December 5-6, 2007

Dec 5, 2007
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A dull grey afternoon with snow flurries provided the setting for my South American Odyssey.

The Self-Check in at NEWARK airport was a breeze. The machine scanned my passport and printed the boarding passes all the way to Santiago, Chile. Requesting the TSA personnel for an inspection of my locked bag was quite simple as well. The scan caused no issues with my bag. I would rather open the locks for the TSA folks and allow them to inspect my bag and its contents, rather than have the locks broken by them later on (Ostensibly for 'Inspection').

My request to the TSA scan agent on assistance in setting the combination for my TSA approved lock resulted in a pleasant surprise. As the agent could not figure out on how to set a new combination for my TSA lock, he provided me with a nicer TSA approved lock (made by TUMI)!.

Thanks to my travels with my Employer, I had GOLD status with American airlines thereby resulting in me being part of the first group to board the aircraft. I purchased a log book at the Borders store in Newark airport upon which these words were first inscribed!

The flight fro Newark was delayed by 35 minutes and arrived 30 minutes late in Miami as well. This did not affect me much. In fact it was a positive, since I would have to spend less time waiting in Miami for my flight to Santiago. The LOWEPRO (Fastpack 200) was certainly worth the money! It hardly took up space in the overhead compartment.

I dozed during the 3-hour flight to Miami. On landing in Miami, I had a Pizza and a coke for dinner as I was certainly NOT going to have the meal on a plane scheduled to depart at 11:35 PM! I met a gentleman who had lived in Chile for a while. He told me that my decision to start the trip in Chile was good as Chilenos are more tolerant of bad Spanish speakers than Argentines. I hope to pick up enough Spanish before I head to Argentina 20-days from today.

My attempt at getting a free upgrade to Business class from MIAMI to SANTIAGO, Chile did not work as I was travelling using Miles :( However, I did get both seats to myself (the seating was 2-3-2) on the flight to Santiago. It is not the same as flying Business, but it is not bad.

I declined dinner and slept almost all the way. I woke up around 8 AM Chilean time (6AM EST) in time for a vegetarian desayuno (´breakfast´to you!) consisting of a Single croissant, butter, Jam, Orange Juice and Yogurt. Ate every morsel and drank every drop of it. Until we almost landed at Santiago, the landscape (as viewed through my window) was quite barren and mountainous (The ANDES).

Dec 6, 2007
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US Citizens do not require a Visa to enter Chile but are required on their FIRST visit to Chile to pay a reciprocity fee (US$100). This fee is Valid for the life of your passport (9 More years for me). Not bad. With the current decline in the value of the US$, I obtained an exchange rate of CLP (Chilean Pesos) 450 per US$. Exchanging $500 resulted in my becoming ALMOST a quarter-Millionaire (I got around 225,000 CLP). Customs clearance here requires ALL bags (including hand bags / purses etc.) be passed through a scanner. Sniffer Dogs (and their handlers) are also constantly on the prowl.

After customs clearance, I was able to use LAN CHILE´s self-service kiosks to check in for my next flight to La Serena. After checking in my bag (no issues were raised by the fact that my bag was 3 Kgs overweight), I went in search of a SIM Card for my Phone. Always a cheaper option than using the US SIM card to call folks or even send text messages.

I requested the sales person try and test a card before she sold me a card. She tried her own card and was unable to get it to work on my phone. So I did not buy anything. Will have to try another provided when I reach La Serena.

The flight to La Serena was delayed by 20 minutes or so. I would have missed the flight had I NOT ignored the delayed signs for the flight and asked at the counter! The lady told me that the flight was boarding! I sat next to a young (compared to moi) man who spoke good English. He used to live in LA managing restaurants for his cousin and now runs the family business in COPIAPO (a little north of La Serena). What business you ask?. The family runs a funeral parlour in COPIAPO. I did not ask on how business was! He gave me some guidance on places to see and things to do and also told me that should I run into an problems, I should have no hesitation in contacting the Chilean police. They are apparently incorruptible. Hopefully I will not have to seek their assistance for anything serious.

