Buenos Aires, Argentina, Debarkation, & Return Home

         Thursday, 11 Jan 2024 – The ship was scheduled to dock Buenos Aires at 8:00 AM.  Jesse had sat the alarm for 7:00 AM, but Sally was awake well before then.  We had intended to finish packing and take go to breakfast in the Terrace Café with our carry-ons and personal items in tow.  However, since we were already up anyway, we went to breakfast earlier than planned.  Jim & Pat arrived at the same time, so we sat with them.  We ate light, since neither of us were hungry yet.  After breakfast, we finished packing and checked out of our cabin a little after the 8:00 AM deadline.

Every elevator that stopped on our deck was already full.  Finally, a group of us decided to board an empty elevator going up; that seemed to be the only way to get on!  On our way back down to deck 5, we apologized to the other passengers that couldn’t get on with us!  After finally reaching deck 5, Jesse stopped by reception to get a final cruise receipt, since we hadn’t received one.  Then Sally sat on one of the atrium steps, while Jesse stood, and waited for our group number Blue 2 to be called.

After disembarking and picking up our luggage from security, we boarded our Blue 2 bus to the famous Michelangelo Legend Restaurant.  That was one of the options given for passengers with flights leaving after 8:00 PM.  The restaurant is located in downtown Buenos Aries and is walking distance to many local restaurants and tourist sites, so it was a better place to spend the day than the airport.  The restaurant also served complimentary snacks and beverages.  Wi-Fi was also available at the restaurant, so Jesse spent the day online!  Many of the passengers took walking tours around the city; there was also a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus available.  Around noon, they passed out menus from the restaurant next door.  We had been enjoying the complimentary snacks, so we weren’t the least bit hungry.

At 6:00 PM, we boarded a bus for the airport.  Passengers with earlier flights had been picked up at 5:00 PM.  Jesse snapped a few photos of the scenery as we rode to the airport.  Our checked bags were waiting us at the airport.  Several young baggage handlers were there to help passengers with their bags.  The only problem was that we were flying on American Airlines, whose ticket counters were at the far end of the airport.  Although we had requested a wheelchair for Sally, we still had to walk to the ticket counter.  About halfway there, we realized that we had left one of our bags at the drop-off point.  We gave our name and a description of our missing suitcase to the baggage handler, and we waited while he literally ran back to retrieve it.  Once we got to the ticket counter and checked our bags, we sat and waited for Sally’s wheel chair.  Going through security was much quicker than for most passengers, since we were TSA prechecked and Sally was in a wheelchair.  We also boarded the plane early due to Sally’s wheelchair status.

We had aisle and window seats.  We were glad that Benjamin, from the cruise, was sitting in the window seat on our row.  We talked with him a lot during the first part of the cruise.  We learned that he is 23 and works as an endoscopy technician.  He would like to study to become a physician’s assistance, but has been reluctant to start the rigorous training requirements.  Although Oceania had booked seats for his family, none of them were seated together on the plane.  Also, Benjamin and Joshua were on different flights from Dallas to Seattle than their parents.  Jesse was extremely uncomfortable in his seat during the 10-hour flight.  It appeared that the seats were much closer together than usual.  Jesse made several trips to the lavatory, where he enjoyed much more legroom.  He was much more comfortable after he finally decided to stow our laptop bag in one of the overhead bins.  Although our flight departed at 10:30 PM, we were served a choice of chicken or pasta for dinner; we ordered one each, but neither was very tasty after enjoying 39 days of delicious Oceania cruise meals!  Towards the end of the flight, we were each served a light packaged breakfast, along with coffee and juice.  Since neither of us were hungry, we saved our packaged breakfasts for later.

