Colombia preparation, part 1

30th Oct Thought I'd bash out a few notes on trip preparations.

I sort of decided a month or two ago that Colombia would be a good candidate for the next trip. Lots of people have told me good things about it, I've only spent a week there (in Bogotá) so there's lots of new stuff to see, apparently the accent is very clear and it may be a good place to study Spanish if I find somewhere I like.

I did some rough checks on flight prices the other week - feeling very lazy and perhaps also a bit apprehensive about going abroad again, as usual - and it looks like you can get a half-decent return flight under £500, which is acceptable.

I steeled myself to read the F&CO travel advice tonight and while it has some mildly scary shit in, it's pretty much what I expected to read and I'm not too put off. I also followed the link on that page to some information about vaccinations and so forth; it looks like I'm already covered for vaccinations, although as previously waffled (I think) I may well get vaccinated for rabies given I'm preparing a little bit earlier this time round. The benefits of the rabies vaccine seem a little nebulous - you still "need" near-immediate treatment (or is it merely highly advisable, but you might be OK without it?) after a bite, but it takes the pressure off a bit and means you don't need some potentially rare injection after the bite so treatment is simpler - but I think it's something like a hundred quid tops and if I can get it and it does last ten years then I might as well for the peace of mind.

Malaria is present but a low risk everywhere and they don't recommend taking any tablets to prevent infection, so while the prospect of getting malaria isn't enticing it's not very likely and at least I don't need to skirmish with any doctors to try to coax a malaria prescription out of them.

I've also started (just today) skimming through my 2007 vintage "South America on a shoestring" guidebook to get a feel for what sort of thing tourists do in Colombia. Apart from being useful background information, I'm trying to get a feel for whether I should take my waterproof jacket/leggings with me for any possible hiking/trekking kind of activities, or if I can get away without them. This also feeds into my ongoing rather lazy attempt to investigate the prospect of buying a lightweight bag to use on this trip to cut down on my luggage weight still further; a lot of these bags (even ones which are really very light) are sixty litre jobs which would be highly iffy as hand luggage on a plane, and below that you get down to 35 litre jobs which might be workable but feels a bit tight.

I did see one tempting mention of paragliding in the guide book, but I don't know if I'll be able to get travel insurance which allows this - I was blocked off from this by my insurer on the last pair of trips. Obviously I can take this into account when buying my new policy, but it looks as though Colombia shares with Guatemala the lack of decent non-private medical facilities, which means I'm likely to feel the same pressure as last year to buy from a relatively small handful of insurers with a better reputation for not kicking up a stink about treatment in private facilities in the (touch wood) unlikely event I need it.

Obviously I still have a couple of months before departure at this point, so I don't need to go rushing around like crazy trying to sort things out and decide on everything, but I also need to not put everything off and end up haring around in the end anyway. In part I hope writing this up will help me to realise "yes, I am going on this damn trip even if it does feel like hard work" and help me start getting on with the relevant preparations/decisions.

I am re-reading onebag.com and as always I note that I do travel with slightly more clothes than the author recommends (5 tops and 5 sets of underwear instead of 2-4 and "3+" respectively). I could certainly see the value in reducing these quantities, and if I always stayed in en suite accommodation where I could wash clothes in the sink any night I chose, I might get away with this. As it is my budget accommodation often doesn't have this, so I do need to be able to use laundry services etc and that gets increasingly inconvenient the fewer items of clothing you have.

I think I'm going to buy a cheap-ish P38 tin opener, remembering just how rare it was to have one in both hostels and private flats on the last trip. A quick poke on the web suggests this probably won't be confiscated by airport security and I'll have to err on the crappy-low-quality end of things in case it is, but it's probably a decent gamble. I don't really want to be buying an overpriced tin opener once I'm abroad and then lugging it round with me for the rest of the trip. Hmm, a bit more web pokery and actually looking at a photo of one makes me a bit dubious about being allowed to fly with one (rationality aside). Hmm. Maybe I'll sleep on it.

(Yes, obviously some cans have a ring pull, but not all - especially otherwise perfectly acceptable cheaper brands. ISTR needing to buy that can opener on my last trip because there were basic-ish tinned foods I wanted to buy where none of the brands stocked had a ring pull on. It may also be ring pulls are a bit less common in some countries.)

Another poke around on the web shows alleged means of opening a can using an ordinary metal spoon. I might give this a go next time I cook and see how I get on, if that can be made to work it would make a P38 less necessary.

31st Oct Amazingly enough I have just opened a tin (of red kidney beans) with an ordinary teaspoon! And although my hand bears some pressure marks from pushng on the spoon, no blood sacrifice was required. I did get a bit over-excited when I first punctured the lid and didn't spend as much time as I probably should have done extending the puncture; I ended up levering a (doubtless wickedly sharp) flap up on the lid, just enough to allow access to the contents, but it did work. I'll definitely have to try this a bit more. Superficially the teaspoon appears unharmed. I could imagine doing this in a private kitchen in a rented holiday flat with no tin opener, at my current level of skiill and the time taken I might be a bit iffier doing it in a shared hostel kitchen where I might feel under time pressure.

1st Nov I tried opening a tin with a spoon again tonight; didn't have much luck. I think I gave up a little early, I could feel the tin abrading but I didn't quite get through enough to break the seal before I stopped. The edges of the spoon do dig into my fingers a bit uncomfortably (leaving marks, but not drawing blood) and perhaps the fact that I knew I didn't need to do it made all the difference. I might have another go another day. Still not sure about buying a P38; it feels like something that might get confiscated or just possibly even get me into trouble at security and because of the confiscation risk I'd want to buy a really cheap one which would probably just make it even less usable/long-lasting than it otherwise would be.

5th Nov Done a bit of poking around on web re rabies vaccination. Much deceptive pricing with a per dose price being quoted plus a "consultation fee" at some places. I haven't tried to book anything yet - I need to get a move on, but it's roughly a one month course of injections so I'm not too tight for time, and I feel I have a lingering cold it might be nice to get rid of first - but at least this is a step towards getting it done. Looks like I might be able to get vaccinated for around £160 all in, lasting for 10 years. If this actually meant I couldn't get rabies full stop I'd definitely be doing it. As it is all this still having to get treated after a bite anyway makes it feel a bit expensive for "nothing", but it does look like it at least takes some of the urgency out of being treated after a bite. As I've probably said before, my big worry is really that I get bitten "unobtrusively" by a bat and don't realise I need to seek treatment out - if a dog attacks me I'm obviously going to be seeking medical attention ASAP, for the wounds if nothing else - and the rabies vaccination doesn't really seem to offer me much comfort in this scenario, but £160 isn't cripplingly expensive and I'll probably go ahead and get it done. I could completely understand someone on a really tight budget not bothering though.

6th Nov Been re-reading onebag.com. Always do think I take too many liquids (security crap, plus they are heavy). Wondered about maybe switching to a powdered laundry detergent, but in reality a single 100ml tube of the gel product I use easily lasts an entire trip and I'd really not be carrying an unlabelled plastic bag of white powder around with me. Will probably make an effort to take a solid stick deodorant instead of a liquid roll on this time, it's not a huge saving but it will probably help - if nothing else, it will save space in my plastic bag o' liquids for security.

7th Nov Been dithering heavily about buying a lightweight bag. Have been poking around at old blog entries to try to motivate myself. While I probably do need to be a little less paranoid/stingy about lugging excessive quantities of water around with me, I could potentially save about a kilo by switching to a lighter bag and that really could make all the difference to comfort levels in transit. I've been doing intermittent research on the various options for weeks (months, actually, albeit with a huge gap when I did nothing) and I've pretty much decided I am going to buy a particular bag which seems to hit a relative sweet spot of cost, weight and size for what is a bit of an experiment. I just struggle to actually commit to buying it. (I made a fair effort to go and find a physical shop I could buy it from so I could see it first, but there don't seem to be any.) I've already told myself the returns policy on the site I'll buy from is excellent (since we're into November I could return it unused for a full refund - less postage for the return, of course - up to early January) so even buying the damn thing is not committing to spend the large-but-not-insane amount of money on it. FFS, I'm going to have (another) coffee and then unless massive regret looms I will push through this niggling doubt and just order the damn thing. As I have already told myself, even if I decide against using the new bag for the upcoming (not yet booked) Colombia trip, it might well be a perfect size for a long-weekend-to-week-ish length trip to Europe or the like, where I'd have a better idea what I was going to be doing and what the weather would be like and could avoid packing some stuff I feel I have to take when I'm going to be away for three months and possibly experiencing quite variable weather as I move around.

I get a choice of colours and seeking to be inconspicuous it's tempting to go for the plain black, but I think I'll go for the only other option, which is black with some blue panels. This isn't super-gaudy and I think having my bag look totally anonymous is not always a good thing - if I do ever need to spot it on a luggage belt at an airport, for example, plain black blends in just a little bit too well. The blue does look a bit light and more in-your-face than the dark blue of my current bag (which I'm very happy with; it's distinctive enough to help pick it out on luggage belts etc but not at all flashy), but I do think it's still better than plain black. (It's not just luggage belts at airports, of course - it's also helpful to be able to recognise it/give a description of it when collecting bags from a coach's boot at the end of a journey.)

Yeah, coffee then order barring massive regret.

Later: Yeah, have ordered, no feelings of regret yet. :-)

On a random note, I am aware that this time last year I was in Guatemala.

10th Nov Re-reading some of my Guatemala blog entries, I am reminded that I've ordered myself a PackTowl Original viscose towel. The cheap viscose towel I got from ebay many years ago has worn into holes, I struggled to find an actual viscose towel for sale (everyone wants to sell you microfibre towels, which apparently are not the same at all) and finding PTO is not that expensive I've ordered one. I am half hoping this is going to be a revelation when I use it compared to the perhaps-not-proper-viscose-or-not-good-quality one I was using before.

