Whew!

Alarm was set for 7 but we were up by 6. Final packing, clean things up, and leave the house at 10.30. Uneventful drive through downtown Houston and stop at Taco Cabana, a longtime favorite. Eat but nervous. Parents drop us off at the terminal. Check in at Continental and computer happily tells us our reservation does not exist. Attendant tells us we need to check in at international, not domestic. Done. Fly to Miami skirting Chandalar islands off the coast of Louisiana. MIA is dark and overairconditioned. Four hour wait is not too long ... read a bit and walk around. LAN 501 for Santiago leaves at 9.50.



Plane is nice and new and full of all the gadgets, like remote controlled personal video monitors, and the stewards freely dispense the alcohol. Watch a few movies and listen to music and sleep for just a few minutes.

Lights turn on at 4.30 as breakfast is served and we begin to descend into Santiago. Darkness gives way to dense fog. Immigration and customs is totally hassle free, though to enter we each have to pay $131 for a visa 'good for the life of the passport' the attendant, who is updating her Facebook page, tells us. Baggage comes through without a problem.

We hang out in the airport trying to get our ATM card to work -- it won't. Steven Hatcher, who I know of from telemark circles, arrives with son Hank in his Nissan X-trail at 8 a.m. Drive the uncrowded streets -- today's a holiday -- and to a very nice place for breakfast. He also shows us how to get the ATM cards to work -- press the button that says 'foreign cards' you idiot -- and we drive to his beautiful house in a diplomatic community at the edge of the mountains. Snowcapped peaks all around. Fall asleep for two hours then begin to recover. Walk in the hills. It's a spectacular day -- all the more so after the hellish weather that is Houston. Crisp, clear, dry, 60s cooling a lot when the sun descends. Amazing! Steven is making dinner now and we plan to ski tomorrow. What a great start to the trip!