Yesterday brought upon a challenge that I’d rather wish had not come up. I damaged the rental car. And by damage, I mean I was traveling down a rural highway in South Africa when a semi crossed the center line and I pulled as close to the shoulder as I could to ensure that we wouldn’t hit. Well in that maneuver, it turns out I found out that South Africa’s roads are not the best maintained in the world and the edge of the road had eroded to the point where it had crossed the yellow line. As such, I found my front passenger wheel (that’s the left down here) on the edge of this eroded pavement which resulted in my tire going flat.
I have to say, it was quite the surprise. I got over onto the side of the road immediately with the hope that I would be able to change to the spare, get up to Addo Elephant National Park and then swap the car back in Port Elizabeth before I continued on to Knysna. Well, as I started to take in my options, I noted that the ground was rather soft from the rain that had been in the area for a few days (or so I’m told). I ruled out trying to change the tire there as a mater of safety and decided to wave the white flag and call Hertz. Exactly what I didn’t want to do.
Well, they were pretty friendly about the whole ordeal and despite being out in the boonies, had a new car out to my location in about an hour. I’m sure the cost for a new tire will be plenty expensive, and hopefully they didn’t wind up having to tow the vehicle. The guy that showed up to swap my car was going to try to move the car and put on the spare. He wasn’t there later that afternoon on the side of the road, so I’m crossing my fingers there.
But, sometimes this is what happens when you travel: things don’t go according to plan. Wouldn’t we all like to just have a perfect vacation every time with no issues or added stress? Of course, but that also doesn’t give anyone a good story to tell when they get back or years down the road. I mean, how many good stories come from “I was sitting at the resort just relaxing.” See where I am going with this? It’s the challenge that you have to overcome or that gets you out of your comfort zone that you’ll really remember and of course bring a good story.
Hopefully though, I won’t have any other challenges of this level on this trip! I might still rent a car in the Seychelles, but I haven’t decided…after this I might be good on driving in foreign countries!
The odds are that if you are reading this now, you’ve probably stumbled on here in the past reading about one of my adventures whether across the US or to a far-flung land. As some may know, right now I am just at the beginning of a three-week “Around the World” trip that is going to take me from South Africa, to Dubai, the Seychelles, Bangkok and Tokyo. I obviously enjoy recaping my trips, but it can take many months for me to wrap up an entire week long trip and this one is going to be even bigger. I plan on doing my usual style of post-trip writeups, reviewing inflight experiences, hotels, and my impressions of the destinations I visit. However, I want to try something new: posting short updates here in the interim as I progress on my journey.
I’ve had this good intention before, but never actually got around to doing it. I’ve got more than enough time in airports and airplanes on this trip, so I am going to hold myself to it! Hopefully every few days I will post a brief synopsis of what I am up to and hopefully a small selection of photos that I capture of my travels.
So to start…I am actually writing this as I sit in the domestic British Airways SLOW Lounge at OR Tambo International Airport. I’m flying down to Port Elizabeth where I will pick up a rental car only after getting into Johannesburg last night onboard the way-too-long 15.5 Hour flight on Delta Air Lines from Atlanta. I took a brief stroll last night from the hotel on the streets of Johannesburg and found myself at where else but an Irish Pub. Of course it was off to bed early as my flight here out of JNB leaves in about 50 minutes – so I hailed an Uber (works fantastically down here just as it does in the states) from the Hilton a little before 0430.
Also, it’s ridiculously cold down here. I know it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere and all, but it was 36F and extremely windy at the hotel this morning. I only packed a light windbreaker that isn’t insulated, so this should be interesting. I guess I put too much faith in the long term weather forecasts when I was getting ready last week. I probably should have packed a jacket!
Time to finish up my latte here in the lounge and get my act together to head to my gate here in a bit. The adventure continues!
The End
Well, I never thought I would actually make it all the way through recapping my trip to South America back in May. I mean here we are at the middle of February 2015 and I’m just getting this last post wrapped up…but here it is at last the conclusion!
If you couldn’t tell from all the posts, the trip really was a blast! Yes, it didn’t quite go according to plan (Thanks, Delta), but I was able to “reprogram” a bit and get on with it. Sure, I didn’t wind up riding a bus across Chile in the middle of the night or driving a manual transmission rental car when I had never in the past, but you know the experiences that I did have were still enough to make me happy. I mean, let’s face it, I was probably trying to cram way too much into my trip in the first place. I probably wound up having a better time in Santiago as a result of that missed connection that stalled me in Atlanta for 24 hours; I definitely got to explore the city much better. Which when you look at what time I had in Buenos Aires for the one night before and after my night in Ushuaia, I barely scratched the surface. In fact, I barely even felt like I really experienced the city now that I look back on it. I mean sure, I ate at a few good restaurants and bars as well as taking in a few of the major sights, but experience the city? I’ll admit that I didn’t.
However, as much as I should go back to Buenos Aires in order properly experience the city, the decision to go to Ushuaia for 24 hours was most definitely one of the best decisions I made on this trip. If you know me, you know I like Penguins and despite being initially bummed that I had missed “penguin season”, when the boat tour I took into the Beagle Channel happened upon some swimming, well that pretty much made the trip right there for me. And even Ushuaia is a place I would have loved to spend another day in so that I could have visited Tierra del Feugo National Park and some of the other surrounding areas, including the Chilean side south of the Beagle Channel.
But that is the thing about travel; if I did everything everywhere I went or had unlimited time, then what reason would I have to go back? With the goal I set in the fall of visiting every continent before I turn 30 – of which I have just over three years of time to make it happen – there’s a good chance that I will have to go back through Argentina again. Many, if not most, of the cruises to Antarctica depart from Ushuaia, so unless I decide to really change things up and chase after a job supporting one of the three United States Antarctic Program research stations and find myself all of a sudden living on the frozen continent, I’ll be back to the “southernmost city”.
Now, I look forward to my next “big” trip and it really will be a BIG trip that I will be embarking on in just 4 short months in the summer of 2015. After crossing off South America on this trip, I will be taking 2.5 weeks off from work and flying on an Around The World award ticket – something I was able to book prior to the award ticket being discontinued by Delta. I’ll be crossing off my last of the “populated” continents by visiting Africa (South Africa), before moving on to Dubai, the Seychelles, Bangkok and Tokyo. If there is any lesson from this trip that I am going to try to roll into my RTW trip is timeliness of posts. I look forward to trying to do some posts from the road as I’m going to be spending a lot of time in airports and on aircraft. I mean in the first week and a half I will be passing through Nairobi, Kenya with two 4.5 hour layovers and a 2 hour one. Throw in a 4 hour layover in Hanoi and plenty of long haul flights, I won’t have an excuse!
Now, I just need to plan a few trips to hold me over until this summer!