Just re-read the old San Pedro La Laguna blog entry where my superb afternoon (great and plentiful food, beer and coffee overlooking the lake) was spoiled by the spiders in the bathroom of hotel A and the booby-trapped sink of hotel B. Quite amusing and almost heart-warming to look back on as I read it now.

I am also reminded of the feeling of vulnerability I sometimes get when I'm alone in a strange low-budget hotel room at night when the hotel appears to be virtually empty or to have somehow "odd" other guests. This is doubtless a bit irrational and probably also a fairly common feeling.

15th Nov Got the new bag (Terra Nova Laser 35) on Monday; had a quick fiddle with it and reasonably impressed. I really need to sit down and try to pack it "properly" and see how I get on, and if I need to buy any kind of internal bags to help organise things better given it only packs through the top and is less convenient than my older bag. Haven't got round to this yet.

Been feeling a bit "blocked" on getting sorted for the upcoming trip. This is probably just psychology/laziness, but I thought it might be worth making a few notes here:

- As I say, I need to experimentally pack the new bag and see how I get on with it.

- I need to order replacements for stuff I've lost and any new items I need. As a lot of cheap stuff comes from China and is delivered very slowly, I don't want to hang around too much on this. I've already ordered a couple of items and this is probably mostly in hand, but still. Experimentally packing the new bag will probably help me sort this out.

- I need to buy travel insurance, which is super un-sexy but is important and gets a bit awkward because I both want the option to have paragliding insurance and I'm worried about being stiffed by the insurer over needing to go into a private hospital if something bad happens (in general, not with respect to paragliding!). I have done a bit of research and e-mailed a few providers (who mostly either ignore me or insist I call them to discuss this) but nothing more yet. Buying travel insurance is also a pre-requisite for booking a flight, because I want to be covered for cancellation before I spend money on a flight.

- I need to decide I am going to Colombia and book a flight. I've had a poke at flights, prices are borderline tolerable leaving mid-January (I haven't checked fine print regarding seat reservation and checked baggage etc yet), if a bit more than I'd like, but I find myself wondering if it's worth paying more to go a bit sooner and be back before Easter, or if I should cut the trip short to fly mid-January and still be back for Easter. Apart from the usual stress of making these decisions, booking the flight is also psychologically committing to the trip - the dates and the destination - because it means I've invested a non-negligible chunk of cash in it.

- I need to try to get some Spanish study in. The usual laziness comes in here. Then again, I have at least managed to find some interesting and non-up-winding Spanish language content on Youtube and I am watching 30+ minutes of that a day, which I think is probably good exposure to the language.

- I need to do a little bit of work on my attitudes (psychological shit) to help me feel more comfortable and relaxed and confident while I'm away. Nuff said here.

- I need to finish at least skimming the Colombia section in my old guidebook, decide whether I need to take my "trekking" clothes with me (the experimental pack of the new bag should help make it clearer whether taking them is a big faff or not, in part), and I also need to buy an up-to-date electronic guidebook. I'll be honest, I often feel the guidebook is a waste of time, it's a mixture of smug condescension and unhelpful advice, and even if I wanted to stay there half the time the accommodation it lists isn't available via the online booking sites so I just end up picking accommodation based on the online reviews. But for the sake of a few quid it's probably a good thing to have, and I guess I must sometimes find useful information in there. (The location of the cash machine at La Aurora airport springs to mind.) It does also work offline so good to have as a fallback source of information if I can't get internet access.

- It would be good (but not essential) to sketch out a rough itinerary. I wouldn't have to stick religiously to this, but in the absence of new information turning up during the trip (recommendations, adverts, developing a fondness/hatred for the town I'm currently in, opportunities to study Spanish, etc) having a default plan isn't a bad idea. I'm more likely to be able to take a broader view and look at maps as I think while I'm sitting here in my flat than when I'm peering at everything on my phone screen in a hotel room in Bogota. (Having the old paper guidebook also helps, since it's so much easier to skim through than an electronic one.)

- I need to buy new clothes. Some of my old ones are fine, of course, but I don't know if I need to replace the cheap combat trousers I bought before I went to Guatemala, and even if I don't I may want to get a second pair and take those instead of the "smart" Rohan trousers. I may be able to get some breathable trousers if I'm not shopping in a rush as I was before I went to Guatemala. Similarly, I may be able to get some more decent lightweight long-sleeved tops. I need to - and will - go over to the big Decathlon at Canada Water to see what they have, they're cheap enough unlike some of the boutiquey travel stores in central London I went to pre-Guatemala. I also need to buy some shoes, and I don't know if I want walking shoes or just some smart shoe-style trainers or perhaps some trail running shoes as a kind of compromise. The problem here is that buying these exterior clothes involves making some basic attempt to achieve a "non-ridiculous" colour scheme, and I feel deeply uncomfortable in this area. I'm kind of hoping to get some advice on this from a friend, but I suspect I'm going to struggle to explain the constraints - I need everything to go with everything else; I don't need to look amazing, I just need to look not-"what the hell is that guy wearing"; I want to take just a single pair of shoes and if, for example, I decide to buy another pair of walking shoes as I did last time, they may well only come in certain undesirable colours; I need the clothes to be lightweight and easy to wash (so no denim).

- I need to get a rabies vaccination sorted out; while it seems a bit expensive for what it is, it's tolerable. The shitty reminder app I used on my phone lost the reminder so I was able to let this slip my mind, but I was in any case waiting until my lingering cold cleared up before going ahead with this. I'm not entirely sure I don't have another very minor cold at the moment - nose felt a bit bunged up this morning, for example - but I'm going up to see my parents for a week anyway so I can't do this until I get back anyway.

[a night's sleep intervenes]

I've had a quick look at the trousers I took away with me last time; both seem to be in good condition with no obvious wear or near holes in the usual potentially iffy regions. Gut feeling is that if I can find something half decent, I may buy another pair of combat trousers or similar, ideally breathable ones, to replace the Rohan smart casual trousers I've been taking before. The Rohan trousers are completely fine as trousers, but I do prefer the zipped pockets on the combat trousers (which aren't, incidentally, festooned with extra pockets - they just have one extra one on the right leg) and if memory serves correctly I nearly always end up wearing the Rohan trousers only when my other pair is in the wash, so it would probably be better to replace them with a more "usable" pair. I don't know that I've ever really needed the relatively increased smartness they offer, and although that does seem a reasonable argument for having them, it's not as if the rest of my attire is usually super smart anyway.

I've also steeled myself to poke at the insurance business a bit more. Seen some horrific online reviews of one of the cheap insurers, but of course it's always the disgruntled customers who leave the reviews. I did find some stuff on which.co.uk about nearly half of complaints to the regulator about the underwriter of that policy being upheld, which seems a bit to offer a bit more of a "reputably unreputable" status. I don't know, I kind of feel a sap for maybe paying £150-ish instead of £50-ish for the travel insurance, but of course it's no good if when you claim it won't pay out or it fucks you over (perhaps long-term) by not getting you the medical treatment you need ASAP. For me at least travel insurance is a bit more quality-sensitive than other insurance, if I need to make a claim on my home insurance it somehow feels a bit less time-critical and a bit more like I know I'd get paid in the end.

I found a few insurers recommended openly with no subscription required by which.co.uk and had a look at their policies and got some approximate quotes from them. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but I know from either explicit wording in the policy documents I looked at or my explicit question to LV last year that most of the "good" insurers don't seem to want to touch paragliding, whereas the cheaper policy offers it if you call them and pay an additional premium. I may chicken out of this but it does interest me (and I've done it before of course) and I'd like to keep the option open; my outdated guidebook mentions some prospect of this. It looked like it might be a choice between keeping that option open or choosing "good" travel insurance, but it looks as though there are insurers who will provide separate top-up cover for activities like this for about £40, which is pretty much what I'd expect to be paying as an additional premium to one of the travel policies which allows that, so this doesn't have to be an either-or choice.

I do note that LV's policy wording about private hospitals seems extremely harsh, verging on rude, although if moneysavingexpert.com is to be believed they are in practice pretty good about this. It does look like some of the other "good" policies I've found have much less scary wording in this area though, and barring major differences in price I'd probably be inclined to go for one of them.

I had a good experience with Trailfinders and private hospitals in the past, of course, and they did IIRC let me go paragliding either as standard or on payment of a modest fee - it's so long ago I don't have any records. So assuming they haven't changed and their policy wording is consistent with how they behaved, I'd definitely class them as a "good" insurer. Unfortunately their multi-trip policies don't allow trips over 70 days and their single trip insurance for a 90 day trip is just comically expensive compared to the other "good" annual multi trip insurers who do allow 90 day trips. They're not alone in this, of course, I've experimented as I did last year with getting some quotes and it's seems crazy how the same insurer will charge less for an annual multi-trip policy than they would for a single trip policy, even when the single trip itself would be covered by the annual policy. I have to assume there's some reason for this, perhaps related to older people who aren't eligible for multi-trip policies, although since they ask for your age when quoting for a single-trip policy I don't really see logically why that should come into it.

(I think way back in 2010 when I did my first long trip, the market was less competitive and/or I was less experience and made less effort to seek out the best price; I booked all my flights via Trailfinders and it may be I let them sell me their insurance. But it is worth noting that was a 5-6 month trip, so annual multi-trip insurance would almost certainly have been unavailable, and quite possibly Trailfinders were competitive on a single trip policy.)

Looking back in a futile attempt to locate paragliding posts, I note I used to give my blog posts a lot more entertaining titles. But I'm not even trying to write for an audience now, and I find it helpful to be able to see the place names. Ah, I have now managed to locate something - apparently I only paid £15 to Trailfinders as an additional premium for paragliding in 2012, but that was a long time ago and I don't think the £40-ish (probably a smidge less) I saw from those top-up insurance companies is terrible value by comparison.

