A good day

Well today was one of those. Started off pretty well with Alyssa waking up much later then normal. So that was very nice. I think she is starting to adjust to the time change.

We decided to have a little druve around in to the mountains/desert- it was not that interesting.
We headed back and Alyssa went to sleep so kept on driving around town. On the way back towards town we stopped at the fish markets. The produce on display was great- good variety and very very cheap. Even some Abalone.
I am sure my Dad would love it at around $5 a bag. We went across the road to a small fruit and veg market- there is a bigger one in town we still need to investigate- but seems to be in a not so nice part of the town. This one was not great but the produce was good. All fruits and veges are much cheaper then in Oz. The banana's the other day were less then $1 AUD a kilo. Super cheap.

After this we headed off to Mall Plaza- the HUGE shopping centre here. But had a walk around the boardwalk area first. It is pretty nice there.
The Alyssa had a huge dance with the girls at a store similar to the WB store on the Gold Coast. She was trying to copy all their dance moves. It was sooooo cute.

We had lunch at TGI Fridays- it was good again- the same could not be said of the 27month old we had with us. She just does not seem to want to keep still and has issues with being told what to do at the moment. But in reality we are in transition she has very little of her things and must be feeling somewhat lost- I know I am.

After this we went to an Equestrian event here and it was pretty well set up by the military. There is a strong military pressence here in Antofagasta- but it is compulsory here in Chile. Anyway Alyssa LOVE the horses but I think she was just a tad tired and played up a little. She loves all the attention she gets here and she gets HEAPS. People walk a certain way just to see her and always try to talk to her. She says Hola to almost everyone now.

After this it was my time to drive. We have had the rental just over 1 week and this was my first drive. I was pretty scared but only used the wipers instead of indicating 3 times. So not too bad. I did not really drive in the centre of town- there are soooo many 1 way streets here and they are not marked.

So all in all a pretty good day. The place is run down- but this is something that you just expect- the service is slow but again it is something that you just learn is very normal. No one will come up to you in shop you need to approach them and then it still may take ages to get what you want. A slower way of life here.

Where we are at right now.

So we are still in the Radisson. So far nothing else that is suitable has come about. We did look at a 1 bed apartment yesterday that is the best of the lot but it is not available until the first week in September. We can last here until then. The Apartment yesterday was very clean, very secure and even has a cool playground in the complex. It is very new and even includes, breakfasts, free WiFi and some washing. They are trying to get some 2 bed places- it has privately owned ones that they are trying to take over and may be able to in a few weeks. Hopefully we can get one of those.

The issue with not having a proper address is that we cannot get our airfreight stuff- lots of clothes and also the cat is not here. We are not worried if the cat has to stay in Australia until we have a house. But the clothing issue is not great and means we need to go clothing shopping.

Yesterday we set up moobile phones here and they were cheap to do. We both got cheapy Nokia's (will get iPhones when we can set up a plan- have to wait for the ID cards to come on the 1st September- everything is done through these) they were only $150 for both and they have credit on them. To call each other it is like 15c a min.

We had a drive around yesterday and looked at some parts of town we might like to live in. Oh and applying for a house here can take months and months to come through so we need to start the process now. Oh and things are a little different from home, all small things are to be sorted by the tenant not the landlord including broken taps, fittings etc. The Landlord will fix major things. Oh and you can ask for things like security and pools to be put in when writing up the lease agreement.

So this is where we are at right now. Hopefully things are sorted more soon.

Photos

A few observations

Well some people have asked what my first impressions of Chile were/are. So here are a few things I have observed. Not in any particular order just stumblings.

