Panic at Lunch

Panic at Lunch

Friday, Mar. 3, Cordobá, Argentina

I had enjoyed a nice morning of wandering around town and stopping to see an exhibit of 150 years of Argentine art. I was on my way back to the hotel looking for a place for lunch when I found one just beside the laundry where I stopped to pick up my clothes. It had a TV running. As I waited for my food--stewed chicken with carrots, onions, and mashed potatoes--I looked up at the TV and they were giving a news report from the Cordobá bus station. The strike of bus drivers that was in Buenos Aires a couple of weeks ago is now in Cordobá! I tried to convince myself that maybe it was just an action for an hour or two. I went back to the hotel and relaxed and read. Then in the late afternoon I walked to the bus station to check. As I got close, I noticed there were no buses coming and going as there should be. When I got into the station I rushed upstairs to the departure area as I heard drums beating and people chanting. Sure enough, there were no buses in any of the parking stalls, and there were men holding banners making the noice I had heard. I rushed back downstairs to the tourist office where I knew someone would speak English. I showed them my ticket for tomorrow and asked if there would be a problem. The lady said everything should be okay tomorrow. Then she said, "That is a good company," which made me wonder if there was a chance that everything wouldn´t necessarily be okay. Why would she single that company out if all companies would be running buses. I headed to the bus company desk, knowing that they would not speak English. I showed my ticket and said, "Para mañana. Es okay? No problema?" The lady smiled at me and said, "No problema." I hope she was right. I´m sure the buses for Sunday are already sold out, so if my bus doesn´t run tomorrow, I probably would not be able to get to Iguazu for the first of my flights home on Tuesday morning.