Introduction
In planning my trip out, I had to focus on anywhere in South America that I could myself on a flight back to the US. Given that there are options on Delta as well as partners, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, and Gol, you would think that finding availability would be easy or that there would be “acceptable” options. For one, I had dreaded the thought of flying Aerolineas Argentinas long-haul business class based on several reviews I read online, and flying Gol to the US? I’d rather not fly an all coach airline on a Business Class ticket.
Really, the goal here was Aeromexico through Mexico City, but despite seeing availability on the Alaska Airlines website, I could never get Delta to see the same space. Ultimately, I had found availability on Delta in Business out of Sao Paulo, and I just had to get to Brazil first. Luckily between Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo there are a number of flights operated by Aerolineas Argentinas and Gol. I originally booked myself on a Gol flight as Delta couldn’t see any award space on Aerolineas Argentinas at the time of booking. So I booked what I could and then a few weeks later tried again…I lucked out and I was able to secure space in Aerolineas Argentinas Business Class (“Club Economy”). With that change I was about as happy as I could be, as I kept checking for availability on the EZE-ATL non-stop, of which I was never successful.
Departure – Aeroparque Jorge Newbery
With a mid-afternoon departure, I had plenty of time to get ready to go and eventually make it to the airport. Despite getting through without much hassle a few days prior for my domestic flight down to Ushuaia, I figured I would err on the side of caution and get there a good bit early, which would leave me some time to see what the international side of the airport was like.
I had my hotel grab me a taxi and I was off to the airport in no time. Due to some confusion between myself and the driver, I was dropped off at the wrong point at the airport and had to walk over to the Aerolineas Argentinas International Departure area. Just as with my prior experiences with Aerolineas, check-in was relatively easy. There wasn’t a wait for the Sky Priority lines, but the agent did seem to have some issue with my reservation. Just took a while, but ultimately I was handed boarding passes all the way back home, AEP-GRU-ATL-ECP.
The exit immigration process and security processes were all smooth and painless. Pretty much, despite trying to plan for traffic in getting to the airport or that I would get stuck in some line at the airport I all of a sudden had myself about two hours to kill in the terminal. As with most international airports (well outside the US), you are pretty much dropped into a duty free store right after immigration/customs, so I checked out the goods for a bit before leaving without buying anything. I had been hoping to find a model Aerolineas Argentinas jet to add to my desk, but I was out of luck. You could however buy a TV…
I Don’t Think This Will Fit In The Overhead Bin
While the Domestic side of AEP seemed to have a good number of gates, and several eating/drinking establishments, the international terminal did not. There was one restaurant and unfortunately just like the domestic side no lounge for Aerolineas premium passengers. You could tell that like the Domestic side it had been remodeled fairly recently, but it still kinda felt like a bus station waiting room with the lack of amenities (although it definitely was much nicer).
Waiting Austral And Aerolineas Argentinas Jets
View From The Single Restaurant
So on that note, I found myself at the restaurant and started to use up some of my Pesos, given that they won’t be worth anything once I leave, with a sandwich, empanadas, and the local cheap beer. You can only kill so much time doing that and there really wasn’t anywhere to walk around, so aside from looking out the windows for a bit, I definitely started getting bored.
This Is How You Get Rid Of Spare Pesos
Of course about the time I had started getting bored, it was also approaching boarding time. And just a bit before boarding, the power went out. Well, mostly just the lights as the displays and terminals at the gate seemed to be still working. It didn’t seem to delay boarding by no more than 15 minutes, so at least the flight departure wasn’t in jeopardy. Just as with my flight to Ushuaia, the plane was parked at a remote stand and thus we got a bus tour of the airport as we made our way to the waiting Austral (Aerolineas Argentinas’ regional subsidiary) Embraer 190.
Just After Most Of The Lights Went Out…
Aerolíneas Argentinas #2244
Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, Argentina (AEP) to Sau Paulo-Guarulhos, Brazil (GRU)
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Depart: 4:15PM Arrive: 7:00PM
Aircraft: Embraer E190 Seat: 2A (Club Economy)
It was up the air stairs to the waiting aircraft on a rather beautiful day. I was one of the first passengers off the bus and of course as I made my way to the stairs and on to the aircraft I took a few photos. I didn’t have very far to to reach my seat on board this jet, being seated in Club Economy (AR’s Business Class) Seat 2A. Like on most regional jets in service with US-based airlines with two cabin service, the seats are configured in a 1-2 layout in the forward cabin. There are three rows total, however there is no seat 1A due to storage, resulting in 8 seats total up front.
Getting Off The Bus
Boarding The Austral E190
I should also note that Club Economy was rather empty. I think there were three or four passengers total, with one being an off duty pilot.
Empty Seats Up Front…
I settled into my seat, which like featured ample leg room being the first seat on the A side of the aircraft as well as giving me all the benefits of the seat being both an aisle and a window seat. Outside of a lie-flat business class seat, this arrangement is my favorite on any aircraft. Additionally at the seat, there is an entertainment system at each seat, providing a few TV shows and movies. I recall watching a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, but there wasn’t much else available. Which I won’t complain too much about – it was only a three hour flight up to Sao Paulo.
The Leg Room Shot
Pretty Standard Inflight Entertainment Screen
It took awhile for inflight service to begin, but that was wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as I was enjoy the view out the window for the first bit of the flight as we passed over the Rio de La Plata and into Uruguay in the late afternoon sun. Apparently, the use of mobile phones, even in airplane mode is forbidden, but I didn’t know that at the time I took this photo (and listened to Spotify for a good bit); only realized later whilst flipping through the inflight magazine…
Rio de La Plata
Eventually, the flight attendant came by and handed out the “meals” which were the same kind of snack box I had on the early morning AEP-USH flight in Club Economy a few days earlier. It consisted of a sandwich along with a few snack items. I ordered a coke to go with, since that’s more or less universal in any language. It wasn’t terrible for what it was, but it would be nice if they could do something a little more up front.
Club Economy Meal AEP-GRU
Really the big take away here was that the flight crew was pretty hands off for the duration of the flight. Aside from the serving of meals/snack boxes and handing out customs forms for Brazil (not that I needed one as I was an international transit passenger), they were out of sight. Not exactly the best service, but at least the flight was comfortable, so it’s not like it is going to go down as the worst flight that I’ve taken.
By the time we were approaching Sao Paulo it had already become dark out, so there wasn’t exactly a good view out the window, just city lights everywhere.
Transit – Sao Paulo
my flight came into Terminal 1 while my connecting Delta flight was out of Terminal 2. Early on it had seemed a little confusion how the transfer would work once I got to GRU, but luckily it was pretty easy once I got there. An Aerolineas agent met the flight and walked the few of us connecting onward to other flights to the transit security checkpoint. This deposits you right back into the airside of the terminal right after immigration and customs. It’s not a big checkpoint, so if there are a lot of connecting passengers on your flight, there could definitely be a wait – luckily there wasn’t very many of us (maybe 3-4 from Buenos Aires) going through. I checked out Terminal 1 first which didn’t have much before heading over to Terminal 2. Along the way, I passed a lounge that served a few SkyTeam airlines, including Aerolineas and the Air France Lounge before finally reaching the Gol Smiles lounge. For whatever reason, Delta has decided to use the Gol lounge in GRU (Yes, I realize that Delta and Gol are partners) over SkyTeam and ever longer partner Air France’s lounge. I thought about trying to use the Air France lounge as flying Business Class and SkyTeam Elite Plus should have got me in, but noticed it would be closing shortly. I opted to just head to the Gol lounge for my nearly four hour layover.
