We had a very interesting trip to the park gate. When we were doing final checkout, there was a woman at the other counter frantically speaking to someone on the phone about cards and payment issues and how she was stuck down here in Brazil and they’d left her floundering. Didn’t think much of it, but when we got on the shuttle, the driver got a call a few minutes into the ride and turned back towards the hotel. The woman who’d been having the issues got on with all of her luggage. I guess she sorted out whatever issue it was, as we all got off and jumped into various taxis at the park gate (it’s extremely expensive to have a car come directly to/from the hotel since it’s in the park and far cheaper to do any transfers in two steps). A few minutes and 30 Brazilian Reals later, we were at the other airport of this region – IGU on the Brazil side.
We were probably a bit later than most people to check in for our flight, so the check in area was pretty empty.
Quickly through security and we had a nice area to sit and view the apron as two flights from São Paulo arrived at sunset.
This plane’s ours!
The gate area was a bit chaotic as it was not big, and there were 4 flights all leaving around the same time. And as in a few South American countries, there’s a priority line for certain groups of people accorded by law: seniors, pregnant women, families with infants, disabled people, etc. It seems like anyone who felt like it went in that line here pictured up against the wall.
Now, that woman with the big white bag and black rollaboard suitcase is the one who was having the issues at the hotel. I asked her once onboard what the problem was, and she said that she had accounts only with one bank, and they’d blocked all of her cards due to suspicious activity, so she wasn’t able to pay the bill on checkout. Now here’s the fun part: the hotel told her not to worry and that they’d call the shuttle back so she didn’t miss her flight (she was connecting in São Paulo back to London) and she could call them tomorrow with a different card to settle up. Wow !
An uneventful flight mostly in the dark but both of us really love this Fanta Guaraná – only in Brazil do they have this flavor. We drank a lot of Guaraná Antarctica when we were in Rio in 2023. It’s so good!
We flew over a mid size city in Southern Brazil (can’t remember the name), and then the suburbs of enormous São Paulo.
Back in a somewhat familiar airport now in São Paulo – Guarulhos, we pass through border control to exit Brazil, transfer security, and then are surrounded by duty free shops.
We have an early flight tomorrow morning so we’re staying at the airside hotel. It’s basic but definitely does the trick and the 5 minute walk to the gate in the morning is a no brainer.
Before our flight, we stopped at Starbucks for a refresher and another price comparison: $11 Canadian equivalent. Cheaper than at home and far cheaper than Buenos Aires! While we waited for our drinks, I spotted this gorgeous Lufthansa 747-8i that had just arrived from Frankfurt.
Onboard LATAM’s 787-9 Dreamliner for the first time, this morning heading to Santiago, Chile. With Ellie’s Starbucks at the ready. 🙂
Make sure the llamas don’t get in the way of the emergency exits!
It was a very humid morning and condensation was billowing around the wings and engines as we took to the skies again.
The flight was very pleasant and after the clouds of Brazil cleared up, we had some great views as we approached the Argentinian Andes, here flying over the Mendoza area.
A few big bumps later and we descended quickly into Chile over the Aconcagua Valley wine country.
And then the outskirts of Santiago itself.
After border control we were treated to this colorful display of another familiar place – Cancun!
Llamas everywhere, even in the parkade.
The highway network in Santiago has extensive tunnelling in the central areas.
My colleague Frank, who’d brought us to the airport in Calgary a week ago, is from Chile and most of his family still lives here. He asked his cousin Hugo to pick us up at the airport. Gracias, Hugo!
It was too early to check into the room so we just dumped our stuff and walked over to the mall. The largest mall in South America.
And of course….McDonald’s lol
I fell in love with the cheerful, welcoming JUMBO elephant on my first trip here in March 2022. JUMBO is a South American hypermarket chain.
Ellie wanted to visit Miniso. Cute stuff everywhere.
A look back at the Gran Torre Costanera which is part of the mall complex.
We walked around the area a bit – Providencia – which is really a gorgeous and peaceful area very close to some of the busiest commercial areas in Santiago.
And then we were finally able to check into the room. Happy Ellie!
The famous vintage Pepsi-Cola sign was unfortunately under renovation.
I managed to find a bank machine that I could withdraw sufficient cash from just a couple blocks from the hotel. I was almost at the mercy of Western Union again, but found success at Banco Estado.
We headed over to the Teleferico Santiago to catch sunset from the top of Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago Metropolitan Park. It wasn’t very busy so we got a private cabin.
Ellie got some ice cream from the shop at the top.
And then walked over to the Santuario Cerro San Cristóbal – an open air Catholic church on top of the hill.
At the very top is the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.
A few people out enjoying the sunset views up here.
Along with a rock band we’d seen on the way up, who were doing some sort of photo shoot (the guys were rocking out, but totally silent).
Looks like they’re building another gondola up the hill. That’s in addition to the existing one we came up, plus a funicular on the other side.
We had a private cabin on the way down again, and stopped at the photo op chair… for a photo op.
Around the base, it is a park after all. So there was a playground.
And random dogs.
Agave plants.
And random cats, who were being fed cat food by someone.
The hill is super popular with cyclists as there’s a paved road right to the top, and a great downhill – either back down the road, or down one of the many singletrack trails through the dusty woods.
Definitely one of the best views of downtown Santiago from here. The Andes look pretty good when it’s clearer, too.
There are shady parts of the park that are actually relatively lush. It’s a nice oasis in the normally hot city.
Here’s one of the beautiful residential streets outside the park where we’re going to wait for an Uber back to our hotel.
We really wanted to stop at this cool pub, Holy Moly, for supper but it was packed with a waiting list, and Ellie was getting really tired, so we just went back to the room.
Ellie passed out and I enjoyed a “completa” at the lobby bar. Buenas noches, Santiago!
Ellie's Adventures 