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March 15th

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We’re in Buenos Aires! It wasn’t clear we were actually going to make it, though…

We’d booked the trip months ago with Lufthansa (hereafter “L”), because it seemed to have the most direct flight we could manage. So, from TLV to FRA (Frankfurt) to EZE (Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires). Simple, no?

But then L canceled the return flight, and offered us a return trip which was the same as what we had originally had, but where the departure from FRA was two hours before our flight from EZE was scheduled to land. Not useful. So we got an alternate return via Swiss. Longer, but same class etc. as the original, presumably.

Then, L canceled the outgoing flight. Their offered flight landed Friday morning instead of Thursday, and we were concerned about delays (prescient, it turns out). So we had to scramble and got the same flights but a day earlier.

Then, L informed us two days before the flight that our seats (for which we had paid extra) were swapped for other (worse) seats. OK, no sweat; at least we’re on the flight. And then, an hour later, they told us that that flight, from TLV to FRA, was canceled. So we scrambled once more and got an El Al replacement flight.

Then, the day before, L informed us that the FRA to EZE flight was delayed 10 hours, so we’d have to spent 12 hours or so in FRA airport.

I was a bit nervous at this point, and sceptical we’d ever make it to EZE, or that if we did manage to get on the flights, that our seats and meals would be as ordered.

However, against all odds, our flight from TLV did leave, and once in FRA, L comp’ed us a hotel room for the night, and in the morning we did get on the plane, and it did leave (an additional 45 minutes late, but at this point, who cared). After an additional butt-numbing 14 hours of flight, we landed At EZE. And we even had our “special meals” on all but the El Al flight, for which we didn’t have any time to order. But at least their meals are all kosher, for some value of “kosher” — though inexplicably for a country with so many vegetarians and vegans, they only offered meat sandwiches…

Anyway, here we are!

Esther’s brother Sergio picked us up at the airport and ferried us to the AirBnB we’re staying at. Which, it turns out, is a very nice apartment, with excellent security, in a swanky part of town called “Recoleta”. Of course, we were pretty much dead on our feet after some 40 hours of travel, but put on a brave face for the family.

We’ve only been “on the ground” two days, so don’t have much to tell about our activities. We ate out a few times, unsurprisingly. We’re trying to arrange our shabbat situation, and fortunately there’s some time yet.

This shabbat we’re in Buenos Aires, and we had food delivered. Nothing exciting, but I’ll let you know next week if the pre-prepared food was OK.

Until next time,
shabbat shalom!

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