t-8h: Seats - The Sequel / Colchoncitos

Called LH's Ezeiza offices. They were not able to do the check-in (obvious), but they were able to assign seats. Yay!

Prepared a number of spare Colchoncitos para la Gina. It is easily done:

1. Take two adult diapers
2. Fold them inside out
3. Tape 'em
4. Put them inside a small pillow case

Perfect Colchoncito for the dog to sleep on (it is soft and comfortable). Perfect Colchoncito for the dog to pee on (the diapers are big enough to deal with a lot of doggy pee). Chuck the stuff afterwards... (pictures are upside down for whatever reason; can't be bothered to figure that out now)

Colchoncito in the making - Step 1 and 2

Colchoncito in the making - Step 3

Colchoncito in the making - Step 4

t-22h: Scales

We reconfigured our luggage a final time. Of course we used a different scale to measure the weight of every piece of luggage again. Of course we put Gina on the new scale. And of course she is even heavier, than we originally thought: apparently she is about 9kg. Note to self: if you are nervous because of the weight of your luggage or your dog, do not substitute one non-calibrated scale by another one...

t-29h: Seats

I just talked to LH for a final check of tickets. Everything seems to be alright in terms of Gina being booked, excess baggage being booked, tickets are available. But:

My flight ticket have been booked in February and then rebooked to today. P.'s ticket has been booked using my miles and therefore is a completely different, unrelated flight ticket. Gina and excess baggage are flying with me. P. just got her flight ticket. In context of seating P. is restricted to seat rows 19 and 20 and cannot be seated anywhere else (due to booking the flight with miles there is a restriction in seating).

Trying to check-in the flights results in P.'s check-in proceeding as normal, whereas mine does not:

So there is no way to proceed with my check-in online. They are asking me to do the check-in at the check-in counter, because they want to provide "special assistance" due to the "special services (e.g. pet..." I booked. Hence, I will be seated somewhere on this plane (not in rows 19 or 20) together with Gina and P. is gonna be seated in her rows 19 or 20. Generally not a big deal, but

1. Gina does have the aforementioned tendency to keep her pack together and she is really nervous, when we are separated
2. Gina would generally be calmer, if she knew that P. was there as well.
3. It would have been way easier to deal with the dog aboard the plane with two people rather than alone.

So yay! I appreciate your "special assistance", but I just want to sit next to my girlfriend, which apparently is not possible.

LH Service Center guys suggested to call LH Ezeiza Office guys to clarify. LH Ezeiza Office guys should have been avaiable between 7am and 4.30pm. But they were not.

So we will see, if we will be able to clarify these things tomorrow at the check-in counter... or if we will actually have to ask people aboard the plane to change seats with us...

t-2d: Blackouts and Worries

The power was gone until Saturday around 2pm. In the end it was a blackout of about 14 hours. Not too funny particularly for the stuff in the fridge...

Speaking of which, on Friday the fridge we sent out from Córdoba arrived at P.'s sister's place. Gina was the happiest dog in the world to meet "her" fridge again. Nevertheless the fridge was empty. Gina expected cooked chicken to be inside. And she checked on a regular basis (like every 5 minutes), if the fridge was really (like really really) empty or if she could find at least the smallest piece of leftover chicken inside it. She was very disappointed...

At around the actual t-48h I started getting really nervous about the flight. What's the problem? We are flying out together with the dog (and lots of luggage... :) ...):

Gina is gonna be in the cabin with us. For dogs to be allowed inside the cabin, they have to be caged in a carrier with maximum measures 55cm x 40cm x 23 cm. The overall weight of Gina and carrier is allowed to be 8kg. Dogs have to stay inside the carrier "under the seat in front of you" for the whole flight. The carrier has to stay closed through the whole flight. No exceptions

As all of you know, we got that nifty little nylon pet transport bag from Germany. The measures are 55cm x 30cm x 30cm. This is correct according to IATA regulations for cabin luggage (overall edge length not exceeding 115cm). But it is not exactly according to Lufthansa regulations for animal carriers in the cabin.

Furthermore, Gina herself was... say... a little overweight. She now weighs 8.5kg, when we are weighing her inside the nylon bag (as per the old analogue fishing scale we are using; and we do not have a clue, if this scale has ever been calibrated). That would be tolerated if it was just your average piece of cabin luggage. But it s not exactly according to Lufthansa regulations for animals in the cabin.

