Getting off the ship, on to Buenos Aires

Getting off the ship, on to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America

We woke up this morning after another really smooth ride through the Drake Passage. Drake Lake indeed. We left our big bags outside of rooms this morning with a specific ribbon colored for when you are getting off the ship and where they are going to take you. Ryan and I put our blue ribbons on our bags because we were on the first bus to the airport. We had been a bit concerned that we weren’t going to make it in time for our flight at 11:50am, but we had way more than enough time.

We had breakfast on the ship for the last time with the whole gang and said bye to everyone as we were parting ways there. Ryan and I made sure our bags got on the right bus for us to go to the airport, along with all 39 chinese people in the group. We got to the airport by about 9am, and our flight wasn’t until almost noon. Ushuaia is a very very small airport, so there wasn’t much to do, but Ryan and I just chilled at the only cafe at the airport and had a drink while we waited.

Our flight from Ushuaia left on time, and it was fine. We arrived in Trelew on time, and then had a couple hours to wait there for our flight to Buenos Aires. We sat at the cafe there and had a bite to eat while we waited because our flight was delayed by an hour. When our flight finally took off, one of the weirdest things that I’ve ever experienced as a traveler happened.

Ryan and I booked our tickets to go from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires at the same time. Buenos Aires has two airports, a domestic one (AEP) and an international one (EZE). We purposefully booked our flight to go into EZE because Ryan had to get an international flight from EZE to JFK. I figured it was easier for me to just get a bus to my hostel from EZE, than for Ryan to get a shuttle from AEP to EZE to catch his flight.

So we landed in Buenos Aires at EZE (or so we thought), and I picked up my bag. Surprisingly, Ryan’s bag came out too, even though it was supposed to go straight through to JFK. He picked it up and I had assumed he just had to go drop it off at the check in desk for his international flight. I said bye to Ryan, and I got a shuttle to my hostel. I got in my shuttle and asked the driver how long it would take to get to the hostel. I expected him to say about 45 minutes, and he said 10-15 minutes. I was very confused so I pulled up my GPS map only to find that our plane had actually landed at the wrong airport!! We weren’t at EZE, we were at AEP! The worst part about this was that I had already left Ryan at the airport, thinking he was at the right place.

I heard from Ryan about three hours later when he finally arrived at EZE and got wifi to let me know that he had to get a shuttle to the other airport, and how confused he was about the whole situation. Truth is, so was I. I have never heard of this happening before, and I’ve had quite a bit of experience with flights and airports.

I got to Casa Palermo and checked into my room and I’m pretty happy with my room. I have a fan and really good wifi, so after ten days of not having any internet at all, I’m pretty happy now! I’ve spent tonight getting in touch with family and friends who I have missed in the last week. It’s crazy how much I’ve become used to being connected to the outside world while traveling, even in the most remote parts of the world. I’m absolutely exhausted from everything that’s gone on in the last month or so, so I’m looking forward to doing absolutely nothing for a couple of days and just recharging the batteries.

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