Also forced myself to poke in a bit more detail at the flights. I can broadly tolerate being charged extra for things like seat selection and checked baggage, but the lack of transparency around what you actually get as part of the basic fare and what the additional fees are really pisses me off. (Do I get free seat selection during online check in, if I'm willing to take a gamble, or will you assign me a seat at random just to make things as unpleasant as possible? How much does it cost to reserve a seat in advance? I appreciate you want to charge more for the emergency exit row, but I'd like to see a list of prices, not just a vague statement that it's "from £4".) Nothing new here, but it still sucks. As I say, I can accept additional fees, it's the lack of clarity that really winds me up and gives me a strong weasel vibe - surely I can't be alone in this? Maybe they're just clueless fuckwits, or maybe enough people get suckered in by the nominally low(ish) price and then say "ah, fuck it, £50 per flight to choose my own seat - what the hell, YOLO!" that it pays off for them.

While the £500 flights are acceptable (though I'm not totally happy with the dates), this isn't as cheap as I'd have liked.

21st Nov Starting to get edgy about having missed out on good flights. Not helped by the fact kayak.co.uk (and I suspect most comparion sites share the same underlying engine) seem to be having some sort of glitch with Air Europa fares, they either don't appear at all (and I know from the AE site itself some exist at cheap-enough-to-show prices) or appear while the search is ongoing but disappear when the results are complete. It is looking like the £500 flights may have sold out but it's not clear, I haven't spent ages entering individual dates on Air Europa to hunt them out in the absence of the comparison sites working.

I did do a pretend booking on Air Europa and it looks like reserving seats would cost £34 if I just want to do the long-haul legs and £52 if I want to do all four flights. My research seems to suggest they absolutely only let you have a randomly assigned seat for free, which is shit and feels completely chiselling and makes me hate them more than I hate the average airline.

I have been dithering anyway, partly out of a reluctance to commit to the trip and partly because of not-critical-but-annoying decisions about when I fly and whether I'm willing to be away from the UK for Easter. Gut feeling, having also spoken briefly to parents, is that I am not too fussed about being back for Easter.

I am leaning towards splurging a bit on direct flights with Avianca. They're not great, but it does look like I can choose seats for free at online checkin. I tried calling them to check this (no one will let you e-mail them, it seems) but the 0800 number gives me a long spiel about recording calls and data protection, then either refuses to accept I've pressed "1" to acknowledge this or accepts it but then cuts the call off anyway. It annoys me Avianca won't show seat reservation prices on their website without me making an actual booking - I'd like to know in case it turns out "too late" that I can't choose a seat for free at online check in - but this appears to be standard practice, wank as it is. There are currently acceptable-ish (ignoring precise question of dates etc) Avianca flights at £640 all in. By the time you add £52 to the Air Europa fares for the seat reservation swizz (it's not apples-to-apples, but neither was comparing their raw "random seat" fare with other airlines where you at least get the standard option to choose for free at online check in) this is not insanely more expensive than even the possibly-disappeared nominally-£500 Air Europa flights - we're looking at £552 vs £640 - and obviously a direct flight is much nicer, and Avianca's fare does include checked bags if I want to take advantage of this to bring e.g. a bit of duty free back with me as a souvenir. (I'm not so desperate for a souvenir of this nature that it's worth paying a premium to check a bag, but it's a small bonus if I get that anyway.) I'd also rather give my business to an airline which is more (if not perfectly) upfront and open about fees than Air Europa. As I've probably said before, I don't mind having to pay extra for all sorts of little things, what I resent is sneaky hidden costs by removing "standard" services like free seats at check in and not being completely open about the fact or the price to add these back in. (I had to do a pretend booking to see the price of seat reservations, for example. This seems semi-standard, but on most airlines I would at least have the option to choose seats for free during check in.)

A random (admittedly 2015) thread on Lonely Planet where someone was bitching (mostly unreasonably; although the standard rules Avianca had followed were in themselves pretty weaselly, that wasn't specifically Avianca being crap) about Avianca did turn up a random comment that internal flights in Colombia are relatively cheap, "unlike the rest of the continent". This is worth bearing in mind, given advice about not travelling by bus overnight etc I may want/need to take internal flights but I do (probably correctly) have an impression that internal flights in South America in general are not particularly cheap, and it may be that that isn't true for Colombia. Obviously I will look into this as and when I book individual journeys within my trip, probably when I'm abroad.

Advice I have read in various places seems to suggest that on safety grounds you really need to focus on visiting cities in Colombia, not anywhere too rural (except, presumably, the more recognised eco-ish-tourism destinations). On the one hand I don't like to feel this has to be the case, but really that suits me down to the ground. I generally prefer cities. I have also thought, just musing to myself, that I don't need to go charging round the country trying to see a lot of places. If I actually found myself in largish city X early in the trip and decided I really liked it (especially, but not necessarily, if I could study Spanish there enjoyably and cheaply either privately or in a school) and I essentially spent three months in one place and maybe got to know that place in a bit more depth than I otherwise would, that would be fine. It's like my trip to Guatemala last year, I really saw only a tiny part of the country and while I could probably have been a "better" tourist even within the set of places I went, it's not a problem I didn't go charging off to other tourist sites. I'm not dying to see them, there will be other trips when I can go to them, and I did mostly enjoy taking things a bit slower and spending more time in fewer places, even if as I say I could have done better from a social and tourist POV.

I also need to remember that although it's not financially optimal (or most convenient), even once I've booked these flights I still have the option to add on some relatively short flights to convert my Colombia trip into a trip to some other Latin American destination instead, should I suddenly get cold feet about Colombia for some reason.

It is looking like my dithering has maybe cost me about £90. We might say that if they were still available (it seems unlikely, but hard to be certain) I'd have booked the "£500" Air Europa flights and paid an extra £52 for seat reservations, whereas I am leaning towards paying £640 for direct Avianca flights now the cheaper flights have disappeared. This isn't apples-to-apples (the £552 Air Europa flights would include guaranteed seats, whereas with Avianca I'm taking a punt on getting acceptable seats for free at online check in, and on the other hand Avianca has checked baggage included) but it's about as close as I can make it. Obviously a direct flight is nicer and all other things being equal I'd probably be willing to pay £10-20 extra to fly direct anyway.

In the future I maybe need to be more open to committing to a trip far in advance; I suspect if I'd been keeping an eye out (and perhaps subscribed to the premium version of Jack's Flight Club or similar) I could have got £300-400-ish flights to Colombia or some other interesting Latin American destination by booking months ago. It just feels a bit risky to do so. This is probably irrational; any major shittiness would probably mean travel insurance would pay for cancellation, and if it didn't I'd be losing the price of a cheap-ish flight. I think it's more that if someone had said to me in (say) August "do you want to book a cheap flight to go to Colombia in January?" I'd have been feeling this "well, maybe, err, it's tempting, but what if for some reason I don't want to go once we get to January, I'd kind of like to put the decision off" reluctance to commit to it. Perhaps (probably not) there was also an element of being unsure if I wanted to go away in October-ish as well/instead, but I don't think that's really a big element.

Thinking about it a bit more, I think part of the problem was that I didn't want to have commited to go to a specific destination in January too early, when something might have happened that made me think "yeah, going to country X would be cool" and then I couldn't go to country X because I'd already booked for country Y. This isn't really something I should worry about a lot, but I think it was part of the "let's not book too early to get a really great deal" problem.

22nd Nov Absolute flight search odyssey. Last night I came close to booking some flights at £490, a couple of hours later they had totally disappeared and the same airline was advertising the flights at £600+ IIRC, today very similar (possibly identical) flights have reappeared at <£490. I haven't booked anything yet.

I am now leaning towards going with Air Europa, assuming their flights don't disappear or soar in price again. It appears they allocate you a random (i.e. poor, I assume) seat unless you pay to reserve. I don't like the relative lack of openness about that, but otherwise I can accept it. They are relatively cheap and even after factoring in the price of reserving the seats, their flights are still coming in about £100 below the corresponding Avianca direct flights. Avianca is, as I say, direct, but that's not a huge bonus. They also have a checked baggage allowance but again that's not huge for me. Avianca will allow me to choose a seat for free at online checkin, but I can pay £100 less than Avianca and have guaranteed (barring fuckups, which can never be prevented) seats on all my Air Europa flights, which will be an enormous psychological load off my mind, irrationally or not. Yes, I'd almost certainly get acceptable (i.e. aisle; I'm not otherwise fussy) seats at online check in with Avianca but I'd be on tenterhooks the day before the flight, and when I come back it means I have to make myself available the last night of the trip to check in (and look at the stress I had with the Aeromexico site coming back from Guatemala). I could pay extra to reserve a seat with Avianca, but then it's getting even more expensive and - I haven't pretended to book to see the actual seat reservation cost - we're probably looking at a £130+ premium over Air Europa by this point, which is a heavy premium to pay for a direct flight and a checked baggage allowance.

I have discovered that although opodo offers some Air Europa flights >£20 less than Air Europa themselves, the seat reservations cost far more via opodo (£88 vs £52 to reserve on all four flights), so a) if I'm reserving seats, as I'm not willing to accept random/bad seats, it's effectively cheaper to book direct with Air Europa b) the range of tricks to confuse pricing is even larger than I had previously realised; I had been assuming the seat reservation charge would be the same everywhere.

I do seem to be being pushed later and later into January. Given I didn't really start looking into flights until about a month ago, my notes suggest I would have been flying out 18th January even had I booked at that point, but the cheap flights I am currently seeing have me going out 23rd January. This isn't terrible but given I am nominally going away to avoid the UK winter a bit it's not great.

