We left the Hostel in Buenos Aires at 3am this morning, to make it in time for our airport transfer. We managed to squeeze in a couple of hours sleep – I was so tired. My eyes were still red this morning when we left but I felt a little better.
We thought we were going to breeze through check-in but I was wrong. One of the TAM (Brazilian Airline) workers had her knife in for me as soon as she heard I was living in Argentina on a tourist visa. She took my passport and tickets and left through one of the doors. I was not in the mood for any confrontations and was unsure what exactly she wanted to check.
After a while she came back and was still saying something about the tourist visa and then she gave me the go-ahead. At the check-in counter another run in when I had to explain, again, that Andrey and I are travelling on the same flight to Moscow. I was getting a little annoyed by now because I still had to go through immigration. Poor Andrey got it at the security counter when they checked us. They searched him from top-to-bottom and even opened his money bag to see what he had inside!
As soon as people heard we were heading for Moscow, they double checked everything. Anyway, once we passed immigration I thought it was all over…no-no! Another round of explanations before we boarded the plane. I am not sure why they took their job so serious…it is not the Argentinian people that gave us problems but the Brazilian Airline!
We arrived safely in a very cold and rainy Rio de Janeiro. The Airport is situated on an island and we can see the city through huge glass windows. We were planning to go to the city for the day but eventually decided to stay put. No more drama please.
We hunted high and low for a free Wi-Fi service. We almost gave up when Andrey overheard a woman talking about the Wi-Fi. Andrey tried one more, we registered, entered our e-ticket numbers and it worked! Now we are connected and still have 4 hours to wait until we board for Lisbon.
I don`t feel tired any more, I am too excited.
Another challenge today were the plugs that we have on our computers. I forgot the adapter at home but Andrey managed to modify it and we can use the electricity points at the airport. I am so happy about that. It is not nice to sit 12 hours without anything to keep you occupied. I enjoyed watching some old TV programs that I didn`t have time to watch before.
If all goes well, we will be in Lisbon tomorrow some time and after another 7 hours we will leave for Moscow. We are scheduled to arrive early morning on the 17th. I am also excited to see what Lisbon airport looks like. Another exciting flight ahead of us!
Where: Galeão International Airport,Rio de Janeiro
When: 15 May 2012
