Travel Day

Today was a travel day and I headed further south - which in Chile isn't that tough, considering how long and skinny the country is. My plan was to leave the hotel in Puerto Varas by 6 a.m. - allowing time for the Uber to arrive. I figured checking out of the hotel by 5:45 would be good, but of course I was ready to go by 5:40. Uber to the airport only took about 20 minutes (zero traffic at that time of day). Today's destination was Punta Arenas - near the bottom of the world.

I have Premium Economy booked for all the domestic flight legs of my trip which is amazing. It has extra leg room, included baggage and seat selection...along with snacks and drinks and no middle seat booked. Win. Win. And of course, very cost effective.

Once I landed in Punta Arenas I immediately caught the bus from the airport to Puerto Natales which took about 2.5 hours in travel time. Good time to catch up on sleep. This part of the trip planning process has some challenges. I had to factor in the day I needed to travel, hotel availability etc. which made for a longer day - but soooo worth it. I have also rented a car for this leg of the trip to have a bit more freedom and control of where and when I can go to places. Public transport can be good and cost effective but not always 100% accessible to where you want to go. I picked up my vehicle in town from Europcar rental agency which I had prepaid for using Expedia.

The weather certainly has changed here...rainy and cloudy - but as they say, wait 15 minutes and it can change. My new hotel is Altiplanico Puerto Natales. It has a very cool design, built into the side of a hill with concrete and wood finishings along with local cultural decor. I met some great people in the lobby lounge this afternoon while organizing my blog (Quinton and Ruth from B.C. and Eric from NYC), which led to all of us having dinner and cocktails and sharing travel stories. This is what I really enjoy about travelling...the people you meet along the way. The travelling Bucket List never gets shorter...I keep adding to it!