Jan 11, 2013 - Santiago: Life in a Hotel Room (and New Friends)

Parque Araucano We gave ourselves ten days at a dog-friendly hotel to determine if Santiago would be our home for a little while. Within hours of our arrival, we walked to Parque Araucano (a park right near our hotel that became a frequent visiting spot). It’s a great big park with rose gardens, tennis courts, basketball courts, big open lawns, open-air movies at night, and a few restaurants in the center. A place to relax. Sucker (written with affection) Upon arriving at Parque Araucano, Rio coerced a beautiful young woman to play catch...

Jan 10, 2013 - Rio the Frequent Flier

Rio was a champ on the first long flight from SFO to MIA. He got a bit nervous during take-off and jumped up on Alan's lap (to the dismay of the guy sitting behind Alan, who may not have noticed Rio at our feet before that time). Once we reached cruising altitude, Rio did what he usually does when he's not chasing a tennis ball or wrestling with Molly the bull dog -- he slept. How would he be on the longer, international flight from MIA to Santiago (8 1/2 hours)? The folks at LAN Airlines were incredible and switched us to a flight with a...

Jan 6, 2013 - Things Are Different Here

Chile differs vastly from Ecuador and Peru. The first sign of this is the change of time zone. Although one reaches Chile by traveling due south from its northern neighbors (something which, theoretically, should not affect the time zone), Chile is two hours ahead of Peru and three hours ahead of US Central Standard Time. The standard of living is the highest in South America (although I saw plenty of signs of poverty while traveling by bus to Santiago), and both the Government and police force are generally viewed as being corruption free....

Jan 6, 2013 - Santiago for a brief stop

Wish we'd had the camera ready as the flight over the Andes was spectacular. We were at 13000 ft on the flight monitor screen and off to our right a few kilometrews there was a mountain covered in snow at just a hundred metres below. Flying into Santiago we were surounded by huge mountain ranges. What a place to build a city. On arrival we found out we were to stay on the same aircraft all the way to Syndney via Auckland. Had lunch, and also being our last time this journey in Chile. Had a few Pisco Sours the chliean national drink. Then...

Jan 6, 2013 - More Chilean Facts

Over the past two and a half months I’ve prided myself on the progress I’ve made in Spanish. Then I arrived in Chile! I quickly discovered while sitting between two Chilean women on the bus ride from Peru to Santiago that I couldn’t understand a word they said. They clearly have a different accent and way of speaking here, something that every foreign tourist I’ve spoken to has confirmed. That really shouldn’t come as any surprise because so many things are unique here. Like all of Latin America, the Spanish colonized Chile. Other...

Jan 6, 2013 - Welcome to Chile

As I crossed the border into Chile I entered a completely different part of South America than I had previously experienced. The same barren landscape remained that I had experienced along the more than 800-mile journey from Lima, but already at the border crossing I noticed a different feel in the air. The facilities and vehicles were just a little more modern and the personnel carried themselves in just a little more hip, but professional, way. One needs only to look at a map to see that Chile is unique. The country stretches for nearly...

Jan 4, 2013 - We Made It!!!

We Made It It has been a crazy first few days, but we've made it, we are settled and we LOVE Chile! We wanted to wait until we settled in before posting our first entry, and it's a good thing we did, or else the title may have been something like WTF Chile??? Here's what's happened so far: The flight was long, but pretty fun. We enjoyed some hot towels, free drinks and half decent food during our 21 hours of traveling. Once we landed though the fun really started... After making it through customs and immigration we needed a place to sit...

Jan 4, 2013 - Santiago, Chile

We arrived in Santiago, Chile yesterday morning. The night before was spent with locals we met in Buenos Aires; we went to some VERY cool places, including a lounge that required a password to get in. It was straight out of the movies -- like a guy slid open a tiny rectangular window and everything. After entering, we had to walk into an old 50s style phone booth and dial a number to actually enter the lounge. Inside, the place was super retro and hip!!! We emerged in the daylight and went directly to the airport. Let me set the record...

Dec 31, 2012 - Impressions of Santiago

Santiago seems a very good-natured city, replete with buskers and ice-cream eating locals. While there are few 'must-see' attractions, this is part of its charm, allowing visitors to wander at leisure. Santiago is sometimes called 'Sanhattan' in the Andes (like Manhattan} due to its skyscrapers. But, it is definitely much more of a Spanish city, where people gently promenade (do the paseo) and very sensibly enjoy an early afternoon siesta, given the heat. The local buskers include: young men juggling skittles at traffic lights (instead of...

Dec 27, 2012 - Great flight

We landed in Santiago, Chile for a 2 1/2 hour layover, en route to Buenos Aires. We're flying the nicest airline in South America and it was very nice to have modern amenities. The area surrounding the airport is stunning and is without poverty, which is the first time we've experienced that this trip. I'm looking forward to coming back here in about a week and exploring this city! For Shawn and Ali: We flew a 787 "Dreamliner" from Lima to here and it actually was a dream! Easily the best flight and airline I've ever flown on. (LAN...

Dec 19, 2012 - Antarctica

We arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night to begin our final chapter of what has been a great trip. We spent the last ten days on a ship called Ocean Diamond which sailed from Ushuaia to Antarctica and back. The journey took us through the Drake passage which is notorious for its large swells. Armed with patches and wrist bands we prepared for the worst. Fortunately we were met with calm seas in both directions. The calm seas enabled us to reach Antarctica ahead of schedule. The ship traveled to various destinations and we were able to...

Dec 11, 2012 - Santiago

Santiago The bright lights of the big city!! Off the bus and onto the metro!! Yay a tube train! Pretty simple they were too. Couple of geek snaps to send back to work and we were at the hostel.  Santiago is pretty excellent. Easy to navigate to. I had ATD round all the major landmarks, churches, cathedrals and palatial buildings in a couple of hours. Pleased he was too I can tell you. They have amazing parks with luxury hotels in them ( i slid down some rock steps on my bum in one) and a fantastic hill/mountain you can walk around with...