Later: OK, it's 2305 and I've steeled myself to book the flights before they maybe evaporate again at midnight; it may well already be midnight in Spain but I started before their midnight as well. £542 for return with Air Europa via Madrid, I picked aisle seats for all four flights so barring fuckups I don't have to worry about this. I don't have any hold baggage (and I'll get stiffed for £100+ if I need it, I have no idea if that's each way) but in reality I should not need this. Do feel a bit edgy but it's all good. FFS, I'd rather not lose £542 but if I just decide I don't want to go, it's not a critically large amount of cash to lose. This is flying out 23rd January and returning 20th April, for 90 days travelling (including the day where I'm flying in the morning and back home in the afternoon). I need to book travel insurance ASAP but didn't want to commit to buying it before I'd booked a flight. That's a bit later than I'd like but as I already said, in reality I'd have been flying out 18th January even had I booked 3-4 weeks ago. I could probably have gone out 18th January and come back 8th April for the same price as what I just booked, but I'm not so desperate to get away five days earlier that I'm willing to give up a week abroad. Just hope I don't wake up in a cold sweat tomorrow morning having booked this. ;-)

OK, 2312 and still no panic attack. :-) Just to waffle about travel insurance: yes I could in theory have gone and booked some immediately before booking this flight, or this afternoon, or yesterday, but since I'm paying for "quality" travel insurance it would be about £150 and I didn't want to buy it if I hadn't absolutely committed to taking a trip. I didn't want to book it just before going ahead and booking the flight because I was in a rush and fighting my own funk to book the tickets. Also, since I have a totally irrelevant "pre-existing medical condition" I anticipate a minor amount of shit phoning up call centres to be given the OK when booking the travel insurance and even if I hadn't been fighting the funk off that would have been near-impossible to do at this time of night. And I was racing the clock a bit lest these flights evaporate at midnight Cinderella-style as they seemed to do yesterday.

While I won't deny feeling nervy (and being super paranoid triple checking everything during the booking), I don't feel too bad, and I think the fact I seemed to have "lost" the cheap-ish OK-ish flights to Colombia yesterday helped confirmed that I would like to go there this time. And as I've said before, if I really get cold feet about Colombia for whatever reason I can recover a bit by spending a couple of hundred quid on flights from Bogota to Guatemala or Costa Rica or Argentina or wherever feels better.

I see F&CO website has mention of national strikes; the actual prospect of disturbance doesn't deeply worry me, I can hole up in my accommodation for a day, but I could be fucked if there are such strikes on the days I need to fly into or out of the country. Just have to hope I guess. I did see this before I booked, I had checked it for last minute "WTF?!" news a few times today so as not to be caught out. I can't not go because there might be as-yet-unannounced strikes when I am flying.

28th Nov I haven't had a massive attack of cold feet yet, though I've been a bit distracted by other things. This post has been accumulating far too long, and since I've now actually booked the flights I should just publish the damn thing. I need to get the rabies vaccination sorted, maybe later today.

Been listening to Lucy Grau's Spanish version of MacArthur Park (which is both good - I quite enjoy it - and bad - I don't really like the excessive salsa-ness of the chorus, and it's not a literal translation) and thinking of Lezama Park and (even more irrationally) some of the minor parks I visited in Santiago. I was out with Patrick tonight (technically last night; it's early hours of 28th as I write this) and some stuff he said about feeling the atmosphere of places he'd visited was oddly reassuring. I really need to give less of shit about doing what the guide book tells me and worrying about "missing out" on stuff, and just do more casual wandering. To be fair to myself I've donea fair amount of that on my more recent trips, but I've often felt a bit bad or pseudo-lonely doing it, and really that's stupid.

As I observed to Patrick (and perhaps didn't get the point across), I think of the essay in the cruise brochure mentioned by David Foster Wallace in his (super enjoyable) essay "Shipping Out", where Frank Conroy describes the "vast lapis lazuli dome of the sky" and DFW points out that this encourages the casual reader to perceive the blue Carribean sky differently. I don't mean this in a deeply wanky "we are all slaves of literature and influence and context" way, just that I personally find this illuminating. I think my trips are a bit tainted by the picture painted by the guide books and pseudo-Guardian-travel-writing stuff into thinking I "should" be appreciating the culture via a) sitting in a cool local cafe b) chatting with a local c) having a massive party, and while I'm not saying any of those are bad, it's also the case that just experiencing the place in my own way and enjoying whatever random shit (e.g. Lezama Park, even if it's partly influenced by the random connection my brain made with that and MacArthur Park (the song; never been near the place)) tickles my personal fancy. (Like being a bit unimpressed by the moai on Easter Island, then being jaw-droppingly impressed by Rano Kao - as I write this, I actually feel it would be cool to go back and wander round it some more, though I have had a few beers and wouldn't take this too seriously if I were me, which I am.)

And really - this seems so obvious, but it's also so easy to forget - why the fuck do I do anything, never mind the relatively expensive and painful travel, if not for me and to "feel" things? Why the fuck should I spoil it for myself by letting the guide book and other people's random blogs tell me how it "should" be? If I could only not worry about that kind of shit, I'm sure I could have a - quiet, nominally dull - much more fulfilling time. How nice would it be just to sit in some random park and mull over shit and look around me, if I weren't continually thinking "I should be having more active fun and be in the centre of a whirl of social activity, I'm such a loser" during it? Meh. No one else ultimately gives a shit, and it would be futile to do any of this stuff to try to impress anyone. At best there's the odd amusing anecdote to tell, and that's cool, but that's the froth, not the beer.

While I'm mildly drunkenly rambling, perhaps worth noting that just because something is promoted as a tourist attraction, that doesn't mean it's not worth seeing. I'm thinking - based on viewing some slightly stereotyped stills of "sky reflected in water" on a YT video of "Let Go" - of some of the views of sky-reflected-in-water from the Salar de Uyuni tour I did back in IIRC 2010. The guide books were rather scathing about these tours, but even if they maybe had some sort of point (and I'm not sure they did), that doesn't actually alter the "wow, cool" factor of things like e.g. those SRIW views. At the time I don't know if they truly astounded me - check the old blog entries, I haven't right now! - but the mere fact that I'm even thinking about this now nearly ten years later has to mean those memories were worth acquiring. It's just me here, talking to myself, I'm not expecting or hoping to impress some random conversational partner with tales of adventurous derring-do.

And again, while I'm mildly drunkenly rambling, I should remember that cool things are there - here? - to be seen at home too. I've seen some cool atmospheric effects on Skegness beach. Shit, if - unlikely as it seems, but it does happen - someone had travelled halfway round the world to go stand on the deserted south end of the beach at Skegness, they'd probably naturally treasure such things more than I do. This isn't to say there's no point travelling, just to note that it's not necessary nor that things can only be interesting or cool if I see them thousands of miles from home. Hell, I quite enjoy the view out of my window right now at 4am in London; there's an unusually lurid blue light coming from the Shard and a clear view of the towers of the City.

28th Nov Since I haven't yet posted this, I'll continue here. Quick (possibly repetitive) poke re vaccines. My yellow fever vaccine certificate has an expiration date of end of this year, but https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/yellow-fever/vaccination/ says "All vaccination certificates are now valid for life, including older ones with an expiry date on them." So I won't worry about this. I've suddenly "noticed" MMR is recommended and as I was born between 1970 and 1979 I may only have had measles vaccination as a child. I hadn't paid much attention before as this is recommended for being in Britain too. OTOH no one said anything about it when I went to the NHS GP (nurse? not sure) to get vaccinated last year, it may well be I've been given this at some point anyway and it is free on the NHS so I might have expected them to mention it if appropriate. In any case, since it is free on the NHS, I know not to let the travel clinic I speak to about rabies vaccination upsell me on having this.

Right, I just called Nomad Travel, who seemed to be cheapest for the rabies vaccination in my poke around the web the other week. They don't currently have any in stock but are hoping to get some in and I've gone on a list to be called back. There are two different way this can be administered which cost different amounts; they won't be cheapest if I end up on the more expensive of the two, but then again other places don't even seem to mention this so I have no idea whether they're always giving the cheaper option or always the more expensive option or if they just don't mention it. NT are still not particularly expensive compared to most of the other prices I saw even if I do end up on the more expensive of the two options. Worst case is I'm paying effectively £67 for each of three doses, except for Superdrug at £58/dose everywhere else I found in my web search is charging £65/dose upwards, so I'm not massively overpaying even if I do end up on the more expensive option.
30th Nov Had decided to get two new pairs of the same style of trousers I bought the other year when I went to Guatemala; the ones I keep calling combat trousers even though they only have one leg pocket. They were comfortable, seemed to wear well, I really liked having zipped pockets to prevent stuff falling out on bus seats etc. Decided to get a light and dark grey pair this time round after getting a bit of advice. Had to trog over to the St Paul's Sports Direct to get them, neither of my two local stores had two pairs of the right colours in my size (and Sports Direct don't let you order online for free instore delivery, or have any stock which isn't on display) and there was a 2-for-£38 deal so I didn't want to buy a single pair. Will need to get those turned up but that shouldn't be a problem, and I will probably buy a pair of the same sort of shoes I bought last year too though again in a different colour to better match the trousers (I had beige-ish ones last year). I have decided I'll not be taking the Rohan smart-ish travel trousers with me; they may come in useful on some other trip, but as I've said before for my recent long trips I've just not been wearing them that much and they're not pulling their weight in my very restricted set of clothes.

Coping with a lost, stolen or damaged phone

[I wrote this as a draft a month or so after returning from Argentina, and now I'm starting to prepare for my next trip I thought I should finally make the effort to actually publish it on the blog and to follow my own advice.]

So after my earlier on-the-fly wafflings, and being safely back home and having had a bit of time to mull things over, here's a kind of post-mortem on the problems I had when my phone broke and what I intend to do in the future to avoid similar problems.

