Zoowee! What a flight! 4hrs from San Fran to Mexico City, then a further 9.5hrs to Buenos and with time going 4hrs into the future, both Ric & I started asking - “Why have we travelled so far for only 6 days of actual time on the ground..?” (We had been saying we were going to be in BA for 8 days!)
At San Fran Airport, Ric ran into a work colleague from Vic Police..!! He had caught a glimpse of the guy (name escapes me) whilst we were @ Alcatraz but he was lost in the crowd. Ric had previously stated that on every trip he’s done, he ends up meeting someone, at random, that he knows. In Thailand he sat down @ a bar next to a Teacher that Mum works with!! (Mum is an Integration Aid @ Primary School level.)
His above San Fran encounter was only possible through a series of, otherwise interminable, random events… We’d checked in @ Mexicana Airlines - which was SUPER early due to me being adamant (not harshly though - there were no arguments) that we needed to collect our bags from the Hostel & be on our way by 1730 This was a slight, even with the utmost ‘just in case’ time precaution, TOO early, so we were locked into 3.5hrs of quality Airport time prior to flight, after check-in!! On the plus side, we did end up with Exit Row Seating all the way to Buenos..!! Ta da!! Ric went for a recky & found something that resembled a bar and we ventured over. We were sitting @ an ‘outside’ table & a couple came along & took a seat along the concourse directly opposite us. Ric was convinced it was the officer he’d seen @ Alcatraz and with only a little encouragement, went on over. Sure enough, it was the guy & he & his wife promptly joined us for a beer!! In a City of ??? Million what are the chances of seeing someone you know, twice in the space of a day…?
We eventually boarded our Air Mexicana flight & we were away. The flight was uneventful - as most are thankfully!! - but upon arrival in Mexico City for our 3.5hr stop over, the fun began!! Due to my own travel & Tango Fire, I’ve “been in transit” in a number of airports, Mexico City wins, hands down as the most unfriendly to transit passengers! It was crazy. You get off the plane & you have basically been dumped with everyone - people meeting loved ones off, what I can only assume are domestic flights, people being asked to board planes to all sorts of International destinations & right in the thick of it are two bald Aussies asking “Que pasa..?” (what happened?).
Based on both of our previous travels, we decided that we had to be in the right area and promptly sat down & had a nap, me more heavily than Ric. This was based on the fact that when in transit in Singapore, no immigration of any kind is required but that in Germany, you at least have to have your passport stamped… After an hour & a half of sleep both of us were slightly paranoid about the proceedings over the next 90 minutes. We found, quite quickly - as in easily, not panicking -, one of those “Departure Boards” that only stated the planes leaving for the next 20 odd minutes… Armed with our really, really bad Spanish we approached a Security looking guy, dressed like he was a General in the army - maybe he was…? - who was guarding an escalator. We showed him our boarding passes and after 3 mins of listening only to Spanish, looking at the eight different ways he was pointing & nodding in complete understanding, we both walked off in the direction of the 6th way he’d pointed, fully confident that we knew that he had said ‘Hello friends’ to us at the very start…! Beh!!
We walked all the way around our area & back again a couple of times. We kept coming back to the Immigration/Customs/Baggage Claim area - none of which we had to do… Feeling that cold & clammy sensation of “What ever we end up doing will be the wrong thing” starting to take hold & with not a word of useable Spanish between us, Ric made the call to go through Customs & see what we could find on the other side. A brave call but one that I backed up after probably looking at least a little scared & confused, but only for a second! We dutifully filled out the required forms and were ushered through.
Walking out into the main exit for international passengers did not clear up anything in the slightest. Unlike gnomes, dwarves, hobbits & many other types of adventurers who have the option of taking a detour or turning back, we did not thanks to a strong presence of Policia, both Federel & Aeroport! We followed signs that had two airplanes chasing each other around in a circle & that lead us to numerous taxi services… Retracing our steps & beyond we began to encounter what resembled check-in counters for numerous airlines. We found Air Mexicana but that was no help thanks to another tirade of Spanish… We found the Security Screening section & figured that it was at least a way back into the world of departing planes… Just before the security checkpoint there was a far more detailed “Departure” screen that stated that we were to depart form Gate 19 - the original one we had had a nap at!!
We breezed through Security, not cause we had anything to hide but because in Mexico City Airport, they have a care factor of zero! You want to blow up the plane with that kilo of C4...? Go right through Senor Laden..!!! No taking off of shoes (which is standard in the UK & throughout the USA), a simple pat down, where they clutch at what’s in your pockets but don’t investigate. Unless they’re wearing very fine, skin coloured X-Ray gloves that transmit the image to ???, we could have been taking anything aboard any number of major international carriers…!
Eventually we arrived back where we originally disembarked our inbound flight & sat down slightly frustrated, laughing but also grateful that we’d found a way to fill in our, as many of you know the pain of, dead & redundant, airport time…. Until they changed the Gate on us…! Man, what a nightmare!! We did eventually get to the right Gate & our little foray out through Customs paid off massive, but to us at the time unknown, dividends! I handed over my passport & boarding pass 1st, with Ric right on my heels. They scrutinised my Passport & relieved it of the bottom half of my Customs Form that I had filled in only an hour before. I didn’t think anything of it at all & sauntered through with great excitement at the prospect of what the next
9.5hrs would bring…! Halfway down the tunnel to the plane I turned to make a comment to Ric but he was nowhere to be seen… I immediately panicked!! Not over any Mexico City problems but because when Ric had booked all our “holiday” flights the Aus Travel Agent mentioned that it didn’t appear as if Air Mexicana had added any kind of fuel or government tax onto our fare… Upon getting confirmation of the flights but with no further addition to our bill, he/she let it slide & charged us the fee that Air Mexicana had stated. I had blessed Flight Centre, Brunswick St, Fitzroy (yes, a shameless plug!) at the time but now reversed that blessing thinking that Ric was now being asked to explain why he had paid no such taxes - and he wouldn’t be able to understand a word of it..!!
Nope, not to be. He did, finally come around the corner but he had been withheld because he has temporarily misplaced the bottom half of the Customs Form!! He was apparently not going to be allowed passage if he didn’t have the form!! If we hadn’t been bored, slightly apprehensive & of the mind & ability to take on an entire airport Security Force & it’s bureaucracy I shudder to think what would have happened! Let alone if we’d only had 1hr, let alone 1/2hr to make our connecting flight!!
Well, here we are. Safely stowed away in our 2 bedroom apartment in Polermo, Soho, Buenos Aires! We arrived here about 3hrs after our flight arrived on time due to a small portion of our flights baggage being deposited on the wrong carrousel - including both of our bags!! Airport Staff were obviously used to this as they eventually found us & said, “Oh no. Some bag come out on #2.” I mean this in no disrespect to anyone, but only “whitey’s” baggage ended up on the other carousel…
Lengthy entry & that’s just getting to Buenos!! Thanks for reading whoever & where ever you are.
(Sorry no photos on this one - Net is playing up..!)
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