Send Me On My Way

After about 30 hours of traveling, I finally made it to my new home. But before I describe the apartment, I’ll start back in Wilmington. I left with plenty of time from the apartment and only had to run back once for a last minute change of heart about what to bring. I made it to the airport with plenty of time and checked in with the lightest bags I’ve had since… ever! And to give myself a little more credit, my 75lb bags (total) included a fiber optic scope and new laptop that I was bringing down for the project. My car was packed with all of my worldly possessions for both FL and SC, and my bags for AK barely squeaked in under 100lbs. (In fact, I ended up paying the over weight fee for one of my bags on the way there. Give or take, they probably weighed about 115lbs combined then.)

That said, I arrived in Atlanta a little early and had plenty of time for my connection. Due to my online snooping before I left, I spotted Ben who is to be my American counterpart for my time in Santa Fe. (As I understand it, he was supposed to accompany me for the first part of Ushuaia too. He needs to get back to the states early so he won’t be coming at all down there. It’s a bummer for him that he won’t get to see that part of the country, but he’ll be rejoining his wife back at home. I had better hope my Spanish is great by then, as I won’t have an English buddy to talk to.) He is a PhD student in his last year at U Mass in Amherst. He definitely knows his stuff, but not in a cocky way. For example, I asked him what our schedule would be, and he mentioned something to the effect that it will take less than two days for me to have the swallow protocol down. What a huge and welcome difference in expectations than last season!

Our flight down to Buenos Aires was long, though we were given little goodie bags to make it more enjoyable. It included one of those masks to cover your eyes while sleeping (definitely came in handy), ear plugs, tooth brush/ tooth paste, lotion, and headphones. Pretty good for coach! I did see that first class got socks and all sorts of other stuff too, but I was sure happy with what I got. Oh, and we also got one free alcoholic drink with our dinner, an offer I couldn’t refuse.

We arrived in Argentina about 20 minutes early, leaving us enough time to catch an early bus to Santa Fe. We sped through customs, leaving Ben to think that we missed something. I simply enjoyed the hassle-free check. The language barrier kicked in as we had no clue where to go for our bus. (We had no problem buying our tickets. But as the time approached, we went outside to catch the bus, only to be pointed back inside. We had no clue what was going on. I don’t know if it was simply for our benefit, but they had someone met us inside and walked us out to our bus. It worked out well though.)

Within the first five miles, we saw our first dead person. There was some bike race/ride along the freeway. Why? I don’t know. Lots of smashed cars, lots of bloody people, and a very unhappy biker. (Do you still have emotions when you pass? Interesting…) I actually didn’t see the biker, but I saw what was left of one of the bikes, one of the cars, and the bloody guy still in the driver’s seat. It wasn’t quite the welcoming sight you want to see as you first enter a country. I guess it provides a good warning though.

After that, our bus got a flat. That didn’t seem to matter too much as we drove for about another 100km before we stopped to check it out. Then we stopped a couple more times trying to find a place that was open on a Sunday to fix it. No such luck, so we continued on our way. We dropped off a bunch of people, door to door, in Rosario; and then the driver told us to get off at a gas station. Hmmm, okay. It’s amazing how much more you can trust people if you don’t understand what’s happening. The driver got our bags and loaded them into a waiting car. This was not another bus for the final three-hour leg of our trip, not even a taxi, just a regular car with a printed out sheet stating the bus companies name. Our driver didn’t look sketchy, so what the heck. We had more legroom and the temperature in the car allowed my frostbite from the bus to thaw just a little.

On a side note, I read reports that Santa Fe is supposed to get pretty hot during the summer. In fact, that’s all anyone talked about. I checked on a map that it is at about the same latitude as Charleston, SC the day before I left. Yes, the south in the States does get pretty hot during the summer. However, I only realized in my whole body shivers that yesterday marked the last day of winter here. Although it will only get warmer as spring progresses, it is pretty damn cold right now! My down jacket is definitely getting a lot of use already.

We sped by the countryside which is remarkably flat. The landscape was predominated by agriculture consisting of grassy fields upon which the cattle grazed. Fruit stands dotted the freeway selling bags of oranges. Ben tried naming most of the birds we saw yet had some difficulty as we lacked a bird guide for Argentina and we were driving at a good speed. Honestly, I do best when I have the bird in a scope or better yet in my hand to figure out what it is. Perhaps if I know what I am looking for, I’ll improve in that area too.

We finally made it to the bus terminal at Santa Fe and called Martin who wasn’t expecting us for another couple of hours. Luckily he was in town and picked us up in half an hour. The apartment wasn’t ready yet, so he took us along the river where the locals had gathered to drink mate, a traditional drink. We were then shown the apartment. We each have our own room; there are two bathrooms, a kitchen, a family/dining room, and a utility room. The floor plan is quite different from what I am used to, and managed to get lost in trying to find the way out. (Perhaps the mate and a couple beers helped.) It’s not fancy, but it will certainly do for the next three months. My room has windows looking out in both directions, offering a great view of the city as we are perched atop the 12th floor of the building. I also have a slider out to one of the many balconies that surround the floor plan. (More on this later.)

I am freezing!!!! So I am going to try to curl up in a ball and get some shut eye. Ttyl!



PS. Send Me On My Way is my absolute favorite song. It just makes me want to get up and go somewhere, or at least dance. It's by Rusted Root by the way. :)