In my Covid brain haze, when I got off the plane, I didn’t see the baggage claim sign so I just mindlessly followed everyone (evidently the no baggage people) forward, and as I walked by this one security guy, the second I crossed the line I realized I had missed baggage claim. So I had to talk to Lost Baggage, then wait for my bags to be designated Unclaimed, then wait for the baggage claim lady to get them for me.
I Ubered over to Gorilla Hostel and started my three-hour wait until my bunk was to be ready. I felt so sick, all I wanted to do was lay down.
Since this was a dorm, I was worried about giving people Covid, but the reservation was non-cancellable. I hung out for two hours and then got the bright idea to see if they’ll make an exception since I’m sick. They said yes!
So I cancelled and searched for another place with a pool that had good reviews. I had narrowed it down to two places, then saw one with a better rating and picked that one.
So I got another Uber to my new place.
There’s no bell so you have to wave to get someone’s attention to buzz the door to let you in. Inside when I was checking in, I noticed how hot it was in the office and I said, “My room DOES have air conditioning, right?”
“No, It’s not working,” the lady said, unapologetically.
“But my booking said that it has air conditioning, see?” I said, showing her my phone.
“If you want air conditioning, you have to cancel your reservation and book a suite that has A/C,” she huffed.
“But it’s not my fault your A/C is broken,” I said. She gave me an evil stare. I broke. “OK fine, so how much extra is this?” I asked. I just wanted to lay down, for Gods Sake.
She said, “maybe a few dollars a day. It’s nothing.” Then she said, “you now have two reservations, what would you like to do?”
I said, “What?! You said you just canceled one, now you didn’t?”
Then she said, “Fine. Would you like to pay me directly or booking.com?”
I asked, “which one is cheaper?”
She said, “if you pay me.”
So I paid her cash and then I realized it was $30 more US dollars. I whined in English and she shrugged. I wanted to turn around and leave, but I had already taken one flight and three Ubers, was tired and sick and just wanted to lay down, so I stayed.
The room is actually nice and big inside and has a good air conditioner, but it’s right on the busy corner where buses go by. It’s extremely loud. I went back down to reception and asked to switch to the original room with the broken air conditioner and fan and get a refund on the difference or if I could just cancel the whole thing.
No, she said even though I just gave them cash. But you can change rooms. Not thinking straight, I said fine, and I moved all my stuff to the other room.
With everything moved in, I stood in the middle of the room with the fan on. It was hot. Too hot.
So I went back downstairs and said never mind, I’ll keep the room with A/C. So I moved all my stuff back to the first room again. I finally got to lay down.
Covid is ruining 1/4 of my trip. I feel like shit. Nose is running nonstop, clearing my throat constantly, and no energy. Waking up the stairs absolutely kills me and it takes a full minute to catch my breath. I tried to take a little nap but couldn’t because of the noise. I thought oh well, at least I just downloaded all those shows and movies on my Kindle and I could read that book I downloaded. I looked around for it and realized it was gone.
I just then remembered when I got off the plane, I left my Kindle in the seat pocket.
Things did not get any better. When I tried to go out to dinner I ordered a drink at the table. A waitress told me to order at counter X. I went to Counter X and ordered a drink and the person told me that this counter is for food, go to counter Y. So I tried to find counter Y and it was just a store. I couldn’t find a counter anywhere. Annoyed, I just left and eventually found a cafe that advertised regular food as well as coffee and treats.
There were more than a few people wanting to sell socks and other various things at tables, like in Mexico. I found this surprising, as I’ve never seen it in any of the other South American countries I’ve been to.
For being such a massive metro downtown area, There are surprisingly few restaurants in the area. There are tons of coffee shops that also serve sandwiches and other food, but few actual restaurants, per se.
I’m not loving it here mainly because Covid is making me feel like hell and I’ve had nothing but hassles. Hopefully, I can feel good by Friday so I can wine taste.
And now I have lost my sense of taste. So wine tasting definitely needs to be cancelled, darnit!
There’s a huge protest going on in the park right across the street from my hostel. There are tons of people blocking the road, screaming, yelling, drumming,.. it’s a pretty big protest. It’s about how the government is using Argentina’s limited water supply to mine for gold.
There are about 30 police right outside my hostel. I went to the mini market to get a soda, Cup o Noodles and some chips and some of the protesters started running down the street my way. The store guy got really scared and started shutting the door so I quickly paid and ran out and went back to my room. I had Cup o Noodles for dinner in my room.
I went to bed for another 12 hours. With all the naps over the past few days, I’d never slept so much in my life.
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