Argentina Visa

Argentina Consulate NY website
Cost of visa for Indian citizen: None


Boston residents need to go to Argentinian consulate in NY for a tourist visa.
I took an appointment prior to visiting the consulate.
Reached Argentinian consulate at 9 am and showed the documents I was carrying ( as per what was listed on the website). I was asked to bring back 6 past financial statements and reservation confirmation for all places we were going to stay at. I was perturbed by this, and told the person at the window that I needed the visa urgently and that could not wait another day in NY. He asked me to get the documents as soon as I can and he would try to give the visa on the same day.
I quickly went to nearby FedEx to access internet. Turned out to be super expensive ( 12$ for reviewing what H had prepared and printing). I didn't know FedEx charged extra for opening a Word file!!! Have traveled a lot and its hard to accept that internet can be so expensive in a developed country ( and not easily available).
Returned back to the consulate and after reviewing the docs our passport was taken in for stamping. Unfortunately they were unable to give the passport back on the same day since the consulate officer had already left ( it was only noon when I returned). Unfortunately I did not have any other option but to leave the passport behind. I had to get a prepaid envelope from FedEx for the passport delivery. I was extremely skeptical of this, after FedEx said they had issues with the consulate during package pickup.
The consulate gave me a receipt and a number I could call to check on status of my passport. I never got through to anyone on that number however within 5 days we received our stamped passport with multiple entry Argentinian visa.

Colombia Visa

Colombian consulate website
Visa cost for Indian citizen: 44$ per person
I sent an email to the consulate to get an appointment but did not receive a response. Hence I decided to do a walk in one day. It was also buzzing with people (like Brazilian consulate) and I was thoroughly confused upon getting there. No-one in the waiting area seemed to know English. I could totally envision how the Colombian travels were going to work out without knowing Spanish!
There was a counter with a line of people waiting to be helped. Waited in the slow moving line patiently. The lady at the counter told me to speak to someone else who apologized for not responding to my email regarding appointment. She listed the documents I would need and gave an appointment for the next day to review the paperwork. The following day I returned and my application was accepted. She would be returning my passport in 48 hours- I would need to pick it up from the embassy on Christmas morning! I was skeptical about reaching someone on Xmas day but decided to try my luck.
I returned as instructed at 10am and the embassy doors were locked ( as expected). Frantically tried calling them but no one answered. After 15 minutes of waiting, I saw someone inside and try to get their attention. I am allowed inside and the consulate officer asked if I had issues getting into the building. I did not have an issue, which bothered her since she had informed security not to let anyone in after 10 am. HA! I finally got our passports back and we got a 30 day multiple entry visa. PERFECT.

Bolivia Visa

Unfortunately for us, there are only 2 Bolivian embassies on the east coast- in Washington D.C. and New York. I decided to visit the Bolivian embassy in NY while I was there for the Argentinian visa. It was a small office and the lady at the counter was not very helpful. I carried all the documents( as listed on the website) with me, and she reviewed it grudgingly however they needed 2 days to process the visa. We were out of time and so decided to get the visa in Peru. We had called the Bolivian embassy in Lima but they spoke only Spanish so could not get any information. The Indian embassy in Lima was able to confirm that we could get our Bolivian visa in Peru.

In Lima we went to the Bolivian consulate but we were late in getting there ( open only until 12pm). We called the next day and got confirmation that our visa could be obtained in Puno.

The Bolivian embassy was near the town center. The building was not fancy and the office was even more basic. The consulate officer spoke only Spanish and was perturbed why we were sent to him. He had to review his instruction manual ( which was photocopied so many times that it was hard to read the print). Eventually he was able to find India in it, and was even more bothered that his service was free of charge. He asked us to bring the filled out visa application form, available online along with other supporting documents.

We returned and he approved our documents. He agreed to give us the visa on the same day in a couple of hours. H went to collect the passports, and oddly the visa was given on the page opposite that of Brazilian visa( odd since the passport had many blank pages). Also he asked H to get him copies, which was really funny.

