A Brave Yet A Foolish Decision
Our Road Trip to Misiones
We reached Misiones unchecked. Bravo! We dozed off for an hour and headed to the falls. We had to start that same day to see this giant falls. I realized how limited my movements would be when an Italian Argentine driver we hired asked me if I had my travel documents with me. I said no. He said it’s a pity because we can never get close to the borders of Paraguay and Brazil. A major downer!
The whole stay at Iguazu was worth the 36 hour ride ida y vuelta. I had a lot of memories to cherish in that Natural Park located at the middle of South American continent. I need another blog post for that Iguazu experience.
The trip was over. Such a sad thing to leave a paradise like that. Almost half-way to Buenos Aires, the bus stopped. I woke up. Then our fear became a reality. Three armed gendarmes dressed in military uniform climbed the bus and started demanding, “Sus documentos por favor.” I can see the sun burnt face of mi amor turned white. Panic attack.
Then one of the officers was in front of us and said….¿”Senorita….?” La Karina is always prepared like a girl scout. She handed her Argentine ID and she was ok. Then the officer asked for mine. I said, “Lo siento, no tengo documentos. He olvidado los en Buenos Aires.” I was still explaining in a limited Castellano when La Karina interrupted us explaining that I left my documents in her house. She further said that I am her future husband and that she will take charge of me. She said’ “I am a businesswoman. I am the president of a company and my company will take the responsibility for my boyfriend. I have copies of his documents in my office."
And then she turned to me and translated everything in English what she just had said to the officer. I can see that the officer had a hard time discerning English and I have to cut her off and told her, “Hablame en espanol.” Then, I started asking for a consideration from the officer not to take me to the precinct. I told him that I am a Filipino. I showed him my credit card with a Philippine Flag courtesy of my HSBC PAL Visa. He said, "I need your Argentine visa and not your Visa Credit Card." I would like to laugh, I felt stupid in front of him, and then I said., “ I showed it to you to let you know that I am telling the truth about my nationality." And then I showed him my foreign exchange receipt for the USD I converted at the airport. I showed him my passport number in that receipt and explained that I can not enter Argentina without a visa and that the Forex company was located at the Ezeiza Airport where I converted my USD to ARP upon my arrival. I tried to be calm and smiled after each statement I uttered.
He agreed and said, "Don’t travel without documents. We are near the borders of Brazil and Paraguay and lots of illegals are entering Argentina from here." “Muchas gracias senor.” I told him.
I can’t believe it. Gracias Instituto por ensenarme el idioma. This language saved the day. When the gendarmes got off, the conductor told me, you’re a lucky man. An Italian passenger who speaks only Italian and English, also left his documents in Buenos Aires. He was taken to the station and would be released only after the gendarmes could get a confirmation from the Italian and Argentine Embassies whether his entry to Argentina was legal or not. And he added, shortest day you could stay at the jail is three days. ¡Mi madre!
Our Road Trip to Misiones
We reached Misiones unchecked. Bravo! We dozed off for an hour and headed to the falls. We had to start that same day to see this giant falls. I realized how limited my movements would be when an Italian Argentine driver we hired asked me if I had my travel documents with me. I said no. He said it’s a pity because we can never get close to the borders of Paraguay and Brazil. A major downer!
The whole stay at Iguazu was worth the 36 hour ride ida y vuelta. I had a lot of memories to cherish in that Natural Park located at the middle of South American continent. I need another blog post for that Iguazu experience.
The trip was over. Such a sad thing to leave a paradise like that. Almost half-way to Buenos Aires, the bus stopped. I woke up. Then our fear became a reality. Three armed gendarmes dressed in military uniform climbed the bus and started demanding, “Sus documentos por favor.” I can see the sun burnt face of mi amor turned white. Panic attack.
Then one of the officers was in front of us and said….¿”Senorita….?” La Karina is always prepared like a girl scout. She handed her Argentine ID and she was ok. Then the officer asked for mine. I said, “Lo siento, no tengo documentos. He olvidado los en Buenos Aires.” I was still explaining in a limited Castellano when La Karina interrupted us explaining that I left my documents in her house. She further said that I am her future husband and that she will take charge of me. She said’ “I am a businesswoman. I am the president of a company and my company will take the responsibility for my boyfriend. I have copies of his documents in my office."
And then she turned to me and translated everything in English what she just had said to the officer. I can see that the officer had a hard time discerning English and I have to cut her off and told her, “Hablame en espanol.” Then, I started asking for a consideration from the officer not to take me to the precinct. I told him that I am a Filipino. I showed him my credit card with a Philippine Flag courtesy of my HSBC PAL Visa. He said, "I need your Argentine visa and not your Visa Credit Card." I would like to laugh, I felt stupid in front of him, and then I said., “ I showed it to you to let you know that I am telling the truth about my nationality." And then I showed him my foreign exchange receipt for the USD I converted at the airport. I showed him my passport number in that receipt and explained that I can not enter Argentina without a visa and that the Forex company was located at the Ezeiza Airport where I converted my USD to ARP upon my arrival. I tried to be calm and smiled after each statement I uttered.
He agreed and said, "Don’t travel without documents. We are near the borders of Brazil and Paraguay and lots of illegals are entering Argentina from here." “Muchas gracias senor.” I told him.
I can’t believe it. Gracias Instituto por ensenarme el idioma. This language saved the day. When the gendarmes got off, the conductor told me, you’re a lucky man. An Italian passenger who speaks only Italian and English, also left his documents in Buenos Aires. He was taken to the station and would be released only after the gendarmes could get a confirmation from the Italian and Argentine Embassies whether his entry to Argentina was legal or not. And he added, shortest day you could stay at the jail is three days. ¡Mi madre!
1 comment:
read part of your blog.. ang ganda...galing....
regards!
Minyang
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