OK - I admit it! I'm extremely interested in my fellow passengers. I just can't help it. So again - here is an observation on the fight from Madrid to Santiago (13,5 hour but the way - long flight).
Already when I came onboard the plane I realized that I would have issues with my seating. I had window seat (which I prefer on long haul flights, since you sleep much better there - less disturbances), but the couple who sat next to me were older (between 70-80 years old) and both were overweight. In short - they had a hard time to move. So when I pointed out that my seat was the one at the window next to them - they looked at me like I insulted them. Suddenly they started to sigh a lot and were having extreme difficulties to move so I could take my seat. On top of that, the woman had several bags on the floor that she for some reason needed to move before I could take my seat (it was easy for me to jump over them). It took them several minutes to make room for me. On top of that they started to discuss, while standing in the aisle, how they should handle their rest of their luggage, so they stopped a couple of 100 people to get on board. I then realized that it was probably the first time in their life that they were on a plane. Quite brave of them to do it so late in life. They didn't speak any Spanish and hardly any English, (I think they were from somewhere in eastern Europe, but I couldn't really hear them while they were speaking to each other) so it was even hard for them to ask for help. The procedure then repeated when I needed to go to the bathroom the first time. They seemed insulted and were making a lot of noise. The second (and last) trip to bathroom I pointed out to them that it was enough if the man moved, since I could jump over the woman. They seemed relieved by that, but then the man wanted to have paper towels from me, when I came back from the bathroom??!! I'm sorry, but I didn't realize that paper towels were the general toll to get out of once seat on a plane?! Finally, just before we landed they started to prepare themselves to get off, so much so they even put the luggage in the aisle. You should have heard the stewardess (who already had had several talks to them about security). At this point she was quite fed up. But at least - they gave me entertainment.
We came to South America in the morning, so we got to see the sunrise.
The flight over the Andes was BEAUTIFUL. Check out!
Finally, after 27 hours of traveling I arrived at my hotel in Santiago. Since I arrived in the morning my room wasn't ready. But who cares - when you can sit out in the sun and enjoy a cup of coffee with fresh fruit and pancakes. For me it was the perfect start of the day and my trip in Chile.
Since I noticed on the flight that my hiking pants had brown paint on them (I probably got it the last time I used them and didn't even notice. Obviously a wash didn't affect the paint.) I decided that I needed to buy a new pair. The other pair was quite old and the paint just gave me an excuse to replace them. So after a shower I walked to closest shopping mall. It is located next to South Americas tallest building. Some people think it is beautiful (I would assume they are men ;-) ) some people think it is ugly. Look at it and let me know your opinion.
Tonight I will go to bed early. Tomorrow morning I will take the 5.50 flight to Punta Arenas, so they will pick me up at 4.15 from the hotel. I need to get up at 3.15, so I can have some breakfast before I leave. I hope I can eat at that hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment