Chile page 2
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This is not a forced perspective trick - this is a real condor feather...
On my first day, I took a three hour diverson to the nearby (1 hour drive) town of Puerto Aysen. Formerly, the foremost port in the area. Now, its only claim to fame is the fact that it has the longest suspension bridge in Chile. Although the weather wasn't great, it was very calm, allowing for some spectacular photographs using the reflection of the river.
And there you have it folks, Chile's longest suspension bridge. Not exactly golden gate, but fairly decent.
In the low season, Coyhaique is a pretty chillin' town. Hardly any tours are running... so I just chilled out. Before long, I got itchy feet... then I looked up, and had an idea...
Just outside my hospdaje, the Plaza of the Pioneers. This sculpture depicts their Andean crossing, at the point when they got covered in snow.
Yes, Coyhaique is a nice place to just chill out, and not only because it is a fairly chilly location in Chile.
So I found my man... Jordi Andreu Simini Gracia (try saying that ten times in a hurry). Pilot. Here he demonstrates his skills on a volkswagen beetle which is at least twice as old as I am.
Gee... this hanger is a little stuffy, lets open up that door...
A two-seater Cessna... one if you're BMI is over 30... and our transport for this afternoon.
The skies finally cleared up for us... good thing too because it was getting late (the sun sets quite early this far south in winter)
Ok Daniel, step into my office and we'll get started.
He goes through the pre flight checklist... which doesn't include "check that your passenger actually likes flying, and if he doesn't, give him a sick bag". Oh well... I'll just have to keep it all inside...
It was a little bit windy that day... and the plane, at times, felt more rickety than the volkswagen... this would have to be one of the crazier things that I've done in my life.
Excuse me for stating the obvious, but everything looks really different from the air...
Oh, the Andes... conveniently located at the end of the armies... (bad joke, don't worry). "Hey, can we get closer to those mountains?"
Oh yeah... lakes district, I get it.
Apparently the peaks aren't as snowy as they usually are at this time of year. Indeed, we flew over a small ski resort and there was no snow on any of the runs.
Ok... that's close enough... no really... that's plenty close enough.
Coyhaique looks alot bigger from the air.
A view over the Plaza de Armas... the main town square which is... not actually a square, but a pentagon. Which was very confusing at first...