It had been raining off and on all morning, but finally the rain let up, and it was still early enough that there were no tourists in the park, so I decided to take advantage of the lack of people for one last stroll down the waterfall path.
I had the lookout points and walkways all to myself. It was incredible.
As I got to the end and started my way up to the visitor center and the bus back to the hotel, I looked down to see a rainbow. What a magical place.
Back at the hotel, it was time to say our goodbyes to Iguazu and Brazil. Goodbye fun, pink hotel.
Goodbye beautiful Christmas decorations.
And goodbye Guarana.
Then it was back on the bus and through the two borders to Argentina. The idea was that it was easier to fly domestically within Argentina, but the Argentine national airline only allows 15kg bags and charges for anything over that. Thank goodness, the tour company had already accounted for that, and there was a guy there whose job was to settle our outstanding bills, so we didn't have to worry about it. Love guided tours!
It was about lunch time, so we found the one restaurant. They didn't have Guarana, but boy did they have steak.
The girls are such good travelers. They've gotten used to all the waiting that's involved and know how to entertain themselves.
After a short flight, we arrived at the domestic airport in Buenos Aires to the sounds of a gospel choir.
I have absolutely no idea why there was a gospel choir performing at the domestic airport, complete with flying confetti, but it was a nice surprise. What wasn't a nice surprise was that, unlike in Brazil, we had to haul our own bags. To make matters worse, our bus was all the way on the other side of the airport. Jeff and I each manned a luggage cart and walked for what felt like miles. Eventually though, we got to our newest bus and got settled in.
The airport was in the poorer part of the city, so we drove past all kinds of shacks and other precarious housing arrangements. Then we crossed the train tracks to the fancy side of town full of shopping malls, restaurants, and hotels. Our hotel for the night was the Emperador Hotel. The pictures on the website looked very nice, but I have never received such rude service at any other hotel in the world.
The good news was that my parents were meeting us there to join us for the cruise, so we had a nice reunion in the lobby. The girls sat with them while Jeff and I waited in line for over twenty minutes to check in only to be told that we had rooms on two completely different floors. Marcia had specifically sent a request for connecting rooms, but the lady behind the desk said they had "not been informed." Now first of all, they have the kids listed as kids, so this is not rocket science. Second of all, weary travelers at the end of a long day need to be treated kindly. I didn't completely lose it, but I pulled out my haughtiest Spanish and told them to fix it. In the end, the manager showed up to apologize and offer us two suites on the same floor a few doors down from each other. I asked if we could just put two rollaway beds in the one large suite, but was told no, because only one additional child is allowed in the room. I don't know what kind of face I made, but I managed to hold my tongue, and we took the two rooms.
The tour included a dinner and tango show, but it didn't start until after eight and wouldn't be over until after midnight, so we didn't think that would be the best fit for us. Added to that, one of Vivian's best friends from Bogota had moved to Buenos Aires over the summer, so we made plans to meet up with her and her mom for a proper steak dinner instead. It was great to see them again and the food was good, but we continually got the impression that the children were not welcomed. Overall, Buenos Aires did not make a good first impression. Fortunately, the girls were tired, so after diner they quickly fell asleep in their room and we had a smooth night.
No comments:
Post a Comment