Reruns and Delays (Sat 3/20)

Stats:
- 60 minutes wasted with Delta Airlines
- 1 last visit to Kitty Park
- a 1 in 13 million chance encounter
- 1 repeat on lunch
- a return to the movies
- 3 hours of delay!!

Today we headed to Mendoza. After breakfast, Arn did some checking on our return flights to the U.S.  On-line, we have been given the option to make changes for free. In reality, they will let you get to the one yard line and then say, "Sorry, you can't complete this transaction online". It also turns out the you can't complete this transaction on the phone within 45 minutes either.  More on this another day. 

We returned to the kitty park on our way to the movies.  While checking out the kitties, we hear, "Hey! I know you!" It was the woman that gave the underground tour yesterday. She recognized us (just as a clue, we were wearing the same clothes).  She, her daughter, and a few friends manage an effort to help the cats --- adoptions, vet care, spay/neuter program, food, and kitten care. She said they found 6 new kittens today and have homes for three of them already. She said the hardest kitties to place are black cats.  They have to be very careful with finding them homes. Given superstitions, they exercise care. The second hardest kitties are those with tortise markings. The easiest are all white cats. With 13 million people living in BA, what were the odds of ever running into someone we had met? 

We returned to the food court in the mall for lunch. Arn ordered some "local" burger from McDonalds. I decided to try out the McCafe and made lunch out of a slice of pie. After trying "Pirineos", we both agree --- this should be brought to the U.S.  From the bottom up, it is a brownie crust, followed by a layer of Dulce de leche, followed by another layer of something similar to cheesecake, and topped with a sticky, marshmallow like merguine that has been carmelized on the very top and drizzled with chocolate.  Really, I wish I could tell you to look for this in a McCafe near you. 

Today's movie was Shutter Island. It was not what we expected, but we still enjoyed it. After the movie, we hopped in a cab, picked up our collection of a backpack and three duffle bags, and headed to the airport. The cab driver revealed that all the cabs are run on natural gas. The large tank in the trunk explained why our bags were stashed in the front seat. He said that the buses, trucks, and many people have switched to natural gas. It is much cheaper than gasoline. 

We were told to get to the airport 90 minutes before our flight. We were running ahead of schedule and arrived two hours ahead only to learn the flight was delayed THREE hours. This sucked. Rather than our nice dinner in Mendonza sitting outside somewhere, we ate an airport dinner (worse than a Carretera Austral dinner). And in case you don't know, we aren't good at waiting.

We arrived in Mendoza at nearly 11pm. After getting bags and a taxi, it was practically midnight by the time we were taking showers and going to bed. Arn said it right, "Traveling sucks.  Being there is great, but the getting there sucks".