9 Feb: "Equator" -> Santiago (CHI) -> San Pedro de Atacama (CHI)
We crossed into the southern hemisphere overnight. The plane liked to dance like a break dancer and I don't sleep much on a plane that is calm. We landed in Santiago and proceeded to stand in customs line for an hour. Once free from this we found our checked bags sitting beside the conveyor belt and they were likely there at least 30 min before us.
We then walked out into the insanity of signs for guides and fortunately found our Southwind representative. He helped us store the checked bags on site for the next four days so we could carry on for the next flight in under 3 hours.
We got through security for the Chilean flight and discovered that our best option for lunch was Starbucks. The flight went smoothly and we were met by Rocco (guide) and Alex (driver). Alex informed us that he loved Seattle and Nirvana.
We made a stop in Death Valley on the 90+ min ride to San Pedro de Atacama where we planned to spend 3 nights. We quickly discovered it can be referred to as San Pedro de Atacama due to ALL the dogs. We also discovered that our hotel had no record under our names. This took some sorting out but they put us up which was good given we had just spent 24 hours straight traveling.
We showered and had dinner at the hotel. I found that as the Spanish speaking representative of Chez Beck, we collectively are preschool level. Fortunately we could drink wine. Vino for these preschoolers.
We then walked out into the insanity of signs for guides and fortunately found our Southwind representative. He helped us store the checked bags on site for the next four days so we could carry on for the next flight in under 3 hours.
We got through security for the Chilean flight and discovered that our best option for lunch was Starbucks. The flight went smoothly and we were met by Rocco (guide) and Alex (driver). Alex informed us that he loved Seattle and Nirvana.
We made a stop in Death Valley on the 90+ min ride to San Pedro de Atacama where we planned to spend 3 nights. We quickly discovered it can be referred to as San Pedro de Atacama due to ALL the dogs. We also discovered that our hotel had no record under our names. This took some sorting out but they put us up which was good given we had just spent 24 hours straight traveling.
We showered and had dinner at the hotel. I found that as the Spanish speaking representative of Chez Beck, we collectively are preschool level. Fortunately we could drink wine. Vino for these preschoolers.