I arrived in Auckland, losing a few hours from time zone differences. I was very tired, but managed to bus and walk to my hostel with no dramas. The city looked a lot like Australia, I thought. I was unimpressed at first with the city centre. I splurged on McDonald´s comfort food (shame!) At night I walked around the harbour, which is nicely redeveloped with cafes, bars, and restaurants. One building complex on the wharf is even shaped like a ship! The Sky Tower and Casino are a major attraction. I read my Bible, restarting a neglected practice. I am wearing my Christian ring to remind myself of this identity.
Sunday: I slept late, and felt better. At the airport I learned my flight to South America had been cancelled. The airline put us up at the Holiday Inn which was nice, with a buffet meal and incredibly soft and comfortable bedding, but being near the airport it was isolated. I watched TV for hours. At this point, a personal laptop would have been handy for planning and cancellations, however I deliberately chose not to travel with one. I want to spend time with people and also my thoughts on this trip, to be confronted more starkly with "reality", not be glued to a screen. "Fasting" from food has been a spiritual discipline for aeons, I am fasting from electronica (OK, not entirely!) I reflected on certain friendship challenges.
Monday: We were delayed again! It turned out some workers for our airline, Aerolineas Argentinas, had striked. This situation was highly ironic, because just two weeks earlier Australia´s national airline Qantas had similar dramas, and I thought this wouldn´t affect me because I fly Australia´s budget carriers instead! Many pssengers were put up at the Stamford Plaza in the city. After boarding the bus, it turned out there were three too many people, but everybody wanted to stay in the city. Eventually one girl offered to change, and then another two girls offered to share one room, but there was still one person too many. It was hard for the poor airport employee organising everything, so I asked the guy across from me if he wanted to share a room. "Ian" turned out to be a very intelligent and multilingual Brazilian, who has studied International Relations (appropriately enough) in several different countries.
The bus driver told us we were lucky - he couldn´t even afford to take his wife to this hotel for their wedding anniversary! The buffet meals were exceptional, and ironically many of us were wearing thongs (flip flops) to this white tablecloth affair. I explored, and everything flowed incredibly smoothly. I walked out the hotel, walked down to the river, inquired about ferries and jumped on one just as the boarding finished, and headed to Devonport. It was the "North Shore" and reminded me of Sydney´s North Shore - both are wealthy and leafy. Colourful, immaculate gardens framed the houses. The beach was pebbly but I had fun climbing over rocks. North Head is one of many old volcanic hills in the city. It is a national park or war memorial, with mowed green grass and many historic cannons and bunkers. These are not fenced off like many equivalents in Australia, and many underground tunnels crisscrossed between them! I highly recommend this boys´ paradise! I walked back quickly, cold by now from the strong wind, just as a ferry arrived, and I walked into dinner just in time. My exploring "flowed" amazingly well. I ate with Ian, and had a good chat later too.
Tuesday: We waited outside at 1pm for the bus to take us to the airport. We had been in limbo, but finally discovered we would depart that night. The queue was incredibly long and slow - I got through around 6:15pm, after many hours! But I had a great time, because I met "Pedro" who taught me to solve a Rubik´s Cube. He is an analytical "freak", as his friend Marcos remarked. The pair are travelling the world for six months for a TV program from Spain. Pedro worked for an equivalent of Facebook in Spain, and later starts work with Google. With his help, I solved the puzzle three times during our massive wait, with growing independence each time. He wrote down his personal algorithm, which took 1.5 A4 pages in my book. He claims he does not remember ever reading other sources for help (although he might have), and was very young when he learnt to solve it. I am the first person he has taught since he was little. Working from his notes, I solved it just as I reached the front of the queue. By now, after several hours, others were watching and congratulated us!
We still had hours to fill in. I bought Pad Thai with my meal vouchers, and joined the Spaniards and their (new) friends, three Brazilian girls including two Marcos was flirting with. I was glad to meet more Latins. Our flight ended up departing at midnight, over two days behind schedule. I felt we all had a bond, because we were in the same predicament and you kept seeing the same faces. Though I had four wasted nights - I wanted to get to South America - at least I felt very refreshed and I had time to practice Spanish. Though I had attended a course at uni, I had not done any homework and had a lot to learn!
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