We were both looking forward to return to San Fernando Airport, not for the airport itself but because we were going to meet up with our friend Martin and the guys who looked after our plane from Cielo maintenance hangar, Gustavo and Leo. When we arrived we of course went through all the paperwork drama with PSA but somehow it did not seem so bad this time around, and I wonder is it because we are starting to get used to the stupid charade we have to do every time. We are warmly greeted by Gustavo and we get reacquainted with him sharing stories of our travels since we last saw him and hearing what has been happening with him, his work, and family. He looks at the damage on the plane that was done by my “incident” from Cholila and says he knows a guy who is an expert in repairs. I am really pleased as I still feel guilty for the damage I did despite knowing it was not my fault. Leo arrives and we also do some catching up with him, and the brothers as usual help us get a driver, and book us into a delightful hotel in Tigre a suburb of Buenos Aires about 20 minutes away.
The Villa Julia hotel was a delightful place to stay in, as it was once the family home of a wealthy prominent resident in the belle époque era (Edwardian to my British friends) and the building has been restored to its former glory, with original fixtures and fittings. We are staying in a suite which overlooks the pool area, and despite now being a hotel, the building itself had the feel of being a glamourous home. The huge crystal lantern in the living/bedroom area was really enchanting, and our large bathroom had a wonderful free standing deep bath. Our hotel is situated on the river so on our first day we did some tourist sightseeing,visited the Naval Museum, and took a boat ride along the river Parana which was really nice as we had some lovely warm weather .This was almost a perfect stop on journey because; in the grounds of the Art Museum of Tigre, I saw up close for the second time on this trip, green and red parrots flying around and nesting (not in cages in zoo), I caught up with my sleep,and had a magical lunch on an island not far from Tigre called Martin Garcia, after Chris and I were lucky to get a ride in our friend Martin’s beautiful Aero star. The only down side to this leg was that Chris got stuck in bed for almost a whole day with tummy flu/bug. I stayed in the room with him reading but it was not the most pleasant experience for either of us. But I suppose traveling to many places, drinking and eating at various locations,and despite being careful what you eat, tummy issues like this cannot be always avoided!!!
We leave Tigre late afternoon, Chris is still not feeling good and I do almost all of the flying. It is just getting dark when I land at the huge Carrasco International airport. We hope to see the friendly operation manager Jorge who we met last time we came to this airport.
On unloading our luggage on the ramp we are met by a friendly ground operation guy, Chris gets busy talking about airplanes as I of course unload the bags. It is now becoming a long standing joke at each airport we stop at , but also a bit frustrating on my part. As soon as we get out of the plane Chris talks to the ramp guys and “forgets” to help me unload the heavy bags saying “She likes to do it”. Tonight is no different from the rest he stands talking for ages as the ground guy is also a pilot. He shows him pictures of our trip, and I am not sure if it was because I was very tired but I don’t automatically go to unload the bags. Chris eventually starts to help but as he reaches into the airplane to lift out a bag he gashes his leg open!! The cut is pretty deep, the blood is everywhere, and I actually felt nauseous seeing this but go into “cabin crew mode” and drag out our first aid kit and look for a dressing and antiseptic cream. Chris being a man tells me not to fuss and carries on talking to the ground guy. I look at his cut and tell him he needs to go to a hospital or doctor as it looks pretty deep and may need stitches, but of course he refuses, but allows me to clean it and put a dressing on his leg. We enter the customs and immigration hall with our entire assortment of luggage. We are met by a ground operation officer who assists us right through security and notices that Chris limping. He directs us to the Farmacia (chemist)where we get extra dressings and creams for his leg, we jump an in taxi and head for the same hotel we stayed in on the Southern outward bound leg .
The Villa Julia hotel was a delightful place to stay in, as it was once the family home of a wealthy prominent resident in the belle époque era (Edwardian to my British friends) and the building has been restored to its former glory, with original fixtures and fittings. We are staying in a suite which overlooks the pool area, and despite now being a hotel, the building itself had the feel of being a glamourous home. The huge crystal lantern in the living/bedroom area was really enchanting, and our large bathroom had a wonderful free standing deep bath. Our hotel is situated on the river so on our first day we did some tourist sightseeing,visited the Naval Museum, and took a boat ride along the river Parana which was really nice as we had some lovely warm weather .This was almost a perfect stop on journey because; in the grounds of the Art Museum of Tigre, I saw up close for the second time on this trip, green and red parrots flying around and nesting (not in cages in zoo), I caught up with my sleep,and had a magical lunch on an island not far from Tigre called Martin Garcia, after Chris and I were lucky to get a ride in our friend Martin’s beautiful Aero star. The only down side to this leg was that Chris got stuck in bed for almost a whole day with tummy flu/bug. I stayed in the room with him reading but it was not the most pleasant experience for either of us. But I suppose traveling to many places, drinking and eating at various locations,and despite being careful what you eat, tummy issues like this cannot be always avoided!!!
We leave Tigre late afternoon, Chris is still not feeling good and I do almost all of the flying. It is just getting dark when I land at the huge Carrasco International airport. We hope to see the friendly operation manager Jorge who we met last time we came to this airport.
On unloading our luggage on the ramp we are met by a friendly ground operation guy, Chris gets busy talking about airplanes as I of course unload the bags. It is now becoming a long standing joke at each airport we stop at , but also a bit frustrating on my part. As soon as we get out of the plane Chris talks to the ramp guys and “forgets” to help me unload the heavy bags saying “She likes to do it”. Tonight is no different from the rest he stands talking for ages as the ground guy is also a pilot. He shows him pictures of our trip, and I am not sure if it was because I was very tired but I don’t automatically go to unload the bags. Chris eventually starts to help but as he reaches into the airplane to lift out a bag he gashes his leg open!! The cut is pretty deep, the blood is everywhere, and I actually felt nauseous seeing this but go into “cabin crew mode” and drag out our first aid kit and look for a dressing and antiseptic cream. Chris being a man tells me not to fuss and carries on talking to the ground guy. I look at his cut and tell him he needs to go to a hospital or doctor as it looks pretty deep and may need stitches, but of course he refuses, but allows me to clean it and put a dressing on his leg. We enter the customs and immigration hall with our entire assortment of luggage. We are met by a ground operation officer who assists us right through security and notices that Chris limping. He directs us to the Farmacia (chemist)where we get extra dressings and creams for his leg, we jump an in taxi and head for the same hotel we stayed in on the Southern outward bound leg .
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