On my way!
This was indeed an epic adventure - starting in Santiago, Chile, and ending in Christchurch New Zealand four weeks later.
Monday 30 November/Melbourne – Dallas, TX: It’s a long 48 hour journey to Santiago, Chile via LA & Dallas, Texas. I finished packing at about 11pm last night – a good feeling, and even better having finalised a Tender application – not sure how it will go, but feel that I’ve provided the information and evidence that they need to make a positive decision. Will know next year! I’ve finally relaxed, and just hope that all the connections will be good, and that my one piece of checked luggage will make it all the way through to Santiago.
Despite a weather delay into Sydney, the LA bound United 747, left on time. A glass of French bubbles and some airline food, and I’m soon settling back to watch “Up” – an animated Pixar movie (they are so very clever), followed by a 7 hour sleep. It’s a relatively short 12hr 20 min flight and we touch down early. Getting through Immigration is straight forward, although the agent is a little perplexed at my being in transit for the day and then flying south out of the US again!
I recheck the bag all the way through to Santiago, then go back through the domestic security check, and off to the next terminal. The flight from LA to Dallas is on a regional commuter jet. Will I need to put my carry-on bag with laptop, camera and lenses, in the hold?? I watch the guy taking the bags from people walking onto the plane, and literally toss them (the bags that is) down the chute to a totally disinterested guy, at the bottom. I find a way to squeeze my carry-on under the seat in front of me!
What a great airport in Dallas- super easy to navigate, and the American Airlines flight from Dallas is ok, the crew good, movie selection really poor and food unmemorable. We land in Santiago on time - and my bag is waiting for me!
Tuesday/Wednesday, 1-2 December: Santiago, Chile: It’s good to be met at the airport and taken to the Santiago Park Plaza Hotel – certainly better than trying to find my way through the crowds at the exit. The Hotel is a nice boutique hotel in the Providencia region, surrounded by leafy streets, small shopping centres within two blocks, and heaps of little restaurants and cafes everywhere you turn. And of course glimpses of the snow-capped Andes off in the haze of the polluted air.
Early afternoon, I’m ready to set out to explore the area around the hotel, get some pesos and find somewhere to have lunch. The nearest ATM is un-navigable for me, and the people trying to help speak no English, and I speak no Spanish. So I try again at a nearby bank that has an “English” option – success.
Into the Panoramic Shopping Centre I go, and the first shop I see sells baby clothes! Then another and another – so Oscar will be the proud recipient of my first Chilean purchases!
There's lots of good shopping here, including the artisan market at Pueblito Los Dominicos, where there are some high quality hand made products: alpaca, lapislaszuli, copper and other crafts. And the prices are very good. There’s no doubt that I could spend more time here, but I had somehow managed, despite his lack of English and my lack of Spanish, to arrange with the taxi driver to come back and pick me up after 1½ hours to take me to Parque Arauco, a large shopping centre. Then using the red Turistik Bus, I see a large cross section of Santiago before returning to the hotel. It’s a large city with a mix of old and new architecture, significant poverty as well as wealth. An election is coming up in a week, and posters of the various hopefuls are all over the city. I’m warned to be careful if I choose to explore the Mercado (Market) area – apparently full of pickpockets.
Thursday 3 December: Port towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar: Mauricio and his driver meet me at the Hotel at 10am this morning. I was expecting that this would give me an opportunity to meet some of the people I’ll be travelling with, but it turns out to be a private tour for the day, as will tomorrow’s half day tour.
And so to Valparaiso, Chile’s oldest and busiest port, about 120km from Santiago by freeway, passed wineries and up and over the coastal mountains. The freeways are good, an indication of Chile’s strong economy. However Valparaiso is reasonably run down. It had once been a vibrant port, but when the Panama Canal was built, shipping by-passed Chile.
I visit one of the homes of Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. It’s perched high on one of the many hillsides that make up Valparaiso. Its 5 narrow storeys have spectacular views over the city & the port & it’s filled with an eclectic collection of objects he’d bought/found while traveling. We make our way through the winding narrow streets, seeing houses painted in all colours of the rainbow, finding small hotels that have wonderful views, and the occasional shop that made me wish I had a little more room in my suitcase.
From Valparaiso, we drive north over a ridge to the seaside town of Vina del Mar. This more modern town is used as a weekend retreat for people from Santiago. Lunch is at a restaurant on the beach with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean rolling onto the beach, and people strolling along the sand.
Some thoughts and observations.
• Lack of Spanish is a distinct disadvantage here, and diving into my phrase book is slow and tedious – but everyone is very patient and tries to be helpful, other than the waiter on Wednesday night who kept repeating the same Spanish words over and over again, expecting to have them somehow magically translate. I know, I know – there’s an App for that!
• People are friendly and helpful, but there is virtually no thought of personal space. People bump into you without any concerns at all, and when I’ve stopped to look at items in a shop, I’ve turned around straight into someone who’s been standing close behind me.
• Cafes are always busy, and other than breakfast, all my meals have been enjoyed outside.
• Chileans love desserts. Every menu has listings and even photos, of the most amazing-looking desserts. And they’re not just for looking at. People order and eat huge slices of cakes and creamy puddings with toppings that I haven’t seen in years.
• Eating ice-cream while strolling around the streets seems to be a favorite pastime at lunchtime and in the evening. Perhaps it’s an alternative to a main meal.
• Santiago has many, many baby shops.
• Pedestrian crossings are a waste of paint – in 3 days, I’ve not seen cars stop at a pedestrian crossing unless there is a red light. But they are very polite drivers!
• The street vendors are fun – occasional good products, but mostly not. And there is impromptu street theatre. While I was enjoying sushi on Tuesday evening, a group of 2 young men and their much younger brother entertained the crowds in the cafes surrounding the square. And on Thursday in Vina del Mar, we were entertained at a traffic light by a couple of gymnasts who performed during the red light – very clever – beats the window washers!