Home Bound and Delayed

Home Bound and Delayed

24^th August 2012

That was the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in days! I only woke up twice! Although I’m still feeling rough, I’m excited to be going home. I guess Room 13 wasn’t so bad after all. You can’t help but miss the comforts you usually take for granted; things like hot water, instant coffee (talk about letting the side down), a comfy bed you can stretch out in and the list goes on. It’ll be nice to see the parents too, although I have been speaking to them every day.

Yesterday: Looking Over to Brazil from Argentina

10.00 – Time to check out and begin the journey home. Rather than dragging my suitcase around with me (cobbled roads and suitcases don’t mix too well) looking for somewhere to have breakfast, I decided to just head straight over to the airport. Check in is a 13.45. Maybe there’ll be somewhere at the airport to grab a coffee and a gallon of water (my mouth and throat are like the Sahara Dessert)

Infected Mosquito Bites... Lovely!

10.30 – Arrived at Cataratas del Iguazu airport. There’s no checking in until an hour before the flight. There’s very little at the airport, a couple of precious stone jewellery shops and a handful of car rental offices.

Flight is on time, that’s the main thing. There’s a private jet going straight to Punta del Este. Do you think they’ll let me jump on board and join them? Even though Punta del Este is the closest airport, it’s very small and not a lot of flights fly there. Instead I’m flying into the main Uruguayan airport of Montevideo, the capital city.

Actually, I did check if there were flights to Punta del Este from Iguazu. There weren’t. I tried two separate flights (multiple destinations) – Cataratas del Iguazu to Jorge Newberry, Buenos Aires to Punta del Este, Uruguay and the flights were around $600-$1,000!! Crazy!

Looking around, I feel like a British tourist in Spain! Everyone is wrapped up warmly, some in thick jumpers and/or coats. I’m sweating like Michael Jackson in a Kindergarten, wishing I hadn’t worn jogging bottoms and sitting as close to an air conditioning as possible!

Call me strange but “people-watching” always fascinates me. Everyone’s different whether it’s their nationality, dress sense or just the way they carry themselves. So many females, mainly the Brazilians, dress up to travel as if it were a special occasion. Looking down at myself, I can’t help but feel like an utter slob. I chose comfort over style on most occasions, especially traveling! How can ladies wear such high heels to travel in? My feet hurt after just 10 minutes – and that’s when I’m just sitting down, breaking the shoes in!

11.25 – I’m a plonker! There is an upstairs. Originally I thought you had to go through security and customs to get to the upstairs area. Turns out, you don’t. All the gates are up here. All four of them. There are a couple more precious stone shops, some of the items are lovely but the price tag is enough to make Bill Gates gawk! Stopping off at the café/bar I bought a can of Pepsi for 18.50 Argentinian pesos, that’s about $4. Daylight robbery. You do have a great view from the café window though. It’s overlooking the airport runway. A LAN plane has just touched down.

14.05 – At my gate. There was a slight confusion at security as two flights are leaving from the same gate, within a short space of time and both heading to Buenos Aires. Those on Aerolineas Argentina had to step to the side to let LAN passengers go through first. We were then notified that our plane would be delayed by 25minutes because of the confusion and to allow the plane’s turn around. 

While waiting to go through security, I met an Austrailian couple. Poor buggers didn’t understand what the hell was going on so I translated that we were going to be delayed for 25 minutes and so on. I really do take being bilingual for granted sometimes. It’s going to take the couple 30 hours to get back home to Austrailia. “That’s 30 hours flying time, without the stops and change overs” I was informed. Ouch!

Just seen our plane touch down and it’s now taxiing over to the terminal. This is going to be one quick turnaround.

Fatigue is starting to kick in. I’m too scared to sleep on the plane in case I start snoring. The thought still disgusts me! I wish I was more like my Dad: Don't care about it, snore like a pig, wake up and blame it all onto someone else!

15.00 – Take off! There wasn’t a delay. Instead we were taken to another gate and started boarding straight away.  There are quite a few English speaking people on the plane, much to my surprise. I’m even sitting next to a rugby fan from the UK.

