Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 3 can be found here.
For the briefest of moments, I wondered whether we were taking it too easy during our first days. We were in Santiago, one of the most vibrant cities in Latin America! Surely we should have done more than catch up on sleep, hang out by the pool and visit a nearby park?
Then morning came – 5:20 am, to be precise – and I knew that we’d need every ounce of rest we’d scraped together since we first landed.
We’d packed up the night before, so there wasn’t much to do this morning – simply stuff the last of our toiletries into checked luggage and triple-check that we weren’t leaving anything behind. Then it was time to roll the bags down to the lobby, check out from the Sheraton, and wait for our driver to arrive.
We didn’t wait long once the bill was settled. Our driver showed up 10 minutes early for our 6:20 am departure, and we had our bags stowed and were on the road ahead of schedule. (Albeit with one checked bag crammed into the front passenger seat – we do not travel lightly.)
This transfer was included as part of our package with VIP Journeys, so difficult to say what it cost – though we tipped 10,000 Chilean pesos (roughly USD$10) for the trip, which is in line with the tipping guidelines we’d received.
No word yet as to where we’re staying tonight. Our previous dinner had been interrupted with the news of some sort of ongoing / weather-related renovation work at Hotel Indigo, but there was some back-and-forth as to which hotel would actually host us this evening. We expect to check into the Remota Patagonia Lodge. Will that still be the case when we land? We’ll just have to wait and see.
It took perhaps 20 minutes to reach the airport. The regular check-in line for LATAM wound halfway across the airport – thankfully we were in premium economy, which meant that we could use the premium check-in line, which took mere minutes.
For $20 more per person than full economy, it was definitely worthwhile to upgrade – even though full economy includes a free checked bag and the ability to change or cancel flights without additional fees.
LATAM’s scales confirmed that we were within a half-pound for most of our luggage – that matched what we’d seen on our portable luggage scale, which remains some of our most valuable travel kit.
We were unsure whether we’d need to empty water bottles in advance of security, but did so anyway out of an abundance of caution. The security line was long but moved quickly – it took perhaps 15 minutes before we were at the scanners. No need to remove electronics or liquids from the bag (although we guessed correctly and water bottles were supposed to be empty), though I was held up when I forgot to place my hat in a seperate bin.
We’d hoped to find a sit-down restaurant like the one we’d found at the Quito International Airport this past summer, but without success – though Google maps claims there’s a Ruby Tuesdays and other assorted restaurants, they all seem to have since been replaced by other restaurants or are under renovations.
Instead we elected to use the lounge passes from our Visa Airport Companion program to visit the Pacific Club lounge.
The lounge was busy, but we still had no issues finding four seats together, nor did we have any trouble putting together a healthy-ish breakfast of fruit, eggs, and assorted pastries. Plus coffee and tea – always essential on these early mornings.
Given that the alternative would have been a lone croissant apiece, I think we made the right call.
We get a combined 12 lounge passes a year through our credit card, so we need to ration them out, as that represents only 3 lounge visits for the 4 of us – though we can purchase extra passes as needed. My wife’s passes renew in May so we’ll get one more lounge visit before they renew. Mine will roll over next October. Thankfully, the Pacific Club lounge didn’t charge for our daughter, so that saved us a pass.
8 am soon came – time to board our plane. We quickly reached our gate, but boarding was delayed by 10 minutes. A few people were milling around ahead of us, then politely stepped aside when they realized we were in an earlier zone number.
While we enjoy premium economy, we weren’t thrilled to have the bulkhead seats this flight as that meant we wouldn’t have storage space in front of us for our backpacks. It’ll be easier once we take off – LATAM’s premium economy is European-style, with a spare seat between the two passengers, as well as a bit more legroom compared to regular economy.
This plane’s overhead bins are smaller than Air Canada, so we couldn’t slide our carry-ons in on their side – like a book, as one previous flight attendant had put it. They had to be laid flat instead.
The flight rapidly ran out of space in the overhead bins, and later-boarding passengers had to gate-check theirs – even though they needed to pull out laptops, electronics, etc., etc.. It was slow and awkward. One person even tried to hide their carry-on in the bathroom, with predictable results…
Despite the overbooked flight and issues with the bags, the flight still taxied off at 8:50 am as scheduled. We’ll be flying almost three hours south to reach Puerto Natales, the gateway to Patagonia.
Farewell, Santiago!
No in-flight entertainment or anything like that, though we all bring our iPads and eReaders so we have plenty to keep us busy – and there’s always writing to catch up on.
Lunch was simple but tasty – a toasted Serrano and cheese sandwich on ciabatta with our choice of chips or a cookie.
I had a quick doze on the plane, making use of my new trtl travel neck pillow. It essentially functions as a brace, so it makes it easier to lean your head to one side without it bobbling all over the place. It worked well enough, and I was able to nap for close to an hour despite having had multiple coffees that morning.
When I woke, the view outside the window had changed dramatically.
We were flying overtop the Patagonian ice sheet.
(Photo credit to our son! He took a great shot.)
