Hey all. Decided to do a ‘on this day’ post today. I was struggling to work out what I was going to post, so I went back through my diaries and discovered that in 2016 the 25^th of November was quite the busy and interesting day, and perfect for a post in its own right. Buenos Aires was a great, if sometimes challenging destination, but this was the day my wife and I were leaving.

We’d been in the Argentine capital for a week, staying in a nice Air BnB apartment in the suburbs (Palermo). Unfortunately it was a popular street, so the noise had been an issue – in fact it had been much quieter in the day time. But we’d seen and done an awful lot in our week and it was time to head on. I had around a week or 9 days before heading home, my wife was heading home directly on the 25^th. I was taking a bus late in the day to Bariloche, which wasn’t much off a full 24 hours travel from Buenos Aires. My wife’s flight home, via Santiago, was in the early morning.

We had realised shortly before going to bed the previous night that her flight wasn’t leaving from the airport we thought it was. We thought she was leaving from the Pistarini Airport (EZE), in the suburb of Ezeiza – where she had flown into. However, at closer inspection of her ticket we realised that it was the Jorge Newberry Airport (AEP) that in fact the flight was from. This was twenty minutes from where we were rather than well over an hour in the case of Pistarini. Which is good, right? Except that we had prebooked a taxi with a driver we’d met the previous day who we liked, and agreed on a price. He was meeting us at 4am, and presumably that was because of the fare he expected. I’m not sure exactly what we paid him in the end, but I guess it was a compriomise that at least made up for the fact that he was meeting us so early. I don’t think we paid the full amount we would have for Pistarina, but we may have.

Anyways, I’m taking much of todays post from my diary of the day, which I at least find interesting to write out four years later because it’s raw and shows you exactly what I was thinking. I’ve edited out some bits here and there for various reasons… like bitching about being sweaty 😛 For reference – ‘Retiro’ is the bus station, or ‘Omnibus Station’.

I don’t know why the heat of the upper mid 20s is affecting me so much I’m here at the only bus station at Retiro sweating my **** off! A man just walked past with his shirt pulled up has to reveal his stomach – what is this world we live in?

Worst night’s sleep ever!

Plenty of noise outside. What’s inside air conditioning on, air conditioning off, continue… Apparently said I snored very briefly so maybe I got a few minutes sleep.

It’s 10 past four (PM) now so 40 minutes until I’m leaving Buenos Aires )ish obviously)

Eventually it was 3:30 to 3:45 AM so I got up and put some clothes on we went down to the street and around two minutes to four Mario had just pulled up.

I was very apologetic about the airport change AEP is much closer he quoted us 320 peso for the fare. He took a little under 20 minutes and (my wife) was able to check in straight away name issues again! Check in guy disappeared and came back saying the very thing was OK couldn’t check (my Wife) through to Melbourne though.

So anyways, my wife was good to go and I was ready to go back and try and sleep. I was planning on taking the local bus to save a few peso, but as you see I gave up waiting virtually before I started. A ‘remis’ is a kind of taxi service in BA.

I waited for three minutes for a bus and then decided to take a ‘remis’ back instead. Far too tired and I was off. Arrived back to a young party of 10 youngsters under the balcony as I returned at 5:10 ish. At least I hadn’t been out long and they stopped noise picked up by their rich parents I expect shortly after I was able to put the air con on and get some sleep.

Woke at 11:45 AM put blog I wrote up last night packed more chatted with (my wife) who was in Santiago by this time. Headed to the jumbo mall where I had Macca’s for lunch I had to – didn’t I? Hot hot hot! Returned to the apartment to complete packing and it was out by 3:00 PM.

Took the train to Retiro then walked here to the omnibus terminal where now I’m suffering cramps after eating chicken empanada and drinking a mirinda.

No more Sube cards (*used for Public Transport in BA) giant palaces, steaming hot apartment with too much noise! Well, unless I decide to come back one day perhaps in the winter?

Still the architecture is stunning yet so much poverty always someone or two or three asking for money he never stops I felt guilty on the train back from Tigre and gave 10 peso to a guy with the bottom half of his legs replaced.  Having a disability here looks down hard so many with disability reduced to begging especially blindness shows the value of having a system of care I think once there is no family left that’s pretty much it.

That section was all written at the Retiro Bus Station waiting for my bus to Bariloche. As often happens on travels, I don’t write suddenly for a few days (which is what happened here) and then have to continue the story a few days later!

OK OK it’s 2 1/2 days later what the hell here I am in the Green House Hostel Bariloche, so yes made it! Alright in the end how did the rest of this day go?

Oh so I went to the bus at 1640 Via Bariloche (company name) bus I was told as I tried to get my bag on board that this wasn’t my bus –  it was in 30 minutes. Seemed a bit odd to be honest I think it Wasn’t actually going to Bariloche.  

So I waited in the bus area. The announcements were fast distorted in Spanish and incomprehensible there were screens with arrivals and departures on it my bus wasn’t on it though. Oh the bus to Esquel left 2 hours plus late at like 1715! Still no bus to Bariloche I worried I’d missed it, I worried I had been changed or had been changed to a different company there was no information as we passed 1730.

So I asked a girl waiting she was waiting for the same bus she said it was an hour late. It pulled in at 1748 maybe, but I hadn’t missed it and that was the important thing!

It was a big –  it had the big comfy seats three across top and bottom this time which was a bit of a first. I think we moved off before 6:00 PM I was asleep within a few minutes of leaving the Retiro bus station.

I woke to a stopping at around 7:00 PM just after another big bus station presumably in the West of Buenos Aires we were given a snack after that and the movie started Iron Man 2 and some gothic looking story. Didn’t recognise the cast at all I think both were in English, Iron Man 2 certainly was.

And thus the day slowly drew to a close with me on a large bus headed to Bariloche, Patagonia. Quite an epic day in many respects. Thanks for popping by this fine day. Wherever you are, take care – and May the Journey Never End!