We arrived in Buenos Aires almost exactly on time (even after circling in a holding pattern for a while). Not bad for a nearly nine-hour flight. We were all very tired, but once the sun had come up, Michaela was smiling and playful, but kept rubbing her eyes.
Customs was a breeze. We were sent to the handicapped line because we had a child, which was a much shorter line. Our documents werenīt subjected to much scrutiny (I hadnīt completely filled out my customs form). Once we were waiting for our luggage, Margarita got her first taste of how things would be in Argentina. In the bathroom, she found no toilet paper or paper towels.
After we quickly got outside the customs area, the first remis stand (basically a stand to hire taxis) offered us a price to La Plata that was less than we expected (75 peros instead of 85+) so off we went. After some struggling, I managed to get the car seat installed (complete with Michaela) and off we went in the well-used taxi.
I canīt say much about the trip except that the Argentina seems to have missed the whole point of toll roads. Normally, they work on the theory that you want to pay to go faster. However, the toll road from the airport to Buenos Aires had toll stops so frequently, that it may have been faster to take local roads. In addition, at one toll collection stop, there was literally one cop for each lane standing around looking bored. Some of them were talking to each other. I wondered what would happen if you didnīt pay the toll and drove away. Would they shoot at your car - or would they use a radio?
The reason that is my only comment is because Michaela and I slept nearly the whole trip to La Plata (thanks Margarita!). When I woke up, we were just entering La Plata, which seems like an old and somewhat run-down city. While the sidewalks seem wide and the roads are ok, there arenīt really any new buildings and the existing buildings donīt appear to be meticulously maintained. There are lots of non-descript multi-story apartment buildings. While I was checking out the sights, Margarita was doing her best to direct the driver to the hotel. The driver ended up getting us to the hotel, albeit indirectly.
The hotel, a Howard Johnson, advertises itself as a four-star, so we were expecting a pretty nice hotel, even for the Expedia rate of USD$19 per night. However, when we went to claim our room, it couldnīt be found. I figured we were in trouble when the reservation we had made by computer from the US resulted in a search through a very big book with lots of hand-writing on it and not a computerized reservation system. After much searching and discussion among the hotel personnel, we got a room on the top floor overlooking the Plaza Martín for about the price we thought we would (a ĻspecialĻ rate).
The room is very small and reminded me of the night we spent in a tiny room at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. However, it is well-equiped with a refrigerator, remote control television, smallish tub and shower, and a bidet. The bed seems a bit smaller than our queen-size bed, but should be adequate. The view and location are awesome, though.
Posted by mike at May 2, 2003 06:12 PM