I had been working for years to accumulate enough points to fly (mult-flight award) to Iceland and back. Our points covered most of the cost of the flights - in business class and allowed us 5 stops. Our first stop was Santiago
The Flight
It was great to be able to depart directly from Bendigo. Zoe was home and escorted us to the airport. We got seats in the top deck one of the last few 747 Jumbos in the air. Our seats were aged but incredibly spacious, and the deck was only half occupied. We were even supplied with souvenir pyjamas for our comfort the overnight flight.
Arriving in Santiago
We were greeted with an amazing view of the Andes from our hotel. I requested a room with a view and we were rewarded with the spacious attic suite.
Our introduction to Santiago was via a bike tour with Bicycleta Verde. It was terrific and intruduced us to a couple of traditional markets and the graffiti and history of the area surrounding our hotel.