After a 13 hour flight from a cool and cloudy Auckland, I arrived in sweltering Santiago at midday, having taken off at 4.20 pm…!!
Across the Pacific... We flirted with Antartica for awhile....
Welcoming flap from the Chilean flag...
Immigration was a breeze, and after securing my arrival stamp that gives me a 90 day stay in Chile, I collected the bag I had checked in, and waltzed out of the concourse long before most of my fellow passengers…
The temperature here is 36 degrees Celsius right now, and the sky is filled with dust blowing down from the Atacama Desert which lies north of the city….
I am safely ensconced in the El Patio Soizo, a small B&B in the heart of the city…
I have been able to hook up with an internet connection that is faster than most, and on opening my mail, discovered an advice from the local shipping agents who confirmed that they have a very large crate for me, whose contents have been growling to be released since yesterday…!!
Better get my jack down there before the Big Fella bursts from his current confines….!!
He is clearly as eager as I am to get locked and loaded, and ready for our next stint of riding…
I am setting out my route down to Ushuaia, using the maps that Khalid so patiently assisted me with a few weeks ago…
Into Santiago....!! A new continent, just in time for a new year...!!
I can hardly believe that I am standing on the 5th continent of my RTW journey…!!
Who would have thunk it…??
GB
Santiago, Chile
Very excited for you – glad that you are there at last and that things have flowed smoothly. Go well friend and it was great to spend time with you over the last month!
Yay, safe and sound in Chile…..go and fetch Big Fella, get your “ass” onto your steeds back and hit those beautiful roads that you have spoken and dreamed of riding for so long. Can’t wait to follow you albeit on your website…..