We were talking to Lufthansa Service as well as Lufthansa Ezeiza Offices numerous times now for them to confirm, that we will be allowed to take Gina to the cabin under the given circumstances. But of course there was no answer like: "Yes, you definitely will be permitted to take Gina to the cabin". The were all pretty positive, but if worse comes to worst they will just point out, that their regulations are different and we have to leave Gina at home.

So as of now, we do not even have a clue if we are admitted to take Gina to the cabin. For the worst case, P.'s sister is joining us on our way to the airport. If Gina is not allowed inside the cabin, we will have to leave her in Buenos Aires and P.'s sister has to sent her inside a cage (that has yet to be bought) as part of the cargo in the freight room of one of the next planes from Buenos Aires to Germany. Not funny at all...

If she is not allowed to stay with us in the cabin, there is the option to leave her with the cargo on the same plane we are taking. But to do so, you have to have a proper cage, which we don't (remember that my credit card has been blocked?). The nylon bag is not sufficient. We will not be able to organize a cage before boarding. Not an alternative...

So we can only hope, that Gina is permitted aboard. If she is allowed to get into the cabin with us, we will have to see, if we have to drug her, so that she can stand the (fairly tough) 13h flight.

And on arrival we are entering the European Union with a foreign dog, which means you have to provide lots of papers, that officially declare, that Gina is identified by a subcutaneos chip, she is properly vaccinated against rabies, her whole vaccination history, and you need the "Veterinary certificate to the EU for non-commercial movement of five or less dogs, cats or ferrets" (no joke!). We actually spent weeks to get all these papers. But a slightly insecure feeling of having missed something is always with us.

Anyway, that's what's gonna happen pretty soon... :)

t-4d: Vamos a Buenos Aires

Today was moving day. We were moving from Córdoba to Buenos Aires (700 km) using the services of Hipomóvil - Transporte de Mascotas. Usually they transport pets from one Argentine city to the next. But we paid for an exclusive driver who did not only take La Gina, but all three of us together with all the luggage. We actually had so much luggage with us, that we needed about 1h to get everything inside and on top of the Kangoo.

Anyway,  all the stuff fit in (or on top of) the Kangoo. Gina was super nervous and more than stressed. It was not very easy to handle her. Generally speaking she has a tendency to keep her whole pack with her. She does not really like it,  if someone is leaving. That makes packing the car a little tough,  because of course P. and I have to go back and forth separately. So we had a hard time holding Gina back from following either P. or myself.

Finally we left. Gina was still very nervous. She couldn't stay in her bag, but had to sit in my lap to look out of the window. But after reaching the highway,  she was getting pretty calm. She went to her bag and just rested. Every 2hrs we were taking a break, walking her. But due to all the stress she was not able to accept any food or water.

We arrived safe and sound after driving for about 10hrs. Gina was super excited to get off the car and walk the streets of Buenos Aires. We were basically tired. On our return Gina was finally able to drink and she drank a lot. But due to all the excitement and stress she apparently was not able to control her bodily functions anymore. So all the water she just drank reappeared as a rather big lake in the middle of the hallway. I was not too angry with though. She suffered a lot and actually behaved very good.

So here we are in Buenos Aires.

 

t-3d: Break

After arriving in Buenos Aires, there was actually not too much to do. We were walking the dog a lot to calm her down after all the travel excitement. She is behaving like an angel.

In the evening we suffered a blackout. There has been no power all night, which is why I have to write all these blog posts on my mobile.

t-5d: Last Day in Córdoba

Today was our last day in Córdoba. The city presented itself with the most gorgeous weather in a long time: 27ºC, a bit of a breeze, the bluest sky. Perfect. But we had to focus on our final tasks:

* Went out with the dog first thing in the morning; last time in my beloved Parque
* Went to SENASA to get the official EU customs form for the import of dogs
* Went to the vet to let her finish the final declarations as part of the EU form
* Went to the make copies and scans of all the documents
* Cleaned the apartment
* New haircut at Richard's (the Argentine hairdresser)
* Went to Eugenia (twice) to pick up some kinda tango top thingy
* Went to Ros to give her a book
* Said goodbye to Mani
* Bought new plates
* Packed suitcases (it is way too much stuff to be taken to Europe; so some time during the next few days we will have to get rid of more things
* Went out with the dog for a second time,  with the plan to go to the Parque again;  didn't quite make it,  because it was late, shops were soon to be closed and we had to buy food for tomorrow's trip...

Now we are all a little sad to leave Córdoba. But there are lots of interesting adventures coming up,  so we are excited, nervous and maybe a little worried as well...

