Customs and traditions and flight to Calama

Those who expect hot and noisy South Americans in Chile will be disappointed. Chileans are surprisingly calm and not particularly loud. Compared to here, European markets or train stations/airports are much louder. The term "Prussia of South America" is definitely accurate.

Another experience is that when formally saying goodbye, women and men kiss each other on the right cheek. As a "Gringo," I had to learn that this custom has absolutely nothing to do with the socialist or Southern European brotherly kiss, where you also offer the left cheek... and I made a fool of myself ;-)

By the way, German tourists stand out by going on a 2 km easy hike in the Taunus with full equipment and exclusively branded clothing. Jack Wolfskin, The North Face, Schoffel, as far as the eye can see....

I'm trying to "survive" the trip with clothes from Lidl and WOOLWORTH... Let's see if that's possible...

The flight to the north to Calama in the Atacama Desert was unspectacular, but the view from the window seat (which I took, contrary to my usual habits) was spectacular (a few pictures attached)

It should be mentioned that I met an older couple who had a Greek passport in hand. When asked where they were from, they said Spili, Crete. Those in the know know what that means... The world is really small ;-)