A Speck Worth Fighting For

Whew. We’re finally back home, after spending more than three weeks in South America – 17 days on Oceania’s luxurious cruise ship, the Insignia, sailing from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with numerous stops along the way.

We were fortunate that so much went right, and so little went wrong, on the trip. Mechanical problems kept us from visiting the most spectacular glacier in the Chilean fjords. And bad weather caused our captain to decide not to sail around Cape Horn. Since that treacherous waterway where three oceans collide has been the graveyard of hundreds of ships, I was quite content to accept the captain’s decision.

Overall it was a spectacular trip. It’s one that I would highly recommend to the more adventurous among you. But how great it is to be back home! If you’ve ever been away for any length of time, you know how good it feels to walk in your front door again.

Happily, the trip got better and better as it progressed. It’s always a good idea to save the best for last, if you can. We didn’t know how it would turn out, since all of our stops after Santiago were new to us. And we’d even been warned that we probably wouldn’t like our second-to-the-last port, Montevideo, Uruguay, very much. But we were fortunate enough to hook up with a young ex-pat American who took us and two other couples on a walking tour of his adopted city. We saw some great sights, took a ton of photographs, and enjoyed a wonderful lunch.

So yes, we liked Montevideo. But I left my heart in Buenos Aires. The birthplace of the tango and the home of Evita (“Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”) Peron is a grand old dowager of a city. There is spectacular architecture everywhere you look. Most of it is from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world and Buenos Aires was its crown jewel. Many streets look like they’ve been lifted en masse from Paris.

There are an extraordinary number of parks and plazas scattered throughout the city, with trees everywhere. Along the city’s widest thoroughfare, a dozen different species of flowering trees were planted a century or so ago – each one selected to bloom in a different month. The effect is indeed enchanting.

And there are statues and sculptures everywhere. Our guide told us that Buenos Aires has more than 3,000 of them in various parks and plazas – more than any other city in the world. You can see a tribute to Christopher Columbus, Don Quixote, and numerous Argentine military and political leaders. Even a charming little statue of Little Red Riding Hood.

But my personal favorite was chiseled into the side of the building that once housed the department of public works. The man portrayed has his left hand in front of him, dispensing some largesse. While his right hand is behind his back with the palm up – clearly expecting to receive a bribe. Yes, corruption has been so commonplace in Argentina for so long that they even erected a statue to acknowledge it!

One of the most striking contrasts in the city occurs in the park where the British Clock Tower (sort of a miniature Big Ben) was erected in the early 1900s. At the time, Great Britain and Argentina were friends, allies, and important trading partners. But not any more. Now, Argentina has erected a memorial to the country’s short and unsuccessful war with Great Britain directly across the street from the clock tower.

Most Americans had never heard of the Falkland Islands (or, as the Argentines insist on calling them, the Malvinas) before 1982, when Argentina suddenly and unexpectedly invaded the place. While 26 years may seem like a long time to thee and me, to the people we met in the Falklands, it is very recent history indeed.

After almost three weeks in Spanish-speaking South America, it seemed strange to arrive in what was unmistakably a proud outpost of the British Empire. In the Falkland Islands, people drive on the left, speak with a noticeable English accent, and price everything in pounds and pence.

The Falklands consist of two larger islands and several hundred small ones about 300 miles east of Argentina – but 8,000 miles from Great Britain. There are fewer than 3,500 residents, at least 10 times that many sheep, and probably 20 times that many penguins.

To a man and woman, the Falklanders I met are incredibly proud of their British heritage and are almost unspeakably grateful to “the Mother Country” for coming to their rescue 26 years ago.

Why did the military dictatorship that was running Argentina in 1982 decide to invade the Falklands? The most likely explanation comes from advice William Shakespeare gave troubled royalty four centuries ago: “Be it thy course to busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels.”

In other words, when things are bad at home, you can distract the citizenry from their troubles and get them to unite behind you by waging a popular war somewhere else. In Argentina in 1982, things were certainly bad. Inflation was running over 600% a year. Real wages had fallen by almost 20%. Unemployment was rampant.

The Falklands were an (apparently) easy target. Defenses were minimal. The only British ship in the south Atlantic had been withdrawn the year before. So on April 2, 1982, Argentina attacked. In no time at all, the military had captured Port Stanley and began building bunkers and laying down land mines. The brass back in Buenos Aires expected the British to grumble and gripe but do little else. Aside from brushing off some diplomatic protests, they thought they were home free.

They badly underestimated British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The famous Iron Lady didn’t hesitate. In a matter of hours, she ordered the British military to retake the islands. As just one example of the logistical problems they faced, it took 11 tankers, dispatched over the 8,000 miles separating the two countries, to provide refueling for two Vulcan bombers that Great Britain sent to the war zone.

