A few weeks ago I had to go to BA in order to restart my tourist visa. As I am not a great traveler anymore, I decided to stay for three days in order to rest from the trip. Of course, being barely able to breathe from a lung infection may have played a role in that decision as well.
My business partner, the Copperhead, also had plans for that weekend in BA, so he agreed to travel with me there and back, and go off on his own in the interim.
So, first class reservations we made and tickets purchased for pickup at the terminal.
We arrived at the terminal at dusk for the evening ferry. I was actually taken aback by the high quality of the terminal–it was as good as any first class train station or airport. I guess in the back of my mind I was comparing it to ferries in the West Indies which belch diesel fumes and the “terminals” for which are rum shacks along to wharf. I didn’t see a goat or a crate of chickens anywhere.
The staff at Buquebus in Montevideo were marvelous! They had previously been called by my assistant and someone immediately came out to help with the wheelchair and our luggage. We got checked in and they asked if we wanted to go to the first class lounge right away, or wait a bit. We agreed that NOW was a good time, as you seldom get that offer in South America.
The gentleman from Buquebus took us to the head of the immigration line, we passed about 100 people waiting and got those formalities taken care of while we waited on the side.
Immigration is handled very efficiently at both ends. At each terminal there are officials from both Uruguay and Argentina sitting side by side. When you clear immigration from Uruguay the official hands your passport to his Argentine colleague and you then clear immigration into Argentina. Coming back the reverse occurs in BA. You still have to clear customs when you get to your destination port, but experience shows that is usually perfunctory.
We were then taken in the elevator/ascensor/lift to the first class lounge to await boarding. When the time came, I was pre-boarded. Copperhead pushed the wheelchair as our luggage was already checked. The ramp onto the ferry was a bit steep, but manageable. But at the very bottom, instead of flattening out for an easy transition, the ramp was rounded off in a 90 degree arc; so much so that I had to get onto my two canes while Copperhead handled the chair. If I were a paraplegic, it would have been very difficult.
On that particular ferry the main difference between first and economy class seems to be that the first class passengers board first to choose the good seats. we got one right up front where I could park the wheelchair and look out the front window. Unfortunately it was dark so I didn’t see much.
Much to Copperhead’s annoyance, I fell asleep in my wheelchair about 30 seconds after we left the dock. The next thing I knew, we were two hours out. When I woke up, Copperhead looked vexed and said, “you b*****d, I’ve been trying to sleep for two hours and you dozed off imediately”. I replied that I was sorry, shifted in the chair and promptly fell back asleep. The next thing I knew I was in BA.
We waited until the other passengers disembarked before attempting our own landing.
The ferry ramp in BA was the same as in Montevideo, except now I had to get up over the rounded arc at the bottom, which I did, again with two canes and even more difficulty. At least the ramp was more level.
When we got inside the terminal there was no one to help us. In fact it was almost empty. We found an elevator, but when we got to the bottom, the only door was marked “Entry Prohibited - prohibida la entrada”. So we went back upstairs and Copperhead left me at the top of the down escalator while he went for help. A few minutes later he returned with a Buquebus baggage handler in tow. He took us back down the selfsame elevator we had been on previously and then through the “Entry Prohibited” doors. This brought us to customs. As we were literally the very last travelers of the night, they were anxious for us to get the heck out of there so they could go home. I think we could have had rifle barrels sticking out of our luggage and still gotten through without being checked.
Needless to say, Buquebus did not get high marks for helpfulness in BA.
The return trip was similar, but with regard to being handicapped, perhaps a bit worse. No one at Buquebus in BA would help with the wheelchair! After literally 6 requests, one employee agreed to lead us through immigration to the first class lounge, but would NOT lift a single finger to help.
In contradistinction to Montevideo, you have to go through a metal detector in BA - undoubtedly to prevent the ferry from being hijacked to the Falkland Islands…
I had a Swiss Army Knife in my coat pocket, which set off an alarm. I had to check it before I could proceed. In all fairness, the Buquebus employee did agree to take the knife and check it and return with the receipt. I hope he didn’t strain a hernia or something.
Immigration was as previously described. After which we were taken to the first class lounge.
When the time for boarding came, there was no pre-boarding, and the crowd pushed past us. Again no help from Buquebus personnel, and the same terrible ramp again.
This time we were on a much bigger ferry. it had a separate first class section–which was up 4 steps with no ramp. Once again I did the crab walk with two canes for the trip.
I stayed awake on this trip, since it was daylight and there was something to see. Copperhead put his coat over his head and passed out. He must had had a really fun weekend…
I had high hopes that Buquebus in Montevideo would perform as well on our return as they had on our departure.
One more vain hope dashed upon the cruel rocks…
There is no elevator that goes from the disembarkation area to customs! Instead you are taken back out through the embarkation area! We ended up back in the main lobby at least 100 meters from our luggage and customs clearance.
Copperhead left me and went to collect our luggage, which he did without a problem. We took a taxi and left…
In summary: The Trip on the “fast” boat from MVD to BA takes 3 hours in each direction and usually leaves withing a half hour of the scheduled departure time. The trip is comfortable in airline style seats and there is ample food and drinks available for purchase during the trip. The lounges are really nice at both ends. This is a really low tension alternative to flying and takes you from downtown to downtown. However, during the highseason the lines can be very long and if you are not traveling 1st Class you must arrive early and stand in line waiting to board you may be left with a poor seating choice.
But if you are handicapped, and especially if you are wheelchair bound - it could be pretty rough. I am having this translated and sent to the Managers of Buquebus at both ends, the Society of the Handicapped here, local Letters to the Editor, and the President of Uruguay, who is a physician.
We’ll see if anything changes.
I understood that you are a libertarian. As such, surely you should not be giving power to the government to start or extend to “Nanny State” a la the USA? Please don’t empower the government…keep them out of trade and our lives,because most of us who are looking at alternative countries in which to live are sick and tired or government intervention for whatever socalled “good of the people” reasons.Thank you, Peter
Left by Peter on September 7th, 2006
I strongly believe that a limited government is essential to preserving the inherent dignity and freedom of man; both through proper governmental action such as collective defense against attack and the provision of courts to resolve personal disputes; and through necessary government restraint in virtually everything else.Limitation of government, however, does not free good people from the moral obligation to oppose, through private social action, things which they believe as contrary to the common good.For example. International Living has started touting Montenegro, where I lived for two years. I have previously written to them about my experiences there with entrenched corruption and outright danger. I feel a moral obligation to object to their material omissions, which after having been warned, border on fraud.No nanny state, but free men should neither be solely materialistic (and no better than the bolsheviks), nor morally indifferent to things properly belonging to the cmmon good. After all, “what comes around, goes around”, whether you call it fate, karma or divine justice…The Southron
Left by The Southron on September 7th, 2006