Gol Smiles Lounge GRU – Entrance
To be admitted to the lounge, you first go into a crowded space that contains the reception desk. Once the agent verifies your access you are invited to pass through the door into the lounge. Let me tell you, it was everything that the internet had led me to believe. Usually, when someone says something like that, it is followed up with words of praise and wonderment. Not so much with this lounge.
Walking through the food and beverage areas there are the tables with what appears to be very cheap plastic chairs – they resembled the little chairs I sat on as a four year old, and just don’t look like they would really support my weight. There were seated areas located on the three sides around the food and beverage area of which most of the seats were taken. I eventually found myself back in the corner of the lounge near the restrooms. The other thing that I found rather “impressive” is how there were plates, glasses, etc all over the place. The lounge attendants were definitely not doing the best job of keeping everything clean. Add with the awesome fluorescent lights, definitely worn furniture and you had what just seemed like a pretty depressing lounge. Granted there were self serve beverages, including alcoholic ones, and a few small snacks (including some hot options), but nothing was overly remarkable. I settled for a coke and a few of the local cheap beer during my wait.
Gol Smiles Lounge – GRU
Gol Smiles Lounge – GRU
While sitting there, I got to talking to the person seated in the chair next to me at one point, who also turned out to be flying on Delta up to Atlanta in Business Elite that night as well. We swapped a few travel stories and then I found out he was a member of Delta’s super-secret Delta 360 program. This program pretty much means he spends a rather sizeable chunk of money with Delta, as there is an agent who will watch over his flights when traveling and proactively do things like re-booking if there is even the slightest bit of weather delay probabilities. It was interesting to hear about that…something I’m sure I won’t ever get to experience first hand.
It Did Not Make Me Smile…
I was able to at least spend a good amount of time using the wifi, but it was slow at times and took a little bit of an effort to get registered for some reason. Other than that, I just sat there occasionally looking through the window that looked out to the American Airlines Admirals Club across the hallway. Surely, it had to be better than this lounge.
With about 30 minutes prior to boarding starting, I opted to stretch my legs before my flight and checked out the duty free shops as I made my way towards the gate. There wasn’t anything really of interest and there wasn’t really much of anything on the concourse either in terms of shops, so eventually I found myself at the gate standing and waiting. Past experience of flying Delta as the second leg of a multiple-airline itinerary suggests that you should trade in the boarding pass issued by the first airline for one issued by Delta. For whatever reason, I figured surely all would be good, and thus never went up to the podium. That meant that when Business Elite was finally called to board, I was pulled aside while the agent reprinted my boarding pass, asked me the usual security questions, placed the sticker on my passport and eventually let me down the jetway. A minor inconvenience, but I should have known better….
Delta Boarding Gate For The Flight To Atlanta
Delta Air Lines #58
Sau Paulo-Guarulhos, Brazil (GRU) to Atlanta, GA (ATL)
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Depart: 10:55PM Arrive: 7:42AM +1
Aircraft: Boeing 767 Seat: 5A (Business Elite)
Delta’s 767-300 aircraft are configured such that there is a 1-2-1 layout with staggered seats in Business Elite; the odd seats on the outside of the aircraft feature a bit of privacy as you have the oversized armrest/console against the aisle and the seat right up next to the window. Even though I booked my flight about 3 months out, all of these seats had been taken already! Luckily as it got closer and closer to the day of the flight, I was able to score 5A and not only be isolated from the aisle, but far enough from the galley to make for a good night of sleep.
As I settled into my seat for the flight, the flight attendant came around with a pre-departure drink of champagne and a a bag of nuts. I didn’t bother with the nuts, but I always partake in the champagne when I’m flying in Business Class. It’s just what you’re supposed to do, right? As the rest of the passengers shuffled back toward Economy, I just sat there mostly just looking out the window. There wasn’t much activity out there, just a bunch of Gol planes parked at their gates.
Pre-Departure Champagne
Parked Gol Aircraft At GRU
Eventually, All Seats Were Full
Apparently, The Light For The Seat In Front Of Me Wouldn’t Turn Off…I Guess That’s One way To Fix The Problem!
Pushback and departure were on time and then not long after getting to our cruise altitude the flight attendants started coming through Business to start the meal service. Drink orders were taken, tablecloths were laid on the tray tables and hot towels provided. For tonight’s dinner, there would be multiple options available all served with the same starters of Bocconcini and Tomato Skewers and Beef Tenderloin Canape; a Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad; Broccoli and Parmesan Soup; and of course a selection of breads. For my main I had opted for the Sea Bass, which I had not had inflight before, and it was acceptable. It wasn’t overly dried out as I was expecting, so at least it was a little bit of a win there. I will add that the starters were all pretty decent as well – overall the meal was definitely not bad. Of course to finish it off, there was an obligatory ice cream sundae topped with chocolate, whipped cream, and chopped nuts. Only downside was that it was rather frozen and I had to wait for it to thaw out a bit before I could really dig in…
Business Elite Menu – Page 1
Business Elite Menu – Page 2
Apparently, This Is The Only Photo I Have From The Meal Service…
Once I finished off the ice cream sundae, it was time to change into my sleep attire and turn my seat into a bed. Given that the flight is almost 10 hours long, by the time I got to that point there was about 8 hours remaining in the flight. That meant I could attempt to try to get sleep for about 5-6 hours before they started serving breakfast. Considering that when I got back to Panama City I would have to get home, do laundry and then pack everything to get back to on a plane that afternoon to Iowa, getting some sleep was going to be paramount. Thankfully, with my preparations, I got about 4 hours of good sleep!
As usual, about an hour and a half out from landing in Atlanta, the flight attendants came through looking for those of us who were awake and ready for breakfast. Starting out with some coffee, I had opted for the omelette option, which was served with ham, potatos, a roasted tomato, and fresh fruit. The omelette was definitely better than what I’ve had in the past on some domestic Delta First Class flights, although the ham was a bit on the tough/overcooked side.
Delta Business Elite Breakfast – GRU-ATL
Arrival into Atlanta was on-time if not a little early, and I made it through immigration without any problems. However, as I sat there at the baggage carousel waiting to get my bag so I could go through Customs, I found myself waiting and waiting as people filtered in, claimed their bags, and went on their way. Soon enough, I was the only person standing around it was clear that my bag was not there. I found the one Delta agent who pretty much just told me that it wasn’t in their system other than that Aerolineas Argentinas had forward them the fact that I had a piece of checked luggage. At this point, I didn’t know where my bag was at. Did it make it on the plane in Buenos Aires? Had it been swiped by an airport worker in Brazil? No one knew at the time, so the agent told me to talk to the agents after Customs at the transfer desk to start a claim.
