How do you fit six people and their luggage into one car? You take the Expedition. Thank goodness we have a very large vehicle as it would not have been possible to put in six people, a car seat, a bucket full of sand toys and nine pieces of luggage plus carry-on bags, and a pizza!. As you all know, the Walkers cannot travel light. I try, I really do. We arrived at the airport with eight pieces, four of which we checked. The rest of the stuff belonged to the Brassfield clan, who were planning an overnight beach outing as well as a visit to Grandpa Sam (they fly home on January 4).
We had a fast and uneventful drive from the desert to LAX (there was no traffic due to the January 1 holiday). The kids dropped us off at the international terminal and as we were standing on the sidewalk saying good-bye, we both got the weirdest feeling: We are the ones that TAKE people to the airport, not get TAKEN. Isabelle seemed confused that we were leaving, not her. She wanted to go with us. Oh, my sweet Isabelle, if only I could I would love to have taken you.
Check-in was a breeze; the ticket agent even let my overweight roll-aboard go through without penalty. We flew on LAN, the Chilean airline, on a red-eye (a red-eye is a flight that has you flying at 39,000 feet when you should be tucked in your nice warm bed). Nice plane, but lousy service. Oh wait, you have to have service for it to be lousy. The food – let’s say this: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. The flight was 10 hours. Do you know what 10 hours feels like when you are sitting in the middle of a nursery full of bawling babies and toddlers? Murder, suffocation, hanging comes to mind. Murder the parents who can’t control the kids, suffocate the noise makers, and hang the idiot who put you in those seats. I know, I sound a little harsh; but you can’t just move away. There is no place to go except the bathroom, and trust me, on a 10 hour flight, that is the last place you want to be.
Neither Michael nor I could sleep. We arrived in Santiago at 6:30am. Our first stop after deplaning was to the Reciprocity desk. I never ever heard of such a thing, but our local guide gave us detailed instructions on what to do upon our arrival. Reciprocity is when you hand over $140 per person just for the privilege of entering the country. It is not a visa. Chile does not require a visa. Only citizens from four countries pay the reciprocity fee. The US (plus three other countries) charge Chileans $140 for a visa so they have decided to get even and get the money back. We had to pay in cash and the Chilean agent inspected each bill for wear and tear. If he did not like the bill, he rejected it and you have to come up with another one. I don’t know if he was asleep, but he took a looooong time inspecting each and every bill, holding it up to the light, pulling on the corners, twisting it. We were told that the local banks would not accept “damaged” bills. After paying the ransom, we did the usual customs stuff, collected our bags and met our driver, Christian.
He took us to our B&B to drop off our bags. When we got there, we decided to clean up and the innkeeper, Walter, made us breakfast. More about the B&B later. Christian returned for us at 10am to start our tour of Santiago. I don’t know how much Michael saw as most of the time his chin was on his chest. I kept poking him to wake up, but he had a hard time keeping awake. I was feeling like I was either at sea or drunk. We made one stop: a charming handcrafter’s bazaar called Pueblito de los Domincos. Under normal circumstances, I could browse there all day as there was so much to see. As it was, I could barely walk in a straight line. We decided to go have lunch to see if we could wake up. More about Santiago in another post.
We had a fast and uneventful drive from the desert to LAX (there was no traffic due to the January 1 holiday). The kids dropped us off at the international terminal and as we were standing on the sidewalk saying good-bye, we both got the weirdest feeling: We are the ones that TAKE people to the airport, not get TAKEN. Isabelle seemed confused that we were leaving, not her. She wanted to go with us. Oh, my sweet Isabelle, if only I could I would love to have taken you.
Check-in was a breeze; the ticket agent even let my overweight roll-aboard go through without penalty. We flew on LAN, the Chilean airline, on a red-eye (a red-eye is a flight that has you flying at 39,000 feet when you should be tucked in your nice warm bed). Nice plane, but lousy service. Oh wait, you have to have service for it to be lousy. The food – let’s say this: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. The flight was 10 hours. Do you know what 10 hours feels like when you are sitting in the middle of a nursery full of bawling babies and toddlers? Murder, suffocation, hanging comes to mind. Murder the parents who can’t control the kids, suffocate the noise makers, and hang the idiot who put you in those seats. I know, I sound a little harsh; but you can’t just move away. There is no place to go except the bathroom, and trust me, on a 10 hour flight, that is the last place you want to be.
