Starting from the end...

As mentioned previously, Laura and I kept a video journal while traveling through Patagonia and beyond. I'm in the process of uploading and editing those and will post them when I'm finished.

Until then, I've posted my last video journal entry below. It was taken on the fifth night after coming back from waiting for a standby flight at Santiago International airport.



A lot of people wondered how I became "stuck" in Santiago. Before I left for my trip, I bought a buddy pass from a friend who is a flight attendant for Skywest, a United and Delta Airlines affiliate. A buddy pass is simply a heavily discounted ticket that allows me to fly coach, first or business. The catch is since the buddy pass is considered non-revenue, I had to fly standby. Flying standby means I get a seat only if there are seats available and the plane isn't over its weight restriction for passenger and cargo loads. Sounds easy enough, right? It was definitely easy enough flying to South America so I didn't consider the system in which buddy passes operate under until I had problems flying out.

There is a ranking system for non-revenue standby passengers. Non-revenue passengers include those who work for the airlines, retired airline employees and their friends/family who fly with buddy passes. If there are seats available for non-revenue standby passengers, those seats first go to active employees and then to retired employees. Only after these employees are offered a seat are buddy pass passengers offered seats, assuming there are seats left. Furthermore, buddy pass passengers are ranked according to the start date of when their friend or family member began working for the airlines. Basically because I was a buddy pass passenger and my friend's start date was in late 2006, I was always at the bottom of the standby list. Unfortunately for me, because it was summer in Santiago, it was also peak travel time for Chileans meaning passenger and cargo loads were consistently heavy.

Fortunately for me, I have friends and family friends in high places; They are pilots and former airline employees. (Get it? Friends in high places, airline employees?) I was able to get on as a guest traveler for American Airlines. Their non-revenue passenger system works a little differently. Active and unactive employees still get first priority. However, priority of friends and family guest travelers is determined by how long the guest traveler has been waiting for a flight out. It basically became a waiting game for me on American Airlines.

I won't lie. Repeatedly being denied a seat home wore on me a bit. It was depressing because I had put myself in the mind frame of "I'm going home" so I was ready and prepared to do that. It was also frustrating because everything was absolutely out of my control. The only thing I could do was show up every evening at the airport to wait for a seat. (Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't actually living at the airport. I had a hostel bed and took public transportation to the airport.) After the first night, I put my game face on and did well at not worrying about it. I figured it'll happen when it happens and all I could do was make the most of where I was. It was not until the sixth night when after talking with family and friends who were sure I'd get on that evening that I'd set my hopes high.

I can't remember the last time I cried besides while watching a sappy movie. I am either blessed or cursed with rarely feeling sorry for myself, remembering how insignificant my problems are compared to others and knowing how small I am in this massive universe. But on Sunday, my sixth night, I opened the floodgates and it all came pouring out. I was at a loss. It was the first night I seriously considered forking out the two grand to purchase a one-way ticket home. I also looked into flights to Lima, Peru for $700 where I felt more confident about flying out on a buddy pass because the passenger loads appeared less heavy. After mulling it over, I decided to give Santiago International one more try and on my seventh night, I escaped.

Thanks to everyone who helped, sent words of encouragement or said a prayer on my behalf. I am incredibly lucky to have so many friends and family who care about me!

PS For those who are curious, all 3 bottles of wine made it to Sacramento.

Stuck in Santiago

It's day number 8 in the Santiago area. With more energy and cooler weather, I probably would have only needed 5 days here. Unfortunately, my departure date is no longer controlled by me; I am at the mercy of Delta Airlines.

I am experiencing the joys of flying standby. While I am optimistic about being able to fly home tonight, I won't know for sure if I'll get on until less than 30 minutes before my plane is scheduled to leave. It was a madhouse last night at Santiago International. I've never seen so many people with their fingers crossed. The anticipation of getting on the plane was akin to playing BINGO, but instead of waiting for my last number to be called, I was waiting to hear my name. And like BINGO, it never happened.

I guess some people have been trying to fly out of the city for over a week. If I don't get on by tomorrow night, that will be me. Apparently, all major South American cities are experiencing an overload of non-revenue passengers and cargo, so there's not much point in seeking a different departure airport. But like I said, I'm staying optimistic. Perhaps the fates would like me to develop a better attitude about Santiago before I leave. Things can always be worse, right?

Careful What You Wish For

Santiago is hot. This is what I wanted, so I can't complain. It's actually not too bad, a dry heat like Sacto. The weather is completely different from Patagonia. Funny how a few degrees of latitude and the world's third largest ice field can change things.

