Santiago Series - Food, mouth watering food

I did not have time to read up about food in Chile. What a nice surprise then to have experienced some fabulous sea food, at reasonable prices (compared to UK). I asked the hotel concierge for recommendations and they directed me to two excellent seafood restaurants, one Chilean and one Peruvian.

A chef at Acqui esta Coco, a fabulous seafood restaurant

Octopus carpaccio, yummy

Seafood medley, delicious

Picarones, a Peruvian doughnut

The restaurant place mat, featuring the owner diving off a boat

Another great experience was dining at Astrid y Gaston, a restaurant serving quality Peruvian food and I was told, has outlets in various countries in Latin America.

Cancha, Andean corn nuts

Amuse bouche, octopus samosa

Seafood on a bed of squash with Peruvian salsa

Seared tuna with quinoa wrapped in banana leaf

But I must not forget the cafe next to the office where I went for lunch. It was a place that sells sandwiches, cakes, soups, hot food in small cartons, juices and drinks, and pizzas. Reading the shelf labels was a good way for me to learn some basic Spanish. On the second day I suffered from altitude sickness and was only able to manage a juice and a soup. The young staff there were delightful.

Caprioli cafe, Santiago 

Welcome freebie from hotel

Santiago Series - Memories of a charming city

This was such a fleeting visit, without any time to explore a city that I found oozing with European charm. More importantly, I felt safe to walk to the restaurant at night and back on my own without fear of being mugged. Is safety a reliable measurement of a city? Well to me it is. Travelling solo and in constant fear of being mugged does not engender any sense of enjoyment. Another solo female traveler from Bogota Colombia said this to me at Peru: "I've stopped wearing any jewelry since I no longer have to worry about being robbed." Santiago on the surface is clean, orderly, with good roads, and looks relatively prosperous, very different from a capital city like Sau Paulo where the dispossessed sleep in the rough in the city centre. The Pinochet years seemed a long time ago.

All the photos in this blog were taken on my iPhone 6 plus.

View from the office

Another view from the office

Yet another view from the office

They put me on the 24th floor of the office where there was a commanding view of the surrounding area. I loved the view although less so the isolation.

View of the city on the way to work 

Calle Santa Magdelene where I stayed

Santiago on a wet and chilly Sunday winter morning

One of the pleasant memories from this trip is the speed and efficiency of my departure from the airport. I was able to use the priority check in of LAN Chile on the first floor - no queues, all smiles and a quick exit. The service really put British Airways so-called "Fast Track" at London Heathrow to shame. 

LAN Chile priority check in at Santiago de Chile (SCL) airport. No queues!

A LAN flight being serviced at SCL airport

LAN Chile frequent flyer lounge at SCL airport

LAN Chile's lounge is spacious, modern, clean, and an oasis of calm. Wifi was excellent and I was able to clear some emails and have FaceTime chats with my loved one without encountering the dreaded error message of "Reconnecting". This was truly a refreshing experience after weeks on the road, encountering hostile and uncaring airport staff, endless security and customs checks, mile long immigration queues, and being herded into waiting areas by some screaming officials at Miami airport.

Santiago, Chile Series - First Impressions

I felt relieved and liberated to be able to walk the streets again after Guatemala. Santiago Chile looks European, with clean streets and paved walkways. As it was a Sunday, all the local shops were closed. The concierge told me that a shopping mall nearby was opened, so I headed that way. 

I had a spring in my step when I walked along the Avenue Provedencia towards the city centre on a slightly overcast Sunday afternoon. Sure, I must be careful but that's true in every city.

Avenue Providencia, Santiago

Avenue Providencia, Santiago

Trees were nearly bare in the winter

Bicycles, a sign of relatively safe roads

A flavour of the local style

The Costanera Center is located in the tallest building in South America, with several floors of shops covering almost all kinds of budgets and brands, and topped by a great offering of restaurants and fast food stalls on the roof terrace. Here, in this temple of commercialism, local brands rubbed shoulders with international names, and I was slightly surprised to see cosmetics brands Mac and Bobbi Brown operating a standalone unit each. As I did not want to buy things and carry them in and out of countries, I did not check the prices.

