New Year’s Eve and the Trip Home – It’s Over!

New Year’s Eve In Argentina

Thursday, December 31

Carol and I have a running joke on vacations where we say, “Oh my, we have to leave tomorrow – WAIT – that’s wrong, we still have two days.” It is supposed to make you happy because you have more time left than you think. Well, actually, really, this is the last day. It is New Year’s Eve, and we are leaving tomorrow. Our task for today is to work really hard on job-related stuff. Ha, ha – made you look. Actually it is half true. I have been thinking really hard, which is similar to working, about a software task I have to do. It should take me 2 hours. And Carol has some tasks looming.

So to start off easy at about 10am – ok, look out — we walked all the way down stairs and had breakfast. It is raining hard. I mean today, it is really pouring. So we just did the natural thing this time – closed the door and stayed inside. We have seen all that can be seen in the rain. Today we will stay inside. We pulled out the computers, I worked on a report program, and Carol worked on some documentation.

We knew we were going to let out the stops tonight. I believe this is a reference to playing a large pipe organ. To make it really loud, you have to pull out all the knobs that control the air to the pipes. So during the day, we would hold all that air in. We stayed in all morning, had some leftovers, and packed.

It is really nice to pack slowly. You may remember that at this time the thing with the fellow who tried to blow up a plane in Detroit had just happened, so the TSA is all geared up and all baggage is going to be turned inside out. We decided to check our carry-on baggage, because it may get fully searched at some point, and that is a hassle. Of course, the Delta web site is overloaded and I can’t check in or pay for the baggage. But later at the airport that was a no-brainer.

Even when working at a low-end kitchen table it is nice to be relaxed. The inspirations flowed and I got the programming done I needed. We went downtown and did some last-minute window shopping. Came home to pretty up for New Year’s Eve.

By this time we know that everyone who goes out to dinner in town is going to be in casual jeans or whatever they want, and it will not be a formal evening. I felt this was a perfect opportunity to wear the same blazer and white shirt with stripes that I wore Christmas Eve. I even wore my formal L. L Bean blue denim pants (OK, they were jeans). Carol joined in with a very celebratory bright red print top and slacks.

We went to a nice restaurant (sorry, but we forget the name) at 9:00pm, but this time, instead of being quiet, it was already starting to hop. People who did not have prepaid reservations were being turned away at the door. This was one of only maybe four places in town that was open for dinner. Carol had barbecued lamb with cream-topped potatoes that was, in contrast to Christmas Eve, the best she had ever had, and I had filet that was – well, it was really good. They offered three wines, and I ordered the most expensive – a 2006 Mendoza Malbec for 150 pesos, about $40. Inexpensive by American standards, and it was really excellent. By now I can say “scoop ice cream with two spoons” like a native, and we were done.

We were asleep by 11:30.

Jan 1
Our plane was to leave at 11:10am. I had called Avis in America the day before, and they told me all offices were closed where I was, and there was no drop off available. I called all phone numbers and sent emails to see what to do – no dice. I have not received any responses to the emails now, 5 days later. We got up at 6:30am (OUCH!) and were on the road by 7:45am.

We got to the airport at 8:45. The airport was deserted. Two people sitting in an empty café with their bags. No one at any car rental place or any airline check-in counter. I walked behind the counter at Avis, and pulled open the drawer. There was Carol’s Avis rental agreement!! She parked the car, wrote a note with the ending mileage, put it and the keys in an envelope, stapled it to the agreement and stuffed it back in the drawer!

So, we’re here at the airport in Bariloche – and we walk around the corner by the ticket counter and there is this spectacular art exhibit – animals formed out of wire mesh, some similar to window screening and others similar to chicken wire! And such shapes – a rabbit inside a turtle, bees inside a horse, two snails very involved – look at the pictures. The artist is Nadia Guthman.

We flew to the Aeroparque om Buenos Aires – you remember the escapade in BA with the rerouted flight? A 45-minute taxi ride over to the international airport for $45, and we were all set for the seven-hour wait till our flight. We had made sure we had plenty of time for screw-ups, if anything happened.

Because of the Christmas bomb scare in Detroit, we decided to check our heavy carry-ons. That was great, because handling only one little briefcase for the remaining 24 hours of travel was a real blessing.

The check-in security in Buenos Aires at 9:30pm was the same laid back experience that we had seen during the last two weeks. How many planes have been lost going from BA to Atlanta? When we arrived in SD, fairly spaced out and exhausted, Mike was there to pick us up, right on time, and the trip was over.

Epilogue
I was asked today at work what my favorite things were about Argentina, and I listed them in order that I could remember:
1. The Iguazu Falls.
2. The view of the snow-capped Andes from Cerro Otto.
3. The limitless forests and many lakes in the mountains.
4. The wonderful Argentinian people, most noticeably Lidia and Ana at Lola House, and Fernando at Las Acacias.
5. The endless steaks and French fries.

But there is so much to more to see!! We are still looking forward to returning to Mendoza to go winery hopping, to Cordoba to see the Gauchos, to El Cafalate to see the glaciers. And on and on. We will be back!