Not quite….after 9 1/2 hours in the air from Miami to Santiago, we had a 3 1/2 hour layover and THEN a 3 1/2 hour flight to Punta Arenas, our overnight stop before heading to Awasi tomorrow. Our friend Jim Comerford reminded us that he and Cleo made the trip from Chicago!! The good news? It’s just 20 minutes from the Punta Arenas airport to our hotel Rey Don Felipe. The bad news? We have a 5 hour drive ahead of us tomorrow! The hotel here is quite nice and they included a “welcome drink” as part of our package. Cliff enjoyed (maybe?) his and mine. I opted for a nice Chilean Cabernet savignon instead 🙂 Cliff took lots of pictures through the plane window on the way to Punta Arenas….I haven’t quite figured out how to grab them, but will post as soon as I do!
After a semi-misadventure trying to find a restaurant we’d picked out which involved a very steep hike and a walk through some iffy looking neighborhoods, we ended up having dinner at the hotel. It was terrific. I tried conger eel, which the waiter described as being like sea bass. He was right – but the eel tasted better and had a better consistency than a lot of sea bass I’ve had in the past. Cliff opted for lamb shank, also delicious. Promise not to make this a food travelogue…it’s just that day one didn’t have much else to report on!
Cliff enjoying our “welcome drinks.”
Photo below: this is what a conger eel looks like. Don’t think it’ll be an easy sell in the U.S. But very delicious. (Picture courtesy of the Internet!)
