuary with his yerba mate.
We spent a lot of time out on the balcony enjoying the view. This view might have as many pictures as our newborns. Here is a fun video Jon put together of our baby.
Logistically, Buenos Aires has some Instacart and Doordash equivalents that are well-established called ‘Pedidos Ya’ and ‘Rappi’. They were our daily life line for groceries and meals as we self-isolated. Our contact with the outside world was now limited to our digital connection and the brave front-liners that delivered our daily sustenance.
A big chunk of the week was spent rerouting our plans. Our previously planned route had us flying to Chile from Mendoza just 9 days after our positive test. Between Chile’s Covid rules and the tight time schedule, we decided it was best to cut Chile and reroute within Argentina instead. Canceling all of our reservations was difficult mostly because we were mourning the trip we were no longer able to take. At the same time, we were also excited to spend more time in Argentina. Some of the places we missed when originally puzzling together the schedule, in particular Salta in the north and Argentinian Patagonia in the south, were now back on the table. Early on in Argentina, we also discovered that our dollar goes very far and that would help make up some ground on our budget. We anticipated some changes would need to be made during our year abroad, but did not imagine it would happen at this scale. In the end, we canceled Chile and rerouted 4 weeks of our trip in just a few days. The last minute planning to see the rest of Argentina at the height of their Summer Holiday season came with challenges and multiple phone calls in Spanish, but we managed to complete an itinerary that we hoped would take us to see amazing sights.
Our other priority for the week was homeschooling. It was beneficial to have the week of isolation to focus on school without the distraction of getting out. The week gave us the opportunity to set up some good school routines and helped us determine how much we can do in a sitting and a day without losing our cool. All in all, the week seemed to fly by as our days were filled with these activities as well as family games and movies.
Once our isolation was over, we finally got a chance to get out and see the sights we had been viewing from our balcony. First we walked through the smaller replica of the Arc de Triumph, which was the entrance to the Ecoparque, otherwise known as the Buenos Aires Zoo. The Patagonian hares stole the show right from the start. They were free to roam on the grounds and seemed to be the park’s way of keeping the grass mowed. We were able to see a few of the animals unique to South America and Argentina. We saw a pair of condors perched atop their rocky mount, occasionally showing off their impressive wingspan. In the next exhibit, the nutria grooming its pelt first caught our attention, but behind it a flamboyance of flamingos stole the show. An uninterested capybara sauntered out of the water and into its pen, presumably for its afternoon siesta. In the Patagonia exhibit, we got to see a guanaco up close with its compatriot, a choique, also known as the Darwin’s rhea or lesser rhea in English. Even with a large portion of the EcoParque being closed for renovation, we thought it was a great landmark to see in Buenos Aires.
After the zoo, we walked next door to the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden, Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays. This was the direct view from our apartment that was essential to keeping our sanity while isolated. From ground level, the view was even more phenomenal. The gardens were subdivided into multiple sections, each representing a continent of the world, including a section dedicated to only plants predominantly found in Argentina. The tree directly across the street from our apartment that had captivated us from afar was just as intriguing up close as its leaves were much more complex than expected. Appropriately, it is called a ‘monkey puzzle tree’. The garden had a lot more to see than just the plants including familiar statuary, replicas from all around the world, and fountains, some of which had been installed over 150 years ago. From our balcony, we had the opportunity to see many birds flying around the Botanical Garden and enjoyed an even greater variety on our afternoon stroll. The Botanical Garden is a gem of Buenos Aires and we would recommend it to any visitor.
After seven days isolated in a city apartment, we were looking forward to spreading out and being in wide open spaces. We were headed for the southern Patagonian region of Argentina.