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Published: June 26th 2017
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Geo: -33.4691, -70.642
Today was a long day. It started in Sydney at 6am when we woke and then caught the shuttle bus to the International Terminal at 7-10am. After check-in and customs etc we had an hour in the Qantas Lounge before boarding our Lan Chile flight. We were away right on time at 9-30am and had an uneventful 2 and a half hour flight to Auckland.
Transitting there was ridiculous as as soon as we were off the plane we had to queue to go through a security check again before being allowed into the departure hall. They only had one screening station opened at first so it took ages and was in a very awkward position so people were queued up over the main passageway.
Once through there we had a half hour in the Qantas Lounge, time for one G & T before having to board again. Then it was a 10 and a half hour flight to Santiago. Lan is a good airline. We were as comfortable as is possible in economy and the food and service were fine. With the time change it was difficult to sleep as we were travelling during the day but I managed to
catch an hour or two.
We arrived ahead of time at 10-50am local time (on the same day) and once through customs (and payment of the $US117 Reciprocity Fee) we looked for the Bunniks Tour sign and gathered in the terminal. It took nearly an hour to gather all of the group together due to baggage problems etc. Our Tour director is Gesus, so we are in good hands! There are 26 all together on the trip, mostly married couples of our age and older.
Our bus ride into the city took about 30 minutes. We are staying right in downtown Santiago for tonight before our city tour and travel to Ecuador tomorrow. Once checked in Fletcher and I set off to explore the streets.
We first went to see the Palacio de Maneda, the Presedential Palace. This we could see from afar. It was completed in 1805 and is an impressive Neo-Classical building. We then walked back to the shopping malls which were filled with locals and were colourful and bustling. There is an awful lot of grafitti here though which rather spoils the ambience. We wandered along and found an Italian restaurant and had some pasta and a good
Chilean Sauv Blanc to accompany it. Then we walked back to the Plaza des Armas which is undergoing extensive renovations. Flanking this square are many prominent buildings such as the Post Office and /the Museum of Natural History.These are all interesting buildings from the late 18th early 19th century and after, They have a massive renovation project going on in the square at the moment so we couldn't see all of it. We did go into the Cathedral and admired the decorative ceilings and marble statues.
We stopped for a beer and a rest in one of the main malls and then returned to the hotel for a short rest. This day seems to be going on forever. Later we went down to the bar in the hotel and joined Ken and Lois and Brian and KIm for a couple of drinks and eventually a pizza. Good conversation and conviviality took us though to late enough to return to bed.
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