I walked over to the counter, which had a few agents, but no passengers waiting. I walked up to the first agent in the Sky Priority lane who pretty much told me that they couldn’t help me and that I would have to file the claim once I got back to Panama City in a less-than-helpful tone. I won’t lie, I was getting frustrated at this point. I didn’t exactly need my luggage getting lost when I needed to turn around the same day to fly to my grandmother’s funeral to start, and with only a few hours of sleep, and my connecting flight just over an hour away and I still hadn’t cleared security yet, I wasn’t exactly in my best mood either.
Clearing security up on the main level of Concourse F wasn’t very busy, but it did seem to take a bit to get through the line. I made my way over to Concourse B and eventually found the gate for my final flight. I was trying to be in a good mood, but my bad luck would continue.
Delta Air Lines #2403
Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Panama City, FL (ECP)
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Depart: 9:12AM Arrive: 9:15AM
Aircraft: Boeing 717 Seat: 2B (First)
Well, it was a pretty ordinary short flight back home to Panama City. Boarding was on time and pre-departure beverages were offered. Unfortunately, I had opted for a cup of coffee figuring I could use the caffeine. Well, that was until someone with far too many bags was heading down the aisle and managed to bump me and my coffee. It’s fun when coffee spills on you, it really is! Considering everything else that had happened thus far on this return leg of this trip, it seemed to be par for the course.
Once back on the ground in Panama City, I found a much more sympathetic agent at the ticket counter who took all my info down and started processing the claim for my lost bag. It still hadn’t popped into the system yet, so I made my way home to get a much needed shower (there wasn’t enough time to visit the Sky Club in Atlanta) and finish lining up a hotel and rental car up in Iowa that evening.
It’s that time of the year again – time to look back on 2014 and take a look at some of my travels! This past year had been marked by a couple of firsts (new countries and a new continent), travel to familiar places to see familiar faces, and one road trip that took me around the state of Florida that seemed like a better idea before I spent 25 hours behind the wheel of my car.
For starters, this year marked a decrease in work travel for me. It wasn’t until August that I had my first work trip and then there would only be three others after that. Work travel usually helps me round out my personal travel and helps keep me at Platinum Medallion on Delta. Since of those trips, three of them were on the east coast, it kept my Medallion Qualification Mile earnings pretty low – and that is despite multiple leisure trips to the west coast (San Diego, Seattle, and Portland). As such I will drop in March 2015 from Platinum to Gold Medallion, which I have been since late 2011. It’s going to suck not being Platinum anymore, I’ll be honest, but at the very least I have managed to hang on to Gold Medallion so that I continue to receive Sky Priority and SkyTeam Elite Plus benefits.
If I had to pick the big highlights from my travels this year they would be:
Seeing penguins swimming in the Beagle Channel off of Ushuaia, Argentina
Touring the Boeing 737 production line as part of AvGeekFest 2014 in Renton, WA
Visiting two friends that I had not seen in many years out in Portland
Finally driving to Key West from Panama City Beach – Yes, it’s a long, long drive
Flights:
Number of Flight Segments: 49
Number of Airlines: 32 (Delta Air Lines (45), Aerolineas Argentinas (3), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (1))
Total Miles Flown: 43,722
Time Spent in the Air: 5 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes (Interesting how that turned out, eh?)
Average Flight Distance/Length: 892 Miles / 2 hours 26 minutes
Longest Flight: ATL-SCL (Atlanta, GA to Santiago, CL) – 4,715 miles, 9 hours 34 minutes
Shortest Flight: AGS-ATL (Augusta, GA to Atlanta) – 143 miles, 1 hour 1 minutes
Aircraft Flown On: 717 (18), 757 (8), 737 (7), MD-88 (7), 767 (2), A319 (2), 777 (1), E190 (1), CR9 (1), CR7 (1), A320 (1)
I Expect To Be Flying In Economy A Lot More in 2015 As I Drop To Gold Medallion with Delta
Airports:
Airports Flown Into/Out Of/Through: ATL, ECP, PHL, SAN, AEP, SEA, SCL, GRU, AGS*, PDX, USH, MLI, EWR, EZE, LGA, MDW, MKE
Number of Connections in ATL: 22
*Diversion due to weather
2014 Flights Completed
SkyMiles Earnings:
SkyMiles Status: Platinum Medallion in 2014 | Gold Medallion for 2015
Total Medallion Qualification Miles Earned: 58,594
Total SkyMiles Earned: 140,398
Total SkyMiles Redeemed: 345,000
Travels:
Countries: Chile, Argentina, Brazil (Transit Only)
Cities: Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Philadelphia, Orlando, Miami, Key West, Tampa, Atlanta, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Chicago, Sheboygan, Burlington (IA), New York City
Other Places: Boeing 737 Assembly Line (Renton, WA), Beagle Channel/Tierra del Fuego, Everglades
Number of Trips: 12
Days “On The Road”: ~59
Average Trip Length: 4.9 Days/Trip
Introduction
I had a few choices when making the reservation for my second night in Buenos Aires; I could have stayed at the Hilton Buenos Aires again or try an SPG property, of which there are two Sheratons and Luxury Collection hotel. I wanted to stay somewhere that would be more in the traditional city center, so that I could make the most of my short evening and half day in Buenos Aires without wasting much time. Either Sheraton property would have been good for that – they are a 15 minute or so walk from one another and in between the two are a number of restaurants and bars along with easy access to tourist sites. Ultimately, I had decided to book at the Sheraton Libertador, as with any reviews of hotels online, I found everyone’s opinion to be different about the two properties….so it came down to price. The Sheraton Libertador was only $132/night before taxes, and considering what I spent on the rest of this trip, I figured being on the cheaper end of the spectrum may not be such a bad thing.
Arrival
Before I even stepped foot in the hotel lobby, I had been reached out to by a representative of the hotel to confirm my arrival time, room/bed/pillow types, and whether or not this was for any special celebration. I responded back with all the details and let them know that this was the end of a birthday celebration trip, etc. I never heard back, so I hoped that all was good.
The cab dropped me off at the temporary lobby entrance to the Sheraton. During my stay there was extensive lobby renovations, and as such the check-in desks were through a side door in a small corner of what I assume was part of the larger lobby. They got me checked in pretty quickly and had informed me that I had been upgraded to the Club level. Not bad…
The Room
I reached my room, located decently high up enough that I had a view looking down on all the surrounding buildings, which was a pretty standard Sheraton room. Nothing quite special about it, but there was the nice large window to let light in, and plenty of space to spread out. I was expecting a smaller room based on what I had read online, so this was a nice surprise (perhaps Club level rooms are slightly larger?).
