Day 11 - On to Santiago - Sunday, 3/5/23

When the party’s over…

Well, at least our Patagonia party. The travel planners (our husbands, Garrett and Tom), planned two more nights for us in Santiago to close our Chilean adventure. The thought process was that since we were already in Chile and had flown this far, we might as well enjoy the city of Santiago before flying home. Based on the warmth we had seen forecasted, I was all in.

On our final morning in EcoCamp, we all had a mindset of packing and being ready for our departure van. There would be two vans driving guests to town. Our guides and the rest of our hiking group, with earlier plane departure times, would be on the first van. We were slated for the second van. After dropping our bags off at the front desk and double-checking our domes for potentially missed items, we headed to the community dome for our final breakfast and last gathering of our group.

Garrett and I joined the table of Mariana and Daniel. We were all quiet, going through the pleasantries but preferring our silent coffee intake. The Victorias and the ‘J’ family were finishing their breakfast, ready to load into their van and head to town. We said our goodbyes and they were on their way.

Mariana, still at our table, shared that she would have one day back home in Puerto Natales before guiding another W Trek group the next day. Daniel would have two days off until his next hike tour. The reality was that we were all tired of conversing. Like the end of a party when chatting with the hostess and you know what she is really thinking about is doing the dishes and emptying the trash…

All good things must come to an end. We were to our end.

Our final Patagonia hiking stats:

48.7 Miles of Hiking
11,794 Elevation Gain
27.8 Hours of Hiking

Tom and Kristi joined us as we packed into the van. The rain started again. This time with more cold dampness than we had earlier in the week. The fog was settling in. Patagonia, we love you, but we were ready to go.

Kristi “I think I’m more suited to urban living.”

This gave us a great laugh (personally, I was picturing the opening song to Green Acres with Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert). Although not all wanted to admit it, we quietly agreed with Kristi’s astute assessment.

Traveling the bumpy dirt roads in pouring rain for two hours, we watched out our windows. And we waited. No one was saying it, but we were all thinking about it. When would our cell service kick in again? I quietly turned my phone off of airplane mode and would occasionally glance down to see if any service was picked up.

Pulling into Puerto Natales, our phones started blowing up. My phone showed 302 emails and 28 text messages. Garrett had over 500 emails. For me, it was all about checking to make sure there were no emergency texts from my kids, parents, brothers, dog/housesitter. I had told them I was off the grid, so no messages meant all was good. Whew. Life went on quite well without me.

Past that it was pretty easy to catch up. In reality, less than ten emails (disregarding replies to all) required answers. Another twenty were news-type feeds that I would peruse when I had time. About three texts needed a response at some point, but again, no emergencies. Off Grid for a week worth it? Heck yes.

With a quick drop-off at the Puerta Natales airport, we were ready to go. A very small airport, we walked right into the terminal, and with a few steps we were at bag check-in. After showing our passports and paperwork (all had our paperwork), the airline attendants informed us that we were too early to check bags. We would need to wait a couple of hours just to check our bags and then more waiting for flights after that. The small terminal was cold with constantly opening automatic doors. All of the seats in the waiting area were taken and per the many signs taped up to the walls: ‘No Airport Wi-Fi’.

It took not a second for our travel planners (our husbands) to start looking for an airline phone number to move up our flights. The airline employees on-site could not change flights for us. The only way was by calling the old-fashioned way. Although this sounds easy, it was not. We had booked this quick flight from Puerto Natales to Santiago through a South American Airline. A call resulted in talking to a man with broken English and with weak cell reception. Garrett and Tom were diligent as they really wanted to get us on the earlier flight. After communication challenges, reception breaks, times on hold, and issues with paying via PayPal (the only means to pay for a change), the guys finally got us booked on the earlier flight.

Later Kristi and I talked about their resilience in getting this flight change accomplished. We both agreed that we would have given up the effort much earlier in the process. Koudos to our travel planners.

Feeling a sense of victory, our party of four walked back up to the airline bag check-in. Out with the passports and new confirmation numbers. As the airline attendant punched in numbers and looked at our paperwork, she brought in a co-worker to help her out. There was confusion. A conversation between the two in Spanish followed. Finally the second airline worker stated the problem.

“We don’t show Sandra on this earlier flight.”

Hmmmm…

My mind went straight for the worst-case scenario. Tom, Garrett, and Kristi would check their bags now and fly out. As for me, well I would stand here and read a book and take a later flight. Not optimal, but not the end of the world. But Tom and Garrett weren’t having it. With more back and forth on what was told to them in the rebooking and after more computer consternation, they found my name. I would be leaving too. Whew.

Adios, Puera Natales.

Hola, Santiago.

After a three-hour flight, we walked out of the Santiago airport terminal feeling like walking onto a beach. Sun. Warmth. Balmy weather. As our bones started to warm, our ears became accustomed to the constant bustle of a city. A taxi took us to our boutique hotel, Luciano K, nestled in the Bohemian district of the city. We were initially taken aback by all of the graffiti outside the buildings on the blocks surrounding our hotel. But were put as ease as we walked into the reception area, greeted by lovely hotel staff and a hotel with an eclectic South American feel.

The concierge gave us a detailed map, circling many options he thought we would enjoy for dinner. Similar to our Punta Arenas experience, we found ourselves again walking in circles not finding any of these restaurants. Garrett was also trying to follow directions to find a pharmacy. He had developed a cold and needed some meds. After getting our steps in, we finally found both the pharmacy and the restaurant area. Unsure how we could have missed this hopping haven of art vendors, outdoor patios, and music, we were thrilled to be comfortable at sunset in t-shirts and shorts. The food and atmosphere were excellent.

This restaurant district was just a few walking blocks from our hotel. Garrett was ready for bed to conquer his cold and take in his new meds. Tom, Kristi, and I decided to have a nightcap at the rooftop hotel bar. Enjoying our drinks, all the loud sounds of the city filled the air. Such a stark comparison from Patagonia just the night before. From honking horns to marching bands (I guess that’s a thing on weekend nights in Santiago), we took it all in. We were certainly getting cultured from all areas of South America on this trip. With a final ‘salute’, we were off to bed.

Back in our room, Garrett was fast asleep and I was happy to have both a toilet and shower a short walk from our bed. No more communal bathrooms. Nestling in with a book and ready for bed, a strange thing happened. The hotel landline phone started ringing. Huh? I had no idea they even worked. Confused, I found the button to answer the phone. The lady calling did not speak English but I did understand that she was calling from the front desk. After much back and forth, I finally understood what she was asking.

Front Desk Lady “Do you need hair conditioner?”

Me “Oh! No, I do not need hair conditioner. I have hair conditioner and it is wonderful. Thank-you!”

She still sounded confused but with a gracias, she hung up.

Ready to call it a night, Garrett stirred next to me.

“Hey, did the front desk call back about the air conditioner? It isn’t working.”

Oops.

Our Final EcoCamp Good-Byes