G’day Folks. It’s time to start reviewing this trip that I was on between April and August. From when I started travelling in 1999 to 2011 I managed three BIG trips of between 7 and 12 months. And in the middle there some 6 – 8 week trips as well. But then life happened, responsibilities grew, and so since 2011 I have not really had the chance for seriously long travel. Although I did manage the one three-month trip in there back in 2023.

With Long Service Leave available and my 50^th birthday approaching, 2025 would be the year that I got to do some longer term travel. Sure, not half a year or more, but four and a half months was a decent slab, and so I took the opportunity to go ‘round the world’. I thought I would be different and go against the spin of the Earth this time, as my two previous round the world trips had been the far more common way of going with the rotation.

I now know that having too much time to plan a round the world trip is more of a curse than a blessing, and really I had a mind to it after Dhaka to Dakar in 2023, although I had two short overseas getaways in the interim. The more places you research, the more places you want to squeeze into your itinerary and when it ends up being 21 countries and you have four and a half months, that’s 5 – 6  days per country on average. Some places are basically just quick stops I guess, such as Chile and I was only a few hours in Honduras, but I decided to count Honduran because I was physically stamped in and out of the country.

Anyways, time swung round to the 10^th of April, the day before I would leave, and the trip was underway because I booked in at the Ibis Styles at Melbourne Airport to avoid getting up super early to catch the first flight.

The 11^th came along, and I was able to walk to the airport from the Ibis in about ten minutes and before the sun came up I was checked in for the first leg of the trip. The 11^th would technically be a day of 37 or 38 hours for me, I was heading via Auckland to Santiago on Air New Zealand and Latam. They were able to check my bag all the way through but I would need to sort out the boarding pass for the second flight at Auckland. I was leaving Melbourne at 830am and leaving New Zealand in the early evening, but arriving in Santiago de Chile in the middle of the same afternoon, basically arriving there a few hours before I left Auckland thanks to crossing the international date line.

The first flight was on time from what I remember and fine. At Auckland Airport I must have had a few hours, I think I fell asleep at some point, the boarding pass was printed at the gate not long before departure for Latam.

Both flights were fine, both in Economy. I slept three or four hours in total which is pretty good for me as I’m not great at sleeping when I don’t have a bed. And I’m talking a regular bed. There’s something quite weird about waking up in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with the windows controlled by a button, turning the window ‘up’ I guess and discovering it’s extremely bright out there when you left at 7 or so the previous evening. In fact it was probably middle of the night Melbourne time when I did that.

I entered Chile on a transit visa. I knew that my flight out was less than 72 hours after my flight in, and so I applied at the end of January to get this visa online. I checked regularly on the application, a month or more later and still no action, so I actually went into the consulate in Melbourne to chase up the status. Apparently it’s not uncommon for them to sit on applications for ages and approve them last minute! Anyways, when I was there the lady took my passport number and checked on the application, said it would be ready within 48 hours. And it was. I guess it’s frustrating that nothing gets actioned until you follow up, but such is life.

Arriving at Santiago and leaving the airport I was rather confused about where the free airport shuttle to he Hilton Garden Inn picked people up from. I received instructions from multiple people but no-one had bothered to say it was actually inside a multi level carpark, so that was again a bit frustrating but once I finally worked it out, I just caught the bus on that particular run as was whisked to the hotel where I was pretty comfortable the time I was there.

The first night I slept early and long, but I did manage to get out and about on my first full day in Santiago and wander about. The city is okay, can’t say it impressed me but I didn’t mind it either. I received a few warnings on safety in Santiago, but generally I felt okay although the taxi in went through some areas where people were clearly doing it super tough.

I saw the Moneda Palace which is the Presidential Palace, it backs onto a cultural centre as well. A wander past a bunch of interesting buildings took me to Plaza de Armas, often the name of the main square in cities in South America. Right in the centre of that I did feel slightly uneasy. It clearly doubles as home for a number of people there, and Mr Two Cameras and a Phone no doubt stuck out like a sore thumb.

Nevertheless, it’s somewhat picturesque and has the impressive Metropolitan Cathedral adjoining. I checked out the market too and walked a lot this day, making my way by metro to the Cerro San Cristobal, a mountain overlooking the city where I took a gondola ride. Impressive views of Santiago flanked by mountains on each side.

I had walked a lot of steps and that was my day in Santiago. Back to the hotel, not far from the airport, where I spent the next day prepping for Central America – Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua on the menu for the next few weeks! Would I recommend Santiago to the visitor? Probably not but I know Chile on the whole is very beautiful and scenic. My break on the way to Central America done, it was time to get serious!

Thanks for popping by! May the Journey Never End!