Buenos Aires-Iguazu Day 6

Post Trip OAT Day 6 - Wednesday, December 19, 2007 – Flight to Los Angeles, then to Denver and Home

On Tuesday afternoon we left the Reconquista Garden Hotel at 5:30 and as we had 13 of our post trip friends on the way to the airport, we had a big bus.

Traffic congestion was severe so our progress was slow. We finally arrived at the Buenos Aires International Airport and Maria Elena helped us check in and also assisted those that did not have seat assignments.

We moved through the check-in system, paid our exit tax, said our goodbyes to Maria Elena and went through security. We had been given a pass to the business class lounge.

We only spent a short time there, long enough to upload the journal and as it smelled like cigar smoke, we left to walk to Gate 12, our departure. I should note that Chile, Argentina, and Brasil have all instituted very restrictive smoking policies. In Chile, no smoking is permitted in their National Parks!

There were several international flights leaving at about the same time so the exit lounges were very busy. Our flight was called at 8:35 and we departed at 9:10. We had found out that we would go to Santiago, change planes, and then go to Los Angeles.

We were offered a cold meal which Gennie and I chose not to take as we have been eating a lot in the last four weeks. We arrived in Santiago at 11 PM, deplaned, and then took the long walk to the transit lounge and our gate for the next leg of our journey.

After just a short wait we boarded the AirBus A340 and went to our seats for the 11 hour flight. We left the gate at 12:10 AM, about 15 minutes late, and we were on our way. They offered a full meal but Gennie and I chose to just have soup and salad and then settled in for the night.

We were able to get about six hours of sleep and woke up with about two hours left in the flight. We had a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt and then napped until we approached LA. We landed at 6:30, a little earlier than scheduled and we were the first people off the plane.

As we went through immigration we were also the first of the day for them. Unfortunately, in baggage claim we were not as lucky. Our small third bag was one of the last to come on to the carousel. And yes, it was labeled with a “Priority Tag”!

LAX airport was a ZOO this morning. When one comes off an international flight, one has to go to another terminal for domestic routes. This requires going through security and all that it entails. Long lines snaked through the check-in area and security was almost an hour long. There were lots of people with short tempers, and those were the employees!

We went to American Airlines Admiral’s Club and they gave us a pass so we could use their facilities as we had a six hour layover in Los Angeles. We were able to catch up on our emails, begin to write this journal, communicate with our son Eduardo and just relax.

Then our problems started. We went to Gate 40 to be ready to board our flight to Denver. It was scheduled for 1:40. We were informed that the plane was late and they hoped we would be able to depart by 2:15. It came in much later.

At 3:00 PM they informed us that the plane had a cracked windshield and they were testing it for worthiness. At 4:30 they informed us that the plane had been taken out of service and the flight was canceled. Their second canceled flight to Denver that day!

American Airlines then informed all of us that they had put another plane into service – flying to Las Vegas (another canceled flight) and then on to Denver. They expected to fill one plane from the three different canceled flights.

We all were reissued new boarding tickets and then shuffled over to Gate 47A where people were scrambling over one another to get on board. At 5:30 the plane left the gate and we were on our way to Las Vegas.

Everyone was quite concerned as the flight map on the monitors showed we were going to New York. When we mentioned it to the crew, they quickly corrected that the flight was going to Las Vegas and Denver.

After a brief stop in Las Vegas, a spectacular view from the air at night, we were off to Denver where we arrived a little after 9 PM. We were met by our friend Tim who had patiently navigated the delays we had encountered through the day.

We drove home and saw that there was some snow on the ground. Fortunately the roads were clear and we arrived just before 11 PM. We had been on the move since early Tuesday morning making our travels a 45 hour challenge.

PS - I was asked by one of our friends how many pictures we had shot and KEPT on this 27 day trip. I went through our files and figured out that we are at or about 5,584. My challenge will now be to organize them into 27 daily presentations along with the native music of the appropriate areas of the countries.

If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.

To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062

A CD OF EACH TRIP IS AVAILABLE.

These CDs are compilations of slide presentations of each day (pictures of the events during the day) accompanied by music reflective of the nation and day.

On most CDs there are presentations on the people of the country, people traveling with the group, flowers, and panoramas.

On more recent trips, short videos have been included on the web pages and these videos are also available in the CD.

The CD is available for $20 US. Shipping and handling is included for US addresses. Slightly higher for overseas shipping.

To view an example of the presentations Click Here

As it is an 8:13 presentation, give yourself time to see it in its entirety.

Please contact garciatrips@gmail.com for more specific information and a screen capture

of the CD menu.

Another impressive trip! Thanks for all your updates; I feel I almost travel vicariously through you guys!

Welcome home Garcias! I can't imagine 45 consecutive hours of travel, delay, travel. It sure makes you appreciate what you have waiting for you when you finally arrive home. Funny, how one of the greatest benefits of travel is the day or two after you get back. Your daily routine has a whole new perspective. Over 5,000 pictures. Amazing! Do they have therapy sessions for that? With your superb organization skills, you will be able to sort through that maze in no time at all. I could never cope. Now its going through the tons of mail and doing laundry. But don't forget Christmas is mixed there too. Have a good one. Phil P.S. The guards at the Santiago National Palace were nearly as attractive as the ones we saw years back.

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