A day trip to Santiago

Even after twelve years, my company still has the ability to surprise me.

Coming to the end of my Cyprus project, I was asked to join a new one in Santiago, Chile.  Now that is a hell of a long way off my normal European beat, but what the hell….it could be fun.

A first – never been to South America before.

Another: never been south of the Equator before.

And another: with a necessary stopover in Sao Paulo, that’s two new countries visited in one day, to add to my world map on Facebook.

 The problem was at the time I was given the option, I was struggling with some hip problems…..after a relatively short 3 hour flight I was in extreme discomfort and could hardly walk for a couple of days afterwards.  I had no confidence that I would be able to make a journey half way round the world without ending up in a wheelchair or something.  (I subsequently had x-rays and an MRI scan….the hips are in a bit of state, but it’s manageable and no surgery needed – at least not yet.  Another legacy from my footballing days, I’m afraid.)   So I took a punt and told my company I would do the trip, provided I had Business Class travel.  I thought that would be the end of it.

Nope.  I was asked to get a doctor’s note confirming the restriction.  I got one – no Economy Class travel over three hours on health grounds (a very accommodating doctor….).  Surprise, surprise – the company said ok, we’ll do it.  So here I am, some 40,000 feet over the Atlantic en route to Santiago, in an extremely comfortable British Airways 747-400 Business Class cabin, listening to George Gershwin at nearly 5 a.m. CET (whatever that might be local I have no idea).  In about 3 hours we’ll arrive in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I change flights for the last leg across the Andes to Chile.  It will be my fourth flight in 24 hours – yet another first.

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So far it’s been an entertaining journey.

I got to Warsaw airport quite early, before check-in opened, and made myself comfortable waiting to dump my bag as soon as it did.  I didn’t bother to check the Departure Board – no need, I knew the time of the flight as I’d already checked in on-line, and knew where the desk was.  So I hadn’t noticed my first flight to Heathrow had been cancelled – until I wandered over to the desk when a couple of gate agents arrived.   I was told there was fog causing the cancellation, although it was a beautiful sunny winter’s day there.  The BA people quickly transferred me to a LOT flight departing in 15 minutes, and sent me dashing off to the LOT desk to check my bag.  Too late – by the time I got there the flight had closed.  Back to BA.  More tapping on computer screens, and I’m booked to fly to Dusseldorf (departure in 35 minutes) then on to Heathrow.  So to the Lufthansa check in – no problem, bag checked all the way to Santiago and I’m on my way.  Whether my bag is remains to be seen – with flight changes in Dusseldorf, Heathrow and Sao Paulo (the last two not renowned for their efficiency in baggage handling) it will be interesting when I arrive in Chile….

The flight to Dusseldorf was ok, just about an hour, comfortable enough but no food – I was a very late arrival after the meals had been on-boarded.  We arrived there in thick fog, a quick stroll through the terminal and straight on to the Heathrow flight: not even time for a pee.  Another short one – an hour again – but at least I was fed.  Super.  Heathrow was clear, no fog at all so I have no idea why that was given as the reason for cancelling the BA flight – I can only assume the aircraft to be used was stuck somewhere else that was fog-bound.

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I used to use Heathrow all the time, in my early years in the job, before moving to Warsaw.  Since then I’ve been through a handful of times, and noticed many changes, not least the brand new, BA-exclusive Terminal 5.  But I was surprised at the amount of construction work still going on.  The bus from Terminal 1 to 5 wound its way slowly through what must be London’s biggest building site – never mind the Olympic site in Stratford.  Quite how the airport remains operational with all the work going on I have no idea – it’s a tribute to the staff and management of both the airport and the construction companies that it does so with a quiet efficiency. 

I got my boarding pass for Sao Paulo and headed for the BA Terraces Lounge, a first visit (the last couple of transits have been Economy so strictly no admittance).  It’s pretty good I have to say – very comfortable with several different areas (a bar, a café area, a coffee shop, an internet zone…) and a fine selection of hot and cold food and plenty of variety on the drinks menu too.  I had a very palatable plate of chicken korma with rice and some fresh fruit and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The lounge compares very favourably with my favourites in Frankfurt and Zurich (see Lounge Lizard from last year).

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And so to my flight to Sao Paulo.  I have a good seat, the food and service has been excellent so far, and the in-flight entertainment system second to none.  There is a huge choice of movies old and new, tv shows, radio programs (listened to a very good one hosted by Ronnie Wood, ex Faces, now the Rolling Stones, that featured some great live music) and CDs – spoilt for choice is really an understatement.

