5000 miles later

The flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires was long but uneventful. I even got some sleep and arrived feeling fairly refreshed. (It will catch up with me later.) It was raining pretty hard when we arrived, but had pretty much let up by the time that I reached the hotel.

My first surprise was when I realized that I had to pay a $140 US “entry fee” to enter Argentina. I had read about this but forgotten all about it. Needless to say, American Express, Visa and MasterCard are all accepted. (Although it is not a visa, it is much like one – they put a card in your passport showing that the fee was paid, and allowing unlimited reentry for ten years.)

When I checked in at the hotel, the receptionist told me that my room did not include breakfast since I was “paying” with Marriott points. However, since I still have “gold” status with Marriott, I do have lounge privileges and the lounge has an excellent breakfast buffet. Since my room is not ready yet, I am in the lounge having a late breakfast and catching up on the blog and email.

I am also watching TV and seeing the terrible news about the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was just a little over a year ago that I was in Christchurch beginning my last cycling trip, so this news hits pretty hard.

I am looking forward to getting the feel of the city this afternoon and taking some pictures.

PS -- after waiting for this room that didn't include breakfast, I was given a very large suite -- so here are the first pictures of the trip: