Hello from Santiago!
After a long, ardous journey, I am glad to say that I have finally reached Chile. My trip started in JFK Airport early Tuesday morning, my flight to San Salvador with TACA Airlines was scheduled to leave at around 9:30. The snow from the previous weekend created many delays inlcuding our flight. It was pushed back to 2 PM, which meant that there was no way that I would make my 2 connecting flights. It didn´t take long to realize that this was not going to go exactly as planned.
When the plane landed in San Salvador, TACA had about 20 passengers that were going to be stranded there for the night. They so generously transported us to the beautiful InterContinental Hotel in the heart of the city. They payed for our plush rooms, a fabulous dinner, and breakfast. Everyone was in good spritis.
At this point some of us had gotten to know eachother a bit so we sat down for dinner together. It ended up evolving into a 4 hour long discussion about everything taboo: politics, religion, war, and soccer. We had myself, the sole woman, a Peruvian telenovela star, a Canadian lawyer, a Marine, and a Brazilian profesor. Although I was exhausted, it was so interesting to hear the different opinions that my new companions had based on their past experiences and background. After a few hours, we unanimously decided to return to our rooms to sleep. My bed was about 6ft wide!!! I could lay completely across and have my head and feet still on the mattress.
6 AM the next morning some of us were back to the airport for our next flight to Lima, Peru. It was a bit odd to me when one if the gentlemen wanted a group picture considering we had known eachother for only 1 night but it just goes to show how quickly people can bond. We arrived safely there at about 1 in the afternoon when myself and another college student from Colby were informed that we would have another long wait until our final flight which now left at 10 PM. Yay!
My flight arrived in this mornig at about 3:30 AM. I had an oportunity to stretch out and get some shut-eye until the pubic bus arrived at 7. I came straight to the hostel, La Casa Roja, and crawled into a dorm bed. After a total of 55 hours of traveling, it was the best feeling to have officially reached me final destinatin.
I have a couple of things to do around Santiago as well as explore the city and celebrate New Years. Then I am off to the City of Los Angeles to Camp Colhue.
Enjoy the snow and fireworks!
Charlotte
After a long, ardous journey, I am glad to say that I have finally reached Chile. My trip started in JFK Airport early Tuesday morning, my flight to San Salvador with TACA Airlines was scheduled to leave at around 9:30. The snow from the previous weekend created many delays inlcuding our flight. It was pushed back to 2 PM, which meant that there was no way that I would make my 2 connecting flights. It didn´t take long to realize that this was not going to go exactly as planned.
When the plane landed in San Salvador, TACA had about 20 passengers that were going to be stranded there for the night. They so generously transported us to the beautiful InterContinental Hotel in the heart of the city. They payed for our plush rooms, a fabulous dinner, and breakfast. Everyone was in good spritis.
At this point some of us had gotten to know eachother a bit so we sat down for dinner together. It ended up evolving into a 4 hour long discussion about everything taboo: politics, religion, war, and soccer. We had myself, the sole woman, a Peruvian telenovela star, a Canadian lawyer, a Marine, and a Brazilian profesor. Although I was exhausted, it was so interesting to hear the different opinions that my new companions had based on their past experiences and background. After a few hours, we unanimously decided to return to our rooms to sleep. My bed was about 6ft wide!!! I could lay completely across and have my head and feet still on the mattress.
6 AM the next morning some of us were back to the airport for our next flight to Lima, Peru. It was a bit odd to me when one if the gentlemen wanted a group picture considering we had known eachother for only 1 night but it just goes to show how quickly people can bond. We arrived safely there at about 1 in the afternoon when myself and another college student from Colby were informed that we would have another long wait until our final flight which now left at 10 PM. Yay!
My flight arrived in this mornig at about 3:30 AM. I had an oportunity to stretch out and get some shut-eye until the pubic bus arrived at 7. I came straight to the hostel, La Casa Roja, and crawled into a dorm bed. After a total of 55 hours of traveling, it was the best feeling to have officially reached me final destinatin.
I have a couple of things to do around Santiago as well as explore the city and celebrate New Years. Then I am off to the City of Los Angeles to Camp Colhue.
Enjoy the snow and fireworks!
Charlotte
Me relaxing at my first hostel
