Rio here I come...eventually

Okay so my minor disaster getting to Rio deserves its own blog. It all starts when I decide to stay one extra day in Valparaiso in order to hike up a mountain. Seems like a very good idea as my flight out is 2.55pm the following day. I caught the bus back to Santiago and made it to the airport in good time at 12 noon. Things start to look suspiciously wrong when I arrive at the Aerolineus Argentinas (AA) counter and the desk is unattended. So I stand there for about 10 minutes thinking this was quite unprofessional.

Eventually I look at my ticket and discover that I have arrived at Santiago airport 2 hours early for my connecting flight in Buenos Aires and 2 hours late for my actual flight from Santiago. Some quick work takes me down to the AA office where I am informed that I have to speak to the call centre to re-book my flight. After 20 agonising minutes they answer and I am informed that I can get a flgiht to Rio in two days. It is carnival.

This is not an ideal solution as I had arranged to go with a friend of Darvid´s, Ana, to the mythical island the following moning. Naturally I knew I had to do better. First I had to leave my passport in the AA office then I had to make a tearful phonecall to Darvid (at 3 in the morning) explaining that I was unable to get in touch with Ana then I had to lose my
face cleanser and moisturiser in the bathroom and break the strap on my carry on luggage.

Eventally all that being achieved I decided to find a better ticket option. It being carnival I had to be prepared to pay a premium price. Options included a two day stopover in Montevideo a 12 hour stopover in Buenos Aires or a combination of two stopovers in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Eventually I settled on an expensive but direct flight to Rio that night.

By the time I boarded the flight I still had not been able to contact Ana who was picking me up from the airport. I was fliyng to Rio, arriving at 12.30 at night with no idea what I was going to do next. A mean spirtited Australian woman next to me informed me that I was very unwise considering my fall-back plan was to sleep in the airport.

Meanwhile Ana, who had forgotten to take her phone to work was waiting at the airport for me with her brother Paulo. I had been due at 4pm. They waited for me, a girl they didn´t know (she thought my last name was Jackson) for 5 hours. They even contacted the police.

Eventually through Darvid´s facebook message Ana found out what had happened and dispacthed her brother to the airport for the second time that day to collect me. He was in quite good spirits when he found me, as was Ana when I arrived at her house at 1.30 in the morning.

Anyway that is my confession. Unsurprising behaviour really. All I can say is thank god for the Brazilian rescue team of Ana and Paulo.

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