Other than a mandatory COVID test in the morning, there were no plans for today. It was a free day to do whatever we wanted to. I wanted to play it safe, so I did not do crazy.
For the COVID test, we were told to go to floor “minus two”. What? The elevator only goes to ZERO, how do I get to MINUS 2? Is this the Highway to Hell or what? I left my room and went to floor ZERO, where marathon tours staff were waiting. I asked about the minus two situations and was directed to a set of escalators. They said to go down two floors where more people will be waiting. I went down but felt like a cow being led down the slaughter chute. As I stepped off, Marathon Tours staff directed me to a room where there were 3 chairs set up for sample taking. The line moved fairly quickly and soon it was my turn. I sat down and pulled my mask down. This lady stuck the swab so far up my nose I thought it was going to come out of my ear. I tried to pull back a little bit, she then shoved it in even further and with more force. I wonder if she enjoyed doing this to people? The sample could not have been collected soon enough. She gave me a thumbs up and I RAN out from the room. The marathon tours staff asked me if I was done, and I simply said, “There is nothing like crying in the morning”. Geez. The results of the PCR were supposed to be completed this evening. Anybody who was positive had to remain in Buenos Aires in quarantine and would not be permitted to make the trip to Ushuaia / Antarctica.
After that escapade, I ate breakfast at the free breakfast bar in the Hilton, then went back to my room. I slept well last night, but not long enough, so I took a nap. At 11:30 I rolled out of bed and decided to go for a walk in the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve. I did the same route that I “ran” yesterday, but took pictures and frequent rests. The temp was pushing 90.
Dandy Deli in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, Argentina
After 2 hours, I made it back to the hotel and showered off. It was 2:30 and I was getting hungry. Right next to the hotel was a place called Dandy Deli. I decided to try them. If nobody spoke English, I figured I could point at the menu to order. Looking at the menu, I saw a pulled pork sandwich that looked yummy, so I ordered that and a bottle of water. The bad part about this place was that I could NOT pay with US dollars, and had to use my credit card. Still, it was only $10. The pulled pork sandwich was SO mouthwatering good. I have never had one as good as this.
On the way back to the hotel, I saw Will from Marathon Tours and quizzed him about the PCR test results. He said that the lab had promised them between 4-5 pm, but obviously this was beyond his control. It was currently 3:15 pm, so we were getting close. Every person who tested negative would receive an email with further instructions. If you tested positive, you would receive a CALL from either Jeff or the doctor to discuss your options – which is where this story gets primed with some interesting developments in a few paragraphs.
After talking to Will, I took another lazy day nap, then started gathering / strategically organizing my stuff. According to my master plan, I would consolidate from three bags to two bags for the airplane trip to Ushuaia. I knew it could be done because I did it at home. I wanted to carry on any running gear that I had because I wanted NO risk of losing any of it. The chances of things getting lost on a direct flight are a lot less than on a connecting flight, but it still happens. I separated everything into two piles – one to check and one to carry on. As I finished making the piles, it was time to meet in the hotel lobby to go to the Cabana Las Lilas – the Argentine steakhouse. Although I had not finished packing, I had made a good start.
Our dinner groups at Cabana Las Lilas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
As soon as I arrived in the lobby, I noticed that the topic of conversation was about the COVID results. I told them what I knew from Will and that the emails should be coming soon. It was good to know that nobody had received an email yet. We walked to the Cabana Las Lilas, which was only about 5 minutes from the hotel. We arrived at 6:50 and had to wait for 10 minutes – which is where things get interesting for me (as was primed a few paragraphs above). My phone rang. My heart sank. My mind starts racing and thinking, “WHAT?!?!?!? I WAS CAREFUL!!! WHY ME?”.
Me (sheelpishly): “Hello”
Other guy: “Is this Robert?”
Me: “Yes”
Other guy: “This is Jeff with Marathon Tours”
Me (Oh MY GOD! WHY ME?!?!?! I HAVE WAITED FIVE YEARS FOR THIS): “Hi Jeff, how are you?”
Jeff: “Are you at a place where you are comfortable talking?”
Me ($#i7. WHY ? I have been EXTREMELY CAREFUL. Mother Nature can be SO cruel!): “Yes”
Jeff: “I want to get this email out to everybody to relieve all of the anxiety, but needed to have a conversation with you. First of all, please do not panic. You have not tested positive. However, the lab was not comfortable with the quality control on your results. You did not test positive, however, they want to rerun your sample. There were 3 people, including yourself, who are in the same situation. When I send this email, I did not want you to panic because you did not get one.”
Me (Well this is only WORRISOME news, not BAD news): “Do I need to come back to retest?”
Jeff: “No, they will retest the three samples in question. You did not test positive and 99% of the time, this is fine. I am pretty sure you will not test positive, but again, I wanted to give you the courtesy of telling you what was going on and why you did not receive an email with a negative test result. They have promised me that the sample will be rerun within two hours and I will call you again with the results. I would not worry about this, and we should have your results by 8 pm”.
Me: “Thank you!”
I was fairly confident that I was going to be negative. I mean I sat in my hotel in Miami for 3 days doing nothing when I COULD have been playing poker or playing golf. However, the anxiety was annoying, much similar to what I was experiencing when my PCR test results came back from Miami. I told the group what the situation was (and that I had not tested positive and they wanted to get these emails out). Right after that, we were seated.
Ribeye Steak at Cabana Las Lilas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
For starters, they gave us Pao De Queijo, bread with cheese in the middle. This seems to be common in South America because I have had this bread at various Brazilian restaurants in the USA. For the main course, I ordered my favorite steak – a ribeye – cooked medium well, with a side of corn.
After we ordered, the COVID negative emails started rolling in. You could see the sense of relief on everybody’s face. Every so often, somebody would look at me and say, “It is alright, you are going to test negative.” I had no doubt, but this wait was still tense.
Dinner was finally served and this ribeye was el-perfecto – a PERFECT medium-well, and it was delicious! I was so glad that we decided to come here for the experience.
As I was eating, my phone rang again. This is it – the call. I stepped away from the table.
Me: “Hello”
Jeff: “Hi, this is Jeff with Marathon Tour, is this Bob?”
Me: “Yes”
I peered back to the table and most eyes were on me.
Jeff: “Good news, they reran all 3 tests and you are negative.”
I raised my arm with a fist pump. Sam asked if I was negative. I gave him a thumbs up because Jeff was still talking.
Sam looked at the table and shouted, “Bob’s negative!!”
The entire table cheered. It was funny.
Jeff: “Not only did the 3 tests that needed to be rerun come back negative, but the ENTIRE GROUP also came back negative. We have 100% of people moving on to Ushuaia.”
Me: “That is exciting! Thank you!”
I told the group that EVERYBODY had tested negative and that nobody was being left behind. We let out another loud cheer and started clapping. What a moving moment.
After dinner, I went back to my room and finished packing. Everything fit neatly into my checked bag and my carry-on. Since I was on the regular flight that left at 8:40 am, I had to be at the hotel door by 6 am. I set my alarm for 5:10 and Mr. Sandman was soon visiting me.
Hurdle #2 cleared. Ushuaia – here I come!