- We flew into Santiago very tired with a child with bad Conjunctivitis- But there was a great view of the snow capped Andes Mountains- very pretty
- Everything is very sweet and I mean VERY sweet. The juice at breakfast tastes like 2 TBS of sugar has been added. The Bread is very very sweet- not the best for my chip sandwich I had last night.
- People who know of the Port Augusta Maccas South Aus- well let's just say they are worse here- which is such a HUGE statement
-People may bump into you here but there will not be an excuse me/sorry. I am just not used to that. I saw it happen to someone else then it happened to me yesterday.
-There is a HUGE divide between classes. There is alot of poverty and in your face here- the houses are completely different from one side to the next.
-The shops here are pretty good even have car sales in the large Shopping centre. Also I found lots of brands that I know from Aust.
-It is pretty dirty here in Antofagasta but then again we are in the desert and there is NO rain so things get very dusty.
- The beach is not like ones in Aust- the sand is not a brilliant white like those in Qld but it is supposed to be one of the best in Chile.
- I stand out so much- being a Gringa and all. Oh and especially because I speak English.
- Alyssa is already winning over so many people just with her Hola and Chao!
- I am learning a little bit of Spanish and actually and surprising myself with how much I already knew. There are a few Channels in English with Spanish subtitles.
- Grocery shopping is cheaper here.
- have to be a little more careful with personal belongings but so far have felt pretty safe on the streets.

Not Such a great Beginning

So we arrived at the Arranged Accomodation. Lets just say a very interesting place to stay. It was so old and really on cared for at all. There were a few things that worried me a little. Broken door handles, exposed TV areial wires, Peeling paints, a door that is very hard to close, an outdoor lanudry that was anything but clean. The phone worked on and off, which was not great. So all these things were not great but I suppose we could have lived with them.









BUT what came next could not be lived with.

We were all very very tired and so had just headed off to sleep (exhausted after the hours and hours of travelling). All of a sudden the front door of the apartment was being opened- by keys!!!! Yep the guy said to Sebastian that he used to be in that apartment and wanted to come in!!!! um NO!. So of course that meant very very little sleep. We even got on the net to check out alternative accomodation.

When we spoke to reception- well Sebastian spoke to them they said that the guy was in there but had asked for a smaller apartment- he was at site (mine site)and had not been told about his move to a new apartment. But see that was too late for us. When our trust in their security was gone there was not going back. We rang the Radisson and are now there. Okay so we don't have a kitchen but we are safe and internet here is free!! I am up at 3am because Alyssa is still getting used to the time change. But otherwise she is doing really well.

I will update soon with photos of Antofagasta. we have not taken any yet as we are still trying to get settled in slightly.

The Long long Journey

Well let's see a huge journey with a 26month old- what can we say. Actually she was very very good. I think it helped that we were in business class.

There were a few issues though, so I will start at the beginning- where else to start.

We headed to Perth airport thinking we had heaps of time and we would use the Qantas lounge. BUT Sebastian had dropped me and Alyssa off and went to return the hire car- I was waiting and then the announcements began!! He had read the time wrong and we were 45mins later then we thought. So I was stressing big time!!. So I called him and made him run as there was no way I could push Alyssa in her pram and push all the luggage. We checked in just in time (the lady at the counter beside the one we went to was pretty rude). WE should have went to the Qantas club because we had plenty of time. So anyway we headed off to Sydney and Alyssa was great on the Plane but had no sleep- that was okay though. We arrived in Sydney and had to wait for a maxi taxi- that was a long wait there just did not seem to be many. The hotel there was nice but we arrived so late and had to leave early in the morning- I had no intentions of having a repeat of the previous day.



We used the Qantas club in Sydney- updating my FB and Sebastian checking emails- having some food there too.






We boarded our flight to NZ- a quick stop for fuel before heading to Chile. The Business class was great- fully reclineable seats so like a bed. Alyssa was good BUT fell asleep just as we were langding in NZ- she stayed asleep in her Zapp(recommend this stroller) all the way through the stop in NZ. Used the Qantas club in NZ too. just relaxing this time.





We Boarded the plane again for the next part of the Journey to Chile. This was the 11 1/2 hour flight. Here they were not going to allow us to take the stroller on the plane (we had it all the way from Sydney- it folds down to fit in the overhead storage). But I fought them a bit and when they saw how small it folded down in its bag they put it into the closet on board. They said that there were more passengers this flight so could not go in overhead- not sure where these more passengers were- Business was no where near full.

