AGUA POR FAVOUR

In an attempt to save a bit of time and avoid too many exhausting, day-long bus rides, Alan and I are cheating a little and have booked a few internal flights around Argentina. The places we want to see are just too far spread to tackle by road in the time we have left.

An unusual feature of the Aerolineas Argentinas booking system is that internal flights can be reserved online, but tickets have to be paid for and collected in person from a certified Aerolineas Argentinas agent. In a way this is irritating but it has also turned booking air travel in Argentina into a kind of heritage experience. A piquant taste of pre-internet travel; exotic and exciting in it’s own limited sort of way. It's even more realistic in Puerto Iguazu where the Aerolineas office has 60s decor. It's a full emersion.

In the corner of the office, by the rack of travel magazines and promotional materials, there’s a charming old water-cooler. Attached to its side is a dispenser filled with Dixie-sized paper cups. It is hot at this time of year in the north of Argentina and the roads are dusty. On entering the office I spied the cooler and thought a refreshing cup of chilled water an attractive possibility. As the agent was immersed in conversation with two Irish girls I decided to avail myself of the facility.

Problem was, I couldn’t get a bloody cup out. There was the water. There was the cup. But the cups wouldn’t budge. I tried everything; twisting, wiggling, cajoling. Nothing. Worst of all, the more I tried the thirstier I got.

In an act of desperation I took out my pen, reached down into the top of the cup-holder and tried to poke a cup free from above. When that didn’t work I decided to abandon subtlety in favour of brute, he-man force.

Now I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to collect an airline ticket while holding the broken remains of the travel agent’s cup dispenser but I find the best policy is to put faith in his professionalism and act as if nothing untoward has happened at all.

That is all,

Dale Atkinson