HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Catching a plane feels like we’re getting back to society
BUMMER OF THE DAY: It was freezing outside
WORD OF THE DAY: You got the key? I got the secret…..
DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 3450KM by air
Departure day for us! We are leaving the icebox a day earlier than the group and heading for the warmer weather up north and we are excited!!! A lot of the group had left before Kate and I had gotten out of bed, another bonus we got to have a sleep in. I lasted till 9am and I am happy to report that I didn’t have to make any toilets stops last night and to just give you a little too much information I passes a small fart this morning, which hopefully means the last 2 pills I consumed before bed last night helped in the final recovery. 48 hours of diarrhea ain't fun and I am glad it cleared up before the flight.
As I packed last night I had some spare time in the morning, so after breakfast I jumped onto the internet and I re-submitted my divorce application for the second time. The problem has been finding some-one authorized to be able to witness my affidavit, but I am going to make a concerted effort and make a visit to the Australian Consulate in Buenos Aires and get the damn thing signed and back to Australia so Drew can lodge it all and get the final steps done to make it all official. So with the application re-lodged it was time to head to the airport. We were lucky enough that Gray and Mark dropped us at the airport in Rosita, so thanks guys it is really appreciated and as we waved them off as they drove away it felt a little strange, but I guess eventually we will be saying goodbye permanently in April, but we won’t talk about that just now.
The airport is located on a point right next to one of the channels and when we got off the truck we could barely walk straight the wind was that strong. How the hell can a plane take off in that wind is beyond me, and I am not going to question it as long as we get away on time then how they do it I don’t really care? We got to the airport at 11.45am, which seems early for a domestic flight at 1.33pm but after checking in, which there was no queue and my bag only weighted 16.3KG, paying the departure tax of 5.50AUD for a domestic flight (go figure) a spot of duty free shopping where I bought some new travel perfumes as the one I bought in Madagascar in September was nearing the end of the bottle and a drink at the café to access some free Wi-Fi it was time to head upstairs and clear the security check points. For a domestic flight they certainly have enough security with a guy checking your passport and boarding pass, to enter into a smaller room where there is another guy checking your passport and boarding pass again to then have all your bags scanned to get into the lounge. There were a lot of people around already sitting and a big queue behind us; it must be a busy flight. I got napped at the scanning process and they asked me to take everything out of my backpack. Not sure why as I was given the all clear and waved through, so not sure what sparked their attention as Kate got straight through.
Well the free Wi-Fi extended in the departure lounge, so we sat with all the other people until I was sure that I heard my name called over the PA, but with a whole bunch of other names and in Spanish. I said this to Kate and she said she didn’t hear it, but there were people walking up to the gate and heading to the plane, so I said to Kate we should go and check, let’s go, and as we got to the counter they were recalling us and this time Kate heard her name! All the people in the departure lounge were on a flight leaving 10 minutes after us!!! OMG can you imagine telling the Tucan group we missed our flight. Lucky we weren’t the only ones so we weren’t the last ones on the flight, but when we got to the plane everyone was all strapped in ready to go. Opps sorry. That was close! Kate and I were both given an aisle seat and after they had closed the doors there were a few spare rows around us so I moved to a window seat and Kate took the aisle for the 3.5 hour flight to BA. We were flying Areolineas Argentina’s which had a 3 x 3 seating configuration. When I flew this leg last time I flew with Austral and their planes are a lot older than this plane and I think the main difference was that the last flights were in and out of the domestic terminal where this flight was into the international airport. Maybe that is why the flight was more expensive, but my last ticket I booked 10 months out this one was 4 weeks, so that also could have had a big impact as well. I feel like I am half human again sitting on a plane, back into civilization for a short moment in time and off the truck. It might sound weird, but to mix with ‘normal’ people who aren’t living out of a backpack and that call a big yellow truck home is a small change to what we are used to from the last 3 months.
So this was my 40th flight of the Odyssey and it feels weird to be travelling so light. My check-in backpack was 16.5kg; I have a smaller backpack and a smaller handbag. Everything on a normal travel day is twice the size and twice the weight. I think back to when I left Brisbane and I had an additional sidebag as well makes me laugh on how much stuff I had, but I just didn’t know what I would and wouldn’t need straight away.
We touched down in Buenos Aires at 4.50pm. Ahhhhhh it already looks warmer out there. Bring on the sunshine!! Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. The city of Buenos Aires was first established as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre (literally "City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Fair Winds") after Our Lady of Bonaria(Patroness Saint of Sardinia) on 2 February 1536 by a Spanish expedition led by Pedro de Mendoza . The settlement founded by Mendoza was located in what is today the San Telmodistrict of Buenos Aires, south of the city center.
More attacks by the indigenous peoples forced the settlers away, and in 1541 the site was abandoned. A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who arrived by sailing down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay). He dubbed the settlement "Santísima Trinidad" and its port became "Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires."
