Onwards to Argentina

The real purpose of my trip,to visit Beunos Aires ,in memory of my Dad ,who.was born there ,and ,had he been alive ,would have been 100yrs old on 5th Feb
So ,a 5am start at my hotel in Costa rica, a breakfast to go bag ,with an apple and a muffin ,before the hotel shuttle bus took me to the airport
Frustratingly ,though Id checked in online ,my documents had to be checked ,in person ,so I had to queue at the check in desk .Its amusing to see just how much luggage people have....I was asked to weigh my carry on case and its 7kg ....for a 3wk trip
The airport at san jose is crazy..I joined the most insane queue for Border Force and then another for the bag check...It took an hour and a half from arriving ,to actually sit at the departure gate.
This is a journey Ive been anxious about ,as I convinced myself Panama City airport would be unsafe......In fact it was beautiful

I grossly underestimated the length of this flight.....8hrs ...and when choosing a seat paid for a wider seat with more leg room.and tv .However ,I got it wrong and no chance to swap as the flight was full. Thrn ,I got moved by the air hostess ,as there was a family that needed to sit together.This resulted in my being in the row behind those with tv...and in front of a woman who brought her dog on board !
The flight was ok...the food was megre portions in disposable cartons and wooden disposable cutlery....bear in mind at this point ,ive been awake 12hrs and not really eaten
There were no additional snacks and only one extra drink ,just before landing .The best is that the points for the miles of this flight can becime Emirates air miles🥳🥳
Arriving in Argentina ,at 10.30pm (which is 8.30pm.costa rican time ) the border force were unbelievably slow ! The Canadian guy in front of me who lives in BA said its always the same.He works for the International Olympic committee
I finally emerged into Beunos aires airport just after midnight local time. It took a further 45mins to get to the hotel..I was knackered and starving.There was chance to get macdonalds at thr airport,but my poor driver had been waiting an hour and a half for me ,so it didnt seem fair to expect him to wait longer
At th hotel ,there was no 24hr room.service ,but the night manager v quickly sorted me a kettle anf milk so I could make a brew
Finally, some 17hrs after I got out of bed in Costa Rica,I got into bed in Argentina...at 1.30am on 1st Feb 2026Read more