Traveling The All Night Line

We found the LAN counter and settled in with a very accommodating agent who re-issued our boarding passes, entered our Alaska Airline Mileage plan numbers and got two other very nice accommodating agents to come over and help her get our connecting frights to Easter Island figured out and hopefully get our bags that we left with American Airline in San Francisco, to Santiago the same time as us.

We gathered up like cattle again to go through the LAX TSA security show. Once again we were allowed to pass, but did have our boarding passes scribbled on by a TSA officer.

The LAN gate was at the end of a very long terminal. Shops selling everything from diamond studded sanitary hand wipes to the latest in Hollywood fashion lined the corridor. I ended up with a $2.50 plastic bottle of water that I carried onto the LAN Dreamliner for our long fright to Lima.  

LAN fed us and didn’t ask for money. They served free wine and gave every head of cattle on board a sealed package with a pillow, blanket, headphones, earplugs, and an orange mask like the lone ranger wears, except it had no holes for eyes….

We arrived in Lima and settled in for our long 8 hour layover. We should have went to town and stayed a day or two but ended up waiting and sleeping in the terminal

The next morning we lined up at the gate for our fright to Santiago. The fright was full, and the gate was chaotic. Standby passengers were rushing the counter for seats, as we waited patiently to board. After a bit a very stern gate agent came over and asked for our boarding passes, she took our passes to the gate, conferred with another agent, they  ripped off the stubs, scribbled on our tickets, handed them back and said we could board early because it seems we had been upgraded to first class.

First class on LAN the seats have the padding that they took out of all the other airline seats. The seats recline, they bring you warm towels, socks, a bag you can use for laundry, another Loan Ranger mask without eyes, and a pen that writes in Spanish.  For air travel it just doesn’t get any better.

LAN First Class Seats

We had to go through customs in Santiago, and since we are not traveling with the Sizzling Hippy the agent simply took our form we filled out on the plane and stamped our passports.

Another checking, another airport security check and we boarded the LAN fright to Easter Island. 5 hours later we landed, our bags made it and waiting outside the terminal was our host and ride to our lodging.

Actual Easter Island Bovine

 

Moi