Eastbay1K

Chile 2002 - Part III

Back to SCL once again.
27 Dec – SCL/PMC (Puerto Montt) 1100am – on a 763. Row 1 (the F sleepers) which are sold as J on this route. I was the only passenger up there. A cold ample snack was served, and I had to have a small amount of the Anakena Viognier, despite my impending car rental – otherwise I would have had more than a small amount. Efficient friendly service, but not as comprehensive as a year ago on the same route. As flight time is just about 1:30, its no big deal.

Arrival PMC – once again, quick and efficient luggage service. Then the fun begins.

Econorent – they had my reservation, but oops, my reserved car was not available. “We don’t have an automatic for you, will that be a problem?” Well, yes it was. She asked the other agents at the neighboring counters, and finally one did have an automatic. Although the company I rented from (oh, don’t ask the name, it doesn’t even appear on the contract) wanted to charge more, they agreed to honor the same rate that I was quoted for Econorent and we agreed to a modest over-hour charge for the extra few hours over the 4 days. The car, a Mazda 626 wagon with a seriously-cracked windshield, 115,000km, and ¼ tank gas (relevant later), was just a delight. But hey, it worked, and the transmission was automatic, and I was off…..

The drive into town isn’t too far, but I missed a turn. Fortunately, there was another sign “A Centro” shortly thereafter and it let me out right near the hotel. The Hotel O’Grimm – a very nice place – older, rooms not posh but basic decent lodging with a very nice staff, and a lively bar/restaurant with a great bartender who just makes pisco sours in a flash (the right way, cracking and separating a fresh egg for each shaker full). Also, a slow internet terminal in the lobby available for use. Good central location. That night was the one night I stayed out very late and had too much pisco. The next day I stayed around town.

The following day, I woke up to realize I hadn’t turned the TV off, but yet, it was off. The power was out, in fact, for the entire area (more than just the city). The hotel had a generator – enough to power only the lobby (which I could hear outside my window), and heated up some water for some delicious instant coffee. Yum. Breakfast was marginal, but I don’t know what the typical breakfast would be, as the power had been out much of the night. As I only had ¼ tank of gas, I was concerned with being able to drive far enough before finding an open gas station. The front desk assured me that they had heard reports that there was power in towns close enough so there shouldn’t be any problem, and gave me a card to call them if there was any problem.

And so I left, and the neighboring gas station did apparently have a generator. Gasoline is fairly expensive, but the lowest octane level is 93. And the word in Chileno for a full tank is “FULL”. The drive north is just lovely.

The “lake district”, for reference, reminded me a lot of the Pacific Northwest, from, say, Oregon through Southeast Alaska. I stopped in Puerto Varas, and Frutillar. Either would be delightful little towns to stay in if you are traveling with friends or someone special. They were really too close to Puerto Montt to switch hotels yet again. The volcanoes which are the backdrop to the lake are magnificent. I then drove to Osorno, which was my base for the final two nights.

Osorno – Hotel Innsbruck. A charming little place, with a small, clean room, the cheapest, but not disappointing at all. Breakfast was typically not-so-hot, but they actually prefer that you have it in your room, and before bedtime, you just tell them when you want it. When it doesn’t show up, you just call and its there in a few minutes. As I didn’t know where I was really going when I got into town (and another street had a name similar to that of my hotel), I stopped at Blockbuster Video, and the people at the desk pulled out the phone book, found the address, and kindly gave me directions.

Osorno is the least appealing city in the Lake District. But it served its purpose, which was cheap convenient lodging, and I didn’t realize in advance how close many of these towns were. Not much is going on there on a Sunday night, so I actually passed some time in an internet café.

