The Truck Comes Together

100 days into the idea and nothing secured regarding a truck or camper.  It felt very frustrating and unfulfilling.  

From everything I had "heard", a gringo doing anything in Argentina is near impossible due to the considerable red tape to be encountered. Up to this point, I had only looked at importing into Argentina, not buying, and was spooked from the inquiry.  I had not considered buying in Argentina due to the rumors.   Regardless, I call my friend, Agustin Bustos, in Buenos Aires and tell him my woeful story of attempting to buy a camper and Toyota truck and, up to this point, getting nowhere. 

Agustin (Augie) is one of those people that loves connecting people and ideas, a man who makes the best of friends.  A man who is selfless, generous, kind, honest and his subtle reach goes beyond borders, continents and hemispheres.  He is the head guide and operations manager at Los Ombues Lodge, a bird hunting lodge I first visited in 2000 and have seen seven times since.  Agustin and I met long ago on one of those trips.  He has connected me with several great guides and lodges in Argentina along with photographers and writers who've transformed our image at Crystal Creek Lodge.  I've run all over Argentina with Augie and have had amazing adventures.  

Augie immediately tells me his brother, Javier, works at a Toyota dealership in La Pampa, just outside of Buenos Aires.  Within minutes of hanging up he has found all of the reputable outfits selling campers in Argentina and has presented them to me via email.  Within a couple days he has visited two of the most promising I'd selected to observe their showrooms and interview the proprietors.  Simultaneously, Javier has contacted me offering to assist in the ordering of the Toyota Hilux.  Damn.  I was not only barking up the wrong trees, I was in the wrong forests.  

I had "heard" from multiple sources that a foreigner cannot own a motor vehicle in Argentina.  I expressed this concern to Augie and a day later he wades into the bureaucracy with personal visits to a couple agencies and returns with the news I can own a vehicle and provides the steps for me to secure ownership of the vehicle.  

Within a week I have the truck optioned for order and am making deposit. Meanwhile, I contact the camper company, Patagonia Campers by email then voice call over Whatsap.  The owner, Alejandro Martin Vers (Alex), is a very affable man who speaks excellent English.  Augie, who is an excellent judge of character, has a good feeling about Alex.  Alex sends me the attached video tour of the camper.  Alex explains his day job is vending machines, and he got into the camper business as a second, "hobby" business.  The campers are made in Iowa by Northstar, where Alex does business with the Wittern Group, one of the largest manufacturers of vending machines in the world. Alex and I come to an agreement and he requests a deposit to be sent to Northstar.  I call Northstar as a reference on Alex.  The lady answering the phone at Northstar gushes about Alex, telling me she sends her children to live with his family for extended periods.  That's about as good a reference as one can get.  As a related aside, a couple months later, a man named Art Wittern visits Crystal Creek Lodge and I guide him and his family.  Art and his family own the vending machine company in Iowa, have known Alex and his family for 30 years and they, too, gush about Alex.  Anyway, I make the deposit on the camper.  After 100 days of beating my head against many walls (and learning a lot, mind you) I get the truck and camper ordered, deposited and secured in less than two weeks. 

Having all the necessary steps in hand, I call another trusted friend and Augie's employer, Carlos Sanchez, who jumps to employ his professional connections to secure me a tax ID number.  I send him a limited Power of Attorney for him to accomplish the process.  He personally walks to the Argentine version of motor vehicle licensing.  In a few days he sends photos of a license plate. I call to thank him and he responds with: "I am a doer. You're welcome.".

Small world when you get it right.  Another opportunity to learn what feels right, is right and vice-versa. 

The truck is fully optioned and delivered from Javier to Alex.  Alex has installed all of the necessary electrical and suspension mods.  The truck is ready and waiting to pick it up upon our arrival in Buenos Aires on October 30, 300 days after the conception of the idea.