I’m Going to Patagonia!

I finally got my tickets the other day. I’ve been keeping an eye on the prices in hopes of catching a super deal but there really hasn’t been much movement on prices lately. Since it’s getting closer and closer to time to go, I figured I might as well get that done.

And by that I of course mean that I had Bryan get my tickets for me. I have very little patience for that sort of thing. If I do it, I typically buy the first thing I come across that looks half-way descent. When Bryan does it, he spends weeks researching every possible combination of flights from every possible airline, looking at it from this angle and then from that angle, until he eventually comes up with a few options that might or might not require yet more weeks of researching.

He had all kinds of issues to deal with, too. First, American Airlines website was down. Then he couldn’t get my passport information to match up with any of my accounts with the various airlines (seriously, why do we have to use a middle name on our passport? I never use it in real life.). Then when he got all of that cleared up, his computer battery died. Then he couldn’t get my computer to work because he’s a Mac guy and not a PC guy. Then I threw a monkey in the pile by saying we should use Expedia since I get points through them, so he had to start all over again with the “Passport/name” issue and the “Mac/PC” issue. Then of course the website crashed again, and he lost all his saved options.

I think I owe him a beer – or two, even.

Eventually, however, we did it: we actually bought my tickets! I got a fair deal on it, spending about $1,550 round-trip to Buenos Aires, and another $370 to get to the rendezvous point for the expedition. I even manage to get a long layover in Miami so I can visit my friend Sarah – that will be nice.

Next on my list of things to do was to get a hotel room, since I arrive the day before the expedition starts and leave the day after. Earthwatch has us rendezvousing at the Hotel Libertador, so to make things easy on myself I chose to stay there. Judging by the pictures on their website, it’s a very nice hotel, and they have been very helpful as I navigate the language barrier. I believe I will be quite happy there.

Now that I have all that behind me, I have a whole list of things to do to get ready for my trip:

• Continue practicing Spanish
• Review the recommended gear list to make sure I have what I need and purchase any items I don’t already have
• Learn how to use WhatsApp
• Get a currency exchange calculator ap for my phone
• Load the American Airlines ap onto my phone
• Load the Expedia ap onto my phone
• Get a fancy new travel credit card (better exchange rates than my normal one)
• Get any inoculations I may need