Location: Santiago

There is something inherently wrong with waking up EARLIER to fly back from your cruise ship than the time you needed to wake up each day to spot whales just a short time ago. Oh, well – at least the temperature was above freezing.

A “quick” four-hour hop and we are back in Santiago. I’m a bit special, it seems. My Iguazu Falls add-on started when I landed, so I had a separate taxi to the hotel, even tho many other cruisers who are going home are sharing the same hotel. PS: If you ever visiting Santiago, the Mandarin Oriental hotel is at least two-stars better than the NH Collection.

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Here was a hand-painted chart auctioned off last night to support the crew fund. The artist was the head bar-tender, and the ship’s navigator drew in our actual path – almost 1900 nautical miles. We got as far south as Petermann Island at just over 65° south. When the auction bid starts at double what you’d pay for it and ends 20x more, you kind of know the folks you are traveling with.

The auction occurred right after the expedition guide farewell. There were a good group of professional guides and PhD scientists.

We made good time across the Drake Passage and had to wait a few hours for our sister ship the Silver Cloud to vacate the pier. Whereas the Silver Wind is heading north, I think the Cloud is crossing the Atlantic straight to western and southern Africa.

I arrived in Santiago early enough to do some tourist stuff, but it’s Sunday afternoon and nothing is really open. In addition, it’s just late enough that I can’t spend much time and any one place anyway. So I just rode the hop-on/hop-off bus for the full 2+ hour circuit and took pictures off the side.

Here is a bottom-view of the Gran Torre Costanera, tallest building in South America, 62 stories.

Here is the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center. The building was the capitol and “parliament” during the Pinochet dictatorship. I kind of like that irony.

And finally, some Americana – Route 66 restaurant and bar. I did not know the highway went so far south (it doesn’t).

OK, I am eager to sleep in a bed that doesn’t move with the waves. I have two days of traveling – one day to Buenos Aires and one day to Iguazu Falls National Park. I don’t know how the internet will be, so there may be some delays. Right now the Mandarin wants to charge me for WiFi, so I’m using my phone. I’ll wait on uploading the Silversea cruise video to when it won’t cost me a zillion pesos.