The Travel Chica

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My First Border Run

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I was not a big fan of Uruguay before I got there.

This is partially Uruguay’s fault but also partially my own fault.  The anal-retentive project manager in me who would normally plan any day trip well in advance with great attention to detail, especially one involving a border crossing and a ferry, apparently went on vacation once I decided to settle in Buenos Aires for a bit.

First off, let me say that I was really excited about making a border run.

This is a big deal.

It means I have finally stayed in one country long enough to actually be required to leave. 

3 months!  Yea!

Since the expats living in Buenos Aires always make their border runs to Colonia del Sacramento, the oldest town in Uruguay, I assumed it was easy.

What I had not expected was how expensive it would be.

My last minute planning.

So I waited until the week I had to get out of Argentina and then looked up the Buquebus ferry online.

What?!!  400 pesos (US$100) to do a day trip!!

The problem with the cheapest option is that it would require a trip on the slow ferry 3 hours each way.  And of course the cheapest ticket rate was only available for the worst ferry times and most likely require spending the night in Colonia (more money!!).

A cry for help.

I sent a message to my resident expert Chance to find out if there were more options.  He of course came through with two more ferry options:  Seacat and Colonia Express.

Then he gave me some bad news.

Our Conversation:

Me: “I got my visa on 3/21. Does that mean I have to leave by 6/20 or 6/21?”

Chance: “You have to leave by 6/19.  March and May have 31 days.”

Me: “What?!!  6/19 is bullshit. It should be 3 months.

Chance: “It says 90 days. Why should it be 3 months?”

Me: “Shut up.”

So here I am on a Monday trying to figure it all out. I have to leave by Sunday.  It’s supposed to rain Wednesday and Thursday, and I don’t know the forecast past Thursday.  Tickets are more expensive on the weekend.

Crap.  Crap.  Crap.  This is what happens when you don’t plan in advance.

Yes, part of what I wanted to learn during my year of travel is patience and not stressing over the little things and making the best of situations.

Obviously, I still have a long way to go.

So after stressing about it and beating myself up for not planning in advance (which did not actually help the situation or make me feel any better of course), I realized that I would have to go Friday and hope for decent weather.

If it rains, it rains. No good photos, but it is not the end of the world.

And I would have Jeff from Lengthy Travel (also a fellow procrastinator who waited until the last minute) to accompany me.  So we would both be in it together whether it turned out to be a disappointing day or a great day.

The best deal was with Colonia Express for US$65.

It included breakfast on the boat and a 1-hour walking tour in Colonia.  The ferry ride was only an hour each way, and we would get back to Buenos Aires late afternoon. Of course the Colonia Express website was not working properly, so we could not book our tickets online.  Jeff was nice enough to go to their office and purchase our tickets.

Jeff was then informed that not only does the online booking function not work, the actual times of the ferry are listed incorrectly.  Come on people… we are in Argentina, not a third world country.  You are a real business.  Get it together.

So instead of spending 7 hours in Colonia and getting back to Buenos Aires during daylight hours, we would have to be in Colonia for 11.75 hours and return to a not-so-safe part of La Boca at night.

I had heard from several people that there is not that much to do in Colonia, so I was not thrilled about having to spend so much time there nor getting home so late.  But in the end, the priority was to spend the least amount of money.

I was no longer looking forward to my first border run…

Comments

  1. I most of the time don’t plan my things. Mostly I do everything spontaneously and this could have easily happened to me.
    Today I wanted to go on holidays with a friend. We waited the whole time and finally met yesterday and looked up super last minute deals. We unfortunately couldn’t find anything which suited both of us and we therefore decided to take our bikes and cycle through the Netherlands the next 8 days.
    At the end everything turns out good!

  2. Yupper, reality is a bugger.
    Umm, might want to reconsider your definition of 3rd world countries.
    Life is as it is. Take it as it comes.
    Hope you have/had a good time with your border crossing run – it could be worse – you could have to pay a fine for over staying your visa – like me when I left Honduras.
    All is good, you are not going to die from the experience – gives you something to write about!
    Enjoy the experience – life is to short to fret over $100.
    A good read, and something I related to very easily.
    Cheers,
    John D. Wilson

    • I actually checked into the fee for overstaying my visa, and it was more than the trip would cost. So I figured it was worth taking the trip just to see Colonia.

      By the way, I have yet to find a good source that says whether or not Argentina is still a third world country. After visiting Places like Honduras and Nicaragua, it’s hard to put Argentina in that group.

  3. What was the cheaper, yet slower 3 hour crossing? We’re planing a few nights in Uruguay during my border run.

    BTW – Argentina is a third world country. Yes, businesses need to get it together, but it is very third world in many parts of the country outside of the Capital.

    • Buquebus appeared to have cheaper rates that I assume would have been available if we had booked in advance. Plus with Buque bus you don’t have to go to a sketchy area to catch the ferry, and you have more ferry times to choose from.

