Bob and Ann In Patagonia and Beyond 2011

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I have never been to an opera house that has been converted into a book store before this morning. After sleeping in and having a leisurely breakfast, we hiked through the old part of Buenos Aires to El Ateneo , a well-known book store in Barrio Norte. As you can see in the above photo, the books are stacked throughout the house – on the main floor as well as in the box seats. The stage is a cafe. Of course, most of the books were in Spanish but there was a section for English language publications.

As we walked back to our hotel, we bought take-away lunches. This was necessary because of our schedule for the rest of the day.

Buenos Aires - Tigre Delta Tour

We left the hotel as a group at 2:00 and drove to a part of Buenos Aires that many foreign tourists don’t go. We got on a boat in Ciudad de Tigre and motored through the Paraná Delta of Rio de la Plata. There are hundreds of houses in a variety of condition built on stilts. Some are for permanent residents while other are weekend or vacation houses. We saw lots of people lounging and a bunch of kids swimming in the murky water.

After the boat ride, we got back on the bus and drove to the airport. We checked in and said good-bye to Marco. We went through security and the huge emigration line. We had a long wait for our 10:30 flight to Miami. We managed to kill time by eating and reading.

The flight left on time. We ate, read, watched a movie (Momma Mia), slept and ate again. We went through immigration and customs in the Miami International Airport and waited for our 3:30 flight to San Francisco. I had a quick pick-me-up of Dunkin Donuts and coffee. (I couldn’t eat the breakfast sandwich on the airline). Ann sipped tea as we sat in Bon Pain.

Our flight home was delayed for about 45 minutes. Nevertheless, we made it home and to bed by 10:00.