Sheraton Libertador
Has That Sheraton “Look”
The bed was pretty standard and was comfortable enough to get a good night’s sleep on. Which unfortunately due to the circumstances on this trip of finding out that my grandmother had passed away that night I was staying at the hotel was already hard enough. Similarly as a result of that I found myself spending a good deal of time the next day using the hotel’s wifi to make phone calls and book travel for me to get to Iowa after I landed back in PCB on that Sunday, so I can say that I tested that thoroughly.
View From The Room
Club Lounge
I made it up to the Club Lounge on the 21st floor before heading out on my one night at this property. It was pretty standard for a Sheraton Club Lounge and had a small selection of snacks as well as beverages. One thing that was interesting, was that at this lounge the only freely available alcohol was a red wine, of which sort I cannot remember. The snacks were ok – it wasn’t a large selection, but then you don’t expect that; but it was good enough to hold me off until I could find some dinner somewhere around town that night.
Conclusion
The Sheraton Libertador isn’t the nicest hotel in Buenos Aires, but it is most definitely a decent property in the middle of the city. The ease of access to sites and attractions as well as restaurants and bars makes it alone on the location a good decision. Considering that the price here was definitely not bad at all at $132/night for a “standard Sheraton room” it represented quite the deal in my opinion. Considering I spent roughly the same amount on the “lesser” (in terms of amenities, rooms, and service) Four Points in Santiago at the beginning of this trip, I would not hesitate to book another stay here. Besides I would imagine that by now the lobby renovation has been completed as well as the construction around the hotel exterior on the street. Compared to the Hilton Buenos Aires I stayed at for one night before I jolted down to Ushuaia, I would definitely choose the Sheraton, mostly for the location – I’d prefer to stay in the historic center versus the recently built up Puerto Madero area for sure.
Introduction
Just a little less than 24 hours after I had landed in Ushuaia, it was time to check out of my hotel in the dark and catch a cab to the airport. The time here wasn’t long enough to properly explore the area, but this afforded me the best opportunity by taking this flight back to Buenos Aires to allow me the afternoon to finish checking out that city. Luckily, award space on Aerolineas was really good when I was booking my tickets, but instead of opting for Club Economy for the route back, in order to save a few SkyMiles, I decided that I would fly back in Economy and try out that product. Besides, it’s not like I was expecting a very full flight anyways.
Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport
The ride from the hotel to the airport was quick – Ushuaia, despite having a population of nearly 60,000 is rather quiet. Especially given that it was still dark out, which was something I had forgotten about since it was entering winter in the Southern Hemisphere and getting much closer to a pole compared to home. Walking in the doors of the terminal, I made my way over to the Aerolineas Argentinas check-in counters where it was not very busy at all. Given that there was only a few people, I made my way to through the regular Economy class line to check-in and drop my bag. I was handed my boarding pass in return and instructed that I had to go pay a departure tax…something that is included in the cost of tickets in most places around the world, but apparently Ushuaia is one of those places that still does things the old fashion way. So I shuffled over to the separate counter on my way to security, handed over the required amount and walked away with a few stamps on my boarding pass.
Aerolineas Argentinas Counters
There wasn’t anything really on the landside of the airport terminal, so I headed upstairs to make my way through security. I expected the surprisingly low-level screening based on what it was like Buenos Aires. Here though, it was the complete opposite…basically what you would expect at any airport in the developed world. IDs were checked multiple times (although I’m sure one was to make sure I paid the departure tax) and the screening process seemed to be actually there to keep something from getting on a plane.
Once you clear security at Ushuaia, there really isn’t much to do, like any other relatively minor airport for a similarly sized city. There’s the required seating areas at the gates, a small cafe, and what appeared to be a gift shop that was closed. I grabbed a drink from the cafe while I sat there waiting for the Aerolineas 737-800 to land and pull up to the terminal.
The Plane Has Arrived…
Luckily, I was continuing to experience what I felt was an abnormal experience (based on all what I had read online about Aerolineas) in terms of the aircraft arriving on time. As soon as the plane disembarked, everyone started queuing up for boarding which started pretty quickly. With out zone boarding, they called for Club Economy and Sky Priority to start, of which there was few of either.
Waiting At The Gate
Aerolíneas Argentinas #1879
Ushuaia, Argentina (USH) to Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, Argentina (AEP)
Friday, May 9, 2014
Depart: 9:50AM Arrive: 1:18PM
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Seat: 25F (Economy)
I made my way towards the back of the aircraft thinking “well this certainly is the farthest back I’ve sat in a while”, having been accustomed to sitting in the front cabin or near the front of Economy at least. But, it appears that Aerolineas did not have priority seating for SkyTeam Elite Plus members, but that’s not a terrible thing on a flight that isn’t very full. In fact, I had a window seat selected for this flight, which is a little unusual for me, since I don’t like to have to disturb others to get up. Fortunately, for this flight, the low load meant that no one else was sitting in 25D or 25E. A row to myself and a window to Argentina below. Not a terrible thing to have!
Watching Boarding Continue From The Back Of The Plane
One of the interesting thing about this aircraft that I noted is that this aircraft had previously been flown by Air Berlin; in fact the control screen in the front galley still had the Air Berlin logo as the screensaver and the backs of the seats still had instructions in German, like: “bitte gurte waehrend des sitzens geschlossen halten”. Obviously, Aerolineas figured they could save a few bucks if they didn’t worry about changing any of the interiors….at least the exterior of the plane was painted in their livery.
Schwimmweste Unter Ihrem Sitz!
As for the service onboard, once we got to the cruising altitude, the flight attendants came through to do the cabin service. Like my flight on the previous morning in Club Economy, a snack pack and beverages were passed out. In the Economy class cabin, the snack box was substantially smaller and was less a meal and more a snack. Since I had already ate breakfast, it wasn’t like I was going to starve on the three hour flight, but nonetheless this is still more than what you would get for free on any domestic flight in the US.
Snack Service
After the cabin service, the flight attendants pretty much disappeared (same as with the flight down), and I conked out for a little bit while listening to music and looking out the window. There wasn’t much of a view on this flight, as the clouds were pretty thick and stretching out to every direction across the horizon.
