Questioning Our Resolve to Travel

If you know me or follow my blogs then you know I'm a Type A travel planner. That includes always have a Plan A and Plan B (and probably a Plan C). Most often our trips go off without a hitch - but you just don't know when things aren't going to work out as planned.

Like today.

We left San Francisco for Puerto Natales, Chile with three flights ahead of us - having layovers in Atlanta and Santiago. Landing early in Atlanta, we were all in good spirits. Until we got the dreaded text: your flight has been delayed. That was a bit of an understatement. The truth was that our plane was waiting to clear mechanical issues and Delta clearly didn't know for sure if it was going to leave at all. We spent the next 7 1/2 hours trying to figure out how to get ourselves to the little Chilean town of Puerto Natales. There were no flights available and our chances of getting there within the next 48 hours looked grim. The trip that we hadn't even started was quickly starting to fall apart. If we had no way to get to our first destination, then how could we get to the next, and the next?

Out the plane window flying over the Andes Mountains, I caught a mountain in the shape of a question mark - ironically summing up my mood of the day

This is a good time to tell you our itinerary. The first week we would be hiking through two countries in Patagonia. Then we ease up with visiting a "world's largest" waterfall separating Argentina and Brazil, followed by spending several days at the beach (it's summertime down here in South America), and ending with a few nights in Rio de Janeiro. It isn't until you start planning a trip like this - spanning 3 countries and way more surface area than the United States - that you discover it's virtually impossible to fly between these countries. All of our border crossings would be by land and our non-US flights are only domestic.

Our 18 day itinerary across South America

Back to the dilemma at hand - standing in the way of us and our glorious plans …

Stuck indefinitely at Atlanta's airport, we stood in line at services desks, waited in phone queues, and scoured the internet for a solution. And got nowhere. We booked backup flights that we then had to cancel as each hour was added to our delay. I always imagined I'd be a great contender for The Amazing Race tv show, but now I was questioning my capabilities. Finally they let us board the plane to Santiago - so we did. It was our best (and only) option at the moment.

Landing in Santiago sucks. They have a very strict customs policy: no animal or plant products. (Technically, you can try to bring them in but you must declare them.). I had the kids on alert to not accidentally bring in any forbidden products and risk the $300 fine. Our bags were pristine. Customs was actually a breeze - we x-rayed our bags and walked right through. The 1 1/2 hour pain was getting past border control. There was a sea of people and the agents had to write a book on each person entering. You don't want to be in a hurry here or have a flight to catch! (Allow at least 2 hours for connecting flights.)

After running over to Santiago's domestic terminal, we finally got some good news: we were able to grab 7 seats on a flight to a different small town in southern Chile. From there we could catch a bus the rest of the way to our destination. And still arrive to Puerto Natales for the first night of our lodging reservation!

Relieved and happy to find a flight to Patagonia

Our traveling group of 7: Chris, Vivian, Jeremy, Lucas, Kate and Greg

Flying down the length of Chile, staring out the window on an exceptionally clear day, was captivating due to its extreme geography. It was quite a show! The unusual landscape made me wonder: What percent of Chile is uninhabited? A huge majority of it! 

Fun Fact: 73% of Chile's territory is considered uninhabitable or sparsely populated

Flying over the Southern Patagonian Ice Field with views of vast icefields, blue glaciers, and so many glacial lakes

The unmistakable sharp, dramatic granite spires of Fitz Roy - the iconic logo of the Patagonia clothing brand - was instantly recognizable. I got so excited I accidentally swallowed my gum! I decided to take the odds of capturing the stunning view as a sign that the trip was back on track. If things go as planned, this was a a preview of what's to come!

We landed in Punta Arenas, Chile - at the end of the world - and waited for a bus. The wind made me shiver uncontrollably. "It's a little Chile in Chile," Viv said, realizing and remembering the second she said it that everything is fair game for the blog.

Finally at 11pm we arrived at our lodging for the next 3 nights, with take-out burgers in hand - out first solid food of the entire day. Man, what a day today was! It truly tested my resolve to travel. We sure did raise some tough travelers, who didn't peep a single complaint in the enduring 39 hour test. Technically two full days, I can't remember the last time we have journeyed for so long to get to a destination - but we've never been to the end of the world before! The lows were so low it made the simplistic highs so high! The dramatic scenery was drop-dead gorgeous. I can't wait to get out and see more!

"Omg I am getting revived right now," said Jeremy at 11:50pm drinking his beer and eating the humongous burger

Logistics:

• Getting tickets for the bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales from either of the 2 bus companies was a pain. We waited until we arrived so we would not miss our reservation. Despite reading that you can buy tickets directly on the bus, we could not. Unfortunately you have to buy the tickets online at least 30 minutes prior to the bus's departure. The guy explained to me that they need that time (~30 minutes) to issue the tickets. Departure times listed are actually from the town of Punta Arenas; add 20-30 minutes for it to get to the airport.

• Had we stayed in Punta Arena, one of the most popular activities is to see the penguins on Isla Magdelena.