(Am typing this post in the blogger app, which doesn't allow for proper formatting;  will do that tomorrow)

t-6d: Fridge Day

Beside sending out lots of boxes to Germany (1.2 cubic meters of shoes), we are luckily able to leave a lot of stuff here:

1. Some things have been sold to our fellow Córdobese friends and are long gone.
2. Some things are shipped to P.'s parents, who store them for us in Chaco (to be sent out to Germany later? No shoes though...)
3. Some things are P.'s sister's and are shipped to Buenos Aires.
4. Some things just stay here, because the daughter of P.'s cousin is moving in as soon as we leave.

So regarding № 2 we were buying more cardboard boxes, packed them, wrapped them, attached proper handles to carry them (I am a semi-professional cardboard box wrapper and handle attacher by now!)... and then took a taxi to bring them to the bus terminal to send them out to Chaco.

Regarding № 3 we were working the whole day with the fridge/freezer. Of course you have to unplug and defrost it. Easily done. You nearly freeze your hand of because the ice is piling up at the bottom of the freezer and there is no way to get ice and ice water out of the thingy without using your bare hands. While the whole thing is defrosting, you chuck all the food, that is left (at least all the food, that you will not be able to eat pretty soon).

Then the fun part starts: you have to clean it all. According to good Argentine tradition I get myself a bottle of some unknown cleaning liquid. Comes in a spray bottle without any commercial label. The bottle says "baño", handwritten with a permanent marker. Well, I do not speak any Spanish, so this is what I'm gonna use. Spraying lots of the liquid. And within seconds my lung feels like it is not gonna survive this beautiful day. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it kills every germ that might be left in the defrosted fridge/freezer.

Of course you have to get out all the bits and pieces, that are mounted inside the fridge: shelves, thingy to keep eggs, plastic drawers for vegetables etc. You clean all of it (this time with regular dish-washing detergent to avoid a long and painful death due to a burnt lung). Then you have to wrap the whole fridge/freezer in a layer of bubble wrap, a layer of cardboard, and a layer of stretch wrap. Hand-cut little styrofoam sockets and attach them to the "package", put the address tags and bring the fridge/freezer downstairs for the shipping company to pick it up.

While you are doing all of these things, a major part of the family shows up (due to № 4). So while P. is taking care of the family, you are on your own with the fridge/freezer. Everyone is having fun and mate (the hot beverage), while you are suffering blood, sweat and tears with the wrapping of the fridge/freezer (literally... I have a tendency to stick my fingers or rather the whole hand in the ceiling fan... cultural issue... I'm gonna write about it).

The Result

When you are done with the fridge, you have to prepare the hornito tambien. That is way easier. Cleaning and packaging it in yet another cardboard box is done in like 15 minutes. But you have to prepare the proper handle thingy. Takes another 15 minutes.

Hornito package with perfect handle

Finally everybody is happy. All things are packed and have been picked up by the shipping company. Yay!... :)

And of course...

... everything is done...

... under strict supervision of...

... La Gina.

t-7d: La Gina prevails...

Gina's education is proceeding in phases. There are times, when she really is the nicest and most well-behaved dog on earth. This might continue for weeks at a time. And then there are times, when she apparently thinks that she kinda prevails and she is controlling us, trying to force her ways. Today is one of the "La Gina has the upper hand" days. I hate it.

 In the morning we got up early to go to SENASA (again). The EU customs form for dogs was - claro - not prepared by the SENASA guy. So we have to come back on Wednesday. Oh and btw, they changed the fees for their 'service': two weeks ago, we would have paid 32 ARS. On Friday we paid 320 ARS. Government decided to raise fees for holiday season. Thx a bunch...

When we came back Gina was gone. Or so we thought. She actually got out to the balcony to get inside the bedroom through the open window. So we found her sleeping in my bed. She knows, that she is not allowed to do that. She was apparently feeling very guilty, so I did not say too much. I was growling at her a little, but kept it easy. In the end it was our own fault to leave the window open.

We went to migraciones as well to pay for the extension of my tourist visa. As I have been staying in Argentina for more than 90 days, I had to pay 300 ARS for 90 additional days. Fair deal. Migraciones are cool. It was fairly quickly done, although I messed up, because we had to provide copies of my passport's first pages and the actual immigration stamp defining the start date of my current stay in Argentina. So first we got there with the already prepared copy of the first pages. Guy told us, that we had to provide the other copy as well. We went to the bank to pay the fee, made the other necessary copy. But I left the copy of the first pages at home... :) ... stupid me... So the next time we got there, we provided him with the payment receipt and the second copy missing the first copy. But the migraciones guy prepared everything anyway. Really nice chap...

