Why Chile?
Chile is adorable. I first visited Chile in February 1999 before embarking on my first expedition to Antarctica. In 2013, I stopped over briefly for three days and visited Valparaiso. I returned in 2017 (March 3-18) for a hiking trip to Ojos del Salado. I have come for the fourth time because of an expedition from Puerto Williams to Namibia from March 2 – 23. As I have travelled for over a month in Chile, I decided to explore the Amazon and the Northeast Brazil before meeting up with Teresa, my cabin mate in Santiago on 27 February.
A Frustrating Journey to Santiago
I had to buy my ticket from Salvador to Santiago in a great hurry on 24 January when the airline pressed me for a departure ticket from Brazil. After having trouble with Wi-Fi and the language, I eventually bought a ticket from Salvador to Santiago. Instead of sending me a ticket, Latam sent an email reminding me the time of check-in. I saw the date March 27 in the email without ever realising it was the wrong month. (This is not the first time I had made mistake because I was stuck with the date/time I had in mind without actually reading and taking in the information/data. A cognitive degeneration problem?) When I arrived at the Salvador airport around 2:15 am on 27 February and was told that I could not fly, I was shocked by the mistake I had made. As I must arrive on time in Santiago to join Teresa who would arrive from Sydney that afternoon, I had to pay about R2900 to change my flights departing at 11 am to Santiago via Sao Paulo. This mistake cost me dearly. On top of that, I spent the whole night and day at the Salvador and Sao Paulo airport. Interestingly, I noticed that I was annoyed with myself and upset for a brief moment before letting go the unhappy incident (perhaps thanks to my Buddhist training in the past three years!). I spent my time reading and watching lectures on Buddhist scriptures on YouTube. Time passed quickly and finally I landed in Santiago just before 9 pm. I took Uber to the hotel and was pleased to see Teresa who would be my cabin mate.
3 Leisure Days in Santiago
I am getting old and lazy. Teresa and I decided to join two full-day trips to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso on 28 February, and to the El Yeso Reservoir and Cajon del Maipo on 29 February, and an afternoon trip to Baha’i Temple on 1 March.
I took a day trip in 2013 to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. But I do not mind visiting these lovely places again. The itinerary is indeed different, and I was able to spend some three hours strolling in the hilly streets in Valparaiso, a World Heritage Site known for its structures, colourful houses and street art. I must say the place looks smarter, more vibrant, lively and colourful with impressive street art and murals. Reading what I wrote in 2013 and the photos, I can tell how much it has changed. I could have spent a whole day exploring the small corner of this remarkable hillside city.
The trip to El Yeso and Cajon del Maipo is all about nature the surrounding mountains and valleys of Santiago. It is a long drive (75km), and we reached an altitude of some 2500m. We were picked up at the hotel before 7am. As I have been to different parts of Chile with even more impressive landscape and scenery of the Andes, canyons, salt lakes and glaciers, I find the scenery pleasant but not stunning.
Our expedition began on March 2. All joining passengers would stay in the W Hotel on March 1 and take a chartered flight to Puerto Williams to board the Silver Cloud. After a delicious brunch, Teresa and I moved to the W Hotel before joining a sunset tour to Baha’i Temple at 4:30pm.
The highlight was sunset watching at Sky Tower, the tallest building. The panoramic views are spectacular. Here I can see all the mountain ranges engulfing Santiago. I had a free glass of champagne when watching sunset. We stayed on to watch lights coming up and did not have dinner in a nice Italian restaurant till 9 pm.
Our expedition trip began on March 2 when all joining passengers on the Silver Cloud would depart on three chartered flights to Puerto Williams. We were in Group 3 and would be leaving by bus after 12:30pm. We had a leisure late breakfast. While Teresa went out for last minute shopping, I stayed in the waiting lounge. We had a smooth transfer to a private airport and our plane with about 70 passengers took off before 3 pm. we had a 30-min stop at Puerto Arenas for refill and arrived at Puerto Williams after 7:30pm. It was raining and cold. after a short ride, we arrived at the pier and boarded Silver Cloud just before 8pm. Teresa and I had a nice suite on Level 6 with a balcony. We settled down quickly, had a “abandon boat drill” before dinner after 9pm. It was a long and tiring day. I was thrilled to watch the boat leaving the harbour while having dinner.