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[Flights from La Paz to Adelaide]

This morning we got up at 8am (heavens, a sleep-in!). After a cool shower for me and a cold shower for Briony we went for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, packed all our gear and checked out.

The hotel was nice enough to call "their" taxi for us, which arrived after a 10-minute wait. First stop was the Gravity office to pick up our CDROM of pictures from yesterday's ride down the World's Most Dangerous Road, then directly to La Paz airport. The traffic was pretty heavy at this time of the morning, but once we were through the traffic chaos on El Prado, the airport was only 15 minutes away.

At the airport we checked in no worries, went through security and were surprised that they had an anti-narcotics check where they opened all our hand luggage, checked everything including sniffing my laptop - talk about thorough!

Within the departure lounge there was a small cafe and I got a coffee shake which was great, and also a cheese crossaint - the crossaint itself was okay, but the cheese was that salty South American stuff, and there was far too much of it!

La Paz to Santigo, Chile, via Iquique, Chile

The flight to Iquique, Chile, was uneventuful but all the fun started when we actually got to Iquique airport. The flight was from La Paz to Santiago via Iquique so the usual procedure would be to get off the plane, wait in the transit lounge, and get back on when it's ready to continue.

But this time we had to fill out forms, get our passport stamped at immigration, then go through customs and declare any animal or plant material that we had. After the customs guys were happy with our bags we went outside and someone told us that transit passengers walk up the stairs to the departure terminal. No problem there so we went upstairs and waited for our flight to be called.

Once it was called we lined up, put our bags into the x-ray machine and of course emptied our pockets into the little plastic tubs to be x-rayed too. Right as our passports and documents were going into the x-ray machine the security woman asks us for our tickets. Tickets at the security gate, what? Anyway just a second later she realised that we were transit passengers and waved us through.

We saw a big line at gate four, so we lined up. After 5 minutes we heard an announcement about our flight explaining that rows 12 and above line up to the right of gate three, and rows 11 and below line up to the left of gate three. So we start walking to gate three. Then we heard an announcement that transit passengers were to line up at gate four. A quick look around showed that everyone else was just like us - wandering around looking very confused at this airport's complete lack of organisation (and for what little organisation there was, there was a complete lack of signage telling us where to go and what to do).

Then the final bit of fun was at gate four itself. Now you need to remember that we were transit passengers yet were still subject to immigration, customs and x-ray scans when we got off the plane - fairly strict security control. But the boarding process was completely opposite. We had to line up at gate four, show the man our little "transit" plastic card and tell him our name so he could cross us off a list. There was no ticket or passport check which we found weird. When I told my surname he mumbled something which sounded similar so I told him yes - turns out there was another person with the same surname and he had crossed me off as the other one, and then crossed Briony off as the real me, thinking we were husband and wife.

Anyway once on the plane we departed no problem, with only fond memories of the Iquique chaos!

Iquique, Chile to Santiago, Chile

We missed out on food at Iquique airport for a few reasons - firstly the complete waste of time immigration and customs, then we had to work out how to use the ATM to get some cash out, and then after waiting to be served at the cafe for 5 minutes I gave up as our flight was boarding.

So needless to say we (especially Briony!) were glad that a snack was served on this flight. We had apple juice, peanuts, a brownie and a chocolate-cream biscuit called "Alfajor Chileno" all of which were quite good. Of course Briony couldn't finish hers as she'd scoffed half the tube of Pringles before the plane had even taken off! Oh, she also managed to dribble her apple juice all down her clean clothes.

When we arrived at Santiago de Chile, we knew that our bags were supposed to be going straight to Adelaide as the baggage destination sticker said SCL-SYD-ADL. But we checked te baggage carousel just to be safe. Briony's bag was not there and therefore obviously on the plane, but my bag came out! I asked one of the airport staff who said somthing in Spanish and put my bag back on the carousel. I don't know what happened from there but my bag did make it to Adelaide so I guess all was okay.

Next on the agenda was customs and immigration as it seems that Santiago de Chile Airport does not have a direct transit route from the arrivals terminal to the departures terminal. So we had to go through the x-ray machines again, explain all about our souvenirs again, and get our passports stamped again. No big deal, just a long and drawn-out process.