Friday, 12 Jan 2024 – After exiting the plane in Dallas at about 6:30 AM, Sally boarded a transport cart, and since seating was limited, Jesse was asked walk to the customs with our carry-on bags.  We were told that a wheelchair would be waiting for us after we got through Global customs; however, we were flagged for extra random inspections and were escorted to another area.  We didn’t realize how far we had to walk until we left the area.  Sally had difficulty engaging the escalator with her carry-on bag and came close to falling, but Jesse barely managed to steady her and her carry-on bag during our descent.  Afterwards, we told the escort that Sally was supposed to be in a wheelchair.  He said that was unfortunate and helped Sally with her carry-on bag the rest of the way.  Once we finished our “extra” baggage inspection, our escort took us to a desk where we could order Sally a wheelchair.  We were very lucky that our escort was so helpful!  After that, it was smooth sailing – so we thought!

Out flight to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport (MSP) was scheduled to depart from Gate D38 at 11:30 AM.  While waiting for our flight, it was announced that flights were being delayed due to high winds.  Jesse checked the monitor and saw that our flight was being delayed until 12:00 PM; however, he did not notice that the departure gate had changed to D2!

Although we had eaten our packaged breakfasts, Sally was still hungry; so, we walked a little way to McDonalds and ordered lunch.  During our walk, Jesse finally noticed that our departure gate had been changed to D2.  After finishing our lunch, we decided to walk to Gate D2, rather than calling for a wheelchair.  The walk was much longer than we anticipated and Sally was exhausted when we finally arrived.  Our flight was not posted on the gate’s board.  When Jesse asked about it, we were told that our departure gate had been changed to D20!  This time, Jesse requested a wheelchair for Sally.

A transport vehicle soon arrived and whisked us back to D20, where passengers were already boarding.  Since Sally was a wheelchair customer, we were allowed to cut in line to board.  The flight to MSP was much shorter and Jesse was much more comfortable.  The man that was sitting in our row in the window seat was as large a Jesse, so Sally was a little bit squished.  He was a biomedical engineer and had been working in the Dallas area and was returning home to Minneapolis.  We were served juice and snacks.

A wheelchair was waiting for Sally at the gate, and the attendant wheeled her to baggage claim.  While waiting, we retrieved some of our warmer garments from our carry-on bags and donned them for our trip to Kirsten’s house.  After picking up our luggage, we headed for the exit.  Thankfully, a local airline passenger directed us to the Uber pickup location.  We had to take an elevator to the lower level, transit a tunnel underneath the roadway, then take another elevator back up to ground level.  Jesse then ordered an Uber, which was only an hour away.  While boarding the Uber, Jesse realized that it had not been very wise of him to only pack dancing shoes and sandals for the cruise!  The ride to Kirstens was about 30 minutes.  Kirsten was still at work when we arrived, but Artem helped us get our luggage inside the house.

We spent three nights at Kirstens.  There, we enjoyed great meals with Kirsten & Artem.  On Saturday night, they took us on a tour of their investment properties; then to dinner at the Jasmine 26 Hot Pot Restaurant & Bar in Minneapolis.  There, guests enjoy cooking their own personalized meals in simmering pots filled with a variety of high-quality broths, including traditional and unique flavors.  It was a wonderful experience.  Afterwards, Jesse commented that the numerous tables with built-in hot plates must have been a significant investment!

Luckily, Monday was a holiday (Martin Luther King’s Birthday), so neither Kirsten nor Artem had to work.  Kirsten went online and checked the roads, and they appeared to be clear all the way to Sioux Falls, even though temperatures were still sub-zero.  So. after breakfast, we loaded up our vehicle and said our goodbyes.

Our vehicle started up right away; however, after about 30 minutes, we realized that the heat was not working.  At one point, we stopped by a Jiffy Lube; but they said we would need to visit a full-service auto repair shop.  It was extremely cold in the vehicle, and we stopped a few times to warm up.  About halfway home, Sally felt that she had reached the end of her endurance!  Then, Jesse had an epiphany and decided to check the controls.  He found that the controls were not set properly.  After resetting them, we had heat!  We turned the heat up to 80 degrees and enjoyed the warm temperature the rest of the way home!

Anyway, it’s great to be home again!