An early morning, up at 5:45, off at 6:30, airport at 7AM. Absolute bedlam!
Thousands of people going to and fro, long lines, but our travel agent got us well positioned and half an hour later got us to the front of the line. The summer season is upon them and schools are out now, therefore pandemonium at the airport!
We presented our passports and a confused desk agent failed to locate us on the manifest. We discovered our flight had already departed to El Calafate. After two hours of failed rebook attempts, our agent told us the best she could do was 7:20 tomorrow. Ugh! We were angry, frustrated and disappointed.
A new hotel was arranged and the three of us got into the smallest cab in history. More trouble at the hotel. Our check in was delayed until 3 PM.
After a mediocre breakfast, we rallied! We rode an on/off bus and saw much of the city. A stop at the Arte Decorativo Museum proved to be fruitful. After splitting a delicious pizza, Kathy and I entered a beautiful building full of Medieval art and tapestries brought alive by modern objects of everyday life. The exhibit of Italian whimsical furniture, lamps, and practical yet elegant culinary objects lifted our mood.
On the walk back to the hotel we stopped at a park and discovered a woodpecker to add to our life lists.
A final stop at an expansive weekend craft market garnered Kathy an early Birthday gift.
We hope we have better luck tomorrow as we are scheduled to visit a glacier and hopefully see the Andes Condor.