We all got a chance to sleep in and enjoy a nice bed, some TV, and a bath in a REAL tub! Breakfast was at our own time followed by a free morning to get some last minute shopping done and to mail our winter clothing back home.
We packed up our jackets, parkas, long underwear, and other cold weather gear and headed off to the post office. The banks were closed by the currency exchange was open so we got some additional pesos. Once at the post office we were informed that only letter service was avaialble...so back to the hotel we went to repack our luggage and absorb all that we thought we were going to get rid of today.
We only a few hours left before heading to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires we all hit the streets and got into the holiday spirit. In addition to souveniers there was that special exchange gift for Christmas Day dinner. Tom and John were busy looking for ballcap pins in their contest to outdo each other. When we met back at the hotel at 1PM we all laughed at how many of us had bags from the same stores!
We headed off to the airport for our LAN flight. It was only 30 minutes late. Things are improving! The three hour flight was pleasant, the plane fully sold out. We landed at 6:30 PM and were met by our guide for the next four days, Valeria. What a charming and beautiful young woman! She introduced us to Daniel, our driver, and our 25 passenger private AIR-CONDITIONED touring bus. The temperature in Buenos Aires at 7PM was now 89 and with the humidity felt like 95.
We checked in to the Pestana Hotel to find an absolutely lovely 4/5 star accommodation. Lobby, bar, restaurant, pool, gym, business center, and beautifully appointed rooms and marble bathrooms! Yippee, no more tents and windy nights. With the changes in our schedule due to the switching around of the Antarctic cruise, Tom has forgotten to make reservations in Buenos Aires for dinner. We weren't supposed to be here until Christmas Day. Oooops. The conceirge attempted to find a restaurant that could handle 12 of us with no notice and eventually found one a few blocks away that was willing to make an accommodation.
We relaxed and met for dinner in the lobby at 8:30 PM. The walk was short and the temperature had dropped a bit. It was just starting to get dark. We arrive at Chacko Restaurante. A beautiful upscale restaurant with an amazing menu...only there was a slight surprisze. The entirees started at $75 and were ala carte. The side dishes like potatos were $30 and the desserts started at $25. $1000 later we were well fed and bled. Burger and chips from here on out...smile!
After dinner we opted for a late night walk. Buenos Aires on Christmas Eve was very quiet but the famous oblisque was a short walk and the night was pleasant. As we wandered the streets we noticed that the only people out were the homeless and things were not looking too safe. We reached the landmark and quickly turned around and headed back to the hotel. We had been warned about the crime and muggings to tourists.
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