Clouds Everywhere
Arrival
Arrival back in Buenos Aires was on time and despite being at the back of the aircraft, thanks to being at a “bus gate” again it served as an equalizer with a large number of other passengers from the flight. Once back into the terminal, I took my time making my way to baggage claim to pick up my bag, thinking that this way I could guarantee that I wouldn’t stand around forever waiting. By the time I got there, luggage still had not started coming out and everyone from my flight was gathered around. It took at least another 15 minutes for bags to start popping out and as bags kept coming, I started to wonder if my bag was going to be there. A few times the carousel even stopped, which had me and several other passengers a bit disturbed…where were our bags? Luckily, no one’s was lost, but several folks with priority tag bags were among the last few to make it – including mine. If there is one thing that I learned from this trip, it’s that Aerolineas Argentinas has no clue how to properly manage “priority” bags; and the flights to/from Ushuaia wasn’t the only hiccup, as you’ll see in my segment that took me through a connection in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Exiting On To The Ramp Is Probably My Favorite Method Of Disembarkation From An Aircraft….I Think You Know Why
…And Bus Rides Across The Ramp Aren’t Bad Either
From there, it was time to make my way to my final hotel for my final night in Argentina, so I headed outside and jumped into a cab. This guy, I’m pretty sure ran up the meter in how he drove me to the hotel, but eventually we settled on $40US as a fare. It was more than it should have been, but whatever. Also, another reason why it can pay to have a few US bills in your wallet in case you run low on local currency.
Conclusion
My second flight on Aerolineas wasn’t anything special, and despite the luggage issue, flying their economy product domestically was just fine. In the future, honestly I probably would just book Economy versus Club Economy for a domestic route; no different than I would in the US. The service in either cabin wasn’t spectacular, but wasn’t rude or anything – pretty much just the bare minimum. I guess when you look at your options in Argentina, there really isn’t much of a choice – LAN has flights but not at the same frequencies, and the other airline with an extensive route network is run by the Argentine Air Force (LADE – Líneas Aéreas del Estado).
Introduction
Ushuaia, which claims to be the southernmost city in the world, sits on the Beagle Channel at the tip of South America and is only 1000km from Antarctica. As such it is one of the gateway cities for folks heading to the frozen continent, especially those who are tourists and taking a cruise. But, back to that claim that the city makes – southernmost. There are settlements that are more southern than Ushuaia, in fact on the opposite side of the Beagle Channel on the Chillean side is Puerto Williams, which has far fewer people. As such there is some contention there over who claims what, but for what it is worth, it’s airport is probably the southernmost airport with regularly scheduled international flights.
When I was planning my trip I had a couple of different options with how to tackle Ushuaia. Originally, I looked at making it a day trip, but that was just silly sounding. I didn’t want it to become like my trip to Barrow, Alaska where I found myself for a few short hours and that was it. Instead I opted to spend at least one night so that I could fully explore the town; the only question was when to fly back? I could fly back in the morning or afternoon, and ultimately opted for morning so that I could have the afternoon to continue seeing Buenos Aires. In the end I had just about 24 hours in Ushuaia, and while I didn’t get to see nearly everything in town, it was probably the highlight of my trip.
Arrival
I landed in Ushuaia that morning while the sun was still barely working it’s way above the horizon, hopped in a cab and made my way to the Alto Andino hotel. The first order of business of my time on the ground? Explore!
Around The Corner From The Hotel
Heading down the hill from the hotel, I made my way first to what is best described as Ushuaia’s “Main Street” where one finds many souvenir shops, restaurants, the post office, government offices, etc. There really isn’t anything along here that I would call a site to see, however that post office will be pretty important for sending some mail home.
Av. Saint Martin – The “Main Street” of Ushuaia
The Ushuaia Post Office
From there, I made my way to the harbor area. There was a rather interesting ship that had run aground right up close that looks like it had been there for quite some time. In fact I guess it had become a landmark, as they had strung up lights on it so that at night time it is all lit up.
The Run Aground Ship In The Harbor
As I walked along the water I had to go past the commercial container port for Ushuaia, which made me glad I was not British. As you walk past the gate to the port, a large mural had been painted on the wall that said “Prohibido El Amarre De Los Buques Piratas Ingleses” or roughly, from using a translation tool as “English pirate ships are prohibited from mooring” a reference to the feelings of Argentina that the British territory of the Falkland Islands are part of Argentina as Islas Malvinas. Obviously there was the Falklands War between the two countries in 1982, and since the Argentine defeat, it seems like everywhere you go throughout the country they have signs or phases talking about how the islands belong to Argentina. For example, Ushuaia’s airport has the official name of Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport, and in walking around town past a Government office there was a sign outside that said “Islas Malvinas, and South Georgias and Sandwichs (sic) Island are Argentine and will be Argentine.”
The Ushuaia Port
Brits Not Welcome
Argentina Really Does Feel Strongly About This Issue…
I eventually found myself taking the requisite picture in front of the “End of the World” sign and decided it was a little chilly and that I wanted something warm to drink. So I found myself in the Xpresso Café Gourmet which interestingly enough shares it’s space with a helicopter tour company and used the wifi to start trying to figure out which excursion I was going to take that afternoon. Honestly, I should have done more research in advance, and I quickly ruled out the helicopter. I wanted to go out on the Beagle Channel and thus I needed to decide on which boat tour company to book with.
This Is A Close To “The End Of The World” As I Will Make It….For Now! Next Stop Antarctica!
The Tour Company Huts Next To The Waterfront
Unfortunately, I arrived in Ushuaia outside of the prime penguin season and thus there would be no opportunity for a land excursion at a penguin colony. There’s quite a few companies offering boat tours out into the channel and each one has a little shack next to the harbor. Most appeared to be closed now that it was the off season, but fortunately there were still a few open. Of the ones that were open, what had appeared to be the best option: The Patagonia Adventure Explorer.
On the Water
I had booked my ticket that morning for a tour departing later in the day which had given me some more time to roam the town. When it was time to head back down to the waterfront, I checked in and found myself with the small group of other visitors who had also booked this boat. The best thing was that it was a very small group and the best thing about this boat is that it has a rather small capacity. Several of the tourist boats are massive and thus you are competing with everyone for a view and boat can’t get as close. Not a problem here!
After all the departure formalities, including paying a departure tax to the local government, it was time to board and to get underway. As we cruised out of the harbor we passed a few commercial ships loading/unloading and an Argentine Navy patrol boat and took in the view of the town as it got smaller and smaller as we continued out into the channel.
You Have To Pan An Official Looking Guy Here A Departure Tax
Seemed Appropriate For A “Three Hour Tour”
Leaving Port…
Argentine Navy Patrol Boat – They Waved, We Waved Back
STOP THE BOAT!!! PENGUINS!!!!
Let’s Not Discuss The Number Of Photos I Shot During Those 5 Minutes
Now, let me tell you, the biggest reason I had wanted to go to Ushuaia other than pretty much say that I had been there, was penguins. The biggest disappointment was that as I planned out my trip, I discovered that Peneguins migrate back to the Antarctic before I even would arrive. So I had no expectation or hope that I would see any…then as were just outside the harbor, the boat came to a halt. Things were said in Spanish (just myself and an Aussie couple were the only English speakers) and everyone practically rushed to one side – there were Penguins! A group of maybe 20+ were swimming through the water making their way to the Beagle Channel. The boat stayed around here for 5 minutes while everyone took many, many photos. I’m not even sure how many I took and although I didn’t get to see the Penguins on land, this was the next best thing. I got to see Penguins in the wild!