What happened

• The USB socket on my phone was becoming increasingly unreliable, making charging difficult, verging on impossible.
• I believe this was caused or at least accelerated by using the phone to read in bed while charging it, as this could put extra strain on the connector, especially if I knocked it around while moving in my sleep - I often wouldn't or couldn't (in a dormitory, for example) put the phone on a bedside table before actually going to sleep.
• The charging situation got so bad that I decided it was better to risk taking it in for repair while I was abroad than to try to hold on until I got home; the phone was the only internet-capable device I had with me, as I didn't take a tablet or laptop to save weight and reduce the temptation to fritter time away on it.
• While the repair was fortunately successful, because I took it in on a Friday afternoon and the same-day repair I was initially promised didn't happen, I ended up without the phone until Monday.
• Without my phone I was (largely) unable to access my GMail account, because I needed the phone as a two-factor authentication device.
• Without access to my GMail account and/or my phone-as-a-phone, I was unable to access other accounts - most significantly airbnb - because they wanted to send me an authentication code via text message or e-mail.
• Some important details I needed for online checkin for my return flight were only on GMail, and some other details were only on GMail and Dropbox, neither of which I could access.
• I did in fact have a single GMail emergency backup code, good for precisely one login, but I felt I had to keep that in reserve in case all other options failed and I needed it to get access to the online checkin details. Yes, in principle I could have logged in with it, got some more emergency backup codes and been good to go, but I was worried that something would go wrong (e.g. a power or network outage in the internet cafe closing my session before I got more emergency backup codes out); this is the "two is one, one is none" principle in effect, I guess.
• I did manage to get in contact with my parents via Skype from an internet cafe, because Skype mercifully allows you to sign in from an unknown device without 2FA for a limited seven day period. I believe I could have used this to get them to relay a 2FA code from GMail which would have been phoned through to their home landline, as I had that set up as one of the recovery numbers, but I decided not to try this unless the phone repair failed and that was luckily not the case.
• I needed to get in touch with my non-resident airbnb host while I didn't have my phone. I had asked them for an e-mail address as I anticipated possible phone problems, but had then stupidly not written it down on a piece of paper but sent it to myself in an e-mail, which was inaccessible to me.
• I tried to set up a temporary free e-mail address to be able to contact my parents and (if I had had the address on paper) my airbnb host, but it was very difficult to get one without a working phone number. Doug Dyment has helpfully suggested to me since that there are free e-mail services which work without a phone number (I'll list them below); I think I failed to find these on my Google searches for "free e-mail addresses with no phone number" because they're primarily marketed as anonymising and/or spam-avoiding services, even though they do fulfil my requirements exactly.

Other problems which didn't happen but would have the same effect

If my phone had been stolen, lost or for some reason I had had to factory reset it the effects would have been almost the same as if the phone had broken and could not be repaired.

A factory reset would have been slightly better than a stolen or lost phone as I would have had a working phone with my UK SIM in, which could (in Argentina, where all this happened) receive texts but nothing else - that would have helped me re-establish my electronic identity on the effectively new phone.

Problems I didn't experience, but which seem possible and related

I was using a different UK SIM abroad than I normally do back in the UK; my normal contract has no roaming support at all (not a question of cost, it doesn't support it) and I therefore didn't have access to my normal UK number. Some websites were set up with the alternate number, but some weren't - in particular I don't think GMail was. So if I had bought a new phone and put my SIM in it, I might have struggled to authenticate to some websites.

I have some of my key passwords memorised (e.g. GMail) but not all; I use a password manager on - you guessed it - my phone for most passwords. This wasn't a problem for me this time because, anticipating the phone becoming impossible to charge at some point, I had jotted down a few of the more important passwords on a bit of paper and had them available.

What I could have done to be better prepared for this possibility

If I had been able to get access to my GMail account, pretty much everything else would have just worked. I had one emergency backup code but didn't dare to use it. So:

• Have at least two and ideally three GMail backup codes memorised. If I'd "lost" my phone and my bag - perhaps in a single mugging, perhaps I lose one and then the other a few hours or days after - having them on a piece of paper in the bag would not help me.
• Test in advance the possibility of logging into GMail using a 2FA code sent to my parents' landline and relayed to me by phone; if I know this works, I'll feel more comfortable not having any backup codes on a piece of paper. I already demonstrated it's possible to communicate with them to have the code relayed via Skype, and failing that an actual telephone call (internet cafes often provide call booths) to them would work too.

I think those two things alone would have reduced the stress caused by "losing" the phone enormously. I'll go on to make some other suggestions, but I think these are less critical:

• Test logging on to the most critical sites (for me, probably GMail, Dropbox and airbnb) from an "unknown" computer (a friend's, if I've never used it before, or an internet cafe here at home) before the trip with my phone switched off; if I can't get into any of them, I need to find a way round that.
• Taking a second (probably relatively cheap) smartphone with me is worth serious consideration. It would serve as a backup 2FA device, so with either smartphone I could access all my accounts with no problem. (The only exception would be text message authentication, as only one phone could have my SIM in at a time, but I could of course swap it between them if one broke instead of being lost or stolen.) This would also (probably) allow me to set up a new phone or a factory-reset phone if necessary. I think this would also help me avoid damaging the charging port by reading in bed; with two phones I could leave one charging on a table and read on the other in bed using its battery; even in a dormitory I could probably manage something like this by locking the charging phone in my bag/locker and charging it from a powerbank. And of course if the second phone was relatively cheap, I could carry it around with me at times and places I might otherwise prefer not to take my "main" phone.
• Having more of the key passwords memorised or written down (insecure, I know; perhaps write a hinted version?) would be very helpful. With access to e-mail I could have done a password reset on most sites to get in, which is why I don't think this is critical, although it's possible doing a password reset would have triggered extra 2FA-style authentication which would have involved text messges to my phone.
• Updating key sites to have the phone number of my "travel" SIM (not my normal UK number) would have helped if I had access to the SIM but not my phone itself (e.g. if I'd bought a replacement phone). This is potentially a pain as some sites might not allow multiple phone numbers so it might involve switching back and forth at the start and end of a trip, but definitely worth considering, especially on sites which do allow multiple numbers.
• Assume whatsapp and other "secure" communication methods such as airbnb messaging may be unavailable; try to get an e-mail address from airbnb hosts or other important people where possible and write it on a bit of paper or (a low-effort alternative) take a photo of it from the phone screen with my standalone digital camera and lock it so it won't be erased when I clear the card after copying photos on to my phone. I'm not sure it's generally welcome to ask e.g. airbnb hosts for e-mail addresses, but depending on the circumstances this might be useful. In any case, if I have an e-mail address for someone I might need to contact in an emergency, making the small effort to make it available if the phone breaks is useful.
• Don't get too internet-focused; I could have gone into a call centre and called my parents on the phone as way to re-establish communications, but I think I mostly forgot about this in the heat of the moment. I do have their numbers memorised already, but obviously if I didn't then memorising them would also be a good idea.
• Wear a watch, ideally a digital one. This way I know the time and have an alarm available (even if it isn't all that loud, it's better than nothing) while phoneless. (I do already do this, but I'll list it here anyway because it's a good idea and I should keep doing it.)
• Set up a standby e-mail account, memorise the password and teach my parents about it as a "probably me, but be suspicious" e-mail address. As this account would not be set up on any websites as my address, I could afford to leave 2FA disabled on it and could therefore log into it with just the password; I'd want to choose a webmail account which doesn't force 2FA, of course.

E-mail access without needing a phone number

The sites Doug recommended were:

• http://anonymouse.org/
• http://www.guerrillamail.com/
• https://trashmail.com/

but now I've been pointed in the right direction, a web search for "disposable e-mail address" shows lots of other options. Some of these options might mean any e-mails I received would be visible to random strangers, but with care that would be OK; for example a GMail 2FA code is single-use, so as long as I was waiting for the e-mail containing it and used it before anyone else could that would be an acceptable risk in an emergency.

Buenos Aires-London

Mon 0735 Just got on bus 8 from Congreso. Only just got here in time, tho wasn't critical if I had missed it. Got up 0645 after semi-snoozing in bed from 0630 alarm. Felt a bit depressed/worried but usual pre-flight stuff. Cleaned teeth, had couple of bananas, packed last few bits and pieces. Fingers crossed all OK.

Teensy bit of trouble getting reader on bus to accept my card but driver was OK about it, I was prob just being a nervy idiot and putting it on reader and taking it off at wrong moments.

0953 At gate. All pretty smooth, bus got to airport about 0840, loitered landside to drink my bottle of water and have some biscuits then dropped bag off - bit worried as I didn't get any kind of receipt for it, but probably be OK. Guy spoke to me in English so not a language issue. Bag is checked through to London, don't need to collect it in Zurich.

Security unproblematic tho noticed a sign saying up to 5 litres of liquid allowed!? This might have been a different "channel" , it wasn't right over where I went through, no idea. Managed to avoid setting off metal detector by forgetting to remove anything.

No problem with passport control either, tho guy was slouching back in his chair and couldn't see him when booth 14 showed up as my booth and thought was no one there. But all OK.

Of course a) it would be too late to print boarding pass and b) you couldn't rely on it, but a sign nearby (where I can see the Norwegian flight to Gatwick waiting - half wish I was on it but it was expensive and annoying plus at least I will land at LCY which ought to be super convenient) offers 10 pages of printing for free if you e-mail files to some address. Though don't know if is any free wifi to e-mail with.

Feel a bit edgy at being separated from my bag but it's fine. On the homeward bound leg it is much less critical if it goes astray - I can live without all the stuff in it and it's just an insurance claim (assuming not shafted by lack of a receipt, but I didn't get one, I didn't lose it) and might even be a net win if I get new stuff to replace old stuff (tho really rather it didn't happen).

Guy at baggage drop/checkin desk offered me a couple of boarding passes on ground they're smaller than the A4 prints I had. I took him up since he seemed to think it was best, and this at least means I have duplicate paper boarding passes even without relying on phone electronic ones.

1120 Yes, free wifi too. And some electric sockets (and apparently broken USB ports on the one I tried) so squashed a bit more power into phone. Not really nec as have power bank fully charged but still.

