Buenos Airies to Santiago
It rained most of the night and was still pouring down when I left for Aeroparque. A short remise ride and I caught my train from Tigre as planned just after 08:00.
All went well until just before Nunez station when some poor chap apparently ignored the barriers and tried to cross the track. He didn't make it and was struck a glancing blow and thrown 20 metres up the line. He survived but was not in good shape. Another victim of the somewhat casual Argentine approach to personal safety. We sat there for almost an hour while police ambulance and bomberos efficiently sorted things out and took care of him.
My 10:30 flight was looking dodgy by the time I caught a taxi at 10:00 from Lisandro de la Torre station. I was lucky. With hand baggage only and some very helpful Pluna staff I took my seat aboard Pluna flight PU168 at exactly 10:30.
Backing off the gate we passed this AeroChaco plane. AeroChaco are the "official" carrier of Boca Juniors football club.
It had stopped raining by the time we took off giving excellent views of the city.
Avenida 9 Julio, 110m wide, with Retiro station left of centre.
Puerto Madero with Yacht Club Argentino at centre
.
A container ship outbound from Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires to Montevideo is a 45 minute flight. The terminal at Montevideo is quite small and the transit lounge was very full due, I suspect, to Pluna succeeding in their plan to become a successful regional carrier using Montevideo as a hub.
Security at Montevideo is provided by the Fuerza Area Uruguaya and they don't like photos being taken. I took some anyway.
A Pluna CRJ-900
This looks like a 60's Huey
A Pluna Bombardier CRJ-900 NextGen. It is a very very quiet aircraft. On the flight to Santiago I was in Row 23, the last. There is no window on the starboard side and my locker above was full of safety gear.
Even with the back seat in an aft engined plane it was still quiet. The interior is understated, mostly off-white plastic.
Pluna have picked up a few ideas from Ryan Air. They charge extra for checked baggage and no refreshments are provided. On board catering is handled by Goddard Catering of Miami (US$ pricing), who charge an eye watering US$3.00 for a coke.
It was turbulent as we crossed over the Cordillera and I snapped a few shots of the magnificent Andes.
Our aircraft at Santiago.
All in all it was a good flight. Immigration was pretty quick and all baggage is x-rayed when going through customs.
Leaving the arrival hall I was met with a swarm of taxi hustlers. They were a real pain. At least in Buenos Aires they are kept outside the terminal.
I took a city bus for C$1400 pesos (£1.55) to Los Heroes and then took the metro (also C$1400 pesos) to Santa Lucia station. The Metro here is similar to the one in Montreal in that the trains have rubber wheels for quiet running.
From there it was a twenty minute walk over Park Santa Lucia to Hotel Foresta.
National Library.
It is an old hotel and a bit tired but my room, although very twee, was large and comfortable,
with a lovely view of Cerro Santa Lucia.
All went well until just before Nunez station when some poor chap apparently ignored the barriers and tried to cross the track. He didn't make it and was struck a glancing blow and thrown 20 metres up the line. He survived but was not in good shape. Another victim of the somewhat casual Argentine approach to personal safety. We sat there for almost an hour while police ambulance and bomberos efficiently sorted things out and took care of him.
My 10:30 flight was looking dodgy by the time I caught a taxi at 10:00 from Lisandro de la Torre station. I was lucky. With hand baggage only and some very helpful Pluna staff I took my seat aboard Pluna flight PU168 at exactly 10:30.
Backing off the gate we passed this AeroChaco plane. AeroChaco are the "official" carrier of Boca Juniors football club.
It had stopped raining by the time we took off giving excellent views of the city.
Avenida 9 Julio, 110m wide, with Retiro station left of centre.
Puerto Madero with Yacht Club Argentino at centre
.
A container ship outbound from Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires to Montevideo is a 45 minute flight. The terminal at Montevideo is quite small and the transit lounge was very full due, I suspect, to Pluna succeeding in their plan to become a successful regional carrier using Montevideo as a hub.
Security at Montevideo is provided by the Fuerza Area Uruguaya and they don't like photos being taken. I took some anyway.
A Pluna CRJ-900
This looks like a 60's Huey
A Pluna Bombardier CRJ-900 NextGen. It is a very very quiet aircraft. On the flight to Santiago I was in Row 23, the last. There is no window on the starboard side and my locker above was full of safety gear.
Even with the back seat in an aft engined plane it was still quiet. The interior is understated, mostly off-white plastic.
Pluna have picked up a few ideas from Ryan Air. They charge extra for checked baggage and no refreshments are provided. On board catering is handled by Goddard Catering of Miami (US$ pricing), who charge an eye watering US$3.00 for a coke.
It was turbulent as we crossed over the Cordillera and I snapped a few shots of the magnificent Andes.
Our aircraft at Santiago.
All in all it was a good flight. Immigration was pretty quick and all baggage is x-rayed when going through customs.
Leaving the arrival hall I was met with a swarm of taxi hustlers. They were a real pain. At least in Buenos Aires they are kept outside the terminal.
I took a city bus for C$1400 pesos (£1.55) to Los Heroes and then took the metro (also C$1400 pesos) to Santa Lucia station. The Metro here is similar to the one in Montreal in that the trains have rubber wheels for quiet running.
From there it was a twenty minute walk over Park Santa Lucia to Hotel Foresta.
National Library.
It is an old hotel and a bit tired but my room, although very twee, was large and comfortable,
with a lovely view of Cerro Santa Lucia.