The next day I drove to Valdivia, a charming town at the place two rivers meet. I should have stayed in Valdivia altogether, but it was no big deal that I didn’t. I had an absolutely delicious Congrio Frito for lunch, and walked and drove around the area. I finally returned to Osorno for my final night in Chile. The last glow of light in the night sky was at about 11pm, and the stars were abundant. The following morning I awoke to yet another beautiful day, and as my only remaining clean shirt was a hooded sweatshirt, I went to Falabella (a major department store chain) and spent CH$4.990 on a shirt.

I returned to the internet café to check on the flights, and noticed that my 767 had been changed to an A320 (where LA doesn’t offer any domestic J service) – so I called, and was assured I had a J seat. I then returned to PMC early, to say hi/bye to a few people I know, and then returned the car, and checked in, and was on my way home.

31 Dec – PMC/SCL LA A320. I was the only person in the J seats, but they apologized that it was to be a Y meal service despite the J reservation. Its only about 1:30, and its no big deal. The A320 J cabin has very ample pitch, and there was a choice of 3 hot entrees for the entire plane. I did receive J attentiveness. Unfortunately, the catering didn’t have the Anakena wine. Bag was checked through to LAX. The ground time at SCL was ample to enjoy the LA Lounge. It is very nice, with plenty of “banda ancha” internet terminals and a respectable array of goodies. My self-made cocktail was an Absolut Mandrin with Apricot Juice and Sparkling Water. Yum.

31 Dec – SCL/LAX LA A340. A delight to fly in F on LA. One row. There were two passengers and two flight attendants for us. When midnight came, I learned that traditionally, the women have to kiss/hug a man first, so (being the only one up front) I got the honor of giving about 5 flight attendants their first new year’s kiss. The other F pax was a delightful lady who I chatted with through the meal, and was so pleased I told her about the Anakena.

Other service notes – SCL/LIM/LAX is treated as one long flight, service-wise, with the full F dinner after SCL takeoff, a snack after LIM takeoff, and breakfast just prior to LAX arrival.

Dinner (not detailed)

Appetizers

Caviar
King Crab
Lamb Brochette
Crab Casserole

I had the Caviar and King Crab. The others didn’t look too appetizing. The Tattinger Comtes de Champagne was flowing, and tasty.

First Course

Salad
Tuna Carpaccio
Polenta with Serrano Ham

I had the Tuna – it was outstanding. I also had plenty of Anakena Viognier.

Soup Course – Creamy mushroom. It was good, but I just had a small sampling.

Main Course

Filete al Roquefort
Salmon con Salsa de Champagne
Pork Tenderloin
Gnocchi

I had the Filete. It was decent but not outstanding, with a taste of 2 different red wines which were decent but not exceptional. The private bread basket was served.

Fruit and Cheese course – I passed, but it was the standard fare.

Desserts – A choice of a meringue, cream with berries and nuts dish, or ice cream. I had the ice cream with the cherries from the fruit plate put in the bowl.


Snack
A bread basket, and a sandwich made to order with a choice of breads (I had ciabatta), and fillings, including Roast Beef, Turkey Breast, Pastrami, Prosciutto, Edam, Mozarella, tomate, and palta.

There was also a tomato basil soup, followed by a peach tart with vanilla ice cream and peach sauce, which I didn’t have.


Breakfast

I didn’t eat. Choices were:

Omelette with ham/mushrooms
Banana pancakes
Ham and Edam Sandwich

Arrival in LAX – we had a real gate, and immigration/customs were quick. Last year, same flight, same time, it took over an hour. The INSPASS office was also open, so I could renew the card after over a year of not having a valid card.

The walk over to UA (I decided to buy a one way ticket instead of waiting 13 hours for the only flight AS would put me on for the flight to SFO) was eventful only because it was the first day of the new checked baggage screening and it was nearly impossible to walk on the upper level, either inside, or on the sidewalk. I was zigzagging through the roadway, in and out of the buildings, and so on, just to make it through. I’ll stop with the details here, because this is about Chile and I won’t bore you with what ended up being a fairly unpleasant few hours, no fault of UA.

On to part IV – General notes and thoughts and tips about Chile