Sorry for typos, incomplete sentences, and utter rambling. Read at your own risk.
Gran Adventura de South
America 2023
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| Pisco Sours in Satiago |
Hopefully the airport will remain open and we will be
allowed to land. Who knows about our connecting flight to Santiago. Stay tuned.
We arrived in Dallas and our Santiago flight reports to be on
time. The departure board is full of red cancelled notices. Snow and ice in
Dallas is rare. The decent into Dallas was a bit bumpy, causing a few shrieks. At one point, Maurina grabbed my hand and said, “what’s happening?” Here we sit with
margaritas in hand waiting for our next leg of the Gran Adventura.
Flight has been cancelled until tomorrow! Apparently, we are two flight attendants
short. with a hotel voucher and voucher for a $12 breakfast in hand – we head down and out to
catch a taxi. 28 degrees with light clothing is cold. We find the taxi line,
which extended down this long hallway. After waiting for almost two hours, the
movement of the line came to a stop. We were four parties from the front, when we
abandoned the wait. Realizing we would not get to the hotel before 11, if we
were lucky, and knowing we had to be back to the airport by 5:30, we elected
to” sleep” in the terminal.
Feb 1. Our flight is scheduled for 8:15 in the morning. We boarded on time
but after deicing and waiting for a clear runway, we left around 10:30. Long
flight. Presently we are about three hours away from Santiago over the coast of
Peru. I hope a driver will be waiting for us when we land. It is a bummer to
lose a day in Santiago. Que sera sera.
We arrived in Santiago, tired and jet legged. Our driver met us as planned and drove us to our hotel. Casa Bueras is a wonderful little "Boutique" hotel located in the Lasarria district of Santiago.
Feb 2 - Waking up in Santiago – feeling the whiplash of the
5-hour time change. We loved hearing the birds and feeling the arm air. The hotels breakfast
terrace is beautiful. We began to formulate a plan for the day.
The flight yesterday was smooth. The airport security line was
very long but moved along quickly. Security was a breeze. Our driver, Carlos, met
us and drove us to hotel Casa Bueras . arriving around midnight. First challenge
was finding an electric converter. I will go buy a couple this morning. Should be a fun day
of exploring today. Forecast for today is for a high temp of 94.
Santiago, also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. Santiago is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose population of 8 million represents nearly 40% of the nation's total population. The city is entirely in the country's central valley. Most of the city lies between 500–650 m above mean sea level.
We explored Santiago by foot. Had lunch at a little sidewalk café called Fuente Chiliena. The mint/ginger lemonade was incredibly refreshing on the hot day. We took a FUNICULAR up to the Cumbre of a mountain to Cerro San Cristobal. Lots of Rock steps to the shrine. The views of the city and the Andes Mountains beyond were incredible.
While sitting on the steps in the shade of San Cristobal, we
met a delightful young man from Germany. His name was Aaron. He had been trekking
through SA for six month and planned to keep going for another six months. He writes
program code remotely as he travels to help pay for his gran adventura. He had travelled
many of the same paths Jordan had traveled some 17 years prior.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a small outdoor place
for a cool and refreshing drink. Here in Chile they serve a drink called Pisco Sours.
Very refreshing and very potent. Pisco is a brandy made in the wine regions of Chile
and Peru. It certainly can sneak up on you on a hot day. 😀
After an afternoon siesta we headed out for dinner at a nice place called Liguria. Eating dinner at 9 is not conducive for my sleep system.
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| Yes, I have a clay mask - mixed with a few pebbles. |
The hot springs set in a valley at 9000 feet surrounded by magnificent peaks. The bottom of the pools, which are only a couple of feet deep, are covered with a clay like substance that people cake their bodies with. Maurina said it would make my skin soft, but I think it only caked my beard with hard to wipe off gravel.
Feb 5 – our hotel does not have hot Water. After a couple of
days of “not hot” water today it is cold. We have been told it is a problem with
the “provider". They offered to walk us to another hotel for a shower. Oh well,
this is only a cold bump in the road.
We went for a nice walk through the city yesterday. It is amazing to find the streets filled with cyclists on a Sunday morning. Entire roads were shut down just for use
of cyclists. We walked to a Starbucks and enjoyed their outdoor space. It was
nice to be outside in the warm air.
In the afternoon we went
on a winery tour to Concha y Toro. It was a nice tour and tasting experience. SMALL
WORLD MOMENT. We were the first people picked up by the van to go on the tour. At the next hotel, two young 30ish guys were picked up. We began some small “bonjour”
talk. "Where are you from" type of conversation. They were both from the PNW originally.
One grew up in Camus and still lives in Portland. Somewhere along the way we mentioned
we grew up in Yakima. “Really? My mom grew up in Yakima”. Maurina asked "what was
the family name." He said, “my mom's maiden was Long” to which Maurina replied “Pam?”.
He was blown away and said yes. Maurina had graduated from Ike with his mom. Who
would have imagined that?
But it gets better – the next stop two sisters climb in the van.
Maybe upper 70ish widows. Small talk continues with another bonjour moment – one of the
sisters used to live in Bellingham and worked for Arco. We mentioned we used to
have good friends who worked for Arco when we lived in Bellingham. We asked if she
knew Del Guess. “Your kidding!" It turned out that Del was a very good friend, and she knew him well.
Crazy small world moments.
In the end, I texted Del, and we reconnected over a few Texts. Last night Maurina got a FB request from her old classmate Pamela Long. You never know where your next “bonjour moment” may
lead.
The winery tour was great. We had a nice evening with Papas and Pizza dinner. We are getting used to eating dinner at 9pm. Maybe hot water in the morning.
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| "I graduated with your mom" moment. |
Feb 6. Down day in Santiago. Highlight was getting a hot shower at a hotel down the street. We still did not have hot water at the hotel. We walked to Starbucks and enjoyed sitting outside and hanging out. The graffiti and murals of Santiago are amazing.
We returned to BocaNariz for dinner. - sitting outside so we could watch the people. The people in the Lastarria community at super eccentric. We both agree that down days are refreshing and a must. I actually fit in two naps. Maurina tried to burn down the hotel when she plugged her hair dryer in, but it worked out in the end. I took some time to look up some interesting facts on the economy of Chile.
The South American country is the second-largest lithium producer after Australia. And Argentina, Bolivia and Chile are known as the "lithium triangle," together holding more than half of the world's proven lithium reserves.Sep 24, 2022
- A beautiful and diverse country. Santiago is a vibrant city and offers a nice variety of restaurants and culture. not far from Santiago you can enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the Andes Mountains, wonderful vineyard with delicious wines, and the Colorful coastal towns. Staying central was advantageous.
- It felt safe enough to.us, although we were repeatably warned about pickpockets. We never felt at risk.
- Pisco Sours are a refreshing drink but can sneak up on you.
- If I were to return, I would like to explore southern Chile. Perhaps Chiloe Island or Patagonia.
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| Valparaiso |
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| Valparaiso |
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| Vina del Mar |
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