Jeez, the boarding queue is enormous. I noticed when checked in online the front half of plane seemed to be *solidly* booked, no gaps at all. I can't believe this is true - why would no one have picked the aisle or window seats free towards back? - and maybe this was business class seats just being clumsily made unavailable to me.

Since I only have my tiny daypack which I want to keep under seat in front of me so no worries about running out of overhead locker space and whatever seat I have is reserved, I don't really need to worry about rushing on board.

1142 On plane, seating as advertised, seats pretty narrow (more than usual? hard to be sure) but got my aisle seat so don't really care too much. Do have a seatmate but can't always be lucky and didn't expect otherwise given business.

Phone did some weird quiet beepy? vibratey thing as in queue, but can't see any sign of it playing up now or any messages, and this wasn't a regular kind of signal.

This is an A340-300; let's entertain myself briefly with the safety card.

Announcement in German/English/Spanish touting 50 free seats in economy max - I think the Spanish announcement said it costs CHF90 but wasn't really listening, I don't think the English announcement said price!

Given this 50 seats free (I saw those seats; not worth the money to me as long as have my aisle seat) and fact we seemed to board "behind" some cabin windows I suspect there may also be a business/first section up front and the two combined explained that solidly booked section at front of aircraft as was choosing my seat, but who knows?

1150 225+1 passengers on board according to cabin crew announcement in English, which seems a tiny bit odd on this flight where I'd have expected German or Spanish.

1646 (BA time) Watched The Old Man & The Gun (OK) and Catch Me If You Can (fairly enjoyable). We had lunch roughly in between those two, no choice but some actually very acceptable pork+vegetable dish and some rice and bread and a small dessert, with orange juice and coffee. Been given a bottle of water which is nice. No free booze on this flight in economy but not a big deal.

Cabin is blacked out and lots of people with blankets on; it is of course bright sunlight outside when someone cracks a window blind but I think we're trying to create a night effect to help people sleep/counter jet lag. I do feel a little tired but not that much so. See how it goes, no point trying to force myself to sleep.

Usual (?) plane thing where I seem to have gas escaping from my arse, although I think it's not too odorous and is probably somehow related to the pressure.

Tue 0019 (BA time) Didn't sleep too badly, for a flight. Think I missed out on a small snack earlier due to having eyes shut or actually being asleep. Breakfast OK, bit of fruit salad and some sliced meat and cheese with bread and orange juice and coffee. We land in maybe an hour.

Watched Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit as falling asleep last night; not bad but was getting a bit bored towards end.

0654 (Zurich) Airside after security waiting for gate. Woman (whose passport was green) who evidently spoke little English just came and showed me her boarding pass (for a flight to Manchester), I think she was unclear on her gate so went to screen to check it for her. Nice to be able to help for once. :-)

0656 OK, at gate D41.

Phone batt 68% without needing to charge it since that little top up at BA airport, so should get me home OK even with bit of reading here.

Oh, noticed as boarding plane at BA that I *did* have a luggage receipt on back of the Zurich-London boarding pass after all.

0832 On plane (Embraer 190), got my aisle seat so all good. Flight seems reasonably full and do have seatmate but not a problem.

1003 Fifteenish mins from landing. Topped phone up bit from powerbank while reading on it during flight anyway. Given a croissant, which was noticeably less sticky and sweet than the ones I'd had in Argentina.

1047 (presumably Zurich time) On DLR just leaving City airport. Only got off plane about 0930 so pretty sweet really. Automated passport gate worked once I took my glasses off; you'd think there'd be a reminder. Bag turned up fairly sharpish and brief look as put daypack in suggests duty free is intact but not checked properly. Went through "nothing to declare" lane but it was unmanned so no one said anything to me. Quick flick through a leaflet suggested my alfajores don't upset anyone, I don't think they count as fruit/veg/plant/animal produce though arguably jut about all food ultimately comes from one of those, but don't think that is the intent otherwise it would just say "no food" after all.

1024 Got home maybe 1010, perhaps a smidge earlier. Been faffing with post and boiler and beeping smoke detector since got in. But things seem mostly OK.

2035 Prob send this soon. FWIW I had to learn a returnable empty litre bottle of Iguana beer in flat; due to minor rush on Sun evening didn't have chance to try returning it. But I only got charged about ARS11 for the deposit and I did get two bottles of Iguana while in BA so that only adds about ARS6 to each bottle, so still cheap.

Feeling a bit yawny and eyes sort of wanting to close/go kind of swimmy earlier but not too bad. Having some coffee (not specifically to address this) and will go to bed if I really want to any time from now, but may well be gone midnight anyway as really don't feel that bad.

2314 It was slightly disconcerting when I got home to find just how messy the flat was - with being away so much and having travel stuff lying around as well as the usual clutter it's a bit of a state. But I'm not getting too worked up about it, just saying I had - perhaps a good thing - completely forgotten about eg leaving bits of documentation and unwanted travel gear unpacked after Guatemala trip lying around to be sorted "later" .

Buenos Aires, Sunday

Sun 1357 At Bar Polo, not too busy, chap didn't seem to hold a grudge after poss rudeness last time, even asked me "bife?" unprompted. One of cats was at street door as I arrived so I touched it lightly on the back.

Very hot today, at least compared to what am used to lately.

Altho I remain a tiny bit dubious the seat plans will turn out to be wrong (eg it seems to be a 2+4+2 configuration and there's no row C) and I'll end up in a non-aisle seat despite getting a choice, the online checkin was actually super smooth so kudos to Edelweiss for that if nothing else. I got to check in and choose seats and both flights and I can check in with phone if want, tho would prefer to have paper as backup. Went to net cafe to print but they had problems; they are open til 11pm and I will prob see if can find a net cafe near here after eating and if they *do* shut early I have phone as a fallback.

Double-checked bus stop for 8 to airport on way over here, did see now I knew to half look for it the words "semirapido" on the stop so that is reassuring. Prob going to aim to leave flat 7ish and get 735 bus; this gets me to airport 830ish which is really too early for 1155 flight but it's just not worth the stress of trying to save myself 30-60 mins of hanging around at airport by aiming for a later bus, because I have to allow time for things going wrong.

1728 At Indoor Bar; did go to LDC but they only take Visa (have one in hidden belt but rather not dig it out and it is credit if that might matter) and also I thought they did pizza but they don't. IB takes Visa and Mastercard so I feel safer (I have about 150ish in cash), getting pint of Patagonia Weisse (happy hour til 9, ARS80) and a ham and pepper pizza - not super hungry as obviously ate earlier but seems prudent to lard out prior to flight.

Struggled bit to find net cafe open round San Telmo (some on GM showing as open weren't) but trogged over to 24h Atomik on Belgrano and printed single copy of boarding passes no fuss; cost 25, I fished in pocket to offload change but really had little tho I did pay 5 of 25 in change.

Then trogged back to Lezama Park and spent an hour semi-meditating while staring in vague direction of blue-domed church. Then back up Defensa (chocka with stalls and bovine crowds, but vaguely cool to see it again) to here.

Noticed a Carrefour Express showing it shutd at 8 Sun so prob the one near flat will as well but also passed a Dia open til 10 so not going to worry about it. If I ultimately can't buy a few packets of alfajores as gifts it is not the end of the world.

Going to have 2-3 pints here, take my time then home I think.

1800 Second beer. "Here's to the times!" :-) For some reason woke up with HMHB's "Alehouse Futsal" running through my head. Spotted a drawing on wall of a coffee shop on walk over to BP with a woman holding a handbag with "Every day is like Sunday" written on it, which changed the mental record. En route to net cafe after BP I briefly detoured round a covered market (prob mainly for tourists but since they had some baskets of cheap ordinary cutlery for sale maybe it's a bit more general) and happened to spot a stall selling toy cars which had a couple of the Matchbox Greyhound buses I had seen on Marty's Matchbox Makeovers (and which had never seen before in real life) during my YT binges, which was oddly cool (but not remotely tempted to buy). For some reason, not long after leaving the market on way to net cafe I ended up with Max Bygraves' "Civilisation" in my head; just possibly this was indirectly triggered by an old metal-looking Fernet advert/wall plaque which I saw as was leaving market which suggested enjoying it with vermouth and had a rather stereotyped black bartender (which seems a little odd here in Argentina, and the text was in Spanish, but what do I know).

1930 Mostly finished third pint^Whalf litre. Made a point for the last one of staring round instead of reading on phone. Tempted to have a fourth but prob best to "leave 'em wanting more" ; I need to walk home and get some stuff (alfajores, some water, snacks for flight) and sober up a bit and then pack and it's foolish to spoil things by overdoing it. Street market stall people been packing up most of last hour.

Mon 0047 Found a supermarket open but halfway through shopping I asked about cards as having some bananas weighed and they only took Visa debit, so had to put everything back. But was a Dia a bit further along and got what I wanted. Quite a nice walk back past Casa Colorada and pretty close to obelisk. Have packed while watching some YT and eating some bananas.

Had to wash trousers so hope they are dry by morning. Bit edgy about departure but it should be fine, I perhaps "should" be in bed but I'm pretty much sober so don't expect to oversleep alarms and until I start yawning there seems little point going to bed, esp as I need to leave phone charging overnight instead of reading on it as I go to sleep. If I am tired tomorrow as long as I don't oversleep it's quite good as it should help me sleep on plane (tho I think the flight is perhaps rather awkwardly timed in that regard).

Buenos Aires, Saturday

Sat 1504 In street. Got up lateish and only left flat maybe ten or twenty mins ago to go buy Fernet to take home. (Guys at lang exch confirmed incidentally the "t" is not silent.)

Shop - green (supermarkets here don't seem to show their full name, they just all seem to say "express" ) "express" supermarket had scoped out as cheapest refused to let me pay for it by card (tho they take cards), only cash. Rude woman at till said she'd told me this three times. She hadn't, because we had not been talking - it's not like there was some babble at me I hadn't understood.