While at the airport we just sat around using the free Wi-Fi Internet, drinking Starbucks (White Mocha for me, Old Hot Chocolate for Briony). We were soon on the next leg of our flight - minus our bottled water for some reason! This was bottled water that we had bought at the shop right next to our departure gate, however the securty people told us no bottles at all, and we had to throw them in the bin. Of course the people that didn't get chosen for the random bag search walked onto the plane with bottled water *in their hand* so I really don't know what the story was.

Santiago, Chile to Auckland, New Zealand

Absolutely zero to report about this journey, except for the bottled water incident above which meant that we had to keep asking the flight attendants for water which came in mouthful-sized plastic cups. And, after each mouthful-sized serving they insisted on collecting the plastic cups as garbage - what a waste, we they were perfectly okay to be re-used for our next drink!

Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia

Nothing to report here either - the flight was brief and comfortable, with no issues at all. About the only thing that I can mention is that at Auckland Airport, Briony happened to glance at one of the security guards. Briony must have looked suspicious as the guard insisted on a "random" swipe with a metal detector!

Sydney, Australia to Adelaide, Australia

The only thing to report about this leg of our journey is regarding our wait at Sydney Airport. The wait itself was no problem and the airport is certainly comfortable. Briony even had the chance to do her impressions of "taking the hobbits to isinguard" in the waiting area. Oh, and Gloria Jeans has good coffee, but they only had ham and cheese crossaints. There were no plain cheese crossaints, and no cheese toasties. We thought that was average, since we wanted vegetarian food.

Arrival in Adelaide

After a 2 hour flight we arrived in Adelaide Airport. Everything went smoothly, we grabbed our bags, met the parents and went back to our place for a well-deserved coffee.

Certainly while we (in between headaches, vomiting and diahorroea) enjoyed our holiday, there's still nothing like home. Adelaide is a beautiful, quiet and clean place. We love it.

Next: No more pages, this is the end. Thanks for reading!
Or, you can Return to the Peru/Bolivia 2008 Index Page

Last modified: Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018 13:25:38 ACST
Site created by Callan Davies / CRUZN 2007-2010
Some content protected. Other content free for your use. Contact the Webmaster

