Technical problems will have marked this state visit to Chile, somewhat eclipses its content. Thus, the start was made 24 hours late, due to a first technical problem in the plane. The official program had to be revised and the delegation spent one day in the Chilean capital Santiago instead of two.
The entire delegation then flew to Antofagasta on Wednesday, to spend the day in the Atacama mountains in order to visit the installations of the European Austral Observatory (ESO), including the future largest telescope in the world, the Extremely Large Telescope, which will be provided with a 39 -meter diameter mirror.
The installation already in place, the Very Large Telescope, is provided with four telescopes with mirrors measuring 8.2 meters in diameter. The return of the return was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, for an arrival in Belgium on Friday at 12:30 p.m. (HB). However, the delegation had to spend two more nights in Antofagasta.
Thursday, when the royal couple, the ministers and the delegation had taken their places on the plane, an accident with the track tractor destroyed the chances of rallying the Belgian Tarmac. The bar of this vehicle which trailers the planes to move them out of their parking area, with a view to takeoff, seems to have given way.
The two wheels of the front landing train were damaged but only one spare wheel was available. A second wheel had to be sent from Santiago. She arrived in Antofagasta on Friday evening and the plane was finally able to take off towards Belgium on Saturday morning.
The king and the queen had decided to stay with the delegation stuck in Antofagasta. “The Titanic has not yet sank, the captain remains on board,” said the sovereign, in a rare speaking. “We are all together, whatever happens.” This state visit, the first for 65 years in Latin America, should at the very least remain engraved in the memories of its participants.
