I woke up at 8:15am this morning to get myself showered and ready for my flight. We were supposed to leave the house at 9am, but Marita needed a little more time. We left at 9:30am and made it to the airport at 9:50am. It was so nice to Marita and Maria to get up and drive with us to the airport especially because I knew that we are all tired from traveling and I bet they would have loved to sleep in. Ruben and I checked our bags and said our goodbyes and were off. We boarded the plane right away and departed on time at 10:30am. The flight to Buenos Aires was only an hour and a half. I did some reading about the Inca trail and made a “to-do” list of little things I need. I’m supposed to have a day back pack for the hike and I read that I can rent them so I’ll have to arrange for that when I get to Cuzco. I also am supposed to bring a refillable water bottle as we aren’t allowed to bring plastic bottles since it adds to the waste and we have to carry out everything that we bring in. It is also supposed to be cold in the 40’s a night so I made a note to look for a cheap pair of sweats if I come across some. For the Amazon I’m supposed to be wearing long pants, I don’t have a single pair with me. I’m starting to feel very unprepared for this trip, but I hear things in Cuzco are fairly cheap so hopefully since I have some time to kill on Thursday before I meet with my tour group I can find the last minute items that I need.
We arrived in Buenos Aires at noon and Ruben and I hopped a cab for the Republic Hotel that he is staying at this week to do business (the same beautiful hotel that we stayed in during my first few nights in Argentina). Sofy and her boyfriend, Lucas were waiting for us at the hotel and it was great to see Sofy and finally meet Lucas. It was nice that I could leave my bag in Ruben’s room and didn’t have to carry it around all day. We sat in the lobby for about an hour and chatted, telling Sofy all about the trip. We went to lunch at around 1:30pm for a big feast. I had my last Argentinean Melanesia which, as always, was delicious.
After lunch we went back to the hotel and had an hour to kill so we talked about the trip a little bit more. Sofy and I went to a little shop next to the hotel and I looked for a backpack but couldn’t find anything that I liked so didn’t get anything. At 4:30pm we got a taxi and went to the airport. I was pleasantly surprised as I figured that I would be going from one airport to the next and not have a chance to see Sofy. I was so happy that she and Lucas were able to take time out of their busy schedules and spend a few hours with me. I checked in then said goodbye to Ruben, Sofy and Lucas. I am so luck to have the Garcia’s who bent over backwards for me this whole trip. They are great people and I’m so excited that I got to travel with them and got to know them even better. I hope that I see them again soon, it better not be another six years!
I went through customs which was horribly set up. There were about fifty people ahead of me (with lots of screaming children) and only two customs agents to check passports. At one point one of the agents got up to go to the bathroom and grab some water while we all waited. I luckily had time to kill, but was stressed with the whole setup. The Buenos Aires international (well both international and national actually) is surprisingly small with only three gates. I walked around the two duty free shops to kill a little time. I used up all of my coins and bought the current Times magazine and caught up on world news while I waited to board the plane.
The plane ride was horrible. I flew Argentina Airlines which I found out is their budget airline and I can tell why. The people were all very pushy and everyone carried on huge bags and there wasn’t enough room in the overhead compartments. There were two endurances to get on the plane and no one to direct the people which way to go so everyone was moving in opposite directions down the narrow plane isles. It was a mess. The flight as long, 4 hours. I was happy that I had a big meal with the Garcia’s because they served us a tiny little ham sandwich which wasn’t good at all. Luckily I was still full from lunch. I finished my Time magazine and was able to take a little nap.
I went through customs at the airport and was selected to have my bag scanned and searched, just my luck. It was 11pm by the time I finally made it to the taxi area where I was bombarded by different companies trying to get me to take their taxi company. The hostel that I booked through STA was supposed to be close to the airport, but it turned out to be actually quiet far. The first taxi company that I found wanted to charge me $40USD, the second company wanted to charge me $45USD. Luckily when I went to the third company they only wanted $25USD. I was excited and tired so I went with them for a forty minute ride through the city. The driver knew the area but we had a hard time finding the hostel. It turned out to be in an apartment type of complex and the hostel owns the whole top floor. It was close to midnight by the time I checked in and no one was around at all. The staff member showed me to my room and I was stoked to find out that I am the only person in the room and have a bathroom all to myself. I was able to spread out my stuff on all of the beds and charge all of my electronics and not worry about keeping people awake. I did a few things online and got myself to bd around 2:45am. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day!
Love,
Katie
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