The day had finally come, the day we dreaded and wanted to postpone for as long as possible; the day had come to say aidios to South America. Over the past month we have experienced the wonders, beauty, sounds and sights of Latin America. We danced the samba in Brazil and the tango in Argentina, drank caprinha and mate tea, played football with the Brazilians, attended a match in the largest football stadium in the world, caught a glimpse of one of the greatest players of all time, Diego, journeyed under the sprays of the Igaussu waterfalls, wondered at the beauty of Ilha Grande, watched the sunset on Colonia and drank some of the finest wine the continent has to offer. Most of all we have met some great people and while we may be physically leaving this continent, the memories we have acquired will be with us forever and can never be taken away.
Anyways back to Day 29 and our final day in Santiago, Chile. After a unsuccessful journey around town to find the match, we watched Manchester United beat West Brom 4-0 on the worldwide web. We followed this by a final stroll round town and basked in the marvels of Santiago under the beaming sun one last time. On the way to the airport we passed a homeless drunk taking a piss in the middle of the dual carriageway in between the lanes!! Gary was disgusted! Just another wonderful sight from South America. Santiago international airport is the main international gateway to the West from South America. We went to the airport with plenty time to spare in order to acquire seats together and avail of the free wireless at Gatsbys. An interesting proposal was postulated to us at the check in desk, a LAN airline official approached us with a request to deter from flying tonight in exchange for the same flight tomorrow, a night in a hotel and $270 each. The reason being the flight was overbooked. After some consideration, we decided we were best to keep moving no matter how much Conor wanted the money!
The 13hr flight was adequate for want of a better word. Nothing wrong with the flight, staff, the entertainment or facilities just that it is impossible to sleep on these shagging planes and the frustration of not being able to sleep is crucifying. The best thing about the journey was standing at the back of the plane bitching about our lack of sleep!! On arrival at Auckland we had the banter with a security official (great to be back in an English speaking country) and got a taxi to the hostel and went to sleep straight away. That afternoon, Day 30 of our trip and Monday the 20th of October (we completely lost Sunday 19th due to stupid international date line) we ventured around Auckland. First protocol was for myself, Gary and Conor to get the hair snipped. We found a fine barber and watched as our luscious locks, which had served us so well over the last month, fell to the floor each hair echoing another good memory of South America. All set with our new hair dos, we were ready to tackle Auckland. We met 2 freestylers that Mike had arranged to meet and they all showed off their skills and chit chatted about stuff. We ensued on a gentle stroll around the town, went around the main street, down to the harbour, visited a park and examined the Sky Tower for the prospect of the Sky Jump tomorrow – a 192 metre wired rope free fall!! The highest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Conor and Mike were psyching themselves up, acclimatising to the surroundings because tomorrow they would be no second chance, tomorrow one mistake jumping off the Sky Tower and you’re a goner.
Anyways back to Day 29 and our final day in Santiago, Chile. After a unsuccessful journey around town to find the match, we watched Manchester United beat West Brom 4-0 on the worldwide web. We followed this by a final stroll round town and basked in the marvels of Santiago under the beaming sun one last time. On the way to the airport we passed a homeless drunk taking a piss in the middle of the dual carriageway in between the lanes!! Gary was disgusted! Just another wonderful sight from South America. Santiago international airport is the main international gateway to the West from South America. We went to the airport with plenty time to spare in order to acquire seats together and avail of the free wireless at Gatsbys. An interesting proposal was postulated to us at the check in desk, a LAN airline official approached us with a request to deter from flying tonight in exchange for the same flight tomorrow, a night in a hotel and $270 each. The reason being the flight was overbooked. After some consideration, we decided we were best to keep moving no matter how much Conor wanted the money!
The 13hr flight was adequate for want of a better word. Nothing wrong with the flight, staff, the entertainment or facilities just that it is impossible to sleep on these shagging planes and the frustration of not being able to sleep is crucifying. The best thing about the journey was standing at the back of the plane bitching about our lack of sleep!! On arrival at Auckland we had the banter with a security official (great to be back in an English speaking country) and got a taxi to the hostel and went to sleep straight away. That afternoon, Day 30 of our trip and Monday the 20th of October (we completely lost Sunday 19th due to stupid international date line) we ventured around Auckland. First protocol was for myself, Gary and Conor to get the hair snipped. We found a fine barber and watched as our luscious locks, which had served us so well over the last month, fell to the floor each hair echoing another good memory of South America. All set with our new hair dos, we were ready to tackle Auckland. We met 2 freestylers that Mike had arranged to meet and they all showed off their skills and chit chatted about stuff. We ensued on a gentle stroll around the town, went around the main street, down to the harbour, visited a park and examined the Sky Tower for the prospect of the Sky Jump tomorrow – a 192 metre wired rope free fall!! The highest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Conor and Mike were psyching themselves up, acclimatising to the surroundings because tomorrow they would be no second chance, tomorrow one mistake jumping off the Sky Tower and you’re a goner.
Slan,
Tom
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