SANTIAGO - IQUIQUE 01/16/2023

It should have started in the early morning (4:45 am wake-up; 5:30 am shuttle service) today, but is it even earlier? !!As we went to bed last night, I remembered that Karin and I had to make an absolute hectic quick start not too long ago (trip to Daggi) because some alarm clock didn't work the way we wanted it to! So I also set the alarm time on my tablet. Sleep came quickly and so did deep dreams, because we had a long day ahead of us. When my tablet purred, I jumped up, turned off the alarm and woke up Karin. She also seemed quite sleepy, while I brushed my teeth and packed away the leftovers in the suitcase. We had promised Franzi to take off the sheets and so I fumbled around while Karin got ready in the bathroom. Then I took my tablets (oh yes, also a topic coming soon!?) closed my small backpack and wanted to put on my watch in the kitchen for coffee. When I glanced at the clock, I noticed with complete disbelief that it was only 12:45 am!? My tablet still hasn't fully adjusted to the fact that we are in Chile and I haven't adjusted to the fact that I apparently have to change some settings here. I can only swear: in Australia, everything happened automatically!!! When I informed Karin about the false start, I didn't receive much love in return, and the bed was made again and a quick "new sleep" could no longer be achieved! By the way, the second attempt with Karin's alarm clock worked brilliantly!

So we were super punctual at the airport (domestic part) and comfortably passed the security check and Franzi boarding. At the boarding machine, we received the tickets and a luggage tag, and at the counter, we checked in the suitcase weighing 21.3 kg for free, because she had the right credit card, which entitles the owner to free baggage. But all these advantages and offers can only be obtained and found if the language flows fluently from the tongue! We also checked in on time, although Franzi sat in row 8 (gold card/frequent flyer) and we in row 28, the last window. But being separated for two hours doesn't matter, as it would cost €10 per desired seat. No thanks! The plane was not completely booked, but Karin had a middle seat and I had a window seat. I had the camera ready, as the Andes were waiting for me on my side. The young man in the aisle seat quickly disappeared into his mobile movie and Karin went back to sleep! The plane slowly rolled to the runway and rolled and rolled but... didn't take off!? Then came the announcement we already knew about, about checking for technical problems, but only in Spanish! But even so, I noticed that at some point we started rolling again and we rolled and rolled...back to the airport. While standing and explaining in Spanish, Franzi came to us in the back and informed us and at the same time asked the stewardess to make announcements in English as well, because there were some foreigners on the plane! Shortly thereafter, it was announced (this time bilingual) that we had to leave the plane (A 320) and transfer to a replacement plane (A 321). Then the airport buses came and took us to the terminal building, where a woman from the ground staff met us and walked purposefully to a gate. This walk felt like a class trip to me, the teacher in front and behind her about 200 students! Other passengers were already waiting here, and we were guided past them directly. Tough luck? We hadn't even sat down yet when the plane was refueled in parallel and the luggage seemed to be transferred. In any case, we were supposed to take back our original seat numbers. Karin immediately noticed that this plane had a few more rows and retreated alone to a whole row of three seats! So I had more space, and the third man made himself more comfortable. With a delay of about 2 hours, we took off! Franzi informed our landlady in Iquique about our mishap and expressed the idea that there was something very special about us. She had never experienced such incidents twice before, she could only offer an emergency landing as a highlight. Well, let's just not think about it anymore!

In Iquique, the landing and transfer went relatively smoothly with a shared taxi. However, next time we could take our own taxi for the three of us, as it would have only cost us about €1 more. But it was not so clear to find out in the reception area. In the entrance hall to our Airbnb apartment, a house built in a similar way to Franzi's apartment in Santiago (concierge who called the landlady, delivery service that left ready-made food and groceries at the reception, lockers where things were stored, etc.), we waited for another 10 minutes before a young couple came and handed us the keys to the apartment on the 13th floor (Ap. 1303). They didn't come up with us, explained a few things, and then we took over. A living room with a balcony, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. Everything put together harmoniously and cozy. Not the latest standard, but exactly what I would expect. Great! Then Fran and I went out and Karin needed more sleep.

First, we took care of the excursions here in the area and found them relatively quickly, even though the guidebook and Google are not up to date. Franzi signed up for a tandem paragliding flight and sandboarding. She wanted to do both the next day. We will accompany her to sandboarding in the evening sun for a small fee and want to take a closer look at this fun sport. We planned a day trip for Wednesday, but we still have to discuss it with Karin. Then we visited the bus station and bought three tickets for the trip from Iquique to Calama. So taking the bus is the standard means of transportation here, and the bus stations are set up that way too: You usually find them on the outskirts of the city and often in not very well-maintained neighborhoods, so it's better to keep your backpack in front, although our landlady had informed us that the whole city is safe and nothing would be lost anywhere here. Based on our experiences, it's better to take the safe route. The next point was tablets: Somehow I miscalculated with my Bisoprolol tablets, which I have to take 5 mg in the morning and 5 mg in the evening. No wonder with so many tablets for 4 weeks. So I didn't have enough. On the internet, I found out that they are prescription-only in Chile. But visiting a doctor first and then seeing what happens afterwards was too time-consuming for us. Then it's better to split the tablets in half and thus extend the duration of intake, or try it directly. And see, I got a pack of 30 tablets with 2.5 mg active ingredient without any problems. So that will last for another 15 days and it fits. Great! Then off to a supermarket with very surprising prices (1 bell pepper about €1.6; 1 bottle of Gato white wine about €2.3; small piece of cheap cheese €4; 1 bottle of Peruvian Pisco sour €5.1; etc.) and home. It was only afterwards that we realized that we had almost walked through the notable and Lonely Planet recommended area on this tour.

On the way back, we discovered a nice Peruvian restaurant in a very short walking distance, which was to be our dinner place. An appetizer for the three of us with a kind of mustard sauce was the opener and then, actually ordered blindly, a mixed meat plate with additional charge options (handmade fries and cassava sticks). We should have asked about the quantity beforehand, but a blazing charcoal pit with a pan came to the table. The pan was piled high with four different types of meat (beef, chicken, pork/lama?) with three pieces each, and there were also fried sausages (blood and coarse). At the sight of this, we mentally ordered a big doggy box for each of us! No one could understand why we ordered a dessert of meringue tips with dulce de leche afterwards?! Madness, which cost us about €100 including drinks! For that, we will eat the remaining meat supplies for three more days and thus have about €33 food per day, which is very cheap! These were our final thoughts before going to sleep on the first night!