Brazil Visa

Brazil Consulate website
Visa cost for Indian citizen: 20$ per person
Sent an email to the consulate to get an appointment but no response for a couple of days. So I decided to try a walk in and see if I got a faster response or an appointment. The embassy was buzzing with people. Helpful receptionist however could not provide any information except for the fact that everything is available online. I sent a follow-up email after which I received a response. The earliest available date for the appointment is Jan 5 which was too close to our date of departure. I tried to get an emergency appointment for an earlier date but unfortunately I did not get lucky.
Carried all documentation listed on the website. Also had to complete a pre-registration on the website prior to the appointment. I was running a bit behind for the appointment however upon reaching did not seem like anyone was in a rush. I was asked to wait with a few others. We were called in to another office area about 30 minutes later. Did not run in to any issue with the documents.
Typically they were returning passports after 5 working days but that was too tight for us, I pleaded for an earlier return. The consulate office budged and we got our passports back in 3 working days.

Peru Visa

Peru Boston Consulate website
Visa cost for Indian citizens: 30$ per person
Peruvian Embassy is in downtown Boston and accessible so I decided to visit the embassy without taking an appointment. I had heard from a friend that the staff was helpful and the embassy was not very busy.
I went with paperwork listed on their website. My goal on the 1st trip was at the very least get a review of the paperwork I have so I am prepared during the actual visa appointment.
Peruvian embassy had a very helpful staff who reviewed all the paperwork I was carrying. They needed an additional letter from University confirming enrollment(just an I-20 didn't suffice). Also there was a requirement for entry-exit ticket for Peru (our overall trip ticket print out didn't work). I returned the next day with the additional documents and within 30 minutes was given a stamped Peruvian visa.

What is backpacking?

As we went on to travel, and after we returned we get this question a lot: what is backpacking? Carrying a suitcase is not backpacking? Did you shop a lot?
In my opinion, backpacking is different from a regular trip in many ways.
The most obvious is, traveling with a backpack. To carry only bare essentials that would not impede the travel itself- which effectively means if you had to lug your bag with you all the time on your back, you would still be able to enjoy the sights without worrying about the load. So to keep this true, we carried backpacks however realized eventually that even what we carried was not the bare essentials and in our next trip we could go with fewer stuff. Considering how global most countries are now, you can find almost anything, anywhere ( maybe thanks to China!).
Travel time is typically long. A 2 week trip would be considered short for backpacking since the time you spend in each place needs to be sufficient to immerse yourself in the local culture.
Along with living like a local, comes how much money you spend on the trip. Typically on a backpacking trip you would spend only as much as a local would living in that country. The budget is self imposed and depends on each traveller's situation, however during our travel to keep it real we calculated everything in rupees( and not in dollars) to get a perspective on how expensive or cheap it was coming out to be.
Key backpacking features:
- Eat as the locals do ( cook , roadside or in small, heavily frequented and busy joints)
- Live as the locals do or sort of ( hostels, couchsurf)
- Sightseeing of key attractions/ must see's for each place, but also include non-touristy get-aways, beaches etc.
- Most importantly, interact with the locals - learn sign language or local language!
- Minimum or no shopping- Keep it light

Original Route

We decided to spend bulk of our trip in Peru and Bolivia considering these countries were cheaper. The remaining time would be split between Argentina and Brazil. One of the key milestones to keep us on track during the trip was to make it to Oruro, Bolivia for the carnival. Oruro has the 2nd largest carnival in South America and considering we were not keen on Rio Carnival ( expensive, unsafe, hard to find accommodations) we decided to go to Oruro.
Our preliminary itinerary for a trip of 66 days looked like this:
Land in Columbia- Bogota and around: 2 days
Fly to Leticia and take a trip in to Amazon: 8 days
Speed boat to Iquitos, Peru and boat down to Pucallpa: 8 days
Bus to Lima and sightseeing: 5 days
Nazca, Arequpa: 5 days
Cuzco: 5 days
Lake Titicaca, Puno: 3 days
Bolivia: 10 days
Argentina: 10 days
Brazil: 10 days

Key takeaways:
- Plans will change as we travel along, we would need to be flexible
- Use this outline for initial reservations, visa

My, my here we go again!