Neither Michael nor I could sleep. We arrived in Santiago at 6:30am. Our first stop after deplaning was to the Reciprocity desk. I never ever heard of such a thing, but our local guide gave us detailed instructions on what to do upon our arrival. Reciprocity is when you hand over $140 per person just for the privilege of entering the country. It is not a visa. Chile does not require a visa. Only citizens from four countries pay the reciprocity fee. The US (plus three other countries) charge Chileans $140 for a visa so they have decided to get even and get the money back. We had to pay in cash and the Chilean agent inspected each bill for wear and tear. If he did not like the bill, he rejected it and you have to come up with another one. I don’t know if he was asleep, but he took a looooong time inspecting each and every bill, holding it up to the light, pulling on the corners, twisting it. We were told that the local banks would not accept “damaged” bills. After paying the ransom, we did the usual customs stuff, collected our bags and met our driver, Christian.
He took us to our B&B to drop off our bags. When we got there, we decided to clean up and the innkeeper, Walter, made us breakfast. More about the B&B later. Christian returned for us at 10am to start our tour of Santiago. I don’t know how much Michael saw as most of the time his chin was on his chest. I kept poking him to wake up, but he had a hard time keeping awake. I was feeling like I was either at sea or drunk. We made one stop: a charming handcrafter’s bazaar called Pueblito de los Domincos. Under normal circumstances, I could browse there all day as there was so much to see. As it was, I could barely walk in a straight line. We decided to go have lunch to see if we could wake up. More about Santiago in another post.
Christian took us to a Bohemian area full of sidewalk cafes and restaurants. I wasn’t hungry, but Michael is not one to miss a meal. He ordered the Chilean version of chicken in the pot. It was very spicy and had a whole potato, an ear of corn and pumpkin in it. Very interesting.
We then returned to our B&B for a nap.
Casa Moro
Michael says, “let’s have an adventure. No big chain hotels. How about a local inn?” Now, I am not so sure about this idea of staying in a third world country inn with primitive conditions. Our driver suggested this place, so I acquiesced and let Michael make the arrangements. All I have to say is --- what a gem!
The B&B is an old house with four bedrooms to rent, located in the heart of downtown Santiago. We were greeted by the family --- five dogs, three cats, a kitty, 4 parakeets, Marcel and our, host Walter. We left our large suitcases in the living room as the staircase going up to the bedrooms was circular and steep. We only took what we needed. The décor was antiques, native art and accessories, and modern art. The walls were painted bright orange red in the patio area. Our bedroom was painted a vivid green. Assorted plants and flowers were everywhere. We had a patio on the second floor that overlooked the main patio downstairs that had a huge wall-mounted waterfall. The whole place was charming and funky. This patio was where we spent most of our time as all the living room furniture was occupied by the “family” members. The patio was totally surrounded by the house and high walls; it felt like being in a cocoon. Bamboo mats were strung overhead, shielding the patio from direct overhead sunlight.
Casa Moro
Michael says, “let’s have an adventure. No big chain hotels. How about a local inn?” Now, I am not so sure about this idea of staying in a third world country inn with primitive conditions. Our driver suggested this place, so I acquiesced and let Michael make the arrangements. All I have to say is --- what a gem!
The B&B is an old house with four bedrooms to rent, located in the heart of downtown Santiago. We were greeted by the family --- five dogs, three cats, a kitty, 4 parakeets, Marcel and our, host Walter. We left our large suitcases in the living room as the staircase going up to the bedrooms was circular and steep. We only took what we needed. The décor was antiques, native art and accessories, and modern art. The walls were painted bright orange red in the patio area. Our bedroom was painted a vivid green. Assorted plants and flowers were everywhere. We had a patio on the second floor that overlooked the main patio downstairs that had a huge wall-mounted waterfall. The whole place was charming and funky. This patio was where we spent most of our time as all the living room furniture was occupied by the “family” members. The patio was totally surrounded by the house and high walls; it felt like being in a cocoon. Bamboo mats were strung overhead, shielding the patio from direct overhead sunlight. 
