Lady Luck

---

Well, I hadn't planned on writing another blog before I started the mountain expedition. But I should know you can never write the future before it happens.
The plan today was to arrive in Buenos Aires and then transfer to the domestic airport to fly to Mendoza, that I thought left at 12:25 (that was my fatal flaw which you will see later). I arrived in Buenos Aires a little behind schedule and the customs check, bag pickup and getting though security all didn't help my cause. It was about 11:30 when I got out of the airport. After finding out the other airport was about 50kms away, I realized neither bus nor taxi was going to get me there in time for my 12:25 flight, so a booked a seat on a bus and hoped I would make the next flight to Mendoza.

I was just going to get on the bus when I decided to check my itinerary again. That's when I realized my flight left at 1:25 not 12:25. The bus was only getting in around 2. So I frantically ran to the cab stand. The stand guy waved me down a cabby who looked like he was 70. Couldn't speak a word of English and he drove out of the airport like he was taking me for a Sunday drive. After some sign language I think he understood the urgency in getting me to the airport. The speed odometer didn't work but by gauging how many cars we were passing to how many were passing us, I guessed we were doing light speed. Weaving in and out of traffic while he chained smoked and fixing his comb over every so often I was starting to feel good that I was actually going to make the flight. That is of course, until...

I reached for my passport which had been in my back pocket and came up empty handed. You talk about a sinking feeling that goes all the way down to your toes and then some. Looking at me confused, I had to somehow sign to him that we have experienced a major @!?*# and we need to turn this bus around pronto (or whatever very fast is in Spanish)!

Speeding back to the airport left me with two thoughts.
1. My mountain expedition was heavily screwed and
2. My adventure was starting off in the worse possible way.

Neither were good. Without a passport I wasn´t going to get on a plane today to make it for when the group left tomorrow morning. However, I tried to stay positive and believed someone near the shuttle bus stop would have picked it up.

The moment of truth arrived when we we came out of warp speed to land back at the airport. I first asked the cab stand guy - nothing. I then ran to the shuttle bus stand and asked the all important question - did anyone find a passport?

The guy's eye's lit up and said "si". Thank God and the good Argentinian people!! All was not lost. The South American adventure is still alive!!

Back in the cab and back into warp speed to the airport to what I had already conceded would be a missed flight. Sure enough when I got there my flight had already left, but like must compassionate foreign airlines, it cost nothing to rebook on the next flight leaving only two hours later than my scheduled flight.

My guide company was suppose to pick me up for my scheduled flight, but I had no way of contacting them to tell them about my flight changed. I only hoped they would send someone out again for the next flight to see if I arrived OR maybe there would be someone else flying in that is on the same expedition. What do you know, there was. An American named Chris and he told me the guide company is suppose to meet him, and sure enough they did. I'm now finishing this blog off in my Mendoza hotel after having a great Argentinian steak and tasty Mendozian wine thinking if the rest of the 52 days are anything like the last two it will be wild!!

Next up starting tomorrow: 21 day expedition of the tallest mountain in South America - Aconcagua.

I won't be writing again until I get down from the mountain, so Merry Christmas everyone!

Joël

---

Comments

[Linda Cameron]

Oh My Nerves!!!!!
Well,well Kiddo! The luck of the Irish finally gave out.Hopefully you've got all the glitches out early.Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year on Mount Aconcagua.

[Michel]

Heart Attack
That's what I would have taken.