Anyway, went to the orange "express" where staff seem helpful. They only have 75cl bottles (I want a litre which is duty free allowance) but will let me pay by card. So said I might go back.

Shop next door - which looked more small businessy - also had 1 lt bottles but again said "vino" sales had to be in cash, even if I bought some food too. WTactualF?

Can't buy at airport as I have non-direct flight and any liquids I buy airside would have to go in hand luggage and would be confiscated at security before my Zurich-London flight. Because terrorism.

Spotted cheap and cheerful 100g for ARS22 restaurant but some weird guy came out as was peering in window and asked if I was in queue. (Because only about 90% of tables were empty...) I left and wrote the above and came back but he's still sitting on the wall outside, so I'm not eating there as he could start hassling me somehow.

1614 OK, back at flat for a bit. On semi-whim was going to eat at small restaurant but I asked and chap said they couldn't take cards today so I had to leave. Yes this is letting cash v cash control my actions but not significantly. Went to ZT Restaurant more or less opposite flat, had half intended to try that at some point too. Again paid by weight. I went 1725ish and was  big queue outside for the half price takeaway only offer starting offer (I checked w guy at front of queue to make sure didn't start a riot by pushing in; and just *maybe* this is what the I-thought-him-weird guy at other by weight restaurant was referring to re queue if they have similar offer he was waiting for), I managed to get my food before that horde came in. Not quite the buffet experience I had hoped for; I thought I might be allowed multiple visits with a weighing every time and pay at the end but instead I got a smallish flimsy plastic box and filled that up rather awkwardly then got a drink and paid before eating. Still, my debit card did work. Chips were a bit cold (unlike a buffet I couldn't take a few, try them then go back for more if good) but OK, had two substantialish pieces of chicken which were pretty decent if not piping hot and a bit of veg rice to fill up box. Not super cheap at 214.80 plus 45 for a coke zero (tho 45 for the coke was a good price for a restaurant), didn't tip given self-service nature. Bit awkward eating all this out of the smallish plastic container but was OK. Overall not bad and was a fairly substantial meal.

1810 Hung around flat perhaps too long and just popped out a couple of times, back now. Getting a tiny bit edgy I'd struggle to top up Sube card at a Subte stn on Sunday, so noticing kiosk on corner which had sign outside went in and put 50 (cash; didn't ask about card) on which should give me considerable safety margin. Also went into another couple of smallish kiosks (shops, not stands on street - but they call them kioskos here so using kiosk in English) - first had 1 lt bottles but no cards, second had 1 lt bottles (of Fernet Branca, as elsewhere, which seems the "premium" brand and no point economising here) at only 300 (usually 335 or even 355 elsewhere) and took debit cards, but only Visa. :-( And my Staring is Mastercard. Even popped home to check Monzo card and that"s Mastercard too. Have Visa *credit* cards but he said debit only.

Wandered out again and found an independent-ish supermarket which had litre for 335 and would let me pay by card. I *think* woman at till said debit only but not sure; I didn't care as had Starling debit card ready. During checkout she then told me it was a credit card - I know full well it isn't, but (saying "no me importa" which I can never remember if is rude or not but hope I softened it up enough if it was) I said I didn't mind if it worked but my bank said it was a debit card. Anyway, the transaction went through anyway (half wonder if I could have lied and told the shop which had it for 300 my Visa ccard was debit but prob not have worked and if it had might fuck them over on fees and felt a bit off) and I've now got my duty free. It's annoying to have paid 35 more than I needed, if I had more cash to hand would have happily paid 300 cash (on "large" cash wd the fee is about 5% so a 10% saving wrell worth it), but I don't and I think without seriously crippling myself for remaining time here I can get by without needing to wd more cash so mentally offset that extra 35 against the 200-250ish I would (will) get charged if I have to wd cash.

Definitely feeling a bit edgy re impending departure and especially the fucking online checkin tomorrow morning but it will probably be OK and the realistic worst case is I get a shitty middle seat between two fat bastards and I'm uncomfortable for 12h or so. This sucks but it is not unbearably awful, though I may be inclined to panic a bit all the same.

Starling popup showing purchase when got back to flat confirms amount was 335 and that this is £6.06, which feels pretty good for a litre of "quality" spirits. I quite like these Starling popups though esp when I don't have mobile data out and about their appearance (possibly en masse) on regaining net access if mildly disturbing. It also doesn't help that when you go to cash machine, try to wd and cancel because you don't like the fee (and IIRC sometimes because you put too big an amount in and the cash machine initiated the txn with my bank before cancelling it itself) you get two msgs (wd and cancel) popping up but the notifications get truncated and it can look a bit like the cancels are not cancels but extra wds. Not a huge problem but just waffling.

I will wrap the bottle up in all my clothes when I pack and just have to hope it makes it home intact.

1826 Poking on web to check bus 8 info, it looks like max fare is under 30 and (more importantly) there is a semi-fast service from Congreso (the stop near me) at x05 and x35, first x=7. This is from a web page which has a semi-official Twitter feed embedded in it with some photos of the info so bit dubious but probably be OK.

1844 Just done web search on offchance could see what's on at La Paz Arriba tonight and it seems to be some tarot-reading and the like thing from midnight to 4am. So I'll be going elsewhere I think. OK, their Facebook page says it starts at 9pm but otherwise the same thing. Not a big deal, and at least I found out before I went.

2149 Came out about 2110. Just come into Pool bar at Sarmiento 1548. Having litre of Quilmes Cristal (no card pmt tonight tho wasn't banking on this anyway), 180 and will make it 200 with tip. Then home, I have a 500ml can in fridge. Feeling quite on edge re online checkin; this kicked in as was walking down Corrientes through heaving crowd maybe 20 mins ago, no idea if connected with crowd or not. Edelweiss have been so massively unhelpful and contradictory with everything so far I can so easily see the online checkin tomorrow just flatly denying my booking exists (even before we worry about seat selection) and perhaps not allowing me to check in for Zurich-London leg. It could well be fine, this is pretty fundamental shit when you're operating an airline, but I'm getting really anxious. Also not looking forward to having to get to airport Mon morning and I half wish I was just home already.

Not v busy in here but a few ppl. Tis OK, am not looking for chat.

Plan was just to head along Corrientes and see if anything turned up. As it happens there was some kind of pseudo street party and the street was blocked to traffic with an arch and banners saying "Vivamos la nueva Calle Corrientes" and images were being projected on obelisk and there was a band+singer at one end etc. It was prob really rammed on pavement because of this attraction. I am not really sure what is new about it. It was sort of cool to see this by sheer chance but there wasn't to me anything tremendously exciting to see and I don't like those real dense bovine crowds where it's painfully slow to get along (four or five blocks seemed to take 20-30 mins but maybe imagined it).

OK, that's the writeup done, let's have some beer and read or muse. Sitting inside here FWIW.

2254 Nearly finished this litre. Notwithstanding the half litre can at home and wondering when I'll drink it, I am tempted to get another here. I had budgeted for a bigger spend than 400 on beer tonight from my remaining cash and while I may have a couple out tomorrow night (and more likely tomorrow early evening) I really do have an early start Mon whereas tomorrow while I damn well don't want to be I don't need to be up and doing til 11 at the earliest. It's not super nice here but there's a bit of life and it's a bit more "BA" than squatting in my flat with a can and YT.

Don't know if it's beer or sitting down and having a read of book on phone or what but while still perhaps a tiny bit tense re tomorrow and online checkin, feeling better than I did when the anxiety was borderline disturbing.

2303 Practically finished. Prob will have another litre then home. Am thinking going for a couple at Yrigoyen tomorrow evening is not super smart given 7am-ish start Mon; I will prob have a few at LDC (after checking can pay by card) tomorrow later afternoon and then spend the evening in, with that single can. May feel differently tomorrow night but given the 7am start it makes a lot of sense not to be out in the evening. I can buy another beer (on ccard) from supermarket to have at home if I want too. It's not like BY is a guaranteed feel-good place, had mixed results, I can OD on musing and reflection tomorrow afternoon at Lezama Park if I'm not chasing round like a blue-arsed fly trying to sort out online checkin all day.

Going for slash then prob get another.

Place is quite deep with lot of pool tables at back bogs right at far end, two idiots having chat in the bogs but fuck 'em. Place might be called Bs. As. City, though that seems such a generic name maybe it's a chain (but called what? Pool bar???) and that is just name of this branch. Not that it matters but this is why put address earlier to remove ambiguity.

I will have another litre, then home.

Quick poke at menu to reassure myself re price, bottled beer isn't too bad at I say 180 for litre Quilmes Cristal, but a *335ml* draught Quilmes (not something fancy like Unicorn Tears IPA) is 100!

2323 On a whim checked wifi networks and is one calls BS AS CITY so prob is name of bar. Not really desperate for net access so won't ask for pwd.

2335 Oh, completely irrelevant but while at Restaurant ZT I heard (on the radio, I think) Juanes' "Camisa Negra" , which was oddly cheering.

Feeling a bit more cheerful/comfortable even if also a bit Billy No Mates. But as already waffled, tonight was not the night for trying to get out and socialise. The trip as a whole obviously hasn't lived up to the travel socialisation of everyone else I ever speak to or read about on bed, but it hasn't been so bad.

0005 Not too far off finishing this litre, which has slipped down surprisingly quickly. I don't think a third is on cards tho, both from cash preservation and checkin tomorrow (today now) perspectives.

It would clearly have been better to be flying home mid-week, both from a "can go out Fri/Sat without fear" POV and from a "trying to check in online and failing but it's Sunday and can't get hold of anyone" POV, but I remember booking these flights and I was constrained by a) precise dates which were cheap for flights b) wanting to be home (in Skegness) for Easter given it was "easily" possible - had Easter come 2/3 of way through any plausible 90 day trip I'd prob have accepted being away (Easter is not Christmas!), but since it was so late it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up c) perhaps not wanting to leave UK "too early" due to nerves d) need/imagined need to spend time in Lon flat between returning to UK and going up to Skegness for insurance purposes.

