No Chilly in Chile

We flew out on Lan air line on time (26 Sept) heading into the night sky which we quickly eclipsed and landed in Santiago 12 hours later at 2.00pm the next day...all as scheduled. While we flew out of rain in Auckland we arrived into a temperature and humidity sitting in the mid 20's.....choice.

Chile it seems has a strong history of battles, evident by monuments of dead heroes on practically every corner. It seems that on arrival, the immigrant Spainards quickly forgot their heritage and began mumbling about independence. Once this news filtered back to their homeland an armada was dispatched to sort things out. Generally the head man in newly colonised Chile was executed, the masses faith restored in their motherland and a monument erected. Usually the dead hero was placed on a horse, often with sword drawn leaving little to the imagination of where it would be thrust if said hero came close enough to the enemy. They have a serious over abundance of dead heroes although now most corners are used for a completely different passion. At all times of the day it is not uncommon to see a young couple inspecting each other's wisdom teeth with their tongues! This created an uncomfortable feeling when waiting for the green man, difficult to find somewhere to put your hands, folded? In your pockets? Green man! let's cross! Tricky situation averted. The adage of "..do in Rome as......" was quickly dispelled following a short eye contact with my dearly beloved...grey hair and no pdoa were mentioned. Worth a crack though, I thought.

Our first hotel was the Ritz, a posh start to our journey indeed. A tad over done for our small group of agricultural type kiwis. I wouldn't have been surprised on waking up to find a young lady standing by the bedside with a warm face cloth; service, fittings and food were all first class.

 

We had a full day tour of Santiago and surrounds which included a trip to the sea town of Vaparaiso. We walked on the beach on the eastern seaboard of the Pacific Ocean and it was here a potential tragedy almost overtook us. One of our team decided to dip her toe in the 12 degree Antarctic current when a rogue wave appeared and knocked her off her feet. A quick rescue team had our toe dipper back on dry ground albeit with dampness around her nether region which she hadn't experienced for over 70 years. Lessons were learnt one of which will be that a Canon EOS does not work after a bath in salt water...but could have been worse. This was a laugh or cry moment and fortunately our victim chose the former option which helped dispel some of the anxiety of what could have been. Ross Cooper, our team leader, who trained in the engine room of the All Black scrum, showed little sympathy.
 

Our small team, there are seven of us, have been treated to expert guides and drivers and we have been dined at fine vineyards. They mostly grow red grapes but all seem to know that Sauvignon from New Zealand is different but the best in the World.

After two nights in the Ritz we headed for the Andes in our 15 seater bus. Recalling events of crashed airplanes in these rugged mountains our tour company had opted for road transport rather than flight. The road is in excellent condition through the mountains and down into Argentina although not without challenges. To climb out of Chile up to the pass and the border a zigzag switchback construction is used where there are no less than 28 curves. It would appear that Mr Goodyear and Mr Michelin had considerable influence on the route. Vehicle braking companies must also be a major beneficiary of this engineering masterpiece.

Progressing through border control was a step back in time, or at the very least a stopping of time, an extreme test on ones patience. It took over two and a half hours to clear customs due to back logs, and front logs, and general inefficiency of the officials. Strong advice would be given to avoid this fiasco and opt for the far more dangerous flight next time. However, Mendoza is in our sights, Argentina here we come.