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.

Reckon this is the place ...Breakfast in the FCLRetro-liveried LH Airbus A321

(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.