After Australia this was such an easy trip....only 10.25hrs flight from Dallas & just a 3hr time difference from Mountain Time Zone. We hugged the Central and South American coasts all night. The coolest part of that route was the pitch black occasionally disrupted by city lights. Even better was the rising of the sun beginning around 6AM. I had an aisle seat (a must!) and, luckily, a great view of the Andes Mountain Range. A unexpected surprise as I didn't know the plane's route. Alaska is mountainous, but from the air the Andes seem almost infinite.
As we were boarding Tuesday night in Dallas it began to sink in that I am, indeed, going to Antarctica. I know, I should have known that months ago when I booked it. But stuff happens, planes crash, and it took that flight to make it real.
Buenos Aires International Airport provided an interesting memory for my arrival. At the airport, headed for customs, all passengers had to take the escalator down to security. The line of passengers was long and not moving, which is quite unfortunate when you're the one who is near the end of the escalator ride. We couldn't get off & staff were SLOW to stop it, so I am now a self-taught escalator tango expert! All I could think as I felt the stairs scratch me (gently....no worries!) was: The penguins! The ship better let me on even if I have a dangling foot! A woman near me fell, but fortunately there were no injuries - you know, beyond the trauma of landing in South America for the first time & discovering you might be eaten by a machine before you breathe fresh air :-)! On a serious note, this must happen a lot....they should really consider manual stairs.
Buenos Aires (city center) has a population of 5 million. The entire city (province) area has 15 million people. It is crowded, as poor as it is wealthy (or at least the laundry drying on clothes lines on buildings that are (or should be) condemned makes it seem that way, has tons of traffic, too much trash that I could sometimes smell, and a body of water (Rio de la Plata) that is contaminated with the city's waste. Men fish, but the fish cannot be eaten. Swimming is not an option (nearest beach is 3-4hrs away). And when the taxi driver tried to scam me (all guides warn of this), I knew just enough Spanish to thwart him. I won't claim victory because he still over-charged, but he didn't get what he wanted....more of a draw, I think. I will say that food from street vendors smelled SO good at times, but I didn't have a opportunity to try any.
I did get to see some of the city, but it was a challenge. I learned a lot & should I ever be here again I'll be a much more satisfied tourist because I'll see more of what I wanted to see. Despite my list of negatives, there are some beautiful old buildings and colorful side streets.
The pics include: The Government House; part of city center; two colorful pics from the VERY touristy Tango area; the province of Buenos Aires; the Rio de la Plata (directly across the street from the domestic airport) - not that I went back over there after getting to the airport. I intended too, but crossing the street feels a bit like Russian roulette! And while I might be able to stop one semi-truck, I doubt I can stop -simultaneously- 6 lanes of them in the dark! Red lights mean nothing here, but then neither do traffic lanes. The last pic is from a bookstore window....among the children's books I found several about mandalas. That fascinates me, but I have yet to get an answer about their significance here. I'm trying...
I'm going to try to post a few pics from Ushuaia before going to bed. And I hope to be able to stay in touch for a couple more days. Thanks, as always, for stopping by!
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I liked the fake "Ladies of the Evening" that are lounging on the balcony of the colorful house. The lake does look brown & dirty.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mary Beth. That's my favorite too.
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