Gatwick - for the leaving of London...01 October 2004 18:30

Well here we go, "Lloyds´", a particularly nasty Wetherspoon´s outlet, one to beat all others. Yup, it´s Gatwick Airport, deepest Surrey, and I´m surrounded by the cream of the home counties, already making acquaintances and passing passes. It´s all in a days preparation for the "boys behaving badly" tour of Tenerife.

Well... I´m outta this. Buenos Aires and the whole of Latin America beckons, but it´s still hard to contemplate. Some very heavy seeds of doubt have been planted at check-in. Will I get into Argentina sans Visa - who knows, now? I didn´t think it would be a problem. It already seems so, so complicado. "Have you got $50 per day for the duration of your stay"... er...."NO!".

After sweating for a while, and quoting from "The Rough Guide" I am albeit begrudgingly, allowed to check in my luggage. The prospect of being turned away at the other end looms uncomfortably.