During lunch Gina was basically expecting us to feed our food to her and she was trying to force her way. She fell back into her old routine: running around bothering us while we ate, begging for food, laying down on my feet, licking my feet, trying to jump into my lap etc. Usually we make her sit on her 'spot' during our meals, i.e. if she is staying on an old towel she is getting treats. But she was not staying on her spot, so she was not getting too much food for lunch (as per the rule she is properly fed in the evening; rest of the food is handed out through the day as treats in context of "positive reinforcement" [i.e. she gets food, if she does something we like; and we usually "play" with her to give her the opportunity])
 
Around four the guys from the logistics company showed up and picked up the boxed for P.'s parents. Easy, easy, easy... Nine boxes shipped to Chaco.

Afterwards we quickly went out to get some facturas. We were away... for... five... minutes. When we came back, Gina had spread the whole waste in the kitchen. And she had eaten a whole lot of fat, we removed from the bife we had for lunch. This time I was really angry and I was telling her off (even though I know that yes, if the dog is misbehaving it is always my fault; and yes, we should have removed the waste before leaving).

While we were walking her she was constantly pulling the leash. I hate it, when she does that. Now she continues to actively bother us in her old ways: barking at us, trying to jump into our laps, trying to catch our attention by any means.


I know, that she is affected by all the migration action, packing boxes etc. When we were packing our suitcases, she apparently thought we might leave her alone and she seemed to be sad. We are behaving differently and she notices. So yes, it is a traumatic experience for Gina as well. But sometimes, sometimes it is just hard to stay calm, when she is trying to force her ways.

t-8d

It is 8 days until we're leaving the country. The weather is unbearably hot (35°C, 60% humidity, no rain). Brains feel like they were reduced to a pulp. I started to feel a little sick myself. P.'s cold seems to be getting a little better, but apparently all the migration proceedings are taking their toll (generally speaking, moving out can be a traumatic experience; I am pretty sure, emigration to a foreign country on a separate continent is a traumatic experience):

• finished packing boxes to be sent out to P.'s parents
• trial run packing the suitcases (three big suitcases with 23kg per piece, my backpack with 15kg, P.'s cabin luggage trolley with 10kg; seems we do not have enough space left for P.'s two winter coats and all the Gina stuff we need to carry with us; gonna figure that out tomorrow)
• last Sunday evening with Gina in the park (loved that in the past; but today it was just super hectic and was only to satisfy the most basic doggy needs)
• more than worried about where we want to put all the stuff we are shipping to Germany; guess I'm gonna throw a major part of my own household to make way for P.'s things (shoes, of course)... :D

Emigration...

It is mid-January. We, i.e. P., La Gina and myself, will leave Argentina at the end of January bound for Germany. We will not return to Argentina for quite a while. We have been preparing travels and all related activities for basically the last 6 months. This includes all things related to customs, visa, working permits for P., migration of La Gina, language, jobs, friends, everything...

New adventures are about to commence pretty soon. This time they are not only my own adventures. For the time being I fall back into my 'old life', whereas everything is going to change for P. and La Gina. We are all a little worried. We are all more than excited. We are all starting to get really nervous.

So in late January we are leaving Argentina to get to Germany. We are taking Gina with us aboard the plane inside the cabin. Regulations force us to keep her in a pretty small bag 'underneath the seat in front of you'. Poor littly doggy. The bag with Gina inside is not allowed to weigh more than 8kg. That is pretty tight for Gina. But we do not want her to be sent together with the cargo.

This is what happened through the last few days:

t-14d:

• prepared and sent out boxes (i.e. sent them to Germany: 1.2 cubic meters, 216kg, 1453 USD)

t-13d:

• finalized international freight documents for aforementioned boxes
• went to Argentine customs (again... doh!)
• clarified insurance for La Gina
• clarified health insurance for P.
• packed more boxes  (to be sent out to P.'s parents)

t-12d:

• prepared lots of emails to be sent out on arrival in Germany
• picked up crowdfunded CDs (thx again Gaby)
• took La Gina to the vet for the health certificate and the travel medication (she now officially weighs 8.5kg, which is still slightly too much; but I guess we're gonna be okay)
• had a look into combined liability and health insurance for La Gina...

t-11d:

• contracted liability insurance for the dog
• packed more boxes
• prepared German "Sachkundeprüfung" for the doggy (NHundG sucks big time even if I think it's a good thing to ask dog owners to educate themselves about dogs BEFORE they own one)

t-10d:

• went to SENASA for the EU customs form for dogs
• went to the vet again
• packed more boxes

t-9d:

• sick leave (P. caught a cold)

to be continued...