December 24, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
==========================
I woke up at 5:45 AM on my own. I lazed around until 6 AM waiting for the wake-up call. I did not want the Phone ringing incessantly while I was in the bathroom across the hallway!
I was ready (good shower head - not as great as Room 6 on the 3rd floor, though) by 6:45 AM. I had 2 baguettes and a Columbian coffee (It was instant - No Juan Valdez preparing it for me personally!) for breakfast. The shuttle to the airport arrived shortly after 7 AM. I reached the airport by 7:40 AM or so.
I waited (along with a dozen early birds) at the Aerolineas Argentinas counter for about 45 minutes. My travels in Argentina would be on Aerolineas Argentinas and its sister company Austral. The counter staff arrived around 8:45 or so. I checked my duffel bag and found that it weighed about 20.5 Kilos. This was OK. I was told that I would be issued paper tickets (for all legs my journey with Aerolineas) at the gate. 2 more branches would have to be cut.
Passport control was a breeze. Checked out the wine prices at the duty free shop. I don´t think they were cheap. COHIBA´s were expensive as always. I called home and friends as I had a lot of time to kill.
I was called at the gate and issued a stack of paper tickets. 8 trips in total all the way until March 13, 2008. Was told that my bookings were all good and there is no need to reconfirm.
I had (very smartly, I must add) taken the small bag (left behind in the Santiago hostel during my trip to Easter Island) as a carry on along with my camera bag. As the smaller bag had just a few clothes, it did not weigh much (and therefore did not show up as being heavy) and I was able to carry 2 bags on board. I need to use this ruse on 2 more flights until I reach El Calafate. From Calafate it will be 3 bus trips all the way to Ushuaia. After Dec 28th, my next flight will not be until January 24th, 2008!
The aircraft departed on time and was quite empty. I had all 3 seats to myself. As the flight headed east towards Buenos Aires, I was able to see quite a bit of Santiago from the air. Looked like a well planned and laid out city.
We crossed the majestic snow covered Andes mountain range. Of course, since my camera is packed away, the views will all be GRAND :( After crossing the Andes, we entered flatlands as far as the eye could see. Most of it appeared to be agricultural in nature as they were neatly tended squares and rectangles from above! I hope to cross the Andes mountains by road when I travel from Mendoza (in Argentina) to Santiago, Chile in March 2008. On return flight to the US is from Santiago.
I dozed for a bit and the next thing I knew was that we were close to Buenos Aires.
December 24, 2007 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
=================================
Many of the houses in Buenos Aires outskirts had pools. Must be a rich neighbourhood. The Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) is situated amidst a thick forest. At least that is the way it appears from above. One is traversing along a thick forest like area and the EZE airport suddenly appears into view. I had never seen such dense growth so close to an airport. Reminded me of my first impression of the CANCUN airport (Mexico).
Immigration was a breeze. US citizens do not require a VISA and unlike CHILE, there are no reciprocal fees required to be paid by US Citizens on landing here. I was so glad when my checked in bag did not come with added odours!
I got an bad exchange rate for my Traveller´s checks at the airport. I was given AEP 2.70 for a dollar. There are no American express counters either in Santiago or the Buenos Aires International airports!
A Taxi to Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP) was ARP 80 (80 argentine pesos - US$ 28) while a shuttle cost AEP 35. As I had ample time, I booked myself on the next shuttle to AEP.
The shuttle bus was a full sized bus. It goes through the city between the two airports and takes an hour. It passes the port on its way from EZE to AEP. The port looked massive. I had never seen so many shipping containers lined up in one place before! We passed the ferry terminal to Uruguay (Montevideo) as well. As the port ended, the Argentine sea comes into full view. (It is not called the Atlantic here).
On the right had side, folks can be seen fishing. On the right is the AEP airport. Perhaps someone´s catch can leak (YET AGAIN) into my checked in bag!
Easy check-in. I had time to kill and spent around 45 minutes at the airport internet. The Internet charges at the airport are AEP 4 per hour (US$1.30) or 7 centavos (US$0.02) per minute. A far cry from Rapa Nui prices.
The flight was packed. It was going to Ushuaia with a stopover in Trelew. I had a window seat and took in as much of Buenos Aires after takeoff. It looked like a massive city. I dozed on and off during the rest of the flight to Trelew. I saw huge tracts of farmland and then even bigger tracts of arid land. Out of this arid land lass, TRELEW (pronounced Tre-lay-oh) appears like an Oasis. This place and area were settled by early immigrants from Wales.
I waited next to the Shuttle to Puerto Madyrn. The driver arrived about 10 minutes later and we both looked at each other quizzically before he unfurled a placard. It had my name on it! In my urgency not to miss the shuttle, I had passed him right by. We had a laugh and I boarded the shuttle. The cost was AEP 20 (US$7).
From Trelew we headed Northeast on a long straight road. The 60 kilometre (40 mile) distance takes about 45 minutes to cover. On reaching Puerto Madryn, the shuttle drops people off at various hotels.
December 24, 2007 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina
===================================
Puerto Madryn appeared to be a nice large place. My hostel was set about 5 blocks away from the waterfront. The room appeared ok. I was paying AEP 105 (US$35) per night here. I would be staying here for 2 nights. The hotel accepts ONLY cash.
As I was running a bit low on Cash, I decided to go in search of an ATM. I was hoping to get a better exchange rate with an ATM withdrawal as well. My bank (in the US) had told me that BANELCO machines would accept the US bank issued cards. The first BANELCO machine refused to dispense any cash. The second BANELCO machine did. However, I was limited to a withdrawal of AEP 300 (US$100 approx.). The exchange rate was $3.14 which was terrific compared to the $2.70 I had obtained earlier in the day at Buenos Aires airport!
I headed back to the hotel to pay up for the rooms and plan by tours for the next 2 days. I wanted to do Peninsula Valdes on Christmas day and do a tour of Punta Tombo on Wednesday. However, the tour to Peninsula Valdes was sold out for tomorrow (Dec 25). I settled for Punta Tombo instead. I also made sure that the hotel folks booked me on a tour to Peninsula Valdes on Wednesday (26th). The 2 major tour companies here are Tito Botazzi and Ryan´s travel. My hostel was an agent was Tito Botazzi. Each tour costs around AEP 150 with an additional AEP 75 for a boat trip. Neither of the agencies collect the National Park fees. These have to be paid on the day of the tour - as you enter the park - and can vary from AEP 20 to 40. Be prepared to Carry cash.
I went next in search of a restaurant. Being Christmas eve, most of the restaurants were either closed or fully booked. This is very much a seafood town. I could not find a single restaurant. I then recalled that Aerolineas had given each passenger a big cake as it was Christmas eve. I remember eating one cake and saving the other one. This cake along with a can of coke turned out to be my dinner.
Many of the stores here were selling fireworks. Being Christmas, anyone can buy the firecrackers and can burst them anywhere. I like this place already despite my state of starvation! If Chennai (Madras) during Diwali has a base decibel level of 100, then Puerto Madryn during Christmas has a decibel level of 20 at best. Most fireworks start at midnight to usher in Christmas. I am sure Midnight mass in these places on these occasions are a sight to behold. I was too tired to go and stand in front of the local cathedral at midnight.
I spent some time on the Internet at the hotel. At AEP 2 per hour (US$.65) it is about as good as La Serena!
The shuttle
No comments:
Post a Comment