After Michael’s nap and my rest and showers, we headed downstairs to begin the evening’s festivities: EATING. With iPads in hand, we used the wifi to text, read emails and check the news from home. Walter served homemade empanadas, Chilean cheeses, and fruit along with the national drink, Pisco, a grape liquor. I only had a few sips as this is some powerful stuff. I was already reeling from no sleep (I could not nap) and adding the Pisco to the mix, left me ready to pass out. I wanted to enjoy the special dinner that Walter arranged for us so it was back to water for me.
Dinner was absolutely scrumptious. We were served a typical Chilean salad which consisted of tomatoes and onion. The tomatoes and onion were soaked in salt water to take the punch out of the onion, than rinsed. The main dish was called Pastel de Choco, a traditional Chilean country dish. Served in individual bowls, it contained ground meat, turkey, olives, raisins, and a hard-boiled egg covered with caramelized corn mash on top. The spices were fragrant; it was a cornucopia of tastes sensations. I really wanted to eat it all, it was soooo good. I have never tasted anything so lively. There was a surprise with each bite. Chilean food is spicy, interesting, and full of unexpected delights.
Santiago
My first impression of Santiago was déjà vu -- I was in Los Angeles! The weather is just like Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley) and the surrounding countryside looks just like Southern California, including the pollution. The city was very clean but graffiti covered almost every linear surface. Some of it was art, but most of it was gang signs. It’s too bad because it blemishes an otherwise charming city.
Santiago is in a valley, surrounded by the Andes on the east and the Coast Range on the west. It is hot during the day in summer, but the evenings cool off. No one seems to have any air-conditioning. Since there is no more room to expand the city out, they are building up. Most of the center city is old, but they are busy knocking down the old and building new. Farther out toward the suburbs, the buildings are newer and modern. The recession has not reached Chile.
I noted that the drivers were definitely not like LA drivers. Drivers here actually stopped when a light turned red. The pace of the city felt calm, not frenetic. No one seemed in a hurry. Everywhere we went, we saw lots of stray dogs. According to our guide, the dogs are protected and cannot be caught and impounded. I guess shop owners and residents must feed them. Walter, our B&B host, has adopted most of his animals off the street.
Chile
Just a few notes about Chile in general. The country has about 18 million people and 6 million of those live in Santiago, the capital city. Valparaiso and Conception are the next largest cities, and these three cities house 2/3 the total population of Chile. Eighty percent of the population is Roman Catholic. According to our guide, the Peruvians are our equivalent to the Mexican illegal immigration problem. All cars are imported as Chile does not manufacture any. Chile is the world’s largest producer of copper. They export fruit, fish, and now wine. There is almost no ozone, so one has to pay attention to the skin to keep it from burning when outside. Earthquakes are common and a 7.0 magnitude quake is considered a little trembler. Chile is the longest and narrowest country in the world.
Sea Day
Things on the ship run on European time. Our work schedule does not. Dinner doesn’t start until 7:00pm and the shows don’t start until 10pm. We have our first class at 9:30am. It makes for a short night.
When boarding the ship for the first time, I was apprehensive about our accommodations based on the information we got from our booking agent. Michael went first to check out the room and teased me by blocking my view. Whew, we had gotten a guest room, not a crew room. OK, it’s the cheapest room on the ship, but it is darn nice. The room is 295 sq ft; there is no veranda. The bathroom has a stall shower and a separate bathtub. There are two sinks. There is a nice sitting area with a large window. The ship is designed for 1,100 people, but only accommodates 420. That’s right, only 420 passengers. This is the smallest ship we have ever sailed on. Nothing is crowded. The owners and designers were very generous with the room sizes. This is the Seabourn touch.
The food in the dining room is fancy schmancy. We are going to try the grill tonight for hamburgers and fries.
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