72 hours, 7 hour delays and lost luggage in South America

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‘Ola’ I said at last entry. How uninitiated I was to Espanol, it has been a quick lesson on communicating outside of ‘one room for the night please’, and as they say sink or swim is the style. I’ve been keeping it monosyllabylic, easy option, but these incomplete sentences have only got me so far with many non-English speaking locals – case in point getting lost (this is normal, and even told today it was dangerous in Centro region at 6am this morning rising for an early bus when Santiago’ites dragging their discoteque/ salsa weary feet home in drunken states and feeling a little scared even with alarm on me)…..…I always thought open questions encouraged conversation, right? NOW I know how to say I’m lost, forgive me, please wait for me, I’ve been robbed, and am into habit of tipping when taxi drivers taking me to Centro Deportivo in Providencia get lost and actually stop to ask (a women) for directions! 45 minutes later we get there and I discover he only takes pesos, double whammy, so I play silly new-to-town tourist and convert to USD and he gets a cheap and nasty Chilean instant coffee and muffin if he wants to blow my tip.

Leaving NZ on the 18th was timely although an extra few days would have polished of those extras. Time with family was lovely and to pack them up and take them away for foreign experiences would be an amazing alternate Christmas. But downsizing luggage may not quite go with the over-packer mentality of some. I am proud to say I carry 9kg of stuff, the pack weighing 7kg thereabouts - it gets easier as you travel. But only just – Auckland airport confiscated my hiking pole, a gift from Cairns departure, and I left Customs very upset to have forgone it for the people that gave it to me. Forlorn, I decided to mention it to LAN who ran 1 hour late. Add a charades game with family in final zone past customs simulating hiking and then ‘no pole’, my explanation to LAN Chile, theirs to LAN manager and customs outside and they relented finally to give my weapon to me but carried in the hold. Thank you to the hiking god who shone on me that day. Thank you to the wi-fi god in the form of a nice Chilean man who configured my laptop at the hotel when I arrived in my tired state (‘hotel windsor palace’sounds flash, basic affordable rooms in Centro) …and we had both seen ‘Pay it Forward’ (Jacqui put me onto this first, thanks Jacqui) the movie. I seriously owe some local favours now - makes up for giving that South American tourist in Cairns a pineapple I had just bought and realized I could not eat in before leaving. Karma and fate are real.

So 24 horas in Santiago was fast lived. Cerro Santa Lucia, Providencia (fleeting visit), roadside market stalls selling 3kg frutillars (strawbnerries, cherries) for 1000 pesos, about 1NZD/kg! Then the cramped Mercado central (worth missing I thought, maybe I missed good part as was wall to wall cheap shops) and enjoying the wintery feeling lovely clear and dry vistas of a desert like landscape around the Santiago area. No wonder they make good wine, I shall have to wait until autumn and maybe see the then colours too!

From here things deteriorated somewhat. Initially upbeat and excited about seeing BA and Ushiaia, I am victim to AA’s hopeless scheduling and after 5 hour delay leaving Santiago (gave me some time to see changing of guard and Plaza with French student I met on local bus), I ended up late for the next flight onwards from BA, and to cut it short streaked through BA airport barging into people with AA representative aside me, trying to reach that elusive connection to Ushuaia. Incompetent ground staff and my major luggage now lost, I am walking here in crocs, airline anti-DVT socks, 3 quarter pants, short sleeved Kathmandu top, long sleeved thermal, and necessary scarf come sarong double up – coordinated and trendy I know. After begging at AA counter until I got help at 10.30pm last night (when all had literally closed up in town!) they lent me a jacket for warmth (5C evening, zero overnight, snow on mountains) and I pray and hope to the karma gods it all arrives today (about to accost the airport staff soon, waited 1.5 hrs at AA' office this morning to find that out)………….otherwise the next 12 days will be bare and rocky and miserable. Apart from this, scenery is magnificent and heavy rain cleared to stunning day.

12 day cruise at 4pm today local time, leaving at 3pm.

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