Day 1: Chicago to Santiago

We’re off again on another spring break adventure. This time, we are embarking on Explora’s ‘Expedition’ to Tierra del Fuego — which will involve traveling between remote areas with rural accommodations. First step… getting there!

Dodging severe thunderstorms out of Chicago

During the planning phase, we decided to repeat the flight strategy we used last time we came to Chile: take a direct flight from O’Hare to São Paulo, then take LATAM to Santiago. Our flight out of Chicago was not until 10:00 pm on Wednesday, so we were not in a huge rush. Jo is close to the blue line at work, so we left around 4:30 pm. The timing worked out great as we got on the L a few minutes before the skies turned dark and started pouring again.

Pointing… rain or shine

The airport was relatively quiet, and we made it through security quickly. But, as the storms caused delays, certain areas started to get crowded — mainly the lounges. This time, we were flying United and so were leaving from Terminal 1. With no Priority Pass lounges to reject us, we opted to use the two United one-time lounge passes we get each year. In typical fashion, the United Lounge was not accepting one-time pass holders when we arrived. However, that was a temporary restriction and after camping out across from the entrance for an hour, we were graciously granted access.

Both the weather and United Club availability

We lounged it up with some food and drinks until it was time to board. Luckily, our flight was not delayed and was conveniently located right next to the lounge. We’re sitting in the center section of three seats. As the plane starts to fill up, we notice our third seat is still empty. It looks like boarding is complete, until an announcement states that we are waiting for passengers from a late connecting flight. Somehow most of the seats around us are taken, but ours was not. A little extra room on a 10 hour flight is pretty nice.

Clubbing! (What’s with the paper thin chocolate chip cookies?)

Night mode to Sao Paulo

Since the flight was overnight, we slept (or attempted to sleep) for pretty much the entire time. Despite leaving a few minutes late, we arrived on time. We went through customs and waited for our bags. Last time we arrived at GRU (with the same luggage), our bags never came out of the carousel. We found them in the Lost Luggage area where apparently they place over-sized bags, backpacks, and duffels. Knowing this, we were on the lookout at both the carousel and the lost bag counters. This time, there were actual announcements saying where to find basically any type of bag other than the rectangle roller-boards. We listened and found our luggage waiting for us.

São Paulo is still on top of the clandestine transportation

The next step was our flight to Santiago. We went upstairs to the check-in counters to re-check our bags for the LATAM flight. When Matt was buying the tickets, there was a minimal cost difference between basic economy (where you have to pay extra to check a bag) and premium economy (where bags are included) and splurged on the premium. We checked our bags in the basic economy line, completely forgetting we could go in the priority line. It was OK though. There wasn’t actually anyone there and they still gave us the special priority bag tags.

We went though a very empty security line (pro tip: Sao Paulo airport is not so crowded at 11:00 am on a Thursday) and had time to go back to our favorite lounge before the flight. We relaxed with a couple of cappuccinos to counteract the lack of good sleep.

A Brazil Nut in a Brazil Lounge

World’s longest jetway???

We accidentally purchased the fanciest tickets for this flight

From there we boarded our flight to Santiago. As previously mentioned, we had premium economy seats – 1A and 1C to be exact. Not gonna lie, it was pretty comfy. They served lunch and drinks and we relaxed with books and movies.

My foot is basically in the cockpit

Finally, we made it to Santiago. Since we were pretty much the first people off the plane, and because Santiago had more than one customs officer working this time, we got through in just a few minutes. Plus, that handy Priority bag tag meant our luggage came out in the first batch. Before we knew it, we were on the way to the hotel.

Welcome to Chile!!! (fyi, we have police)

Guy holding Machu Picchu sign in the taxi line is gonna be disappointed

After checking-in and putting our bags down, we went to the patio section of the restaurant. We enjoyed the 73 degree weather before heading inside for a snack before bed.