No, even if it turned out they did take cards (I will ask jic, though expect to be told no), a third litre is not savvy given checkin at 11/12. I just might have that can when I get home, but far from sure. Don't get me wrong, I am still sitting here BNM and it's just a bar, but the sense of life and a bit of borderline cheesy music is quite fun, esp when I'm facing the minor shit of returning home (checkin, getting to airport, flights, security screenings, etc) and thus have a mild case of "carpe diem" syndrome.

Sun 2356 Just to finish this off briefly, I went home - you know I'm sure I've already written this somewhere but maybe it got lost - and had that can in fridge (which I didn't exactly want) while watching some YT and then went to bed fairly late. I asked and they wouldn't take cards tonight, but fair enough they had waned on the sign on the door.

Buenos Aires, Friday

Fri 1458 At Bar Polo, finished eating. Food not bad. Fear may have been inadvertently rude to owner (?) chap, who brought a salad over and I thought asked if I had ordered it so I said no, just chips (I already had stake) and I'm a bit worried he was offering it to me as a kind of free extra. It was probably dressed so I couldn't have eaten it anyway but as I say bit concerned was accidentally rude. Cant be helped anyway.

airbnb host gave me refund this morning - about six quid less than I expected but I have no idea why (*possibly* due to me using a "coupon" which was a refund for earlier cancelled booking, tho that should be invisible to them, or maybe they've only refunded 20% of their cut and not airbnb fees or whatever) but I think I'm going to just not worry about it rather than quibble.

I did misinterpret (doing a proper translation of msg re discount few days ago it was kind of obvious) their original msg and I think I should have guessed it would be via airbnb not cash, so I shouldn't have started spending my cash reserve instead of ccard in anticipation of getting more cash from them. I do prefer airbnb refund direct to ccard in general, except for my misinterpeting their intentions and thus as I say spending cash when I could have been using ccard. So I may well be forced to wd more cash and thus incur a four or five quid cash machine fee, which is galling, but I need to be careful not to let a desire to minimise cash spend in order to maybe avoid having to do this control how I spend these last few days.

They also raised via airbnb possibility the street door would be locked with key when I leave 7-8am Mon and I might not be out and suggested I speak to concierge; I did as I came out and she said encargadora (cleaner??) would be around from 7 so it should be fine. I just hope I don't come a cropper here. Tho while not planned in detail yet I may be leaving 8 or even past 8 in which case concierge herself would prob be on duty.

Felt bit tired-not-quite-hungover this morning and drowsed rather fitfully in bed for ages. It's OK, I don't have huge plans to run round cramming tourist stuff in every day because I'm about to go home and I just want to enjoy myself quietly, so to speak.

2221 Just got to Bar Yrigoyen (incidentally noticed another bar called that on walk over to BP earlier). Left flat maybe 2130, had got bit edgy about coming out, ended up circling vaguely north past (as it happened) Palacio de Aguas Corrientes in vague quest of possible live music at La Porteña but I either walked right past it or it wasn't open. Didn't really see anywhere massively appealing to me so figured come back here. Could maybe have sought out a lang exch or similar socialisation opportunity but I sort of didn't want to; if it wasn't my last few days I might even have stayed in, nagging feeling of concern at drinking so much even tho it's really in control - also if not last few days would prob go to lang exch thing Sat night but as it is prob won't given it's in Palermo and need to be up and sober for online checkin and don't want to be tempted to stay out all night or feel crap at having to walk away early, and if I were planning on doing that Sat and had been out last night I prob would feel "better" about not coming out tonight. But as it is this is the last night I mostly don't have to worry about getting up to do something critical in trip.

Feel mildly sad to be coming to end of trip and to be leaving BA but as usual better to feel that than to be glad, and it will also be nice to be able to move onto a new phase of life back in UK I am also probably not going to be 3-4 years without going abroad this time.

2245 Do feel a bit on edge. Not stressed out, just a bit uncomfortable. There's a mildly cold breeze blowing intermittently, tho I have fleece on and it's not really uncomfortable and lots of other ppl outside too.

2340 Nearly finished this litre. Feeling better if not exactly chilled out. Don't intend to try to record every detail of conversation last night, but suddenly remember for some reason that apparently the water temperature at Argentinian seaside resorts (bearing in mind the northern part of the country has no coast) is Skegness-ish - it can be 30C on the beach but 15Cish (which I have a vague recollection is max temp off Skegnesss) in the water.

Will prob have a second litre and then go home unless feel massively different. I assume I can only pay cash here but I am resigned to wd some more tomorrow (I tried getting cashback at a shop earlier but was told by quite helpful staff they can't do it on foreign and/or chip+pin cards - I thought I'd nicely outmaneouvered the Argentinian banks with their swingeing wd fees and insanely low wd caps, but I hadn't) and as said earlier not going to let avoiding one wd fee spoil last few nights. I am drinking a bit too much lately but nothing crazy, it's "understandable" and I will probablty have a quiet low-alcohol period back in UK.

(I have enough cash not to have had to wd this afternoon; I am resigned to doing it but esp as inflation is running about 5% pa here I don't want to be stuck with lots of cash when I leave either, so the later I do leave the wd the better I can judge how much I need without underdoing it and having to pay another wd fee or massively overdoing it - tho will err on high side I think.)

I checked Sube card balance earlier, I have 30. Official info on web re bus fares hard to come by, I think 30 is enough for bus to airport but (tho maybe complicated by inflation) also be good to have enough to get bus from airport on next visit wo having to top up at airport and of course I *really* don't want to find my balance is too low at 8am on Mon. I think you can go overdrawn on Sube as on Oyster so prob no risk of this but not worth taking risk, so will put 50ish on it at some point in next day or two.

Not busting for slash but will have one when finish first litre and thus no beer to be stolen or tampered with in my absence (tho neither feels likely).

2352 Inside small but fairly busy, tho also lot of ppl outside. I was given an ashtray I didn't ask for or need tonight, which I wasn't last time - possibly this is just chance, but maybe it's just cold enough (though it's bothering me less, tho have zipped up fleece) that the waitress figured if I was sitting outside I wanted to smoke.

"Mr Postman" 60s song playing from inside...

I am yawning a bit FWIW, tho hardly got up early unless you count the slightly broken sleep.

0004 I'm not sitting here waving like a drowning man but really struggling to get any attention from the waitress.

0005 Ordered another. This isn't unwelcome or unpleasant but I don't have the feeling of mild joy or whatever I had the last two nights, it feels like I'm out for the sake of it, and I feel a little bit uncomfortably hemmed in by groups which inhibit me staring out at street if I wanted to; I'd end up with eye contact I didn't want. Meh. End of trip stuff I guess.

0034 Ah, adjacent table group leaving. I don't really feel exactly meditative, but should prob do a bit of examining the view instead of reading (re-reading Watership Down ATM as it happens!) on phone.

0123 Last not-tiny glass of this litre. Outside decidedly quieter, music from inside and far from dead but this evidently is not a super-lively place on Fri nights. Have done a bit of meditative staring and it wasn't totally forced but it's an awkward-feeling night all round.

0129 Can't hear well but a Spanish-language version of Achy Breaky Heart (I know two, "thanks" to Valeria) seems to be coming from inside.

Despite slash after first litre feel bit busting. Will go for slash when finish this and see if I can pay inside and ask on offchance about paying by card. Can't help feeling for a tourist the worst of Argentina is this shit with withdrawing cash.

0151 Home. No way is it 20 mins walk. I had slash and loitered at bar and finished that last glass before getting here. As it turned out I could pay by card - debit only. So fished Starling out of hidden belt. Bill 340 - not cheap but expected and not bad - and I said (no idea if is valid Spanish or not) "digamos 380" after had asked and bloke said could put tip on card (in Corrientes was told could not do this). Originally saw bloke type 340 into terminal and wondered if had been lang issue and was fiddling with cash on hand to tip, but then he did a second go at terminal for tip. No idea why, maybe some odd legal issue. Argentinian PIN terminals have the disturbing habit of not showing the amount you're "signing" for and I had a momentary horror he'd have entered something insane (like a hundred quid; at least on Starling card anything over my £240ish balance should fail unlike credit card) but he had done 40. And you nearly always have to sign and write passport no on receipt too, tho I have no idea what happens if you enter correct PIN and then refuse to sign. And incidentally the Carrefour Express just down the road often takes my (Halifax Clarity) ccard for smallish purchases without asking me to enter PIN *or* sign, which seems deeply odd but I figure it's their business - if there is dirty work afoot I will notice when I check my statement and if they have neither PIN nor signature they hopefully won't have a leg to stand on.

Given this if I only hadn't burned 800ish of easily credit cardable spend on cash due to laziness in getting "gist" of an WA msg from host re refund instead of translating properly maybe I'd have avoided need for another wd. As it is I won't rush to wd (I could only chance this tonigh cos I had cash on hand if they said no) but I suspect I won't make it the rest of time here without wd cash.

Had been trying to sketch out last few days yday in my head. I am going to eat at Bar Polo Sunday after checkin online (if dont spend hours on phone due to shit), may then go sit in PL and perhaps a pizza and couple of beers at Lo De Carlitos after, then pack and stay home for night. I may go to La Paz Arriba tomorrow night and see if they have live music. And just poss as well as/instead of LDC on Sun I will go to Bar Yrigoyen for a couple that evening, esp now I know can pay by card.

Seemed a bit quiet inside as left but what do I know? GM could be wrong anyway but I think it was that BY not the other one which was open 24h.

Not really pissed but slightly tired and will move towards bed, I think.

0242 Been topping up phone (as want to read myself to sleep and not charging in bed even if had cable capable of it) and having bit of water. Incidentally asked at BP earlier if could pay by card and said no; bit dubious as they seemed to have an aging photocopy displayed which half implied contrary but whatever.