Strong tail winds over the Pacific Ocean between Sydney and Santiago reduce the flight time by at least an hour. Very quick flight to Auckland of 2 hours 35 minutes, and 10 hours from Auckland to Santiago. LA 800 arrives just before 10am, which makes it a long wait for the 17:40 flight from Santiago to Calama. LAN doesn’t have a lounge in the domestic airport, so after the coffee at Starbucks becomes too much to bear, I buy a day pass to the Priority Club lounge. It is expensive at $US35, but at least there is wi-fi, a bar and a comfortable chair.
Strong winds also reduce the flight time between Santiago and Calama to 1 hour 30 minutes, which catches the guide assigned from Awasi to collect me at Calama airport a little off-guard. Calama is best described as a mining support town, and is characterised by the modern boxy housing constructed to support the employees of the mining companies operating out of the area.
It is 90 minutes to San Pedro de Atacama, for my fourth visit to the area. I have been in thrall to the Atacama since my first visit, and Awasi has become the perfect means for me to stay in a beautiful lodge with a private guide and driver when needed.
