Home Bound and Delayed
24th 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!
