The Final Chapter

Wow! My blog has received over 1,000 hits since I put the counter on it. Who is READING it?

I am sorry to say that this will probably be the final posting. I'm back in my lovely apartment in San Francisco, where it is summer, the sun is shining, a gentle breeze is blowing, I'm listening to classical music and it's good to be home.

The trip was, well, a trip.

I hate airports, and Buenos Aires airport, Ezeiza, was pretty crazy.

I had a arrangements for a car to pick me up at 5:30, which is what Tomas, the guy who works for the rental agency that I got my apartment through, recommended. He said someone would be there a few minutes before that to get the keys and return my security deposit.

At 5:25 the buzzer sounded. It was the driver. I told him I had to wait to return the keys - maybe 5 minutes. He said he'd wait.

I waited 15 minutes and then began to panic. I could have left the keys and just left, but I wanted my deposit back. I decided to take my bags downstairs to save some time, which I did. I waited a few minutes down there, and then went back up. Because there is this weird thing where you can not call cell phones from land lines, I was unable to call Ralf or Tomas from my phone. But I had a calling card which I used to call my parents that had a few pesos left on it. I fished it out of the trash and called Tomas. I told him the driver was waiting and I was waiting for someone to return the deposit. Then we got cut off - my card ran out of credits.

Almost immediately after that, the elevator door opened, and the guy who had my deposit showed up. While he was there, Tomas called him, and he said he was with me. I told him I called Tomas because the driver was there and we were waiting. He told me it was no problem, that the driver could wait. I told him that I was told someone would be there before 5:30. He told me it was no problem because the driver was hired to take me to the airport and he had to wait for me. What he missed was that it was *I* who was waiting, and I wasn't as concerned about the driver as I was about me not knowing what was going on. I thought it would have been better if he had simply apologized.

I thought I'd be sad leaving Buenos Aires, but in fact I was relieved after the slight hassle with the wait. The roads were pretty empty and we breezed to the airport. We got there shortly after 6. My flight was a 9:05. I had plenty of time to spare and was going to look for a massage in the airport and maybe dinner.

I walked in and was accosted from all side by people wanting to wrap my bags in plastic, rent me a luggage cart and I don't know what else. I ignored all of them because I was looking at this enormous line that ran the length of the airport. I couldn't believe I was going to have to wait in that line. I was flying Business Class, I am not supposed to wait!

I walked to the end of the line, but was not sure if it was for United, so I asked a security guard, and he told me United was on the other side of the line. So, I went around the line, and fought through the crowds to get to the United check-in, where there was no line and no one waiting.

I breezed through the check-in, and got my boarding pass. Next, on to pay my airport tax. And another line.

This line was not possible to get around. So I went around the maze and eventually got to the window where I paid my tax of $18. There really must be an easier way to collect that. I've been in many airports that charge airport tax, but never had to wait in such a long line to pay it.

Up I went to security. And another line. Another long line. I had no choice but to wait. The airport was really hot, I took off my jacket, but was still sweating. I had my laptop and a carry on bag with everything that wouldn't fit in my overpacked luggage. Both were heavy and I was uncomfortable and hot, but I could do nothing but wait.

I cleared security and breathed a sigh of relief. I could now find a place to relax. As I walked towards my gate, I came across another line. This time I had to go through passport control. I thought that the whole system was designed by some masochist who thought it would be funny to put travelers through all of these checkpoints, almost like an obstacle course.

I waited in another long line, until I got my passport stamped. Now I was done. Or was I?

Turned out that was it.

I stopped in Duty Free and bought some cologne with my left over pesos. I really wanted to buy wine, but didn't want to carry anything else that would weigh anything.

I found my gate and then looked for a place to hang out. There were a few restaurants, but they were all crowded and had long lines. When I checked in, they told me that the Red Carpet club was being renovated, but I could use the American Express Club. I wasn't sure what this meant, but when I saw the United Red Carpet club, I thought maybe there would be some wine and something to eat and a place to relax. So I set out to find the American Express Club.

When I entered, a guy said, "he's from United", and sent me down to a woman at the end of the counter. How did he know I was from United? She looked at my boarding pass and then told me they'd make an announcement at 8:30 when we were going to board.

I found a seat next to the air conditioner, which was on and felt great and dropped all of my stuff down and sat down. The room was packed, and people were reading, drinking, some people were working on laptops. I went up to the bar and got a glass of wine, which was free. Soon they came out with some cheese and crackers and olives. I loaded up a plate and sat down and enjoyed my wine and cheese. Not bad.

After a while I got bored, and left. I walked back towards my gate and saw the massage station I had passed on the way to the American Express Club. There were two massage chairs free. I walked up and said I wanted a 30 minute massage and was seated in the chair. It was a nice neck and shoulder massage which cost me $25 US for 30 minutes. More than what I was paying in Buenos Aires, but a good way to kill time.

I got to my gate and they had already boarded all of the people who were in the waiting area. After clearing security again, I got on the plane, which was still relatively empty. I settled in, was offered a glass of champagne, which I accepted, and relaxed in my very comfortable seat.

The flight was about half full when we took off, which was very unusual. Business class had lots of empty seats and the seat next to me was empty, which I liked. It gave me more room to spread out.

I had a few more glasses of champagne, and then a glass of red wine with my filet mignon. Dinner was great, and I was getting drunk. All of the rushing and worrying had faded behind me and I was now enjoying the fruits of getting to the airport early, the massage and the many glasses of wine and champagne I'd had. I watched a movie with Meg Ryan and then tried to sleep.

After flying business class on this long flight, I can't imagine going back to economy. I was able to get this ticket in business class because I had miles from my credit card. I think it's better to take fewer trips and spend more (or use miles) on a ticket, than to travel a lot and get squeezed into economy. I think of all of those long, crowded flights to Asia that I used to do. Horrible!

Well, I arrived in one piece, got through customs and immigration in D.C. (more lines and more waiting, and more hot airports - this time because it was really hot in D.C.). I made it to SFO, my friend Maria picked me up, I got my car and made it home to my apartment, which ws nice and clean and almost just like I left it.

I now have some unpacking to go and then will be ready for a nap.

I have to say that this was one of the best things I've done since I've started having summers off. I've done other fun things in the summer, but this was REALLY fun. Studying Spanish, even though it was frustrating at times, really taught me a lot about being a language learner, and a teacher, and I did learn some Spanish. It was fun taking tango lessons, and having a fantasy romance, and being in a beautiful, yet affordable city.

I'm glad I was able to keep a blog and take lots of photos so that I can remember this trip. I'm glad to many of my friends enjoyed reading my blog and let me know. But more than anything, I am glad to be home.

I will definitely be going back to Buenos Aires - either next summer or for my sabbatical, or both. I don't know if I'll do a blog when I return, because I don't know that it will be as exciting as it was for me, this first time.

Thanks to everyone who traveled with me on this blog.

The End.