I was through security quickly, and my gate was right next to security, so I didn’t even have to walk any distance to the gate. I did walk to get a breakfast sandwich.
We boarded the plane on time, then proceeded to sit for an hour before departing. As I watched my layover time in Atlanta get less and less, I thought to myself, great, I start off this adventure by missing my connecting flight. But, Delta frequently makes up time, so fingers were crossed.
Finally in the air. Goodbye Seattle!
When we were about an hour out from Atlanta, I asked the flight attendant what my chances were of making my flight to Santiago. She checked which gate I had to get to. Atlanta is a huge airport. I had to go from the A concourse to the international concourse (concourse E). According to the directions, it would take me 18 minutes. The flight attendant said I could make it as long as I went straight there. She said they knew we were getting in late. I vowed to make it in 12. I got off the plane as fast as I could, made my way to the train, and rode it for 5 stops. Once in the E concourse , I hustled to the gate. Well, there was no rush. The Team USA athletes for the Pan American Para Games were also flying to Santiago. Lots of wheelchairs means it takes awhile to board. I was ecstatic because that just gave more time for my baggage to get from one plane to the other. We ended up departing Atlanta about 45 minutes late. I had a longer layover in Santiago, but I also had a lot to do.
After 8 hours and 40 minutes, we touched down in Santiago, Chile. I had no idea if I had enough time, so I hustled. It was more of a hurry up and wait. I got through Passport Control pretty quickly. Then I had to go get the bag and boxes. It was at least a half hour before I finally saw my IKEA bag come on to the carousel. Then I had to wait another 15 minutes at Oversize to get the boxes. Once I had the cart loaded with everything, I had to go through customs. The bike box wouldn’t fit through the opening. I had to take it off the cart and carry it through. They ran all the stuff through the X-ray. Then I had to load it back on the cart and take it to domestic connection. Once I got rid of the baggage again, I had to hustle to the domestic terminal. Fortunately, I had my boarding pass. When I came out of the international terminal, there was a sign for Terminal 1. I went to the sign, and told the guy I was going to Terminal 1. He said to get in the cart. He took me over to Terminal 1
It’s quite aways.
In the domestic terminal, I had to go through security again. It was a long line, but moved steadily. Once again, I was cutting it close. I had a longish walk to the gate. I got there before boarding had started. I had 7 minutes until boarding started, and I was in “grupo 4”. I went and grabbed something to eat.
I boarded the plane, and the flight actually took off on time. Made it to Puerto Montt, even arriving 10 minutes early (wouldn’t you know…the only flight I didn’t have a time constraint). Even the bag and bike boxes arrived at baggage claim relatively quickly. I was texting Lani within 20 minutes of getting off the plane. She said she was waiting for the bus. She asked if I still wanted her to come. I said yes, but if I’d just waited 5 more minutes I could have saved her a long bus ride to and from the airport. As it was, a young man saw me pushing the cart with all the baggage, and asked if I was looking for a taxi. He said he had a van. I said yes, but I was waiting for a friend to come to the airport. By this time, I figured Lani was already on her way. The driver said it was okay, we could wait. But then Lani said she was still only about halfway there. The driver asked if I just wanted him to take me (I had the address of the apartment). I tried to text Lani, but the airport wifi wasn’t connecting well. Jorge, the driver told me to use the hotspot on his phone. I called Lani, and told her we were just going to go (which she thought was a better idea). Jorge and I loaded all the stuff in his van (like a Sprinter van size), and headed out. The van was very new, 2022. He said he can work more because the van is bigger than his old taxi. All the way to the apartment, Jorge taught me Spanish, and I taught him English. It was great! By the time we got to the apartment, he had given me his WhatsApp number, and said to call him if I had any questions or problems.
We pulled up, and Alex and Markus came out immediately! Alex was hugging me before I even got out of the van. It is so great to see them again! As usual, we picked up right where we left off, as if it hasn’t been 9 years since we last saw each other (when Christian and I visited them in 2014).
Since Lani was still on her bus adventure, we brought all the stuff into their apartment (two away from Lani and I). We chatted non-stop until Lani got back. Then I walked over to a small mercado with Alex and Markus to get something for dinner. Along the way there was this cute white bunny.
When we got back we moved all my stuff over to Lani’s and my place. Lani had gotten into her box while we were at the mercado. It was like Christmas had come early! She was so excited. I opened up Billy’s box. He survived all his plane transfers just fine. I got him all put together, mostly so we could clear the box out. Here’s a couple of photos of our apartamento.
Through the door in the corner is a washing machine.
Somewhat treacherous stairs going up to the bedrooms and bathroom.
My bedroom.
We are here for four days. Markus has a cold, and I have stuff to get (fuel and food, mostly). Plus, the weather is not supposed to be good. It is chilly here, but the sun came out (apparently I brought it with me), and it’s great to see all the leaves sprouting on the trees. It’s Spring!
I managed to stay up quite late, but now my eyes are getting bleary, and I can hardly see to type. More tomorrow! I’ve got good WiFi here.
1 comment:
Nice to hear that you and Billy made it successfully to Puerto Montt, and that all the plane connections worked out as planned. Wishing you all good weather, great cycling, and a tailwind!
Matt S.
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