On landing in La Serena, I took a transfer shuttle to my Hotel. It cost me CLP 1500 (less than US$4). The airport is at a higher elevation than the city of La Serena. I reached the Hotel (Residencial La Suiza) and was told by a lady to go right up to room 7. No registration or even Name was requested! The room turned out to be quite small but quite decent for a single person. I was being charged CLP 12000 (US$25) for this room. There were 2 beds along with an attached shower and toilet. By the time I settled in, the lady came in with a big book and gave it to me to register myself. I freshened up and talked with Hector (who owns Res Suiza and we had communicated during the booking process). He advised me to take a 'Collectivo' to the El tololo observatory office located a few kilometres from the hotel.

La Serena hosts at least 3 observatories that contain some of the largest telescopes in the world. In addition this is where the grapes are grown to produce the national drink - PISCO. My principal reason to visit was to at least see one of the observatories. I managed to get permits from both 'El tololo' as well as 'Las Campanas' observatories. As the observatories can be visited ONLY on Saturdays and since the observatories are in Opposite directions to La Serena, I had to make a choice. I went with El tololo as it had the larger telescopes.

The lady at the hotel (I think she also doubles as a maid) was helpful in hailing a 'collectivo' to transport me from the hotel to the 'El Tololo' office. A 'Collectivo' is a shared taxi for a maximum of 4 people plus the driver. The driver and an elderly passenger in my collectivo quizzed me on where I was from and what I did etc etc. As it was a good way to brush up on my bad Spanish, I did not mind it at all. The 'collectivo' dropped me off at the gate to the El tololo office. From the gate to the main office is a monstrous climb up a winding hill. To think that a Single Pizza (personal pan) fro the night before and a Croissant from this morning were the fuel for my climb, should tell of my amazing abilities.

Kadur Flores (with whom I had corresponded while in the US) met me at the reception and provided me with a pass for 2 people (Just in case - as he put it). He also provided me with a few options on transporting myself to 'El Tololo' which is 87 Kilometres (50 Miles) away from La Serena. None of the observatories offer any form of transport for visitors. Thanking Kadur, I walked back down the hill (definitely easier) and took a few pictures of La Serena on the way. I took another collectivo back to the city centre. The Collectivo costs CLP 350 (about 75 cents). Not bad at all.

I headed to the Sernatur (Chilean tourist Organization) office and obtained some local maps and tour company Information. Took a few picture of 'Plaza de Armas' and visited with a tour company to find out the various tours available as well as the transport options for my visit to the El Tololo observatory. The tour office manager turned out to be a Palestinian born in Chile. His father migrated and the son was born here. El mundo es un pequeño lugar! I went in search of a SIM card for my mobile. I 'supposedly' found one for US$10 but I could not send any text messages to friends or family (US and India). Will need to revisit the office tomorrow.

I went to an Internet cafe to send messages of my safe arrival in La Serena to friends and family. I asked around for a vegetarian restaurant. After going up and down a few streets, I finally found a place that could serve me some vegetarian food. I had a (you guessed it) a 'Pizza vegetariano' sin mushrooms y mayonnaise (no mushrooms or mayo).

How hard can it be for folks to make a vegetarian dish with no meat in it? I dread to think what the next 4 months of travel in South America will be like (when it comes to Lunch and dinner). I also had a halfway decent Chilean wine (500 ml bottle) to go with the Pizza.

I returned to my hotel and asked the owner to find me other vegetarian places in town. I am none too hopeful of any discoveries. I was shocked to see at least 10 English language Channels (with Spanish subtitles of course) on TV. Among the movies were 'Crash' and 'The Passenger'.

More Culinary exploration awaits me manana. The nights are rather cold. There was no need for either an air conditioner or a fan in the room.