We knew from the outset that travelling to Argentina in post COVID-19 times was never going to be simple. Direct flights from Australia to South America were not due to return until mid-2022 so we faced the prospect of traversing 3 continents. We set out on 16th Feb. with two long haul international flights ahead of us (plus an internal transfer Melbourne – Sydney), arriving into Buenos Aires on the 19th Feb.
Our first task was packing for 3 months – no chance here of travelling light considering also we need to pack for multiple seasons (including -5C in Dallas). After checking and re-checking our baggage allowances on Qantas and American Airlines we settled on 2 bags each (inc. one just for gifts), plus our carry-ons; golf clubs, a stroller and a child’s car seat made 13 bags in total – wow! How are we going to get these through the airports?
(side note – Agus is great at packing, I am hopeless. She packed my bag – I did not tell any of the immigration officials this. I did pack my golf clubs, but I don’t think that counts in the overall scheme of things.)
Leg 1 – MEL-SYD. This was a pretty mild 1.5hr introduction for what was to come. The Qantas staff on the international transfer check-in counter in Melbourne were great. All of the necessary COVID paperwork was submitted and approved online prior to our departure, they just needed to see our doctor’s certificates stating we had recovered from COIVD-19 within the last 90 days and our vaccination certificates. We then farewelled our bags and headed to the security scanners and then on to Qantas lounge to refuel Alfie. Watering and feeding toddlers is a key success metric – we also packed plenty of snacks.
Leg 2 – 14hrs on Qantas QF7 to Dallas Fort Worth (USA). Business class upgrade => Awesome! Sorry, but not sorry to the other travellers that now have to endure our family unit at the pointy end of the plane. I’ve survived flights with other people’s kids yelling, crying etc. before. What goes around comes around in my book, plus I had faith in Alfie and also the Melatonin syrup that our doctor prescribed to help him sleep on this long haul flight.
We transferred via bus from the Sydney domestic to international terminal, breezed through customs after a quick passport check & a relatively painless security screening up into the Qantas lounge and grabbed and early dinner. Just before our flight was called we changed Alfie into his pyjamas then headed downstairs, through another security check point and onto the plane ready to take off close to 6pm.
As we have come to expect, the service from the Qantas aircrew was great (when compared to other carriers – more on that later) and after the dinner service concluded we loaded Alfie up with melatonin and waited for it to kick in. 30 mins later, bingo, he was out.
But only for 4hrs…so then it became a seat swapping shuffle with Mum and Dad. When the iPad & inflight movies (sometimes both screens on at the same time) didn’t calm the restless beast, we changed tact to some of the many airline friendly games and activities Agus had researched and packed in his carry-on & snacks. Finally he crashed again for a few more hours…however this time on top of Dad.
He was up again a few hours before landing but by that time the cabin crew was starting to serve breakfast and although he was restless and wanting out of the plane (like everyone) we managed to get through it and landed in Dallas about 45mins ahead of schedule around 3:30pm local time. Surprisingly it was 16 C and very humid – we were expecting cold and had packed our puffer jackets!
US Customs – I have no idea how or why we got through the security and immigration checkpoints so quickly in Dallas. Was it the fact that they took pity on us when they saw a restless toddler who was ready to tear down the place to get outside and run? I very much doubt it, this is the USA after-all. A short wait in a queue in front of an immigration desk (no computer screens this time to answer a bunch of questions on), a couple of questions from the officer and that was it. No checking of vaccination status, sighting of medical certificates etc. just showed our passports they took a photo of us and that was it. Somewhat surprised we were sent through to baggage claim. Ok so there must be another check after we get our bags before we exit I thought, like the many other times I’ve visited the USA. Nope, it was straight outside and practically on to the street. Had I somehow misread the new COVID travel requirements or as they say, does Texas just do things differently?
Getting a taxi that could fit our 13 bags was not easy and I probably should have booked a car to pick us up as it would have saved half an hour of stuffing around. I did ask the hotel if they had a car service (they didn’t) and thought that we could just wing it with Uber. Which we did in the end after trying the curb-side cab service that after 2 attempts to get a mini-van concluded they couldn’t help us. Work had turned of my international phone roaming probably due to cost cutting measures during the last 2yrs of the pandemic (I’m not unhappy with this situation) but Agus had service so she rustled up an Uber XL which we managed to stuff everything into including my golf clubs on the floor in the back seat.
A 55mins ride to the hotel was not really what we wanted, but we landed in peak hour traffic and didn’t get to the hotel until 6pm. Alfie handled it relatively well but the “are we here yet” phrase (on repeat) is now right up there on the annoying a fuck scale with that shitty comedian Jimmy Rees (Jason, Jason, Jason) that my wife likes so much.
Hyatt Regency Dallas – all I can remember in my semi-jet-lagged state from the Uber ride from a scenery point of view it that everything in Dallas seemed to have a dull yellow shade. Everything from the ground, buildings, to the roadways, overpasses etc. The only thing that stood out was how flat the landscape was, except for all of the Texas flags (of course) and our hotel. On arrival we were greeted by the usual bunch of valets who were eager to help with our bags (welcome to the land of minimum wage and tips) but not so eager to ensure the safety of them or others. I barely caught hold of the baggage trolley and stopped it before it smashed into the side of our Uber driver’s car!
Check in was pretty fast despite their being an American Airlines conference at the hotel. We grabbed our vallet and headed off down the hallway to our room. He can’t fit into the lift with us with all the bags so tells us that he’ll take the next lift…no worries we think. We enter our adjoining rooms to find that in one of them there is a conference table and chairs setup – we call the front desk and rest its removal. Not a great start. 15mins go by and our valet and bags are nowhere to be seen. Agus immediately goes into an Argentinian panic and assumes that he has stolen all of our bags – obviously he was impersonating a valet… Another call to the front desk, 20mins later still nothing. I get into the elevator thinking that my Aussie accent may have sent him to the 40th floor and not the 14th only to find that there is only 15 floors in our wing. I head to reception to explain the situation in person and impress upon them that the need to solve this with urgency as they are dealing with very jet-lagged people. Finally they arrive – the valet’s first day apparently he got lost using a service elevator (logic dictated that it was too much effort to take my golf clubs off the trolley and use a standard elevator it seems…his manager apologises profusely. Fucked if I’m tipping them, it’s an awkward pause before they leave…I could care less at this stage.
The door bell rings again, finally the “engineer” are here to take the conference table and chairs away. He gets on the radio to ask for assistance (en Español) as there are people in the room. He apologises for the wait, I respond “Gracias es no problema” so that he knows we understand Spanish so he doesn’t say anything he shouldn’t…for his own sake.
Tired, but now showered and feeling slightly more human we head downstairs to find dinner. The hotel has 4 restaurants – 2 are open, 1 is a bar full of semi-drunk middle aged American Airlines employees discussing sales strategies and other BS. We put our names down at the Italian restaurant and wait 15mins to be seated. Pleasantly the food and service was excellent. Alfie gets his first Ice-cream hit in 36hrs…he’s happy albeit now cold. Off to bed for all of us – it’s 9pm and we’re destroyed but glad we stopped as we would not have survived another 11hr flight (+4hr layover in Dallas FW airport).
3 meses en Argentina 
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