Laura and I partied like animals on New Years Eve. We spent the remaining hours of 2009 with a friend wandering the tourist town of El Calafate to find dinner. I kid you not, we were turned away from every single restaurant in that town except one because we didn't have reservations. The one that didn't turn us away did not have any vegetarian dishes. (You should feel sorry for me.) I didn't think I could go any lower than instant mashed potatoes for Christmas Eve dinner and frozen vegetables for Christmas dinner in Torres del Paine. My last dinner of 2009 consisted primarily of cheese and crackers that I bought from the equivalent of a convenience store. (Now you should feel really sorry for me!) Good company helped a lot and we rang in 2010 with fellow travelers in our hostel common room and with the fireworks of strangers on the streets. We considered going out afterwards, but the bars and disco didn't open until 2am and I'm a senor citizen when it comes to staying out late.

Laura and I left Patagonia sometime between January 1st and the 5th. No, I didn't go through some sort of time warp during those days, I am just unsure if Bariloche is considered to be in Patagonia. Some say it the northenmost point of Patagonia while others consider it solely in the Lakes District. Maybe the Lakes District is in Patagonia? Whatever. We spent our first day in 2010 waiting at the airport for first a cancelled flight and then a delayed flight. We arrived in Bariloche around 11pm and wandered the streets going door to door looking for a hostel with open beds. Not fun, especially with all of the tacky souveniers, I mean goodies, I've accumulated. Finally someone took pitty on us and offered to call around to hostels so we no longer had to wander. We checked into one of the dodgiest hostels I've ever slept in and promptly checked out the next morning.

After being active hikers, backpackers and even ice climbers south of Bariloche, Laura and I settled into a somewhat lazy routine and became normal sightseers. Neither of us are big shoppers, but in the 3 days we spent in Bariloche, we mostly shopped; chocolate, t-shirts, artesenal crafts...the usual. In the spirit of doing something strenuous in every town we've been to, we did manage to hike up to Cerro Campanario for what was rated by National Geographic as one of the top 10 vistas in the world. It was definitely an amazing view. (See video at end of blog.) There were lakes as far as my eyes could see. But one of the top 10 vistas in the world? Maybe National Geographic meant one of the top 10 vistas in the world accessible by mechanical means rather than soley by foot. Laura and I attempted to sneak onto the chairlift for a free ride down. The man assisiting people onto the chairlift wasn't checking tickets, but he took one look at us and banished us to the dusty steep path back down the mountain. I realize we didn't look like the "see Patagonia from an expensive tour bus" type of tourists, but I didn´t think we looked like grungy empty-pocketed backpackers either. We're simply budget travelers looking for a good deal. And if that means hiking up a mountain to see a world renowned view rather than paying $AR30 for the chairlift, so be it. With that being said, after our mountaintop ascent and descent, instead of taking the bus, we hitchhiked back to town. (Mom and Dad, you didn't read that last part.)

Bariloche was a taste of the warmer temperatures to come. From there, we moved from t-shirt and jeans weather to shorts and tanktop weather in Santiago. Except it's too hot to wear tanktops because the sun is so strong. I've chosen my walking paths around the city according to shade and spent one afternoon with Laura and Grace sitting at a cafe and another with Grace playing Scrabble rather than exploring because we were so hot and lazy to do anything else.

I don't feel like I've given it my all as far as exploring Santiago. There are four reasons for this; 1) I don't have a guidebook so I have no idea what I'm missing out on. 2) While traveling, I met two Chileans on two separate occasions who both told me there's nothing to do in Santiago. 3) It feels and looks like LA. Been there, done that. 4) Did I mention it's hot? I have seen what I think to be all the major points of interest; Cerro San Cristobal, Santa Lucia, the Precolumbian Museum, Central Market, Constitucional Square, Plaza de Armas and La Moneda Palace. I even went on a day excursion to outlying wineries Vina Cousino Macul and Concha y Toro as well as a weekend excursion to Valparaiso and Vino Del Mar where I neglected to apply sunscreen to certain parts of my body and learned firsthand of the "big-ass hole" in the ozone layer (as one Chilean on the subway described it).

So I've had my share of sun and I'm ready for the cold and rain of Sacramento. In fact, I'm dreaming of cutting through fluffy white stuff with sharpened and waxed skis. If only flying home were as easy as it sounds...



PS Laura and I took a video journal regularly during our trip. I plan to upload all of them and post them for your viewing pleasure when I get home and they have been edited. Stay tuned!