I set the alarm for 927am, and it was a bit of a struggle to get up. We didn’t get to bed until around 2am, due to time changes and such, so we were a bit groggy. We just had to get to breakfast by 10. It wasn’t anything special and will go in Nicole’s review. They didn’t even acknowledge her status as a Hilton Honors Gold member. What’s the point in loyalty if you don’t get welcomed? Unacceptable. It’s going in her review.
We killed time just looking out the window at traffic and the distant hills. A little after 1pm, we made our way to the airport in a taxi. The driver for some reason thought we were Italian. We’re working on it, but it’s not official yet. Check-in was slow and drawn out not unlike the Hilton Garden Inn Bogotá airport. It took us about 45 minutes to move 15 spots to just have paper tickets with no seat assignment. Customs and security was pretty easy and we had a little bit of time to go to the El Dorado lounge inside the terminal.
I upgraded my credit card just days ago in order to have Priority Pass, but it has not activated yet. Luckily Nicole evidently still has about eight more passes into lounges. The lounge was quite large — extending an unnecessarily long length including spa, children’s playground, restaurant, and movie theater. I attempted to make some semblance of a lunch out of the few snacks and things set out in our area, but it wasn’t a lot. We left the lounge to find them making a last call announcement for our flight. We again did not have seats together, separated by about ten rows and two aisles on the Avianca 787. We both had middle seats on top of that.
It was a flight that was blocked for six hours, departing at 350pm and arriving into Buenos Aires after midnight. So naturally, there was no food served. No drinks either. In fact, the most anyone could hope for was to pay for a pack of Pringles. The setup was frankly shocking for an international flight of that distance to be treated worse than someone flying Spirit. At least Avianca had a chat feature on their IFE, so I could complain to Nicole about the situation. I watched Spy Game to pass the time and wondered if Brad Pitt’s character being tortured in a Chinese prison was faring better or worse than the majority of Avianca passengers.
After what seemed like an eternity, we landed in Ezeiza International airport to thunderous applause. We wound our way through customs and emptied into an arrivals hall that had a Starbucks, a McDonalds, and an Outback Steakhouse. These establishments had the sense to stay open for Avianca arrivals and they were making a killing. I had some McDonald’s while Nicole grabbed some baked goods from Starbucks and we had dinner at 1am. While not ideal, it was at least something. We then caught an Uber for the thirty minute ride into the city and ultimately the San Telmo neighborhood known for its cafes, tango scene, and bohemian vibe. Of course, at 2am, we weren’t really taking any of that in, and simply wanted to check in to the Hilton Curio Collection and be done with it. Let’s hope tomorrow involves three proper meals.
passports & pepto bismol 