The wrong airport
Overconfidence can be harmful to travelers
After 32 years, the worst nightmare for someone who travels happened to me. I went to the wrong airport. Here's the overview of what happened:
I arrived in Buenos Aires at Ezeiza Airport, and for some reason I convinced myself that the return flight was also from Ezeiza, but it was Aeroparque.
The airline company had automatic check-in, which made me not pay close attention to the boarding pass.
I was having a busy day at work, so I didn't have time to look at things calmly.
My mobile internet package had expired two days earlier, so I couldn't do a preventive check on the way to the airport.
However, these are fragile excuses for something that shouldn't have happened. It happened due to overconfidence. I always do this: airports, luggage, trips. I've never made a significant mistake, like choosing the wrong airport. I know what I'm doing.
But eventually, the mistake comes. If a lack of confidence in any area of life is a problem, the opposite is also true. One needs to regain the humility to look at basic things with due attention. Flight date, time, and airport are fundamental items that deserve to be checked twice or as many times as necessary.
Not all was bad news. As I followed another essential piece of advice —to arrive (or try to arrive) two to three hours before international flights— there was time to change airports.
The trip from one airport to another was distressing. "Please choose the shortest route. It's a desperate journey", I warned the taxi driver. And I spent $30 that wasn't planned. It worked out. I arrived half an hour before the boarding started, but I definitely didn't need to go through that.
On the same day, a friend of mine missed her bus. The sign where it should have written "Santa Fe" was written"Córdoba", which confused her. When we shared our stories, she said the following to me:
"And I was thinking: how many trips does one need before having all the knowledge needed so that nothing fails?"
I reflected a lot on her insight, and concluded that this day will never come. Just as the most experienced players miss penalties, a traveler, no matter how skilled, can make a mistake at some point in the travel process. It could be a trivial mistake, like forgetting a toothbrush, or a vital mistake, like going to the wrong airport or forgetting the passport.
It's a vital mistake that we have to avoid. For novice travelers, it's essential to thoroughly research every item needed for a trip and do things with attention. I recently heard a surreal story about a family moving to another country. They were chatting with relatives at the airport entrance and missed their flight.
Always remember that a certain humility is necessary for the more frequent travelers.