From its earliest days, Buenos Aires depended primarily on trade. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish ships were menaced by pirates, so they developed a complex system where ships with military protection were dispatched to Central America, cross the land, from there to Lima, Peru and from it to the inner cities of the viceroyalty. Because of this, products took a very long time to arrive in Buenos Aires, and the taxes generated by the transport made them prohibitive. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires, and a thriving contraband industry developed. This also instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards the Spanish authorities. Sensing these feelings, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late 18th century.
In the 19th century the city was blockaded twice by naval forces: by the French from 1838 to 1840, and later by a joint Anglo-French expedition from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to force the city into submission, and the foreign powers eventually desisted from their demands. During most of the 19th century, the political status of the city remained a sensitive subject. It was already capital of Buenos Aires Province, and between 1853 and 1860 it was the capital of the seceded State of Buenos Aires. The issue was fought out more than once on the battlefield, until the matter was finally settled in 1880 when the city was federalized and became the seat of government, with its Mayor appointed by the President. The Casa Rosada became the seat of the President.
In addition to the wealth generated by the Buenos Aires Customs and the fertile pampas, railroad development in the second half of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories. A leading destination for immigrants from Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, from 1880 to 1930 Buenos Aires became a multicultural city that ranked itself with the major European capitals. The Colón Theater became one of the world's top opera venues, and the city became the regional capital of radio, television, cinema, and theatre. The city's main avenues were built during those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America's then-tallest buildings and the first underground system. A second construction boom from 1945 to 1980 reshaped downtown and much of the city.
Tango music's birthplace is in Argentina. Its sensual dance moves were not seen as respectable until adopted by the Parisian high society in the 1920s, and then all over the world. In Buenos Aires, tango-dancing schools (known as academias) were usually men-only establishments. On 30 September 2009, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage declared tango part of the world's cultural heritage, making Argentina eligible to receive financial assistance in safeguarding this cultural treasure for future generations.
Buenos Aires architecture is characterized by its eclectic nature, with elements resembling Barcelona, Paris and Madrid. There is a mix, due to immigration, of Colonial, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Neo-Gothic and French Bourbon styles. Italian and French influences increased after the declaration of independence at the beginning of the 19th century, though the academic style persisted until the first decades of the 20th century. Attempts at renovation took place during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when European influences penetrated into the country.
What a lot of information to condense so as not to bore you all. We had a free transferred that was offered as part of our hotel rate, but it was scheduled departures, so by the time we got our bags and found the meeting point we only had an hour to wait, which wasn’t too bad, so we went to the closest eatery, which happened to be Macca’s and decided to have any early dinner while we waited. So we went back to the meeting point at 6.30pm and we had to wait another 20 minutes as we waited for the driver to get there and then we were walked to the van, loaded on and started our journey to the hotel. It was just Kate and I in the 15 seater van and we were travelling at like 60KM an hour on a major road. We had caravans, semi-trailers and shit boxes passing us on the motorway. It was all explained when the driver pulled into the first petrol station to fill up, which I hate when they do this when they have clients in the van, and he had the nerve to jab to us in Spanish that we had to give him pesos so he could put in fuel. Ummm I don’t think so pal. He was getting quite irky with us, with him not speaking English and us not speaking Spanish, but I was getting the drift he needed money to fill up. I said we weren’t going to pay as the transfer was included and I pulled out our confirmation to which he huffed, he drove us in a circle to get out of the way of the pumps, asked us again for money which we said no and I was prepared to ring his office for them to ask what was happening when he drove back to a pump, spoke to the pump guy, who checked with someone and then 10AUD of fuel was out in the van and we were back on the road. All very strange, as he didn’t give the pump guy money, so there is an account, the guy has done him a favor or they know him, I’m not sure all I knew was weren’t going to give him a dime. So an hour later we got dropped off and pointed in the right direction to our hotel which is located in a pedestrian shopping mall and even though it went against the grain we still tipped him for his efforts. We probably shouldn’t have, but all is fair in love and transfers.
The hostel is in an amazing location. We have booked a twin room for our 6 nights and when the group arrive we go into dorms which is okay. We were vetted on the ground floor where our booking was checked and the balance was given to me, paying by credit card incurred a 10% fee, no thanks and then we caught the lift to common room floor that was set up with a reception where we got the keys for the room, maps, local information and they have Wi-Fi on this level only, a bank of 20 computers, 2 international phones, a large flat screen TV, plenty of couches and picnic type tables for people to sit. It really is a funky hostel with their own activities planned each day and on a massive board and a weekly activities sheet with what’s on. Super cool.
So by the time we finally got to our room it was a little after 8.30pm, so we just unpacked what we needed and settled in for the night. We have a big day tomorrow with a visit to the Brazil, Paraguay and Australian Consulates on the agenda and also some shopping and getting some laundry done. Wish me luck with my Brazil visa, cross everything you have and let’s see what tomorrow brings!
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