The escalators at Costanera Center, Santiago

Finally I decided to eat. There were great choices on the top floor with great prices. I was drawn to a seafood restaurant with huge tanks of fish. And there I had oysters and the most succulent octopus.

Costamia Restaurant, Costanera Shopping Center

Inside Costamia Restaurant

This is a good start and I hope it keeps this way. 

COPA and transiting at Panama

This was the first time I flew with COPA - Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., the flag carrier of Panama. This is a frugal carrier, with 2 attendants serving the economy cabin, whether it was the Embraer 190 or a Boeing 737. I was told by the travel agent that Panama is the hub for Central America and to get to South America, using COPA is the clear choice. I read in some sky forum that their customer service was poor, but that was not my experience. In the economy cabin, their service was far more friendlier than British Airways.

The Tocumen International Airport at Panama was bustling with people, with departure gates packed very closely to each other. The airport is the home of COPA and every corner you turn, you will find COPA crew everywhere. They are a young bunch. According to their literature, COPA have a fleet of over 85 airplanes, mostly Boeing 737s.

A COPA airplane being serviced at Tocumen Airport

A corner of the Tocumen Airport, Panama

COPA aircraft lining up to take off at Tocumen Airport

Aerial view of Panama City

The chapel at Tocumen Airport

Bang on the main thoroughfare of the Tocumen Airport is this small chapel for passengers who want a quiet moment to say a prayer or two. It brings home to me how devout South Americans are. There are an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world, according to Vatican figures; more than 40% of them live in Latin America.

The flight from Panama to Santiago, Chile took 6 long hours. The cabin was packed with restless and boisterous youngsters on holiday. Thankfully there was in flight entertainment to drown out the noise. The crew served a hot dog and then a main meal. Both were enjoyable airplane food. Another surprise.

Guatemala - Not a destination of choice

Visiting Guatemala for the first time can be a daunting experience. Security warnings, economic hardships and rampant corruption can be a bewildering mix for the unsuspecting tourists. But next time, I am determined to learn more about this country.

By the time I landed at the La Aurora International Airport, after the two-hour immigration queue at Miami International Airport in transit, I was on the road for over 20 hours and feeling extremely jet lagged. It was a huge relief to receive my baggage not having been tampered with whilst it was in transit at Miami. Yes, the last time I transit at Miami, my baggage was opened, not by the TSA but by baggage thieves. American Airlines who carried me at the time, denied my claim and told me to take the issue to the airline who sold me the ticket, which was British Airways.

Stepping out into the terminal, I was intrigued to come face to face with street vendors selling tourist tack. Later on the outbound trip, I saw even more of them accosting departing tourists at the entrance to the airport terminal.

All the photos in this blog were taken on my iPhone 6 Plus. I did not feel safe to carry my camera with me.

Street vendors outside Guatemala International Airport

The hotel is a 15-minute ride from the airport. The Barcelo Hotel is an attractive hotel and charges an unbelievably reasonable rate of USD$60 per night, including breakfast and wifi. It also offers free shuttle to and from the airport and to and from the office. The young guys at the Business Centre who helped me to do my on-line check in were pleasant enough for a business hotel. Elsewhere, within the public areas, security men patrolled ardently with their earpiece and mouthpiece.

View of the city from the hotel balcony

Another view of the city from the hotel balcony

Everyday I left the comfort of the hotel by shuttle bus to the office at Europlaza. There, we all had to leave our personal belongings with security and pass through a scanner. I often reflect on how lucky it is not to have to go through this kind of security in the UK or in Europe.

Everywhere I went, the roads were covered by political posters, with male candidates' faces beaming benignly at the passers-by. The Presidential elections will be in September and in the meantime, Guatemala is facing a corruption crisis, with many ministers resigning and the head of the central bank sacked.