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Home/Blog Current (2015) 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 BabyBlogs Majandra Aliana Travel Blogs Europe/Egypt '06 Peru/Bolivia '08 Central Aust '09 Fiji '11 Cycling Maps & Routes Links Best viewed with Firefox Site Built with gedit on Ubuntu	[Flights from La Paz to Adelaide] This morning we got up at 8am (heavens, a sleep-in!). After a cool shower for me and a cold shower for Briony we went for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, packed all our gear and checked out. The hotel was nice enough to call "their" taxi for us, which arrived after a 10-minute wait. First stop was the Gravity office to pick up our CDROM of pictures from yesterday's ride down the World's Most Dangerous Road, then directly to La Paz airport. The traffic was pretty heavy at this time of the morning, but once we were through the traffic chaos on El Prado, the airport was only 15 minutes away. At the airport we checked in no worries, went through security and were surprised that they had an anti-narcotics check where they opened all our hand luggage, checked everything including sniffing my laptop - talk about thorough! Within the departure lounge there was a small cafe and I got a coffee shake which was great, and also a cheese crossaint - the crossaint itself was okay, but the cheese was that salty South American stuff, and there was far too much of it! *La Paz to Santigo, Chile, via Iquique, Chile* The flight to Iquique, Chile, was uneventuful but all the fun started when we actually got to Iquique airport. The flight was from La Paz to Santiago via Iquique so the usual procedure would be to get off the plane, wait in the transit lounge, and get back on when it's ready to continue. But this time we had to fill out forms, get our passport stamped at immigration, then go through customs and declare any animal or plant material that we had. After the customs guys were happy with our bags we went outside and someone told us that transit passengers walk up the stairs to the departure terminal. No problem there so we went upstairs and waited for our flight to be called. Once it was called we lined up, put our bags into the x-ray machine and of course emptied our pockets into the little plastic tubs to be x-rayed too. Right as our passports and documents were going into the x-ray machine the security woman asks us for our tickets. Tickets at the security gate, what? Anyway just a second later she realised that we were transit passengers and waved us through. We saw a big line at gate four, so we lined up. After 5 minutes we heard an announcement about our flight explaining that rows 12 and above line up to the right of gate three, and rows 11 and below line up to the left of gate three. So we start walking to gate three. Then we heard an announcement that transit passengers were to line up at gate four. A quick look around showed that everyone else was just like us - wandering around looking very confused at this airport's complete lack of organisation (and for what little organisation there was, there was a complete lack of signage telling us where to go and what to do). Then the final bit of fun was at gate four itself. Now you need to remember that we were transit passengers yet were still subject to immigration, customs and x-ray scans when we got off the plane - fairly strict security control. But the boarding process was completely opposite. We had to line up at gate four, show the man our little "transit" plastic card and tell him our name so he could cross us off a list. There was no ticket or passport check which we found weird. When I told my surname he mumbled something which sounded similar so I told him yes - turns out there was another person with the same surname and he had crossed me off as the other one, and then crossed Briony off as the real me, thinking we were husband and wife. Anyway once on the plane we departed no problem, with only fond memories of the Iquique chaos! *Iquique, Chile to Santiago, Chile* We missed out on food at Iquique airport for a few reasons - firstly the complete waste of time immigration and customs, then we had to work out how to use the ATM to get some cash out, and then after waiting to be served at the cafe for 5 minutes I gave up as our flight was boarding. So needless to say we (especially Briony!) were glad that a snack was served on this flight. We had apple juice, peanuts, a brownie and a chocolate-cream biscuit called "Alfajor Chileno" all of which were quite good. Of course Briony couldn't finish hers as she'd scoffed half the tube of Pringles before the plane had even taken off! Oh, she also managed to dribble her apple juice all down her clean clothes. When we arrived at Santiago de Chile, we knew that our bags were supposed to be going straight to Adelaide as the baggage destination sticker said SCL-SYD-ADL. But we checked te baggage carousel just to be safe. Briony's bag was not there and therefore obviously on the plane, but my bag came out! I asked one of the airport staff who said somthing in Spanish and put my bag back on the carousel. I don't know what happened from there but my bag did make it to Adelaide so I guess all was okay. Next on the agenda was customs and immigration as it seems that Santiago de Chile Airport does not have a direct transit route from the arrivals terminal to the departures terminal. So we had to go through the x-ray machines again, explain all about our souvenirs again, and get our passports stamped again. No big deal, just a long and drawn-out process. While at the airport we just sat around using the free Wi-Fi Internet, drinking Starbucks (White Mocha for me, Old Hot Chocolate for Briony). We were soon on the next leg of our flight - minus our bottled water for some reason! This was bottled water that we had bought at the shop right next to our departure gate, however the securty people told us no bottles at all, and we had to throw them in the bin. Of course the people that didn't get chosen for the random bag search walked onto the plane with bottled water in their hand so I really don't know what the story was. *Santiago, Chile to Auckland, New Zealand* Absolutely zero to report about this journey, except for the bottled water incident above which meant that we had to keep asking the flight attendants for water which came in mouthful-sized plastic cups. And, after each mouthful-sized serving they insisted on collecting the plastic cups as garbage - what a waste, we they were perfectly okay to be re-used for our next drink! *Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia* Nothing to report here either - the flight was brief and comfortable, with no issues at all. About the only thing that I can mention is that at Auckland Airport, Briony happened to glance at one of the security guards. Briony must have looked suspicious as the guard insisted on a "random" swipe with a metal detector! *Sydney, Australia to Adelaide, Australia* The only thing to report about this leg of our journey is regarding our wait at Sydney Airport. The wait itself was no problem and the airport is certainly comfortable. Briony even had the chance to do her impressions of "taking the hobbits to isinguard" in the waiting area. Oh, and Gloria Jeans has good coffee, but they only had ham and cheese crossaints. There were no plain cheese crossaints, and no cheese toasties. We thought that was average, since we wanted vegetarian food. *Arrival in Adelaide* After a 2 hour flight we arrived in Adelaide Airport. Everything went smoothly, we grabbed our bags, met the parents and went back to our place for a well-deserved coffee. Certainly while we (in between headaches, vomiting and diahorroea) enjoyed our holiday, there's still nothing like home. Adelaide is a beautiful, quiet and clean place. We love it. Next: No more pages, this is the end. Thanks for reading! Or, you can Return to the Peru/Bolivia 2008 Index Page Last modified: Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018 13:25:38 ACST Site created by Callan Davies / CRUZN 2007-2010 Some content protected. Other content free for your use. Contact the Webmaster	Random Photo: [Articles] Talking to the Topfield TF5000PVRt using Linux and ftpd-topfield Setting up DynDNS in Ubuntu/Linux Restore GRUB boot manager after Windows destroyed it