I’m also in some exalted company.  The Brazilian F1 Grand Prix is this weekend in Sao Paulo, so some of the BBC commentary team is on the flight.  The seat in front is occupied by David Coulthard, a superb driver in his day and one of the best ever not to have won a world title (he was unfortunate to drive fairly uncompetitive McLarens and Red Bulls during the years of Ferrari/Schumacher dominance).  Across the cabin is Eddie Jordan, who was team principal at Jordan racing before selling the team a few years back – a great character who amongst his other claims to fame gave Schumacher his first competitive drive.  I think I spotted the anchorman Jake Humphrey too, but he is one class down in Premium Economy……BBC cuts I assume.  I hope they have a good trip and the race is as good as it usually is there, one of the classics.

Update at 21:00 CET (that’s 17:00 Chile local)

Well, I’ve arrived, safe and sound, as did my bag, to my pleasant surprise. 

We landed half an hour early at Sao Paulo (again, a first – they’re really stacking up this trip!) and the connection was possibly the easiest ever: there was a guy waiting at the end of the jetway asking for passengers travelling on to Santiago and elsewhere, checked my name off on a list on his clipboard, noted my baggage tag number and pointed to a sign for Terminal 2.  I followed it up a flight of steps, across a covered walkway and voila – T2.  Not a security or passport check in sight.  Easy peasy.  The OneWorld Alliance Lounge was still closed so we had a 15 minute wait before free coffee and stuff, but it was comfortable, overlooking the apron which at that time of day was very busy, so it was a nice relaxing hour and a half wait.  Then down a flight of stairs to the gate, another short wait and onto a LAN Chile 767 for Santiago (yet ANOTHER first – a new airline added to the list).

The flight was good, clear skies all the way across the south of Brazil, Argentina and across the Andes.  The service was equally good, extremely comfortable seats, tasty breakfast and as much coffee as I wanted in proper sized mugs rather than the paper cups I’m used to.  I dozed on and off over the four hour flight, and then woke when we were instructed to fasten seat belts while we crossed the Andes – although the crossing  in the event was perfectly smooth and effortless.  But the view!  My word….. It was simply breathtaking.  We were descending from 30,000 feet, and by the time we were in the middle of the range it was as if we were drifting along close to the peaks.  The mountains are spectacular, and make the Polish Tatras and even the Alps seem like molehills.  In this hot summer the peaks are still snow-capped, there were volcano cones scattered here and there (one erupted earlier this year, about 500 miles south and caused huge disruption to flights as far away as Australia and New Zealand), and many glaciers cut their way between the mountains.  Now and again, at the bottom of precipitous gorges were a scattering of small towns linked by twisting and winding roads that must be a joy to drive. My camera was packed in my hold baggage so I got no pictures at all – we were through the mountains and on final approach to Santiago airport before I remembered the camera on my iPhone.  When I fly home next month I have a morning flight out of here, so hopefully it will be another clear morning and I can get some pictures then…….

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Leaving the airport took a while, with a long queue for Immigration to stamp the passport, but when I got to the baggage hall the timing was perfect – my bag was just dropping onto the carousel as I arrived.  I had a car laid on and the drive into the city took about 20 minutes, part of it through a long tunnel snaking for maybe 3 miles under the city centre.  The hotel is ok, about a block from the bank, and I have a small apartment with kitchen and separate lounge and bedroom areas.  It’s comfortable enough, although the balcony directly overlooks the block behind so the view isn’t great.  The 17^th floor has an outdoor pool “in season” and a lounge, so I checked it out – the pool is no more than 10 feet from end to end, and the lounge has no amenities to speak of (a few tables and chairs, with sun-beds on the terrace outside).  I was hoping for a coffee but no.  It will be ok to relax in the sunshine at weekends I guess.

I had a stroll around the neighbourhood, mainly to find a bank and get some cash.  There seem to be plenty of restaurants with outdoor terraces, including one that was an echo of home.  It’s called Fragola and is basically an ice-cream parlour that also does pastas and salads and coffees.  We have one very like it in Warsaw that does the best ice-cream sundaes I’ve ever eaten – we visit every time we go to that particular Mall (which is often).  I tried the one here, and had a pleasant enough quiche and salad and a latte – I’ll save the ice cream for another day.

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So here I am.  The journey was long, door to door just about 27 hours, but bearable by my elevated passenger status.  I go to the office tomorrow and we’ll see what happens with the project……but if nothing else I’ll make sure I enjoy the Chilean experience for the weeks I’m here.

Then home for Christmas.