Patagonia from the Air

I was just chugging along in my Santa Cruz trek in Huaraz region of Peru when I overhead the guy behind me mentioned about flying from Punta Arenas to Santiago. He was saying something along the lines about having the most amazing view of Mt Fitz Roy in Patagonia. This jolted me alert as I had been contemplating flying down to the Patagonia region due to my limited schedule, but somehow had never thought about the ability to see the famed mountain from the air. I spoke to him briefly, and before I know it, my heart was kinda set on the flight.

Of course, it was all down to the flight cost. I have been searching on and off and it was only in Cuenca Ecuador when I finally settled down to confirm my plan. Apparently in summer, there are flights from Santiago to Puerto Natales and I managed to find, on the Chilean LATAM airlines site, a flight from Santiago to Puerto Natales at US$87 all-in! Considering that this 3-hr flight saved me a few days of travel southwards, and likely money as well, as the long distance buses while comfortable, do add up, it was a done-deal. And of course, there are the views :).

The tip from my trekking friend Thomas was, on the northbound flight, seat on the right. So for me, I had to seat on the left. 23.5hrs to my flight, I login to the airlines website to check-in and select my seat, and to my horror, all the leftmost window seats are all taken! I had to settle for a middle seat and kept a tiny flicker of hope that I might still get a window seat somehow.

Well, the flight was quite full. So there I was, a fidgety figure frequently looking wistfully over to the window and trying to take pics. The lady at the window seat was very understanding though, but it was still rather inconvenient stretching across (her chest) to the window to take the pictures. But ironically when Fitz Roy came into view, I still did not recognize it and wondered briefly which beautiful mountain was that!

Cerro Fitz Roy and even Cerro Torre partially covered

Somehow, up to this duration of the flight, it did not occur to me that beside Mt Fitz Roy, there are more to Patagonia from the air... At some point, some guy at the front mentioned Perito Moreno, and an internal lightbulb connected. I was almost standing up, craning my neck to its limits but alas, the clouds seemed to have thickened quite abit further south and I could not even catch a glimpse of it, or even what I am seeing. I can only cross my fingers and my toes and take whatever pics I can. When the plane flew over the Towers of Paine, the clouds eased up a little just to tease me with a glimpse of where the Towers are. It was a little disappointing.

Torres del Paine covered

Torres del Paine covered

Nevertheless, I'm really still quite happy to see the landscapes of Patagonia from up in the air. While I have seen the famous landmarks of Patagonia on land (Cerro Fitz Roy & Torre, Perito Moreno glacier, Torres del Paine), it would be cool to be able to see all of them in the air in one flight. And that commercial flight path just allowed that. The notorious weather of Patagonia had allowed me to see one and I guess I should be contented.

For those who's doing the Patagonia route should consider this flight. Aside from Santiago, you could also fly from/to Puerto Montt as I believe the flight route down to Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales should be the same. Aside from LATAM, Sky Airlines fly some of these routes too and they have affordable fares if booked in advance! And remember, for southbound, get the window seat on the left. For northbound, get window seat on the right. And hope for good weather (less clouds)!

In the meantime, enjoy the views below! :)

Look at the colours of the lakes!!

That's a glacier I believe!

Can see its a glacier but doesn't look like its Perito Moreno

Cappadocia Turkey

Outside of Istanbul, Cappadocia is probably the next best known and popular tourist attraction in Turkey. And it's not hard to see why.

Cappadocia light and landscape

Famed for its geological features, visitors would be treated to a variety of sights rarely seen elsewhere. Rock-hewn houses, cave churches, underground dwellings, and bizarre-shaped rock formations scattered over a moonscape - there are definitely enough things to impress most people. To further add to the tourists' favorable impressions, accommodation options include 'cave hotels', where you stay in actual cave rooms natural to this region. And these cave rooms can cater to all budgets. From beautifully furnished and decorated hotel rooms to hostel dormitory rooms!!

Visitors queuing to take a peek into the cave houses in Goreme Open Air Museum

A hotel built inside one of the phallic-shaped stone formations

Ancient frescoes inside one of the cave churches

There are a couple of towns within the Cappadocia region, though Goreme seems to be the favourite for backpackers. Being close to the Goreme Open Air Museum, and hiking trails certainly helps. Hiking through Rose Valley, Pigeon Valley, or visiting the Uçhisar Castle in Uçhisar - these are all common itinerary for most visitors. And photographic wise, the lighting and opportunities are all to die for. But one of the best experiences though, both in terms of travel as well as photography wise, would be to take a hot-air balloon flight!

There are quite a number of hot-air balloon companies in Cappadocia and most agencies can arrange flights with them. However, there seems to be some syndicate operation going on, as there had been reports of tourists signing up flights with a specific company but ended up with other companies instead. So ask and verify carefully. Flights last about an hour, and you get to witness sunrise over the surreal landscape in a hot-air balloon. Spectacular!! It's hard not to come away impressed.

Imagine flying higher than the sun...! ;)

Floating above the surreal landscapes of Cappadocia

On a typical morning, hot-air balloons fill the skies of Cappadocia

So if you are thinking of doing a hot-air balloon once in your life somewhere, Cappadocia is a good bet!

Arctic from the Air!

Ok, I had Sahara from the Air and Amazon from the Air.
Now, here is, Arctic from the Air!

I flew from Oslo to Narvik, and again, the views from the air is just amazing! And not only that, I managed to see a 'Glory' too! In Chinese, it's also known as 'Buddha's Light'!

Of course, there's also the usual birds' eye views...

I also had the opportunity to fly into Longyearbyen Svalbard, and the white landscape of Svalbard is breathtaking!

But the most amazing thing of all is this : seeing the Northern Lights up in the air!!

11887 meters above the Sahara

Following up from my post in January, Earth from the Air, I found myself 11887 meters above northern Africa, and as always, am mesmerized by the special views...




A reminder again, that on board your flight, there is more to movies and meals. Look out your window!

Earth from the Air

First post of 2009, and a Happy New Year to all readers!! :)
Many an overseas trip start with a flight out of Singapore. I had my first flight out of Singapore when I was in Secondary school, and strangely I remembered I didn't really feel all that excited. I was excited about my trip (a school trip) but not the flight - mabbe because I was seated at a aisle/non-window seat. I think I didn't see out of the window at all during the flight!!



Of course, since then, I had looked out of the plane window during the flight, and discovered the beauty out there. While the world's landscape is ever so diverse, so is its view from the air. From the aerial perspective, from farming land to snow-capped mountains ... and from canyons to rivers, everything takes on a different face. It was sight-seeing of a different sort! And when the plane flew above the clouds, the "landscape" is something we rarely ever see. The clouds are serene and beauitful, and literally on a world of its own.




The thick plane windows does pose a little problem to photography. To take pictures out of the plane window, and prevent your camera searching for a target to focus, set your camera's focus to infinity. In some point-and-shoot digicam, this can be done using the "Landscape" mode. Then place your camera as close to the window as possible to cut down reflections. This will give you very passable photos, which otherwise the rarely seen view of the Earth from the air would only reside in memory.

For really impressive aerial photography from around the world, check out this documentary and pictorial from Yann Arthus-Bertrand - The Earth from the Air. Amazing photos which cannot be captured on any commercial passenger airplane. But when you next take a flight out, do look out of your window!