We´re heeeeeeeeeeerrrre!!!

OH MY DAYS!


well we had a very interesting journey but interesting in a pretty amazing way. We left Jeri at 10pm following dinner and treats with our friends and then had our day in Fortaleza as we said before. We´d already asked if we could change planes for something earlier to have a day in Sao Paulo but it was 200 pounds more so we thought we´d stay and have a fun day in a city that the guide described as ´sophisticated´. It´s not. But we did have fun and it tired us out even more than we originally were so we thought we´d sleep a little and then take our flight. I´ll describe our journey as it should have been if we hadn´t been able to change it.
We would leave Fortaleza at 2.30 am to fly to Brasilia, stay on the plane and arrive in Sao Paulo at 9.30. We would then have to change airports (a 2 hour journey) before leaving for our next flight at 3.30pm. We would first fly to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, then to Asuncion again Paraguay before changing planes and finally arriving at Buenos Aires at 7.40pm.
Why we booked this deranged journeywith 5 stops is beyond me. Thankfully we had a completely different journey and now we love TAM more than any airline in the whole world.

As soon as we got back to the airport in Fortaleza we went to see if we could change flights or at least book exit seats for the benefit of Rhys´long legsies and there was a little TAM man called Giovani (WE LOVE YOU GIOVANI) who is going to London in April and wanted to speak English to us.We explained our situation and he said, come back at 11pm and I´ll try to get you on the direct flight. So at 11, feeling incredibly nervous we went back and, not only did he get us on the flight, he booked us front row seats with loads of leg room (he told his boss I was pregnant to get the seats so I had to wobble off with Rhys carrying all the bags). SO we got on the earlier direct flight and arrived safe, happy and quite tired, it being 2 nights since we slept, in Sao Paulo at 5am.

Naturally, so as not to take advantage, we immediately asked again if we could change flights and they added our name to a list, in case there were empty seats on an earlier flight. At 8.30 there was a direct flight, we hung around check in waiting for our name to be called but sadly the plane was full and we were told to go back at 9.20. So we had a coffee, played a game and then went back but alas, this plane was also full. I have to add that when you wait, the check-in people run up and down the desks shouting for free seats and it is one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking things I have experienced. We knew that the next direct flight, at 2.20pm was the last one before our own, 3 stop flight so we were completely desperate to get the flight. So we waited and waited and were told that there was a good chance that we´d get the flight, then not much chance and finaly that there was only one seat and then none!AAAHHH 3 MORE FLIGHTS! We were tired and a bit annoyed that our luck had run out so we went to check into our flight and were told.......there was space on the direct flight! We were rushed through at full-speed to the plane and 20 minutes later we were off for a 2 hour flight with dinner and films to Buenos Aires.

So we had 2 flights instead of 5. Rhys' Grandma once said it's better to be lucky than to be rich and I think she's right. We go to our apartment at 7pm and had to endure a strange check-in but as soon as the landlord left we lay down, imagining that we would have a little nap and then get some dinner of steak but instead we fell asleep and woke up 14 hours later feeling much better.

Now we're in central Buenos Aires, we've had a trip to cafe Tortoni (sa a changer maman, les toilettes sont nouvelles mais le Dulce de Leche est toujour aussi bon!), to congress, to the Casa Rosada like Madonna and I had my hair cut in a top notch hairdressers for 10 pounds. we're heading to the port now to see where to eat on Christmas day and then tonight we're going to the party of one of my students' father! Rhys has already said that if there's no steak he's going to kick off.

We've not got any internet in our flat so we're relying on internet cafes but we do have a flat number so we can dish it out to any who want to call. We've got 3 hours differencefrom Britain still.

That's all I think, we miss you, we wish you were here, we'll eat steak for all of you

kaco and rhysychops xxx