When the British forces arrived in the islands, the actual fighting did not last very long. On June 14, the Argentines offered their unconditional surrender. While there is some dispute about the exact numbers, the Brits say they suffered 236 casualties, the Argentines admit to losing 649. More than 10,000 Argentine soldiers were taken prisoner. (They were subsequently released and allowed to return to Argentina.)

Today, wherever you go in Port Stanley, there are reminders of those few crucial days of fighting more than two decades ago. For example if you stroll down the path along the waterfront, you’ll see several wooden benches. Carved into the back of each one are the words, “From the sea, freedom.”

There is a large war memorial on the outskirts of Port Stanley. The walls behind the statue contain the names of every British soldier who gave his life to free the country.

A less pleasant reminder are the many signs along the beaches outside of town, warning that “unexploded ordnance” may be present. Even today, 26 years after the fighting ended, there are 125 uncleared mine fields in the Falklands. While no civilian has ever been killed by an explosion, barbed wire and stern signs mark huge stretches of shoreline where pedestrians may not enter.

A few months after the war ended, General Leopoldo Galtieri, the head of the military junta that ruled the country, tendered his resignation as president of Argentina. The country has been a democracy ever since.

But Argentina still has not abandoned its claims to the Falklands. Just last year, then-president Nestor Kirchren vowed that the islands will return to Argentine sovereignty. In fact, this promise was made a part of the Argentine constitution in 1994.

No one expects fighting to resume any time soon. But if the military in Argentina gets stronger, and the politicians in Britain appear to be weaker, who can predict what will happen?

In the meantime, the Falklands are a very nice place to visit. But I surely wouldn’t want to live there.

Is It Really Leather?

As you probably know, Argentine is famous for its beef. I can attest that it really is superb. The difference between grass-fed (Argentine) and grain-fed (American) meat is quite noticeable. Because of their diet on the vast pampas of Argentina, the cattle there don’t have as much fat as their stockyard counterparts in this country. As a result, their meat has a much richer taste and texture, although it’s not as tender as the best American cuts.

Beef is not only a preeminent part of the Argentine diet, it’s also one of their chief exports. As a consequence, Argentina also produces a lot of leather. You can hardly walk a block in Buenos Aires – and certainly not down Florida Street, the pedestrian-only avenue that is the premier shopping district – without being urged to enter someone’s leather shop. The solicitations are even more ubiquitous than invitations to a tango show.

Leather purses, leather shoes, leather jackets, leather suitcases … there are hundreds of stores selling thousands of versions and varieties. Not to mention leather pants, leather belts, and every other accoutrement you can think of. And while I’m no expert, the quality of the material and the workmanship seem to be quite high. I am delighted with the black leather blazer I bought – at a fraction of the price I would have paid in the U.S.

But not all “leather” goods in Argentina are made out of what you and I would consider leather. Have you heard of a strange creature called the capybara? It has long fur, slanted eyes, four toes on its front feet and three on its rear. It lives in the wild and is very prolific. A mature female produces a litter of four to six babies twice a year, so the family can get pretty large pretty fast.

It’s probably a good thing someone discovered that the skin of the capybara, when properly tanned, makes a very soft and supple hide. It’s a light reddish-brown and has the same sort of “pimpled” look as ostrich. Capybara is made into numerous items, from shoes and purses to computer cases and carryalls. Almost every leather store in Buenos Aires has a selection of capybara products. But you won’t find any pants or jackets made of it.

Why? Because the capybara is basically a rat. A very large rat. The capybara is the world’s largest rodent. It can grow to more than four feet in length and weigh over 150 pounds. This explains why you won’t find any clothing made from capybara. It’s one thing to have a purse or wallet made from a rodent; it’s quite another to wear it. Don’t you agree?

This Week in History

On March 6, 1982, author-philosopher Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged) died at the age of 77. Born Alice Rosenbaum in Czarist Russia in 1905, she emigrated to America in 1925, where she wrote glowingly of American freedom, the nobility of business, and capitalism as a virtue.

Although she steadfastly refused most invitations to speak in public, after years of effort Ms. Rand was finally persuaded by legendary gold bug Jim Blanchard to address the New Orleans Investment Conference, which he founded. Since she refused to fly to the conference from her home in New York City, Jim rented a luxurious private rail car for the trip. Unfortunately, she caught a cold on the return and never recovered from her illness.

Her death was overshadowed by the news that John Belushi had died the previous day of a drug overdose in Hollywood, California. The actor-comedian, who was 33, dominated the headlines for days, while the passing of one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers was all but ignored.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Until next time, keep some powder dry.

Chip Wood

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Straight Talk is a weekly commentary written by Chip Wood.
For many years Chip was the host of an award-winning radio
talk show in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the founder of Soundview Publications and serves as an MC at several investment conferences. His weekly rants and raves are free for the asking
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