  4. Colonia is ok – definitely worth a look! Hope the weather isn’t too bad. The ferries are ok – nothing great but you can drink onboard =)

  5. Ooh, I am excited to see how it turned out 😉

    Apparently there is no official definition for Third World country and I have heard some don’t like that term and use developing country instead, though apparently some don’t like that term either. The IMF does still classify Argentina as an emerging and developing economy, but I agree that Argentina, in terms of infrastructure – even outside of BsAs – is far ahead of most other Latin American countries, with the notable exceptions of its neighbors Chile and Brazil (not sure about Uruguay).

  6. Congratulations on your first visa run, and though it’s such a hassle, hope it all turns out alright. I just made a 1 day visa run last week from Bangkok to Cambodia for the day – a similar hectic run! Good luck with everything!

  8. pretty sure ive had that identical conversation multiple times during my travels. classic. not sure if its possible to do there, but i know other places where a checky little payment can be made to a helpful official for a colorful stamp!

  9. Did border runs fro Israel to Egypt and back a couple of times but that was a looong time ago…

    If possible I think it’s best to make an opportunity out of them – a trip with it’s own merits.

  10. Good luck with this (you haven’t done it yet, have you?! Hope it works out. And that sucks re: the money.

    I only spent a few days in Argentina a long time ago (Mendoza only), but would say that it’s perhaps a 2nd world country. Like a Costa Rica or Panama maybe. (I even think that some of Spain is 2nd world.) Areas of 1st world and 2nd world with 3rd world things happening at times?

    Anyway, hope it goes smoothly…

    • Thanks! I know that I will see a different side of Argentina when I start traveling to other areas, but even from the things I hear, it is much more developed than many other parts of Latin America.

  11. Hope this goes smoothly! We spent 15 hours in Uruguay transiting to BA. We took a bus from Montevideo to Colonia- can you do the reverse? Montevideo had a great street of unique arts and crafts- just booths, can’t remember the name, but I got some cool jewelry made out of silverware. I remember it being less expensive than Argentina as well. There was also a free, but interesting museum on Gauchos. Let me know if you want me to look it up!

    • Yes, quite a few people go to Montevideo via Colonia because it’s cheaper.

      Uruguay is actually more expensive than Argentina now which is why I chose the day trip instead of spending a few days.

    • I have to rank it pretty high in my travel experiences. And not because Colonia is an awesome place or anything like that. I just think it’s cool to make a border run.

  14. Hey, nice and funny post! I can -and do- understand what happened to you. Me, being sort of an über-planner myself, often find that I could have done more to avoid the nasty surprises life has for us all the time. Your situation was not serious, luckily.

    On the subject of whether or not Argentina is a third world country, I think that is necessary to have a second world and a fourth world categories, or to define sub-categories for the third world flavors. Argentina is in no way comparable to countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the likes; not at all. Likewise, you can’t compare Argentina with USA or Canada, neither. So, I would say that Argentina is either a second world country, or most of what’s known as third world is actually fourth world. Argentina is very much like Spain, without the luck of being taken care of by Europe’s really first world countries (which Spain is not).

    Oh, and the town is called “Colonia del Sacramento” ie. Sacrament’s Colony, btw.

    Cheers!

    • Definitely not a serious situation with my border run. It is a much easier affair in Argentina than in other countries like Costa Rica where I think you actually have to be out of the country for 2 or 3 days before re-entering.

      Thanks for sharing you thoughts on the third world country question.

      And thanks for the correction… I knew that but appear to have gotten a smidge dyslexic when writing this.

  15. This is where I do like to plan things and would be on top of this one. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like this trip would be all that exciting regardless. However, keep and open mind and see how it goes. Are there other places you could go? It may be too late this time but might be worth exploring next time – if you plan ahead! :)

  16. Thanks for sharing! The project manager in me has never let myself stay in a country so long that i will be forced to leave… YET. So this is eye-opening to me the experience that you have to go through. I’ve heard many a times from friends about how there’s “nothing to do” in certain places. But, keep an open mind. Sometimes, just sitting in a coffee shop and talking to the locals can be an adventure itself!

  17. Too funny! I went to BA a couple of years back and also did a border run of sorts to Colonia, then onward to Montevideo. I didn’t find either one particularly interesting, but at least now I can say that I went to Uruguay!! :-)

    Oh, I have had experience taking the slow 3-hour ferry as well as the Colonia Express… The slow ferry was okay but there were a number of ppl who got seasick on the Express… It wasn’t pleasant at all!

    • Glad I’m not the only one. I have heard mixed reviews on Montevideo. I think after seeing Colonia, Montevideo looks like the most happening city in the world :-)

  18. I would have totally done the same ‘3 month’ thought thing instead of 90 days. Ergh.

    Is it only a specific amount of hours you have to be out of the country before you can re-enter then? Or is it different for each country? 😛

    • It is different for each country. You could actually get to Uruguay and turn around and come right back on the next ferry.

      But in Costa Rica, I believe you have to be out for 2 or 3 days before returning. I met several people going to Granada from Costa Rica to re-new their visas.

  19. I hope it went smoothly after all the complications in getting underway. I wish Italy were simple like this.

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