Hola!
Hi from temperate Santiago, where the season is late winter and the Andes are beautiful. I got in this morning, and A was so great to meet me at the airport. A 7:00 flight, and she met me at the airport. What a doll! She took a 5:00 bus from Valparaiso to the airport, and then we took a taxi downtown. She arranged for a meeting here in Santiago, so our hotel room is covered for tonight. Smart girl. Gave her the reason to be here and the means to pay for it too! We are in this apartment-style place with two bedrooms and a kitchen. Perfect for us, especially since A is Ms. Martha Stewart Canadian (without the fraud conviction). We can cook and lounge in our little livingroom, etc. And free internet access. The keyboard is only a little bit different from an American one, so I can type relatively quickly. Just cannot do the apostrophe -- notice no abbreviations?
Anyway, I cannot say that I have seen much of the city, other than during our taxi ride across town. It feels very European -- and has, of course, the ubitiquous American fastfood chains. Everyone here is pretty much of European descent, too, so that feels a bit strange. Hardly a blonde to be seen, let alone an Asian or black. Not really any Incan or other indigenous folks either. Hmmm...
A has huge plans for us, which include Easter Island and a side trip to Buenos Aires. I think I am just along for the ride, to be her sidekick! So far, so good, though. I half emptied my pack with all the stuff I brought for her, so my bag is now manageable. We are going to have fun.
Otherwise, all is well. Arrived here without incident. Even got three seats across to myself on the plane for a bit of a snooze. The trip is an overnight one from Miami -- about seven hours -- but no change in time zone from the East coast. Weird for me to fly a red-eye within the same time zone... The airport in Santiago was very nice and modern, although they definitely check your background going through immigration. One line took forever, but at least they had all the stations open even though ours was the only flight coming through. The $100 surcharge (they call it "reciprocity" which really means that they are sticking it to the tourists because the US government charges a huge fee on visas for Chileans) to enter hurt, but they take credit cards, and the entry fee is good for the life of the passport -- so anyone who plans to come to Chile, add $100 on to the airfare. If you come overland, however, there is no charge. Go figure.
Off to take a quick snooze while A is at her meeting. Hope all is well with everyone. More when I next know what we are doing... and don´t be surprised if the next message is from Argentina!
Anyway, I cannot say that I have seen much of the city, other than during our taxi ride across town. It feels very European -- and has, of course, the ubitiquous American fastfood chains. Everyone here is pretty much of European descent, too, so that feels a bit strange. Hardly a blonde to be seen, let alone an Asian or black. Not really any Incan or other indigenous folks either. Hmmm...
A has huge plans for us, which include Easter Island and a side trip to Buenos Aires. I think I am just along for the ride, to be her sidekick! So far, so good, though. I half emptied my pack with all the stuff I brought for her, so my bag is now manageable. We are going to have fun.
Otherwise, all is well. Arrived here without incident. Even got three seats across to myself on the plane for a bit of a snooze. The trip is an overnight one from Miami -- about seven hours -- but no change in time zone from the East coast. Weird for me to fly a red-eye within the same time zone... The airport in Santiago was very nice and modern, although they definitely check your background going through immigration. One line took forever, but at least they had all the stations open even though ours was the only flight coming through. The $100 surcharge (they call it "reciprocity" which really means that they are sticking it to the tourists because the US government charges a huge fee on visas for Chileans) to enter hurt, but they take credit cards, and the entry fee is good for the life of the passport -- so anyone who plans to come to Chile, add $100 on to the airfare. If you come overland, however, there is no charge. Go figure.
Off to take a quick snooze while A is at her meeting. Hope all is well with everyone. More when I next know what we are doing... and don´t be surprised if the next message is from Argentina!
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