Back to Copiapo this morning... I'm feeling pretty weary after my last few days, including some late nights on the 'net and emails etc, plus early starts. I have a real battle this morning with trying to pack my bags given all of the wine I've bought, and nearly forget the pants and shirt hanging in the wardrobe! Eventually, I get it together and check-out, then it's into the taxi to the airport.
I am well aware of the long queues at the airport, but still think that arriving there an hour before the flight should be fine, however today it looks like two hours would be a better idea. The lines are huge, not only to the machines that spit out your boarding pass, but then the other lines to drop your bags off. How such a simple thing can take so long, I have no idea - after all, almost everyone has their boarding pass, either done at the machines or printed out from the 'net earlier. Anyway, progress is very slow, and sure enough, before too long on the LAN staff is wandering along the queue looking for people to Copiapo. At least, that's what I think I can hear her saying. It doesn't sound a lot like the pronunciation I'm used to, but I decide to take a punt and question her in my best Spanglish... "Copiapo?" I say and she responds with a rather disdainful look - der, of course I said Copiapo is what I imagine she is thinking. Along with a few others, I'm ushered to the front and side of the main queue, where we have our own dedicated check-in chica. Again, my drop-off takes about 30 seconds, so I wonder what can take so long for everyone else?
I make my way to the boarding area, through security (an extraordinary LACK of a queue here) and to the gate. It seems I have a few minutes to spare, so I stare tiredly out of the window while trying to listen to the Spanish conversations around me. Unfortunately all I can hear is some droning Americans, whose English obliterates any chance I have of concentrating on hearing words in a conversation.
On board the plane, the boarding goes smoothly and we're on our way. I don't think I even get to see the top of the smog before I've nodded off. I wake briefly a couple of times during the flight with a sore neck, but readjust and off I go again. I wake again as we're landing and feel very hot - seems like they've not got the aircon or the fans going! Being seated in the middle of the plane, I'm the last off, and am thankful for the cool, fresh air to wake me up.
I head for the baggage claim and catch up with Juan Carlos, one of the geo's on our team. We're chatting about the weekend, when I realise I haven't got my wallet. Damn, it's in the seat pocket of the plane! I race back to get it (with nobody bothering to stop me or question me), locate it, then back to get my bags.
LAN seem to have a special treat for me when I arrive into an airport with two bags. The first is always out early, the second is nearly last. This happens both in Copiapo and Santiago and is quite entertaining. If I go with one bag, it is guaranteed to be nearly last!
We're finally ready to go and we get into the waiting taxi. It's a 45km trip to Copiapo from the airport, so JC and I chat about how everything is going and so on. On arrival into Copiapo, we're dropped at the front of the office. JC heads to the hotel, I head to my apartment, about 150m, to drop my stuff off and have lunch.
After lunch, it's back to the office and work for the afternoon.
At the end of the day, perhaps 6.30PM, I decide I've had enough and want to go home. I get my stuff together and realise that I can't find my wallet. I make a cursory search of my desk, but can't see it. No problem, I must have just left it in my apartment. I get back there and search for it, but no luck. My frustration is rising, so it's back to the office for a proper search. Nope, still no luck. Back to the apartment, thorough search, and nope, not their either.
The sinking feeling that I've had for the last hour climaxes with the realisation that I've managed to lose my wallet. Apart from the wallet itself (birthday present from the kids), it contained;
- My passport,
- My tourist visa documents,
- My Australian drivers licence
- My international drivers licence,
- My credit card
- My ATM keycard
- My company credit card,
- My medicare card
- About A$200 worth of chilean pesos
- About A$120 (tucked away there so I wouldn't forget about it in my apartment)
Pretty much every piece of identification I have here in Chile was in there, plus all of my access to finances. It dawns on me pretty quickly that I'm going to be in a world of pain if I can't recover it.
I conclude that there are three options for how I might have lost it.
- In the taxi,
- On the way to my apartment,
- On the way back from my apartment.
I ring Lizette to see if she can talk to the taxi driver, but when she does, he reports that he hasn't found it.
Losing it in the street seems most likely, so we head for the carabinieri's to report it, but they aren't particularly interested and point us at the PDI (the detectives part of the police force). We walk there, but being 9PM, they ask us to come back tomorrow.
Hmmm, this is not looking good. While I have scans of all of my documents, the time it will take to renew them is going to be significant. Worse, my passport number is an essential piece of information on all of my work visa application documents. Chances are that will now be delayed because of the need for a new passport.
I spend the next four hours on Skype trying to cancel all of the relevant things that need cancelling, as well as arranging for new versions, as best I can. I reckon it will be at least a month before I am back to normal. In the meantime, I've got to figure out how to survive with no ready access to cash, and no identification papers - my Vintage Cellars card and South Perth library card aren't going to get me too far...
Exhausted, I fall into bed at about 1AM. Tomorrow is another day, but probably not as much fun as the previous few.
Hope everyone else has their act together a bit better.
A
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