Antarctica Marathon 2014: Flight BOS-JFK-EZE

This blog post is about how I got down to Buenos Aires with AA. This is the first post in a long set of posts about my trip to Antarctica to run a marathon!

• Running A Marathon in Antarctica and Australia in 2014
• Planning
• Hotels, Flights, Final Deposit, Medevac Insurance
• Training
• Flight BOS-JFK-EZE (Domestic first, 777-200 business)
• Sheraton Libertador Review
• Marriott Park Plaza Hotel (san Martin) Review
• Shakeout Run in Buenos Aires
• Buenos Aires Daytime Bicycle tour (urban bike)
• Las Nazarenas and Argentinian Cuisine
• Marathon Tours Champagne Toast and Dinner
• EZE City Tour with Marathon Tours
• Flight down to Ushuaia (on Aerolineas Argentinas)
• OneOcean Ship Introduction (valvilov)
• Night 1
• Day 1 at sea
• Ship Daily Routine
• Marathon Tours and OneOcean cruise
• Trip Clothing and Gear Recommendations
• Antarctica Camera and Tech Recommendations
• Staying Online in Antarctica, Tweeting and FB via Email
• Alcohol onboard Marathon Tours Antarctic Cruise
• Kayaking on Marathon Tours Antarctica Marathon Trip
• Day 1: Yankee Harbor, vacuum Party, and Zodiac operations
• Day 2: Half Moon Island
• Day 3: Race Day
• Antarctica Marathon Runner Highlight: Overall Winner: Bartek
• Antarctica Marathon Runner Highlight: Blind Runner: Henrick Wagner
• Day 4: Dahno Island, Michelson Bay
• Day 4: Race Award Ceremony
• Day 5: Curverville Island, Wilhelmina Bay
• Day 6: Paradise Bay, First and only Continental Antarctica Landing
• Day 6: Outdoor BBQ in Paradise Bay
• Day 6: Paradise Bay Zodiac Cruise and Seals
• Day 6: Champagne Toast and after dinner Pictionary
• Sheraton BA convention Center Review
• AA First EZE-MIA-BOS Review

Flight BOS-JFK-EZE (Domestic first, 777-200 business)

Got to the airport about 45 minutes early but took about 25 minutes to sort out the Argentina reciprocity fee. Supposedly I had to print out the form before I could board the plane and they wouldn’t let me go into security to have it print it out at the Admirals Club lounge. An AA agent brought it out and I boarded the flight. I was among the last to board.

It was a short flight and I was asleep for most of it. I missed getting a drink but it was a very short flight.

It was a decent walk from the remote terminal back to the main international part of the terminal. I went to the flagship Admiral’s club, which was a first for me as I rarely fly through JFK.

The food didn’t look very good but all tasted very good. They had three hot selections and three cold selections along with cheeses and two soups. All were very good.

777-200

There were a few issues with the IFE when we were at the gate at JFK and the staff tried to fix it but the pilot did not want to delay us anymore on this redeye international flight so we took off without it fixed. The staff tried to reset it again in the air but the system didn’t work. It wasn’t bad at all as we had our meal and then I went to sleep all the way to breakfast. The flight was about a 10 hour flight so I slept about 6 hours of the flight, which was pretty good.

The food was good. I pre-ordered the halibut but halibut is very dry and having it on the airplane didn’t help. I didn’t finish the fish as it was very dry.

Breakfast was good and I had the hot omelette. It was good. The entire flight was pretty smooth. We got in on time and I was the first to get to immigration so I got right through.

I had no checked bags so I walked right through customs and saw the marathon tours people right in front of the exit. I waited for about an hour for the rest of the people to get through customs and we (rest of the Marathon Tours group that arrived on the first day) had a bus go to the Marriott Plaza Hotel. It was a smooth transfer. I was there a day early so I took my bag and walked down to my hotel, which was the Sheraton Libertador. It was only three blocks away from the Marriott.

There were two ships this year for the marathon so people can choose to either arrive on Sunday or Monday. I wanted to arrive earlier so I would have an extra day in Buenos Aires.