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SOUTH AMERICA 12/09

Buenos Aires | Iguaza |  Mendosa | To Bariloche | Bariloche Day 1 | Bariloche Day 2 | To Ushuaia | Ushuaia
Voyage on the Beagle Day 1 | Voyage on the Beagle Day 2 | Santiago de Chile Day 1 | Santiago de Chile Day 2
Santiago to Quito | Galapagos Day 1 | Galapagos Day 2 | Galapagos Day 3
Return to Quito Day 1 | Return to Quito Day 2
(click any image to enlarge)

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15 December 2009, Santiago, Chile to Quito, Ecuador   &   16 December 2009, Quito to Galapagos (also Ecuador)

We were getting picked up at our Santiago hotel to go to the airport at 1 PM so we had a chance to go for a couple of walks in the residential area around our hotel. As I said before, Santiago is a great and walkable city (at least where we are). I like the idea of shops and restaurants on the first floor and the lower levels of apartment buildings and offices. We went to two furniture stores located in the lower floors of apartments that specialized in modern high-style furniture. Nothing we wanted but it's nice to see someone, somewhere, displays the style we like.

Interestingly, both Punta Arenas and Santiago have street dogs. These are family pets that the owners let loose on the streets when they no longer want them (no ASPCA). These are not wild pack dogs but doe-eyed animals that slink up to you for a handout or to be petted. They are, of course, a health hazard and the cities deal with them with a policy of eradication.

We traveled from Santiago to Quito and had to go through customs and security AGAIN. It has been so nice to not have to run for an airplane (only to sit for hours waiting for it to come or go). It has been especially nice since we were in a place where there was something to do within the locale of the hotel (Santiago). We got to our Quito hotel at 10 PM on the 15th and then had to leave at dawn-o-thirty the next morning for Galapagos. There are never any non-stop/thru flights from wherever we are to wherever we want to go.

It had been suggested that we only take one of our two large suitcases on the flight to Galapagos. Just what we needed- - a major repacking at 10 PM at the Quito hotel! I am having trouble with the altitude (in excess of 9,000 feet). 6 AM was early.

The airport on Galapagos is small and the flights to Galapagos are confusing. For example, there are three flights that leave from Quito to Galapagos seemingly at the same time; one goes direct and the other two stop enroute to refuel. Which flight is which is hard to figure out, at least for the passengers, and forget screens in the departure area that might post any information useful for passengers.

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Buenos Aires | Iguaza |  Mendosa | To Bariloche | Bariloche Day 1 | Bariloche Day 2 | To Ushuaia | Ushuaia
Voyage on the Beagle Day 1 | Voyage on the Beagle Day 2 | Santiago de Chile Day 1 | Santiago de Chile Day 2
Santiago to Quito | Galapagos Day 1 | Galapagos Day 2 | Galapagos Day 3
Return to Quito Day 1 | Return to Quito Day 2


HOME  |  AUSTRALIA 2003  |  ACROSS AMERICA  |  IMPRESSIONS OF CHINA  |  VIETNAM  |  AFRICA  |  AROUND THE WORLD 2009  |  SOUTH AMERICA 2009  |  LEGENDARY CULTURES 2011
  |  TURKEY AND GREECE  |  CIRCLE THE ARCTIC  |  FRANCE-DENMARK 2016  |  HELSINKI-NORWAY 2016