Fellow Tourists Getting Their Penguin Photos
That was probably the highlight of the boat tour for me and it wasn’t even a planned thing. The rest of the journey was about three hours long and took us to the actual sights in the Beagle Channel. There was a small rocky island full of sea lions, with the appropriate stench to match (maybe that was a bad thing about the boat being able to get right up close?); another rocky island filled with Cormorants; and the turnaround point, the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse. You don’t get to go ashore, but the lighting was fantastic at that point in the day and I managed to take a few good photos from the boat.
One Of The Briefings By Our Tour Guide
Loud And Stinky…But At Least We Could Get Close
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
Just….Beautiful (Looking South To The Chilean Side Of The Beagle Channel)
Heading back West, we passed one of the larger tour boats, which didn’t have many onboard, but it still reaffirmed my decision to book with the Patagonia Adventure Explorer. The other boat couldn’t get in as close to the stinky sea lions! As we cruised west through the Channel, there were snacks as well as some information given by the tour guide on the boat (whom was actually pretty good; and would give us three English speaking visitors separate ones so that we kinda knew what was going on as well). Eventually we made our to a group of islands known as Islas Bridges where our final stop would be to disembark on one of the larger islands. The tour guide pointed out the various plants on our way up to the highest point where everyone took photos. From there it was back to the boat where the journey continued back towards port; while underway they held a drawing for the flag that flew from the bow of the boat of which I unfortunately did not win.
I’m Glad I Wasn’t On This Tourist Behemoth…
Docked At The Island For A Shore Excursion
Learning About The Plants On The Island
Hey, Look – It’s Me On An Island! Ushuaia And The Whole Of Argentina Is Behind Me.
Almost Back To Port
Once back in port, everyone dispersed pretty quickly and I myself headed back to the hotel for a quick stop before heading out for dinner.
Food and Drink
It was Ushuaia where I wound up eating one of my most uniquely prepared meals that I’ve managed to get anywhere. After I landed and had been exploring for a bit, I stopped in at Küar 1900. Located on the second floor of a building off San Martin, it’s an easy walk from everywhere. It was not very busy when I walked in, and was seated pretty quickly. I think only other table was occupied and it looked like a large family; making me the only tourist. Luckily for me as the only non-Spanish speaking person, the menu was bilingual; however even with the translation, there were quite a few things that I had no idea what they were. But that is part of the adventure of traveling! So I ordered what appeared to be fish, and hoped for the best.
Typos Are Fun – I’ll Have The Lion, Please!
The Fish. Need I Say More?
Well, what you see is what I got. Per the menu it was Fuegian Trout with a carrot emulsion and caramelized onions in red wine. See, you read that and nowhere does it say, your fish is going to be turned into essentially a burrito with a head staring at you. And as for the caramelized onions, there was more than what I knew what to do with that filled the center of the “fish burrito”. With all that being said, it wasn’t bad at all; perhaps too much onion, but easily fixed. All I had to do was chop that head off first!
As for dinner and drinks, I had opted to go to Dublin, an Irish Pub, just around the corner from my hotel. I had actually attempted to visit a few other bars for dinner that were listed online, but after walking clear across town, none were open! Therefore, I found myself at Dublin, which was always part of the plan, but I had intended on it just being a stumble back to the hotel watering hole.
Well, in comparison to the Irish Pubs I visited in Santiago, the reception here was frosty. The bar staff seemed to mostly ignore me once I sat down and the place wasn’t even packed! One I got a drink order and food order in I found myself mostly just keeping to myself thanks to the fact that no one seemed to want to converse with the English-speaking person. In fact, outside of a small group I saw in the corner, I was probably the only other English speaker, and given the “propaganda” that is ever so present in the city about the Falklands being Argentine and anti-British, I’m not exactly surprised by the reception. Perhaps they all thought I was British? It killed the buzz a bit, and so after a few beers, I retreated and called it a night.
My Only Picture From That Night – People Burning A Mattress In The Street (Some Sort Of Protest, I Think).
As for little places to refuel through my exploration of the town, there was the Xpresso Café Gourmet, which as mentioned much earlier on share spaces with a helicopter tour outfit. The latte I ordered was pretty good, and they had a selection of baked goods as well. One of the nice things is the large windows that look down one of the streets to the waterfront, so you can look out at the Beagle Channel as you sit there and warm up with a cup.
The Wall Of The Building That Xpresso Cafe Gourmet Is In
Conclusion
Ushuaia was essentially what I expected it to be, so unlike some other places that I visited, I didn’t leave thinking “Wow, what an amazing place”. Don’t get me wrong, the scenery that surrounds the town is extremely beautiful and I wished I had the time to spend a little time hiking and doing other activities. The town itself though just wasn’t anything special on it’s own; and the cold shoulder that I got from some people was definitely a bit of a turn off. Am I glad that I went? Very much so! I saw Penguins, flew to the southernmost regularly-scheduled commercial international airport, got to take in the beauty of the Beagle Channel, and was closer to Antarctica than I had ever been in my life. Would I return to Ushuaia? Sure, but probably in conjunction with a cruise to the southernmost continent. I don’t think I would return just to visit, or at least just to visit on my own. I guess you could put this down as “been there, done that.” Would I recommend to other people to visit Ushuaia? Definitely! It’s worth visiting at least once in your life…and if you do go, go during penguin season!
I’ve had this friend for the past ten years of my life; well not so much a friend, but a companion. A companion that has been with me through all sorts of adventures and explorations that have taken me to the ends of the world to all but two continents. It’s taken me to the bottom of the world, to the sands of the Middle East, to the backstreets of Macau, and so many other places. Unfortunately, it’s that time where I need to renew my passport and replace my trusted sidekick with a new one, one that will get me through the next decade of my life and some amazing new travels that I am starting to plan and those that I don’t even know that are coming yet.
My Trusted Companion
This was my first passport which I got in late 2004 as I was getting ready to go to Italy with my Latin class in the summer of 2005. I had left the country once before, to Canada, but that was in the time where one simply could drive across the border with very little documentation. It’s funny in that as a Kid, I didn’t even see Canada as a foreign country. I remember that border crossing and it being nothing and it being so like America, just with Tim Hortons everywhere. Eventually, as an adult with my passport already getting into it’s “senior years”, I visited Montreal to ring in 2012. My impressions of that country changed, and I found myself back in that great city in May 2013. My passport got me there.
My First Passport Stamp Was Actually A Departure Stamp From Italy (Rome)
More importantly, my passport took me overseas on my first “big” solo trip in my sophomore year at the University of Central Florida. Being a kid who was raised in Panama City Beach, affectionately known as the Spring Break capital of the world, I bucked the trend of going home or to another similar destination. With airfares to Europe in 2008 being extremely cheap thanks to the economy, I booked a trip to Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, and the Netherlands for a little over $500. I had traveled alone before, but this was my first time alone outside the country and what a great exposure it was! I got hooked on earning points and miles and next thing I knew, I had found myself the following year flying back to Europe for Spring Break hitting London, Paris, and Germany as well as getting to fly in international Business Class for the first time.