Anyway Alyssa was a little Grumpy on this flight but again she did sleep. We were all very very tired when we arrived in Santiago Chile. I was full of nerves and wanted to turn back around. I was a little upset. I had very little sleep. Oh and when we landed at Santiago we had the airport medics come see us- Alyssa had conjunctivitis. But that also meant that all the plane staff had to wait until we had left the plane. But the medic was great and spoke perfect English and to me too. So he gave her an eye drop and a script for more.

We had a short stop in Santiago before our flight to Antofagasta. This was a small flight- only 2 hours. Alyssa slept most of this flight- actually fell asleep before getting on the plane and woke just before we boarded. I had a quick snooze on this one too.

We arrived at Antofagasta airport and had the taxi waiting for us- with one of those signs hehe. I will write about our first night in the next post it really does deserve its own one- not good!!!!!

Our life in boxes.

Well pack up day is always fun- well usually not so much. We had 2 great people come to pack us on the Monday and they were supposed to come back on Tuesday but they did so much on the Monday we got Tuesday off. Alyssa was great and was not too worried about all her belongings being put into boxes and even tried to help out by wrapping pieces of paper and putting them into the boxes. She understands that everything in the boxes will be coming to the " New House".

Uplift day was not an issue either. I did send Alyssa and Sebastian off to a playcentre just to keep her out of the way. She just wanted to help. They packed the container so fast that I had to ring Sebastian to tell him they were finished. He arrived back when all the packers had left- just the airfreight stuff to move. We cleaned up a bit- not heaps- we were paying cleaners anyway.

I was trying to get Alyssa to keep her jacket on but she ran away from me and face planted it on the garage floor. I was ready for taking her to the hospital she hit the cement so hard. She ended up with a split lip and it only looked bad for the first two days- here is the picture from when she actually did it OUCH.

Moving in Fastforward

Well let's see we now have our Visa's, and wasn't that a GREAT process NOT!!. Alyssa had to be fingerprinted even for her documents too- so funny watching them try to fingerprint a 2 year old.

But the most fun part of it all was that I was hardly spoken to. She could speak English but chose to speak in Spanish to Sebastian the whole time even when discussing my documents. But hey we have them now. Oh and no use taking a picture they are not very exciting.

We have someone who will be renting out the house on the day we fly to Chile. We only had it listed less then 2 days before 4 people showed interest in the property and one wanted it very bad and had already had and passed all the real estates checks that they do. So now I am busy patching, sanding and repainting some spots on the walls. Oh and for future reference 3M hooks can and do take paint off walls and IKEA removable stickers are even worse. Yeah for me. Other then that the house is pretty much ready to go- with carpet cleaners, and cleaners coming in the day we head to Sydney.

We have been stocking up on some small things for the flight for Alyssa- good old sticker books from Big W at only $2 each and some new DVD's to keep her entertained. Still have to get some more small things- it is a LONG flight.

I have also been told that there are so many things that I will just not be able to get over there. Many Spices and Asian goods are not sold in Chile oh and Antofagasta only has long life milk- no fresh milk- which I find a little strange because they sell yogurt????

We still have to sort through everything in the house and make a couple of piles, tip/vinnies/keep. Oh and everything in my pantry cannot come with me- all my years of cake decorating things, colours and stuff, all has to be given away. We cannot take any pantry goods even the unopened things, nothing :(... I have got a lovely friend taking it all off my hands.

I still have some sewing to do for friends and finish off a dress that I started for Alyssa a long time ago. But hopefully she has a few day sleeps this week and I should get it knocked over pretty quickly.


It is very weird to think that this is the last Monday that I will be spending here the night. The movers come next Monday and Tuesday to pack everything then on Wednesday it is uplift day. I am sure once that happens it may seem a whole lot more real.

Well until next time- which I am not sure if it will be from Aus or Chile, take care.