4 planes in 3 days down... and we still aren't there.

Many people often ask me why I stay so long in the Falklands and the answer is pretty simple. 

It takes forever to get here.

Okay, forever may be a slight exaggeration, but to put it in perspective, we started this journey on Thursday (actually I left Detroit for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on Tuesday), it is now Saturday, and we still are not even in the Falklands yet. We are one flight away though! We are currently (or at least when I wrote this sentence) sitting in the Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport in Punta Arenas, Chile. That's right, we left Santiago, Chile this morning only to come a little farther southeast and are still in Chile. Keith says that next time we will plan better, leave a day earlier, spend the night in Punta Arenas (instead of Santiago), rent a car and have a full day to spend in Punta Arenas before going to the islands. We already paid the reciprocity fee (I forgot how much it was) to actually enter and stay in Chile the first time we traveled to the Falklands, so we mine-as-well get our money’s worth. The little piece of paper that they put one staple through to “secure” it in your passport doesn’t expire until, a.) your passport expires, b.) you lose it, or c.) you travel so much that you run out of pages in your passport for countries to stamp and have to get a new one, as Keith found out. In case you are wondering, Chile isn’t the only country that charges this fee but the reason I don’t have one from every country we go to is because we are always considered “in transit” (or more magically put, “en transito”). Though, this can sometimes create a small nightmare at check-in, especially if there is a language barrier, as there was in Brazil. Since we stop at so many countries, it is also difficult to make sure our bags are scheduled to arrive where they are intended (I am most terrified of these two potential nightmares when I travel back alone).

Highlights from this trip so far have included:

-Bags (2 personal bags and 2 pelican boxes filled with supplies) arrived in Santiago.

Fingers crossed we will see them in Mount Pleasant.

-Being able to go into the VIP lounges in all but 1 airport (thanks, Keith!).

These provide more comfortable seating, access to free wifi, complimentary beverages, and some snacks. Even a shower at some if you so desire.

-Found a partially open row and moved during my flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas.

Slept almost the whole time.

-The food on South American flights is superb.

Minus breakfast on United. That one is a little weak… a croissant (delicious with jam) and previously, still partially, frozen fruit (composed of 2 pieces of honeydew, 1 piece of cantaloupe, and 3 grapes).

-Blankets on long LAN/TAM flights.

Orange fleecy goodness.

-Seeing the Andes in an opposite season.

Not as pretty as in the winter but sometimes pretty shades of browns and reds if the sun’s rays hit them right.

Less positive highlights have included:

-My bag being overweight at every airport (sometimes only by 5 pounds).

How do you pack for 2 months of mainly winter clothes lightly?! Also, in Santiago we were considered flying domestic so the weight allowance was even lighter than international travel (even though we are internationals… I still don’t understand it).

-The first 9.5 hour overnight flight from Newark to Brazil was pretty much miserable for me.

I never found a comfortable position during that entire flight and it was a packed plane, so I couldn’t try to find a seat with an empty space beside it. Needless to say, not a lot of sleep was had.

-Pillows on planes.

I don't know why they even provide those sacks filled with an ounce of fluffy fiber.

-Blankets on United.

Zero insulation provided.

Update and Quick Story:

We made it to Stanley and so did our luggage (including my dried fruit)! While having afternoon tea with Arlette (owner of the Lafone house) a man walks through her door saying that he has a guest for her (doorbells or knocking is just unnecessary here, I guess). He starts talking with us and at one point Keith says that he has read his papers. *Aha Moment* Could this elderly gentleman in front of me be thee Ian Strange? I introduce myself awkwardly very late in the conversation and it turns out it is! Right in front of me is the only other person who has studied the Johnny Rooks, ever! I don’t know if this happens with other biologists, but when you finally meet the author of several papers that you have read and/or cited, you kind of feel like you are almost meeting some sort of a celebrity? Or is it just me? Either way, I was quite excited, even though I do not agree with some of the conclusions he has made of these birds (e.g., banding them serves no purpose, if you band a fledgling the parent will kill it, you influence their foraging too easily, etc.). He is the operator of New Island (yes, that is its name, and no, it is not the newest island), which is one of the islands we conduct research on (aka getting on his good side is very important). Keith may have set up an appointment with him upon his return. However, I don't think he should hold his breath. Ian just seems to be one of those guys who likes to be alone. It would be beneficial to us if he did meet with Ian though, so fingers crossed!

Early flight tomorrow morning for Saunders Island aka where the Johnnies live! Oh, and add full English breakfast to the list of highlights, can't wait for that (I am sure Sara or Andrew know what I mean).