My senior year of college I couldn’t make an international spring break happen, but once I graduated I knew I had to go bury my head in the sand while I decided whether or not to accept a job offer. With five days notice, I had booked a trip to Australia for about $1000. I came back a from Sydney deciding to take the job offer and continued to plot travels now that I had “engineer’s money.”
The following year I found myself in Japan for a vacation, of which while I was there the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred. Thankfully I was in the south of the country where the bulk of the devastation occurred, however I did find myself feeling the aftershocks in Tokyo a few days later as I tried to get back to the US.
Australia….and Japan
2012, if I were to say, was probably the most interesting year for me for international travels on my passport. I started the year in Montreal, then a few weeks later found myself in the Middle East via Europe, and then back to Europe in December to see a different side of Europe (and explore all the Christmas Markets!).
O Canada!
2013, as I mentioned earlier, took me back to Montreal, where it really hit me how much I love that city. Over my Thanksgiving holiday, since I had done a lot of work travel that year, I took a vacation to the opposite side of the world again, this time to both Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong, like Montreal became an instant favorite of mine and I can’t wait to go back someday (hopefully soon), while Macau surprised me as being so much more than I expected – something I think I only found out because I stayed for two nights in the territory as opposed to the standard day trip from Hong Kong.
Liechtenstein Hides Behind Hong Kong
This year resulted in the final journey for my passport; in celebration of my 26th birthday, I flew to South America. A new continent and two new countries, Chile and Argentina.t I would eventually make my way to the “end of the world” or at least as close as possible with out spending $10,000 in Ushuaia.
The Final Stamps…
The journeys I took with on this passport opened me up to the world and probably from time to time changed my outlook on life and other things. I’ve found myself a few times on my journeys and that wouldn’t have been possible with out it. Of course, it’s this passport and that first trip to Italy that caused me to be stricken with wanderlust; if I had never got it and never taken that trip, who knows if the world would have been opened up to me. Perhaps I would have been someone who says “I want to go to there” versus being the person that I am now having been to five continents and 20 unique countries (19 if you don’t count transiting Brazil for four hours) for approximately 30 different visits. The only thing that was terrible about this? Most of the European countries that I’ve visited never had the pleasure of stamping my passport thanks to Schengen Agreement and the removal of border formalities between nations. Along with several other stamps that I “missed out on” resulted in not quite filling my passport. That and every-freaking-country deciding to stamp the first page in my passport regardless of the amount of available space.
Seriously, How Many Stamps Can You Put On One Page
So with all that said, it’s time to say goodbye as I prepare my renewal application. I went and got the required photos today printed to be included in the application and I am about to send it off. Just need to write that check to the US Department of State, so that I can get my new companion here quickly. I’ll be springing for the passport card too, although I don’t see that really being beneficial for me at this time. With that being said, there’s going to be a few weeks where I am going to be passport-less. It’s going to be a strange, strange feeling…
Introduction
Although Ushuaia is located at the “end of the world”, it has a robust tourism sector of people traveling on Antarctic cruises or just to go the “southernmost city” in the world and that means hotels. There are plenty of options in Ushuaia for lodging ranging from modern hotels to places that haven’t been updated in decades to B&B types. What you will not find here, is anything that belongs to any international chain. That means elite status is no good anywhere, but that isn’t a terrible thing! As far as the actual options are concerned, if you are looking at strictly hotels there was only one that I found that appeared to be best option at the best price: the Alto Andino Hotel. I booked my one night for the hotel online through Travelocity, which is very rare for me to do.
Arrival
Since my flight got to Ushuaia mid-morning, I knew that the odds of be being able to check in were slim. However, I had the taxi I had grabbed at the airport to drop me at the hotel and hoped that I would at least be able to stash my suitcase and go about starting to try to explore the center of this small town. That is precisely what turned out, and they were friendly enough about it. At least my first impression of the hotel lobby was that it seemed nice. I went about my exploring, and then came back a few hours later to check in.
When I arrived back at the hotel a few hours later, my room had been ready and they had already placed my suitcase in my room. I don’t think that I’ve ever had my stored luggage wind up in my room before my arrival at any hotel before; sometimes it’s quite the opposite like at the W Santiago where my stored luggage took forever to get to my room after I checked in. So there’s a definite plus right there!
The Room
The room type was listed as a Suite, but it appears that regular rooms are called Suites (double and single) while what are known as Suites in most places are called “Aparts”. So, don’t get your hopes up with by booking a suite! That being said, my first impression upon walking into the room was that the pictures online did not lie; this was a modern, well kept hotel. The overall size of the room? Not terrible either; I was expecting the room to be on the small side, much like I’ve encountered across Europe and other places, and especially given the fact that this hotel did not seem very large. There was more than ample room to unpack and move about for my short stay.
Entry Area – Looking Inward
I had booked a room with a King Bed, and like many other hotels I’ve stayed at overseas I found the mattress to be a little bit on the hard side. I’ve always wondered if it’s just us Americans who like to feel like we are sleeping on a cloud?
Bed + TV + Window (That Opened!)
My room looked out to the North over the residential areas of Ushuaia and towards the mountains. While it wasn’t the harbor view that I was hoping for, I’ll admit this was almost just as good; take a look for yourself…
Looking Northwest From My Window
Panorama Of The View From My Room
As for the bathroom, it was not massive, but still plenty of room. There was a window that did look out to the harbor from here, so I guess my room was technically a harbor view!
Bathroom
The Location
Alto Andino’s location is not down on the waterfront which is where most of the tourist hotels seem to be located, but on a quiet more residential street. Located near the intersection of Gdor. Félix Paz and 9 de Julio it is 3 blocks down to the waterfront. That means despite being located off the main drag, you aren’t that far from the action and you can get to all the restaurants and sights in a pretty short walk. In fact the entire city, for at least the areas where tourists are going to be is very walkable – the only time I needed a taxi was going to and from the airport. As such, you’ll find plenty of options for dining and drinking close by, including the Dublin Pub, located around the corner, which as you may have guessed is an Irish pub. Of course I will get into all those lovely things in the next installment.
Conclusion
Overall, I was impressed with this hotel, even though it really was more or less of a crash pad for me. I could have probably been just as comfortable in a cheaper place, but who would want that? I got a a quality hotel that didn’t feel dated or run down and it cost me an easy to swallow $150/night (which did seem a little high for an off-season period, but who cares). Service was pretty decent, although I didn’t require much. I didn’t leave enough time to check out the included breakfast on my second morning before my flight and I never did make it to the hotel’s bar. However, supposedly the view from the bar/breakfast area is apparently pretty decent – I guess you would have to find out for yourself! If back in Ushuaia, which as I look for ways to set foot on Antarctica is certainly possible, I would certainly book a stay here again.
