Wednesday, December 27. 2023
Today was a travel day. We had an early buffet breakfast, then took our packed bags downstairs to be loaded. Reluctantly, we all piled into a van. Gustavo joined us and chatted throughout the short ride to Aeropuerto Internacional Iguazu (IGR). After check-in, we said our goodbyes and thank-you to Gustavo and boarded an Airbus for our flight back to Buenos Aires.
 |
| A Farewell Photo Op |
 |
| Our Viking Guides, Gustavo and Patricia |
We arrived at the International airport (EZE) and were vanned back into town to first pick up our luggage at the Sofitel Recoleta. There were ongoing protests over the new government’s policies and our driver was anticipating delays, but the only delay we had was due to an accident. We transferred our bags from the Sofitel to the Intercontinental Hotel, about a ten minute drive. We checked in with the hotel and with the Viking desk where we were issued green flagging for our luggage to indicate our travel group tomorrow. Harriet learned that her hotel had been changed so, we said goodbye and thank-you to Patricia who escorted Harriet to her hotel. Our rooms weren’t ready so we waited in the lobby with Ray and Nina. I wandered a few blocks around the hotel looking for an ATM but when I finally found one, the customer in front of me had depleted the machine of its cash, a common problem in this inflation-challenged country.
 |
| Back to Buenos Aires |
 |
| Lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel |
 |
| Nice Room, Brief Stay |
Our rooms were finally ready a little before 4 pm, so we took our luggage to the room, freshened up a bit and then met Nina and Ray at 4:30 pm for dinner. We walked a few blocks to an Italian restaurant, D’Oro. Dinner in Buenos Aires comes very late so that we were the only customers. I ordered a seafood salad that was huge and looked delicious. However, I was beginning to feel ill with a headache and sinus congestion and only nibbled at my meal. After returning to our hotel room, we showered, donned our sleep ware, packed our green-flagged baggage to be checked, and placed them in the hallway for Viking to pick-up during the evening. We set our alarms for 3 am, and headed to bed anticipating a busy early-starting travel day tomorrow.
 |
| Our Dining Venue |
 |
| Waiting with Ray and Nina to be Seated |