17.30 – The plane has arrived in Buenos Aires and I’m partially deaf! 

My last flight, from Buenos Aires to Montevideo has been cancelled. Frantically running around, I had to go downstairs to the arrivals hall for a new flight ticket. When I asked why the flight had been cancelled, the attendant shrugged “Your flight hasn’t been cancelled. Just changed”.

My new flight time is at 19.05.

The World Going By - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Rushing around, I was desperate to find somewhere to contact home and let my parents know about the change of arrival. Walking into an internet café, there was a minimum charge of $5 for thirty minutes. Finding a phone box, I tried calling my parent’s house only to discover international calls weren’t allowed. At an airport and no international calls?!

With nothing to do for the next couple of hours, I pootled around the airport. Passing a coffee shop, I popped into for a quick coffee and small bottle of water. I nearly fell over when the waiter asked for $10. Are you serious? A 500ml bottle of water and a coffee for $10! It’s daylight robbery at its best!

Looking on the bright side, at least I could park my bum for a while, relax and type up my blog entries. Having said that, I can’t wait to get home! 

18.20 – I’m slightly confused. My flight is due to depart in 45 minutes and there’s still no gate number appearing on the monitor. “On Time” continues flashing away on the screen. After spending so long in airports, I’m somewhat prepared for two scenarios. The first and most probable, my flight will be delayed. Secondly, the gate number will appear at the last minute and I’d have to peg it through security and to the gate.

Chubut, Anyone?

18.30 – Delayed! My new flight has been delayed by one hour and five minutes. That’s longer than the actual flight to Montevideo!

It’s becoming rather frustrating. First my flight is cancelled. I’m then put onto a later flight and now that has been delayed by an hour. Take off should now be at the same time I should have been touching down in Montevideo.

My parents are going to be wandering where the hell I am. They must be on their way to the airport now, as it’s a two hour drive from Punta del Este. Will they know I’ve been allocated a seat on another plane?

19.30 – Guess what? My flight has been delayed for the second time. This time, by twenty minutes. My flight is now due to depart at 20.30. Originally, I’d have been home in Punta del Este at 21.00 and here I am, still waiting for my final flight. To be honest, I’m expecting another delay. Not that it makes it any less frustrating.

My poor parents are going to be waiting for ages at Montevideo airport. Selfishly, I hope they are still there and will wait for me. Having said that, I can always get the bus home and ask Dad to pick me up at Punta del Este or Maldonado bus station. It’s a good job the flight time is only 45 minutes!

20.00 – Wahey! I’m finally at my gate, 13C. By the looks of it, the plane is going to be jam packed. Being slightly deaf in one ear is worrying me a little, mainly about taking off and landing. During landing on my first flight, I honestly thought both my ear drums were going to burst! Note to self: don’t fly next time you have a head cold, flu and/or ear ache!

20.05 – So close, yet so still far away. Another delay. The flight is now apparently due for take-off at 20.45. This palaver could test the patience of a Saint!

20.40 – Finally! We’re on the plane… only to be told by the Captain that there’ll be a further delay. The fourth delay, minus a cancellation! Apparently there’s a problem with Air-Traffic Control and the plane is currently waiting for take-off clearance.

The plane is small, but at least there aren’t any propellers in sight! Pretty much everyone on the flight is a businessmen, suited and booted and incredibly annoyed by the delays. I’m sitting next to one them. This guy has the new iPod clipped to his tie and a BlackBerry in each hand! Jammy sod!

My left ear is still playing up, feeling blocked with a throbbing pain going down my neck. Hard boiled sweets aren’t helping either. I’m terrified!

21.00 – Another update from the Captain. Yes, there’s a bit more of a delay. According to him, Air Traffic Control have been delaying flights all day and we’re waiting for a slot for take-off. It was also the reason why my previous flight was cancelled and everyone piled into this later flight.

I know I should have been thinking “it’s better late than never” but all that was swimming through my head was “I should have arrived home by now”.

21.15 and we’re taxiing up the runway!

Home and parents… Here I come!