We are off - at last!!

Sunday 26 October
I am writing this as we are high above the clouds (at 37000 feet) over the Pacific Ocean between Auckland & Santiago (de Chile). We left Melbourne this morning at 8:20 a.m. after our delightfully early arrival there at 5:30 a.m.; and after a last-minute ditching of stuff from my suitcase at Alison's to lighten the load: I have been loaded up with gifts (which has added a few kilos to my load...) for Kathryn who we are planning to meet (with her partner Regis) in Buenos Aires in a week.

We recently joined Qantas Club in deference to us being older travellers requiring some comforts & thoroughly enjoyed the facilities both in Melbourne & Auckland to which we flew first. The Emirates out of Melbourne was a 380 Airbus which was comfortable with indifferent staff - not an inducement to fly long-haul with Emirates. The rather tired-looking 340 LAN flight on the longer 12-hour (!) leg from Auckland to Santiago nevertheless had pleasant, attentive staff.

I watched a movie "Happy Christmas" which is not so very much about Xmas but about a sister coming to live with her brother & his wife & the complications that arise. I chose it as a nod to Regis who hails from Chicago which is where the movie is set. I know nothing about Anna Kendrick - one of the leads - nor the other 3 main actors, but have to say it was very well acted.

So, recapping:
I finally packed on Friday night: too much stuff. We are arriving in Rio into 30 deg C (we have been having a taste of that the past week in Albury!) & in early November we'll be in the far South where the temperatures are 2 to 12 deg C. Hard to believe!

So we have clothes to cover the two extremes plus walking boots for our treks in the national parks. Heavy gear .. Ugh!

Two last-minute "mishap" stories against My Friend: I might as well get started! He was standing next to me at home as I packed my passport & other documents & when I retrieved my Yellow Fever card, I noticed his was still in the safe! THAT would have been interesting! No entry to Brazil: our destination.

And the 2nd one? Just before I walked out the door, I made myself lie on the floor to do the exercises & stretches I'd been promising to do all day & he said he'd wait in the car with the airconditioning on to cool it down, when I spied his money belt (with passport etc - all the essential documents ...!) lying on the lounge ...; if I hadn't stopped to do the stretches, we'd have gone to Melbourne with him thinking he had it with him! (David was almost prescient when he had said earlier: "I've got a feeling you are going to be back...").

It wasn't really a laughing matter but we had an anguished, nervous giggle together - and I thought there but for the grace of ...

Having trouble loading photos into Blogsy - not sure what the problem is yet.... And the IT gremlins seemed to have been busy today, scrambling Dropbox (which we noticed after we'd been scanned through security in Melbourne?? ...). Weird.

We eventually left Albury on Saturday afternoon & had a very pleasant evening with Alison who had a nice quiet & welcoming house for us - & we had an early night (!) for our early start in the morning.

Still Sunday
During the night we crossed the International Date Line somewhere over the Pacific & a new day dawned as we approached South America. Except the new day was Sunday all over again as we have lost a day as we travel east.

As the sun rose, I started to feel a little buzz of excitement: that the long planned trip was about to begin. South America here we come!

We arrived mid-morning into Santiago (the capital of Chile) and only had about an hour and a half to wait before boarding our 3rd and final flight. The city lies to the west of the Andes & we were treated to spectacular scenery as our flight took off over the snow-capped peaks poking through the thick white cotton-wool clouds which cast dark shadows over the deep, dry valleys below. We will return to this scenery - at ground level - towards the end of our trip when we cross the Andes by bus: going the opposite direction - east to west. 

It's a 4-hour flight from Santiago to Rio & it'll be good to get there after so many hours travelling; but it has been quite bearable in ‘sardine-class’ probably due to the journey being broken up into 3 flights.