Guatemala City, street scene

Guatemala city, street scene

The small stores in Guatemala practice the pile it high format. Here are two examples:

The shop in the hotel lobby

The shops at the airport, before immigration

Food was fine. The best meal I had was this plate of grilled prawns. The seafood was cooked just right and the prawns were delicious.

Grilled prawns

On departure, after tedious immigration and even more tedious security check, a policeman stopped me and demanded to see my passport. That was the fifth time my passport was checked (first time at entry to terminal, second time at airline check in desk, third time at entrance to the departure hall, fourth time at immigration). The young man looked at me menacingly, passed his fingers over my passport as if he was suspecting to find the document a fake, and when he saw my anger, asked me how much money I had with me. Then, when I opened my purse and he saw a near empty purse, he very reluctantly returned my passport to me. That was the first time I was rumbled by an official and I am not sure what the purpose was to single me out for intimidation.

And to add to the security paranoia, all my hand luggage was given another thorough search at the departure gate. The search agent took everything out of my cases and ran his fingers along the lining of the case. I was a relief to leave the country.

Weymouth, Dorset

We went to Dorset for the Seafood Festival. Actually the festival was sponsored by a French champagne house and the festival carried its name. But I am not here to promote a champagne. 

It's been a long time since I went to the seaside. I last went to a seaside town - Scarborough, only to come face to face with the tackiness of it all: the promenades lined with tea rooms that competed on the price of a cup of tea, knickerbocker glory, all day English breakfast. Those were the days before the invasion of a £2 cup of coffee, and middle England was still in thrall to all things British, such as a decent cup of Typhoo tea. It was also a windy day, grey and dull, and I met this woman who showed me all her pre-owned rings that she bought from a local jeweler. It was a new world to me: frugality of a cup for many, recycling of rings for some.

Back to Weymouth. The beach, when it was nearly empty, was actually quite pleasant, lined on one side with eateries and souvenir shops. By noon, the beach was getting crowded, with all manners of bronzed bodies spilling out their excess flab and in some cases, covered in brown creases caused no doubt by sun damage. This was not the Riviera, I reminded myself. But some modesty could have gone a long way.

Sea front, Weymouth

Empty deck chairs before the mass exhibition

Donkey ride

I am fascinated by donkey rides at seaside resorts. Why donkeys on a beach? It is difficult to trace this seaside tradition, although Wikipedia offered a line to say that the donkeys used in north of England could be retired donkeys from cockle picking. What I found terribly funny was the notice warning customers that only children under the age of 14 and under 7 stones (98 lbs) were allowed. Looking around at a whole bunch of grossly overweight adults, it was not surprising that there is now weight restriction for children on donkey rides.

The old harbour

Weymouth Town Centre

What about the seafood? There were all sorts: crab, lobster, prawns, fish and chips, fish cakes, paella, Thai seafood, and not forgetting: cheeses,  marshmallows, craft cider, the Dorset Echo (with free water), artisan bread, wood fired pizzas, driftwood, vegetable slicers, and all manners of things that screamed compulsive buying. Towards noon time, the old harbour where all the food stalls were located was packed with visitors, making free movement well nigh impossible. It was time to go.

Dorset, Pallington Lakes

It was magical to visit Sculptures on the Lakes. In the modern language the descriptive words would be amazing, awesome, but these are over used words and would have rendered the experience meaningless, on a par with watching some inferior acts on some loud, loathsome reality shows. Rather, the experience of visiting the sculpture park was a much deeper one, resonating with nature, touching the soul.

When Simon Gudgeon created the landscaped garden to display the sculptures, he wanted the place to "have a subconscious appeal" to the viewers' emotions; he considered it important that the viewer connects with the art.

We were mesmerized by a mixture of monumental sculptures and some smaller works. The entrance fee of £10 seemed a very small fee to pay for a highly emotive experience.

Here are some of my favourite pieces.

Time to Reflect

Ideas on a bench

Search for enlightenment

Dance of life (my own caption)

Pelicans

Roe deer

Origins

Swans

Summer flowers

Water lily

Closing with a haiku

Majestic sculptures

Scattered thoughts in the soft wind

Fleeting happiness