[Debconf-discuss] Departing from Retiro

[Amaya <amaya@debian.org>]

Dear Debconfers,

Christian Perrier wrote:
> Marga, you may also point people to the alternative of getting a bus
> at El Retiro, which was pointed to me yesterday, briefly, on IRC.

In regard to departure from the Retiro Micro(bus) Station, I would like
to warn you to arrive there with PLENTY of time.

We (holger and myself) had Beuno arrange phone reservations, and arrived
to the bus ticket booth only 20 minutes in advance. We did have trouble
obtaining our tickets because of some sort of problem with my
reservation number and their computer system, and even though the booth
clerks were extremely helpful and arranged for the bus driver to wait
for us, it was very stressful. Take into account that I speak spanish,
and that we were well rested (as we spent the night at Beuno's place in
BA: thanks for everything, dude!). 

This is not a situation you want to be in if you just landed, are
exausted, jet-lagged, have poor spanish skills, or all of the above.

My advice would be to get there with plenty of time, or to relax about
your schedule, which I confess I am not good at. The bus ride was safe,
uneventful, and our nice seats (we booked a 'cama' (bed-seat) were
comfy. If you can afford it, do book such seats on the top floor of the
bus, specially if you plan to inmediately take the bus right after
landing.

Some tips on departing from Retiro:

* The bus station has two floors. The buses leave from the ground floor,
  the sales booths are upstairs. It is a huge place, be prepared.

* The sales booths usually have two queues, one for buying ASAP and one
  for internet/phone reservations. The queue was shorter for the latter
  in our case, so take advantage of this if you do have a reservation.

* Your luggage will be put in the bus trunk, you'll get a receipt for
  it, and you need to keep this receipt in order to get it back. Tipping
  the luggage guy is probably ok, he asked me for a tip, he was happy
  with 10 pesos.

If any locals have any other extra tips, feel free to follow-up.

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