As soon as the ticket windows opened at 5:30 AM we decided to check in and
get our boarding passes. We wanted to make sure we were on that plane.
After the first six of us had been processed Bobbie realized that they had
put us on a much later flight and that we would not make our Buenos Aires to
Ushuaia connection. She called a supervisor over an explained the
situation. To our surprise the supervisor was able to get us on the next
flight to Buenos Aires…the only issue was that it was leaving in 30 minutes.
She issued new boarding passes and escorted us to immigration and security.
In immigration we were met with the next challenge. Since we had not been
processed properly the night before, we were not being allowed to leave the
country. Having immediately gained illegal alien status in Brazil, we
became the star attention of the border authorities. After a lot of
explanations, and the finding of the passenger manifest from the night
before, we made it through immigration and on to our plane. Once seated and
assured that we would be taking off on time, we laughed at the reality that
the twelve of us had successfully gained illegal entry into a foreign
country and then got out. Oh my!
Our flight to Buenos Aires was once again aboard a beautifully appointed and
well served aircraft. A hearty breakfast was followed by a few hours of
sleep. For Tom it was for the first sleep he had had in now 30 hours. We
landed in Buenos Aires International Airport at 9AM confident that with the
extra three hours we would reach Ushuaia only ten hours late. Tom left the
group in the waiting area and went on meet the TAM Supervisor in charge of
our situation. Once there he discovered that TAM has not made the
reservations on the other airline, that there were only five seats left on
one flight leaving in two hours and another seven seats left on a another
flight leaving in four hours. The only obstacle was a one hour transfer bus
to the domestic airport. TAM agreed to pay for the bus transfer, got
tickets issued in a matter of minutes, and then it was a sprint from the
south terminal to the north terminal to gather the group and make the bus
leaving in ten minutes. It was a sight indeed to see the TAM supervisor
running in high heels and Tom at her side with his back on. We gathered the
group and made the bus with literally a minute to spare.
The drive across Buenos Aires to the downtown airport was quick as we
watched neighborhoods and large apartment building pass by. We were amazed
at the density of the city with people literally living one on top of the
other. Arriving at the AEP domestic terminal the group settled in for a
snack and beverage while Tom sought out the TAM representative to get the
tickets they had arranged for us. He returned an hour later with the TAM
official and news that the seats had not been held as had been promised and
that now all were sold out. We would not be seeing Ushuaia today. Our
phones did not work and we could not contact our Antarctica cruise company
as it was Saturday. TAM airlines said there was nothing they could do and
they were sorry. Tom informed them that the whole series of events was
unacceptable and that since we did not accept their offer of a hotel room in
Sao Paolo that we would graciously expect one now.
Within a few moments the official returned to inform us that we would be
housed by the airline’s expense at a 5 star hotel downtown and that
transportation and two meals would also be covered. A short time later we
were met by four private vehicles that quickly took us to the Hotel El
Conquistador in the Recoleta section of the city. The rooms were
beautifully appointed with king beds and very nice bathrooms. We were
invited to lunch on the balcony overlooking the main lobby and the city
streets below. Afterwards we enjoyed free time wandering the city center
and doing a bit of unexpected exploring. We were served a beautiful steak
dinner later that evening. A few of the gang took off for some nighttime
exploring while the rest of us tucked in for a good night sleep and a very
early call the next morning.
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