After a few nights of searching for deals and researching best options for our route we bought the tickets. The plan was to fly in to Bogota from Boston and return fro Sao Paulo back to Boston. Continental Airlines had a great deal for our travel dates ($400 for multi-city round trip).
The rationale behind this air travel plan was:
- We have a friend in Bogota
- Cheapest flight into South America from Boston was to Bogota
- We wanted to cover amazon in the beginning of the trip rather than towards the end, when the energy levels were higher
- Flying out of a major city would make it easier for us to get US visa stamped
- We can get our visa paperwork at a friends place in Argentina
The countries we decided to travel were Colombia , Peru, Bolivia , Argentina, Brazil.
We really didn't have too much time for preparing our route so we picked up lonely planet travel books for all the countries we planned to visit from the Boston Public library. Their suggested itineraries was a great starting point for us to flush out the preliminary plan. After researching blogs, reading Thorn Tree and other travel websites, we decided to carry Lonely Planet : South America on a Shoestring with us. We had to watch the weight of our backpack and there was relief that youth hostels will have guidebooks for the country we were visiting.

Quick tips:
- Shop around a lot for travel deals. Use websites like sidestep and orbitz but also visit individual airline websites. Tuesday late night, early Wednesday mornings are best days for getting great deals.
- Don't spend too much time on the initial itinerary as far as you are comfortable with the shell. Plans will change if you are going on a long trip

Putting things into perspective

My husband (whom I will refer to as H, on this blog) and I have contemplated taking a break from work and routine and just setting off on an adventure every now and then. We both come from families with a passion for traveling. Our parents have traveled extensively around the world and in India. It was a family routine to travel to a new destination every year while growing up. H’s dad has traveled from UK to India by road, hitchhiking along the way, in the mid 70’s. My dad, who grew up in Uganda, has raved about their family wildlife viewing trips in Western Africa. It’s interesting how interests develop so subconsciously and how we continue with the traditions our parents have started and shared with us.
We have also been fortunate to have visitors from around the world who have inspired us by their stories and sense of adventure. After having a Turkish couple on a yearlong around the world trip visit us, we were ready to pack and leave with them! Having already seen a lot of Europe, Asia and North America ( I have logged 115 cities in 9 countries and H has seen over 150 cities in 15 countries), we really wanted to travel to South America. There were various reasons why we wanted to go there:
- If we decided to move to India, it would be almost impossible to visit the continent
- It made sense to cover a part of the continent at least if we were making a trip, to justify the cost
- Called for a true adventure as a backpacker
- Cost of the trip could possibly come out to be less than the amount of money we spent living in Boston for the same duration
By October 2009, I had been employed in the marketing industry for over 6 years; prior to that I had studied advertising, marketing and business in my two Masters Degree. I took a break in Oct 2009 from work, study and a routine continuous life. End of the year, I had plans to travel to Nashville and Baltimore to see family when one day H surprised me with the idea of traveling to South America. As soon as he mentioned this, I got cold feet even though South America has been my dream destination for a very long time. I went through a truck load of thoughts, mostly doubts on how all this would work out. How can one just take a break for 2 months? Had I earned it? What would I lose out on if I just traveled for 2 months? There were some practical apprehensions as well- is it feasible to pack, find a renter, plan, make reservations and do everything else in a month.
All these thoughts were pretty overwhelming however I did not completely shelve the idea. While on the family visit, H and I talked often about when we could possibly leave. I spoke to some friends and family to get a second opinion. Mostly, I received positive encouragement. It was surprising that a lot of them harbored the wish to do such a thing, but had not managed to do it. Others wondered when they would be able to take such a long break. We do become slaves of our own system.