Today I made my longest journey so far, travelling the 10,000+ kilometres to Santiago in Chile. Apart from learning just how hard it can be to try and sleep on a plane, I also learned that the in-flight entertainment system runs on Linux. It rebooted randomly and the plane was full of penguin logos which in mid-flight boredom, amused me somewhat.
Then there were the views of South America. Jaw dropping views, as our second flight of the say from Sao Paolo in Brazil to Santiago passed over Argentina and crossed the Andes.
And who needs the Nazca Lines when modern massive agricultural practice produces shapes in the landscape like this (not far from Cordoba).
After landing at Santiago it took us about two hours to leave the airport. We first had to fill in the immigration forms, stand in a huge queue for security, the after retrieving our luggage, then fill out more forms declaring that we weren’t importing animal or vegetable products. At this point, our baggage was subjected to yet another scan, and the machine broke with my bags inside…
Once retrieved it was into the chaos of booking a transfer to our hotel. As we ripped along the freeway, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” blared from the taxi’s stereo, and I sincerely hoped that she was right.
We arrived intact and quite relieved after what was in fact a smooth journey, and checked in. The hotel is beautiful inside, like an old Italian palazzo, close to the centre of the old city.
A quick explore once we had freshened up has helped is to find our bearings and already see some of the sites. The baroque cathedral is beautiful and serene inside compared with the press of the crowds and loud traffic outside.
Now it’s time to relax, and get our body clocks back into sequence. Chile is currently 4 hours behind BST – where it ought to be 5, but the government have apparently decide to delay the time adjustment which threw us at first.
So we’re here, we know where we are, and we know what time it is. All is good!
