Chile: Day 0

04 Aug Chile: Day 0

Questions:

a.) Why Chile?
b.) Why in July?
c.) Won’t it be hot there?

Answers:

a.) