Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: South America 2009
Fair winds to Buenos Aires
First things first : thank you so much, Vodafone
UK, for your two unwanted texts at 0320
That brief interruption notwithstanding, I slept well and woke with
my alarm some three hours and ten minutes later. The alarm was the
only reason why I'd left my phone switched on overnight. After going
through my usual morning routine and re-packing my bag, I made a cup
of coffee to keep me going until I got to the lounge. A glance
outside confirmed that the previous day's heavy weather, which by
all accounts had been even worse in Frankfurt than in Edinburgh, had
moved on, leaving clear blue skies and bright morning sunshine.
I had an easy check-out, but was surprised on returning to Terminal 1 to find at least one significant change since January : the area where my previous transfer to the First Class Terminal had been arranged was now closed and boarded up! Enquiries soon confirmed that it was no longer possible to be transferred to the separate terminal; instead I now needed to make my way to the First Class Lounge in the B gates area, which I was assured would be every bit as good. I found the FCL easily enough and was reassured to see with my own eyes that yes, it did look just as good as the FCT. I was informed that my 747 was the one loading directly below. I had a very nice breakfast in the separate dining area, then returned to the main part of the lounge to relax. Of course, the new arrangements meant that I was far too early. Implicit in my planning had been the assumption that I'd be doing the off-site transfer to the FCT. I read and occasionally watched my aircraft being loaded with freight pallets. When the time came, it was an easy stroll down to Gate B22 directly below.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
I had an easy passage through Ezeiza : swine flu check, immigration, currency conversion, baggage reclaim and finally, arranging a transfer to the hotel. The transfer worked very well, the car assertively making its way through the dark streets of the City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of St Mary of the Fair Winds. At least, that was once its full, Sunday-best name. Mercifully, somebody decided that Fair Winds, or Buenos Aires, was good enough for everyday use by mere mortals.
In no time at all, I arrived at the Sheraton Libertador and met up with Bruce. Between us, we polished off a bottle of bubbly as we caught up on news. Tired out with all the travelling, we decided to call it a day around ten.