I left Orlando the last day of the coldest February that I could remember. Well that is of course since I moved to Florida. I was heading to the southern hemisphere and summer.
Why did I fly an indirect route through Dallas? For those that know me, an easy answer. It brings me closer to Executive Platinum status again.
The flight to Dallas was uneventful - good. At least I got the two Glenlivets that American allocates to their flights. Dallas to Buenos Aires was an overnight flight. The food was good, as was the service. I think the entire crew was family. I took my sleeping pill and was out for the duration.
My friend Ruben arranged a car from the airport to the apartment I rented. It was in a great location, near restaurants and transportation. Ruben met me and I quickly took a much needed morning nap.
Since I was in Buenos Aires, lunch and dinner the first day was lomo - filet mignon. How about ten to fifteen dollars with wine. Dinner was at a popular local steakhouse - Restaurnte Norte.
The next day was free, so I wandered the city, visiting the five star Alvear hotel. Its like the Plaza hotel in NYC, but with more reasonable prices.
No steak for me on day two - pizza lunch and dinner. I went to a very famous restaurant and loved the pizza. You have to get used to green olives in the middle of every slice.
El Cuartito, La buena pizza - fantastic empanadas y pizza.
I went to bed early, since I had a 4:00am pick up for my early flight to Ushuaia - at the southern tip of South America. Of course I left my travel alarm home, but luckily my Palm Pilot had an alarm.
I got to the airport early - good thing, there was a long line. The flight was five hours with a stop in el Calafate. I listened to my book on CD and even slept for a while.
Ushuaia - pronounced you-sh-why-a - is a beautiful small city. Its surrounded by snow peaked mountains - Was I here for a late luge run at the Olympics?
Ushuaia remimded me of Ketchikan, Alaska. Small, with lots of tourist attractions. I scouted the town, and decided on a boat tour for the afternoon. It was a five and a half hour tour and we saw lots of birds, sea lions, an old lighthouse, and most important - penguins.
This is my fourth penguin sighting, First in Cape Town, South Africa. Next in Philip Island, Australia. My third time was in the Galapagos Islands. Next will be Antartica.
Don't tell anyone, but I'm bringing one home to Eric.
My second day in Ushuaia was relaxing. I probably walked every street in the city - and then some. I love viewing the snow capped mountains from my hotel room.
Dinner was amazing. King crab is almost as good as Maine lobster. This was in a mushroom cream sauce. Calories? Well who's counting.
Tomorrow I'm taking the convict train to the national park.
Who knows what day it is. Bus picked me up at 8:20, a decent hour. We drove south to "El Tren del Fin del Mundo", the end of the world train. Originally there was a penal colony in Ushuaia. Similar to Australia for the British.
They sent the prisoners south, to hard labor, summer and severe winter. The prisoners cut down the forests. We saw thousands of tree stumps during the ride. Of course the prisoners did not have the comfort of seats as we did on the train. I have no idea how they survived the winter. At least they had Sunday off.
We then toured the national park. The Andes and Chile on one side, the Atlantic on the other.
We were less than
In the afternoon I relaxed and read. Did great on Mon and Tue NYTimes crossword puzzles. Not so good on Wed. I don't even try Thur, Fri, or Sat.
This is a view from my hotel room.Tonight I went to a resturant that reminded me of Harry's Tavern, my grandparents' restaurant. Very simple, but great food. When you entered, you saw a tank filled with live king crab. The couple next to me ordered a whole crab. It was fun watching them, easier to take apart then a Maine lobster. I had king crab in a spice sauce. It was better than last night's meal.
Tomorrow is a travel day - Ushuia to Buenos Aires.
Very nice but long flight to BA. The driver was there to greet me, and I was soon back in my apartment.
I was meeting my friend Ruben for dinner, and was surprised when the doorbell rang an hour early. I buzzed him in but it turned out to be the cleaning ladies.
Ruben showed up right on time and we had dinner at a new steak restautant - which was as good as all the others.
Next stop - Guayaquil, Ecuador - I hope. There´s been a lot of trouble at the Santiago airport, so I don´t know if the flight will operate.
No comments:
Post a Comment