Arriving at “Good Air” or “Fair Winds”

I have made it to Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is the start of my expedition! I went from Milwaukee, WI to Dallas-Fort Worth, met up with my wonderful friend and Limitless Space Institute Educator roomie for life Lauren, and then got on another plane from Dallas to Buenos Aires. That flight was a long 9 1/2 hour flight, but there were several incredible views as we came in over the Pacific Ocean into Chile during the earlier morning time period. The Andes are beautiful, and now I want to go to Chile, too!!

Once in Buenos Aires, I did the customs/immigration thing uneventfully, and waited for the shuttle to our hotel. The international airport in Buenos Aires had a lot of American restaurants- MacDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, and an Outback Steakhouse. Good thing I don’t need to eat at the airport, as I’d much prefer to eat local foods!

I don’t think I could ever drive in Argentina – our guide said that they have inherited the Italian influence in their driving with lots of traffic, and I noticed many lanes with people driving in between the lanes from time to time, too!

After checking into the hotel and dropping off my bags, we embarked on a city tour of Buenos Aires. We got to see the underground tunnels of El Zanjon De Granados, the government buildings (including where Eva Perron addressed the people from a balcony), and walked through the cemetery that houses Eva Perron’s mausoleum.

We learned that Buenos Aires has a longer name – Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre, and was shortened to Buenos Aires over time. This means “Fair Winds,” because sailors wanted fair winds for their journey to and from Buenos Aires. Seems like a very fitting place to start an expedition to Antarctica! Let’s hope we have fair winds, too!

After that, it was time for our welcome reception, with the briefing for tomorrow. Then my roommate Jacqueline and I walked around the area by our hotel. It is along the river, and had a lot going on! I can cross off seeing the Argentine Tango in Argentina from my list, as we got to see a street performance! I found a bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava, and it reminded me of the Milwaukee Art Museum!

We have a 5:50 am wake-up call for our flight to Ushuaia tomorrow, so it’s time for bed!