The last long haul flight I completed was back in 2013 when heading for India. That trip see me stop enroute in Tel Aviv for two weeks in Israel so the flight was broken up. I could have sworn I read that this flight to Buenos Aires was 10 hours? or was it 11? Anyway, after finishing my first meal off the back of the person in fronts head and wriggling around in my seat to remind myself there is no hope of getting any sleep (queue the dulcet tones of Maxi Jazz whilst he makes excess mess in darkness!). I mean the engine noise is enough to wake the dead! And that’s just what i’ll feel like in the morning anyhow without any sleep!! I look to the inflight info thingy with the computer simulated plane ( you’ve all seen it) oooooh that’s clever! outside air temp is minus 20. I find out the flight is 13 hours 35 mins aagghhh. Thankfully two and a half hours of Brad Pitt in an astronauts costume desperately trying to find his dad (Tommy Lee Jones) at the other side of the solar system promptly sent me to sleep. I awoke to the noise of the Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine that I was sat on top of make some weird oscillation as we moved through turbulence. This then calmed down just in time for breakfast. It was at this point I decided to let my very close acquaintances know that I needed to use the toilet. Climbing out of my window seat felt like trying to climb out of a children’s ball pit. Having freshened up and prepared for landing the next obstacle was passport control at Buenos Aires. Thankfully I was rescued, from a scene of slow moving organised chaos, with the use of my very limited spanish language. Two hours to make my connecting flight to Mendoza was never going to be enough time and the staff clearly recognised this when they promptly called for us all for a quick advance to the luggage carousel.
The Connecting flight was uneventful and only 2 hours long. And after consuming my small glass of warm water, packet of dried cranberries and nuts and talking briefly with the chap from minnesota sat next to me I was alighting the boeing 737 and making my way through security. By the way, the american chap from minnesota was also heading for Aconcagua as were many of the other people on the flight. Many of whom were wearing their mountain boots and/or dressed in their mountain attire. I blended in wonderfully!
Having made it through security relatively unscathed ( only a couple of whistles and beeps ) I was met by a man holding my name aloft. He then swept me into a cab with my belongings before the driver floored the accelerator and we were whizzing through the streets of Mendoza at break neck speed to the rather excitable sounds of spanish folk music. Once at the hotel, in one piece, I bump into two Americans. Turns out they are on my trip and so I join them for lunch and what a delightful introduction to local argentine cuisine. Just what a growing lad needs. I’ll have the Canalones De Vedura Gratinados please…
Quote of the day.
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
Mark Twain.
Aconcagua Trek. 