Jill, her sister, and a few other trip participants arrived yesterday morning in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a day before the remainder of the CAA travellers. The group for this year’s Argentina trip is quite small.

We were hoping that Jill’s Blackberry might work there (in B.A. at least) so that she could send regular updates for the blog, but that appears to not be the case. She says that she’ll send updates as she can find reliable Internet access. I’ll post these as I receive them, and then we’ll have a wrap-up post and photos when the travellers return home in a couple of weeks.

Jill’s first update (from Saturday morning):

Five of us arrived one day early in Buenos Aires, and the rest of our small “elite” group arrive today. All of us were tired from the trip. I flew from Lexington, KY, to Atlanta, GA. And then it was a 9 1/2-hour flight to Buenos Aires. I was lucky to have an empty seat next to me, but it is still a long flight. There is only a one-hour time difference with Eastern time, so at least we do not have to contend with a time change.

We all arrived in B.A., and all our luggage was there, and our driver was waiting with a “CAA” sign to greet us just outside the customs area. All was well, but then we hit Friday traffic in B.A.!! It seemed like everyone with a car was trying to go in our direction. An hour later, we were safely in our hotel, the Sofitel, on a nice quiet street right in the city center, our home for the next three nights. We all rested that day and then met up for drinks and a bar meal before an early night.

This morning, the group of four (not me, as I am nursing a head cold) head off on a city tour with a small group of other visitors to Argentina. They got the right day for a tour, as all the cars on the streets yesterday have apparently left the city, and the streets are deserted!

The balance of the group arrive today, and then we shall “officially” begin the CAA trip with a welcome dinner tonight in our hotel.