Weeknote 75

Hola Chile!

• Leading up to my time off for a well earned holiday, the past week was kept busy preparing for my trip and meeting a friend for pizza at Theo’s in Elephant & Castle.
• Friday we departed for Chile and, thanks to a friend, got a lift straight to Heathrow to save us the hassle of taking the slow, crowded Piccadilly Line.
• It was my first ever flight from Terminal 5. During my Uni days I used to cycle over from my halls of residence there just to chill out at the coffee shop and do some plane spotting just outside departures.
• The flight to Madrid went smoothly and I’d a brief walk through the magnificent Barajas airport terminal before catching the flight to Santiago, Chile. We were delayed an hour on ground by a false positive technical check but other than that the 12 hours to Chile flew by.
• It was quite a spectacle to see the Andes from above as we made our approach in to Santiago.
• On arrival in Chile it was pleasing to see so many dogs, even before the border control! I have to say the Chilean border control scrutiny felt like a breeze compared to entering the USA and Canada back in 2016.
• After a freshen up at a friend’s house we went for lunch at a lovely relaxing restaurant, Doña Tina. Their empanadas and pastel de choclo were delish!
• Sunday was a chance to relax and enjoy time visiting the markets for browsing and food. Our Airbnb has the most amazing views across Santiago and can’t wait to try the rooftop pool.
• More on my trip next week.