Let´s Start

2/09/09

Whew! Landed at 9:40 AM after an uneventful flight-slept half way to DFW, then half way to Santiago, Chile.

First of all, the name of this Blog: Alt64. The keys that one must press on the Spanish keyboard to get the @ sign. Only an example of the crazy things that Spanish speaking people (OK, OK, I´m a SSL) do on their keyboard in order to fit on all those insane other letters tha I´m supposed to know what to do with. Sheesh. Alt64, Alt64- It took a while to remember it.

I realized after I got here (Santiago airport, SCL) that I was TOTALLY unprepared to be in a non-English speaking country; and few here speak English. So I had to work out how to change money, buy a phone card and call the US to check on Mom, decide whether to rent a car or take the bus to Valparaiso, get through Aduana, etc. It all worked out and already I´m warming my Spanish up a bit.

The now three of us took an autobus to Valpo, an hour and a half, and spent a LONG time looking for the hostel that I´d booked. Finally found it, upa bunch of stairs, and moved in. Quaint, old, lots of youngish travelers, mostly girls in their 20s (don´t worry, Naomi) from all over the world.

Tracked down our bikes and found two things: they´re actually arriving in San Antonio, an hour to the south, and they won´t be in until Friday at the earliest. OUCH. I´m considering returning to Santiago and renting a car for a week and possibly heading north several hours, up into the high northern desert. We´ll see. Had a nice dinner and am now waiting to write home on the communal comuter. I may have to give up til morning.

D