Day 1 and 2: E-ville to Santiago (five hours ahead of E-ville)
SFO Terminal 2 art: Jim Melchert
THB didn't take pics of the members of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame plaques
THB and DB make it to Santiago and check-in early at Singular, and THB starts blogging. The flights both got off to strange starts. The flight to Atlanta was delayed when 10-12 people and their carry-ons go off the flight. Since we were in biz class, we got a close-up view of one distraught woman complaining she doesn't want to check her bag because the last time everything inside got broken. She and her partner don't get back on, guess they will be taking a later flight. Everyone else does get back on, without their bags.
Sunset over the Atlanta airport, taken from the Delta lounge
A few minutes late doesn't make any difference to THB, we have a 4+ hour layover in Atlanta before the flight to Santiago. This time the action is behind us: the plane is held up waiting for Fifty - 50 - people who have not boarded. That goes on for 30-45 minutes. Finally they show up. More waiting: the extra baggage means the wait, er, weight, in the luggage bins (not those over the seats, the ones where all the checked backs are stuffed) needs to be re-arranged. THB has a great view of the machinations going on outside.
Aside: The flight to Santiago is met by ten wheelchairs and the chair pushers, breaking the old record by four. These are not for 20% of the 5-0 late-comers, these were all people who showed up in plenty of time to use all the extra time planned for pre-boarding. And since the flight left about an hour late, they didn't need to get on early.
Being late isn't an issue in Santiago either, the arrival is at 8am instead of 7am. We're at the Singular; we've stayed here before, along with 3 or 4 other Santiago hotels. It is amazing how many times we've flown through here. It is hot and smoggy (summertime here!) and the city is located in midst of dry mountainous territory.
We're in time for breakfast at the Singular. First, we check-in and go upstairs to our lovely suite (we booked for early arrival, so we could recover from the red-eye asap).
Second aside: Sometimes (a lot of the time?) THB can be negative and complain about all the ordinary little glitches of traveling (and THB does a lot of traveling, and thus it seems like a lot of complaining. Just imagine if you were getting a daily post of THB's entire life...how miserable would that be...plenty miserable). Okay back to the Singular...
The suite is lovely, it is just that THB and DB and the bell-guy can't see the suite. The keys issued at the desk won't open the suite door. THB and DB try them every which-way, the bell-guy tries them every which-way and then uses his master key, which works.
Here's the strange part: the keys issued by the desk work the elevator and the master electrical switches in each of the suite's room. They just didn't work the door to the suite.
Then the safe doesn't work, and Max (THB and DB are now on first name basis with bell-guy) can't get it work either. Since we are going downstairs to get the room keys fixed, we discuss the safe issue with the desk. The desk guy comes up, no luck. They will get someone right on it.
Not exactly. The desk guy can't get the safe to work. After that, the repair is always 15 minutes away. We have breakfast, in the front yard outdoor patio. This is our second breakfast, the one on the plane was excellent. This one is also nice, and eating outside very nice. Included in room rate.
Department of Travel Advisory's: Why do you need a travel agent? THB sends a Whatisthisapp (how did this happen, THB can't explain it or why texting is no longer a thing) message to our local Chilean travel coordinator saying that THB is spending all his time at the hotel trying to get things settled rather than: napping, taking a shower, more napping, resting up some more for our afternoon meet-up with SA and DA. Barbie (her real name?), the local person, contacts the hotel and THB may be getting a refund for his now not so early check-in. THB didn't have to explain his frustration to the desk...well, at least not to the point of asking for a refund.
Art shot of the day
Safe problem solved: Housekeeping has a safe-whisperer on staff. Around 4 she shows up and it is an easy solution: you have to hold the safe door in tight when starting the operation to set the code. Easy-peasy. She was very cheerful, obviously experienced (could easily have worked at Singular for 20 years before Covid decimated staffing), and gave a great how-to-use-the-safe lesson.
THB get to go shopping: not among the 10 pounds of cables, cords, and adapters that have made it to Santiago is just a straightforward i-phone lightning bolt/data cable (with some sort of USB connector). A stroll in the heat a few blocks from the hotel is a "we sell a version of everything" mini-store and for 3,000 pesos ($2.40) THB has a bit more to carry...and a cable that makes uploading pics to the computer super easy.
SA and DA arrive around 4:30ish, and we dine upstairs on the roof, outdoors: drinks and shared plates. $95 and much to discuss (will THB and DB be going on another trip with SA and DA? Stay tuned).
Off for gelato for dessert: $5 for 3 scoops (THB only has one very generous scoop)
Aside No 15 (Okay, THB doesn't really want to be accused of whining...) Arriving back from dinner and gelato, there is a strong sewage smell in the hallway and front of the suite. Call down, someone from maintenance arrives with his ladder and sticks his head in the ceiling for 10 minutes...fixed?
THB is wondering if his bout of Covid has dulled his sense of smell...maybe? Now all he needs is a sewage smelling dog!
Aside No 911: If you swear to secrecy, THB won't talk about the lack of hot water, the music coming through the wall or the fire drill scheduled for 2am. And, that's your two truths and a lie for this post.
Book Review: Dead In The Water, A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy, Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel (audio, read by Derel Perkins): Well narrated, a easy-to-understand story from 12 years ago of a hijacked ship, with excellent explanations of the shipping industry, the crooks who pull of the insurance fraud, how Lloyds of London works, how the British courts work, and how easy it is to forget the main victim. Highly Recommended
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