I tried to get a photo of Torres del Paine national park, where we’d be staying for six days – but alas the airplane window was simply too dirty to get a decent shot. Regardless, it was time to pack up and get ready to land.
The crosswind buffeted the plane as we touched down. I sparked my phone, eagerly awaiting details of the hotel at which we’d be staying.
I checked WhatsApp – nothing. I sent a quick message to follow up.
Disembarking via a set of metal stairs, we immediately noticed the change in temperature – it was only about 15 C in Patagonia, a significant change from the 32 C (and warmer) we’d experienced in Santiago. The sun was shining, however, which made the weather cool but comfortable in my linen shirts and hiking pants.
Our bags were soon spit off Puerto Natales’ tiny baggage carousel – three of them, at least. The fourth seemed to get lost in the shuffle until the very end. Thankfully we had AirTagged everything, so we could see that it wasn’t far behind.
We emerged from the baggage area to find a driver waiting for us. But for which hotel? It wasn’t immediately clear, so we simply followed him with baggage in hand. We figured he’d know where he was headed, even if our mangled Spanglish was inadequate to the task at hand.
Midway through hefting our baggage down the stairs and overtop some hefty curbs, a call came in from Concept Chile – we would be staying at Remota as requested, and they would be looking after our laundry at no additional charge.
While we dislike last-minute changes (and would’ve ideally preferred to have had heard back from them before we’d landed) this nevertheless represents a win-win for us. Laundry is the bane of our existence of travellers and having it comped showed us that both Concept Chile and VIP Journeys are serious about making our trip as comfortable as possible. And we absolutely recognize that these kinds of arrangements take time to put into action.
So kudos to Concept Chile and VIP – and our travel agent, Deanne Leach – for making this happen. Better still, we can now return our attentions to the trip.
And so we bid farewell to Puerto Natales airport, with dreams of freshly-pressed laundry dancing in our heads:
The wee-but-mighty Puerto Natales airport, and Torres del Paine in the distance
The drive to Remota took about ten minutes, and we soon had our bags stashed behind the front desk. Our rooms weren’t ready yet, but that was fine – we needed to have lunch first, anyway.
The view from their restaurant is stunning:
And the food was delicious.
My wife had the hake and rice:
I had the shrimp risotto:
And my son had the chicken nuggets:
My daughter had the pasta, but I think we’ve posted enough photos of spaghetti to last a lifetime.
The kids’ dessert, however, was the real showstopper:
The bowl was essentially a giant fortune cookie shaped into a bowl. I wonder if adults could order it? I suppose there’s only one way to find out…
Our first room was ready at that point, so we took the bags up so we could unpack and get changed for a swim. They’re considerably more spacious than those at the Sheraton, with a distinctly Chilean aesthetic.
We then departed for the pool – we needed to walk outside briefly to get there, but the view was stunning and the pool itself quite comfortable (and heated).
It wasn’t quite warm enough for my wife to swim. I managed about twenty minutes while the kids were in there for over an hour.
The leisurely lunch and swim left me feeling quite glad we elected to stop over in Puerto Natales, as opposed to attempting to head directly to EcoCamp Patagonia the same day as our arrival.
(I say “attempting” as there were no guarantees that we would’ve actually been able to make the trek on the same day as our flight – they only run a shuttle once a day, and if you’re not there on time then you’ll have to arrange a ludicrously expensive private transfer or wait until the following day.)
You can do many of the same – or similar – excursions from places like Remota, but that often requires an extra 90 minute drive each way into Torres del Paine. EcoCamp is one of the very few resorts right in the park, which makes it much easier to reach unique and remote locations for hiking, horseback riding, and other excursions.
We then headed back to the lounge to get a bit more blogging / homework done:
Then went off for a bit of bunny-spotting:
Returning to the lounge once more to read and relax before dinner:
The cocktail list presented some tough decisions:
We then headed off to dinner.
I had the guanaco – a type of Patagonian llama:
It was surprisingly tender and lean, which is something I wouldn’t normally associated with something akin to game meat, like elk or venison.
My wife had the salmon:
Very tasty, and exceptionally tender.
My daughter had the steak frites:
Perhaps a bit fatty, but she had no trouble finding enough lean meat.
And my son opted to take his turn to order the spaghetti.
For dessert, they had the ice cream with warm chocolate chip cookie:
And I had the grosella (a type of currant-berry often used in jam) ice cream, along with the giant fortune cookie bowl. Success!
It was then time to retire for the evening. So we gathered up our adorable (and exceptionally large) sheep-based room keys and called it a night.
Well, maybe we’ll stay up for just one more…
Before we go – we wanted to let you know that we will be out of cell and internet range for the next week at EcoCamp Patagonia. We do have a Zoleo satellite relay so we will attempt to provide brief text-based updates at some point during that trip. Photos will need to wait until later. See you soon!
Continue to read Zoleo (satellite messages sent while at EcoCamp Patagoina) for brief updates here.
Continue reading Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 5 – Torres del Paine.