Interstitial (From Santiago to Ushaia) - 21 - 23 January 2009

After Easter Island we spent a couple more days in Santiago.  I bought some more work out clothes (for sporadic use only) and we dropped off a lot of laundry.

We left our point-provided hotel to meet up at the Hyatt to join our tour.  We're carrying so much luggage at this point that every taxi ride involves filling the truck and then putting one of the big backpacks in the passenger seat, while we've got our carry-on backpacks in the back seat with us.  Every time the taxi driver takes a curve he has to reach out to steady the big backpack so it doesn't fall over on top of him.

The Hyatt's nicer than our last hotel, but we don't really get to enjoy it.  The room itself isn't ready until a couple hours after we get there and we have a 4:45 am wake-up call the next morning to head to the airport for our "charter" flight.

I put "charter" in quotations not just because of a tendency to overuse quotes but because to me charter conjures up an image of pulling up on the tarmac and climbing directly onto the plane where you are offered champagne and a selection of snacks.  Not quite Tony Stark in Iron Man, but still, something pretty posh.  This turned out to be a charter operated by LAN airlines, and was essentially a normal flight - except all 150 people on the flight showed up to check in at the exact same time.  It really gummed up the airport with all of us blocking the walkways with our luggage trolleys.

After the normal check-in process, we went through the normal customs process, and the normal security process.  It really was just like a normal flight.

Jen and I are attracting some attention, though.  Evidently we're a little younger than the average traveller.  Jen gets told (jokingly) that there's a minimum age of 55 for the trip, while I get asked "You're too young to be one of us; are you part of the crew?"

The flight lands in Ushuaia, which claims to be the southernmost city in the world.  We're hustled onto buses for a land tour, and then board a catamaran for a sailing of the Beagle Channel.  This is our first view of the wildlife, including birds and seals. Here's a picture I really like of a droopy-eyed seal:

After the cruise we made our way to the boat itself.  I was concerned about the quality of the room, since we chose the cheapest room on the boat, but it was very nice.  I'm sure I'll get used to the porthole.