FUN-travel: Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 7, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Tehai Area
- 7:15 – wakeup to full sun w/clouds over the Andes
- A – good coffee
- 11:00 – shuttle to airport
- 1:35 – flight departs
- Air Canada is code share w/LAN – Star Alliance member – United card gets us into lounge
- B – plane late so we hurry & wait
- C – get upgrades to biz class
- A – only 2 hr flight
- 3:30 arrive – only takes 75 mins to get through customs
- Taxi takes 1 hr to downtown – flat rate $40 outside of terminal (more expensive inside)
- A – 5:45 – back to Urban Recoleta Suites & taxi driver knows where it is
- 8:00 – dinner back to Fervor – white salmon, creamed spinach, grilled mushrooms VG
FF – (FUN-fact) – 90% of all volcanic activity on earth occurs in the ocean. It is estimated to contain some 10,000 volcanoes, of which at least 1,133 are active, and concentrated in a tiny patch of the South Pacific, not much bigger than New York State.
Rano Raraku
FUN-travel: Easter Island to Santiago, Chile
March 6, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Easter Island to Santiago, Chile
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Clearly a Replica
- A – 7:30 wakeup – good night’s sleep (no siesta & lots of exercise yesterday helped)
- 10:00 – packed up & ready for next big adventure!
- 11:30 – pickup
- 11:45 – hurry up & wait for 2:10 – flight
- B – full & no exit row
- C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
- C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN Easter Island – their scales don’t even work
- 2:50 – departs
- A – meal service & wine included no charge
- 9:00 – arrives Santiago (clock ahead 2 hrs)
- A – easy baggage pickup
- A – Hilton Garden Inn is 7 mins – VIP Transit is free shuttle (Holiday Inn is directly across street from aiport)
- B – sit & wait 20 mins for more passengers
- 10:00 – arrive Hilton – very nice & new w/big rooms
- A – restaurant serves until 11:00 – dinner is chicken wrap & hot French fries VG
FF – (FUN-fact) – Easter Island is pretty primitive and our best guess is probably what Hawaii was like in the 60’s. Hanga Roa is the only town and has paved roads. Most of the other roads are bumpy dirt roads.
More FF – It’s part of the Polynesian triangle with Hawaii at the top and Tahiti to the west.
More FF – It’s a New 7 Wonders of the World runner up and makes #15 on our list of the 21 vying for it that we’ve seen.
Rano Raraku
Lesson Learned – Trade off: By going to Easter Island first, instead of Mendoza, because we were in Chile we would have saved the time and hassle of two international flights. Also, I may not have had to pay the reciprocity fee which went up to $160. It was $130 in 2009. If you fly in or out of Santiago on an international flight you have to have the stamp. It is only good for the life of your passport and Chris had his stamp from 2009 because his passport doesn’t expire until 2014.
But on the other hand, by dropping the two bags with cold weather clothes at the Santiago Hilton Airport we didn’t have to schlep them, pay excess baggage fees, or locker fees. We would have also needed bigger taxis which probably would have cost more too.
Bird Man Village Island
FUN-travel:Chile
March 24, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel:Chile
Are First Impressions Really Lasting Impressions?
-
Good news – Off to Santiago. Get earlier flight for $40 change fee per person
- Bad news – get hit with $262 Reciprocity Fee in Chile
- Good News – Marriott hotel, 2 room corner suite & executive lounge free. (Mr. C’s payback for all that Pasadena travel)
Day 6 – Monday, February 2, 2009 – hazy, warm
- Good News – Executive lounge on 23rd floor, panoramic views of snow capped Andes mountains and Santiago
- Bad News – very smoggy
- Good News – book half day private city tour thru hotel, includes funicular ride to top of hill
- Bad News – guide irritating, incompetent, & inept in English
- Bad News – on top of that, not much to see & still very irritated about Reciprocity Fee
- Good News- get dropped in downtown
- Bad News – thieves everywhere!
- Bad News – get typical lunch of fish, no mas bueno! Can’t eat, spit out, should have had the Cevice
- Good News – try again for typical Chilean fish dinner, very nice!
Day Rating – 4
Day 7 – Tuesday, February 3, 2009 – hazy, warm
- Good News – 9:45 am wine tour, 2 vineyards. Aquitania – boutique & Concho Y Toro – massive
- Good News – Lunch, typical Chilean tourist restaurant in country
Day Rating – 7 (Must be the wine but still pissed about the Reciprocity Fee)
Day 8 – Wednesday, February 4, 2009
- Good News – leaving Chile, going to Buenos Aires!
- Bad News – flight doesn’t leave til 8 pm.
- Good News – take walk to Plaza Los Dominicos, Chilean Arts & Crafts market
- Good News – go to airport
- Bad News – had 2 itineraries and missed flight
- Good News – get on next flight no charge
- Bad News – get charged $40 for overweight bags
- Good News – get the hell out of Chile!
First Impression is the Lasting Impression
Santiago – 4 (still pissed about the Reciprocity Fee & wished they’d gone to Mendoza)
- Concho Y Toro Diablo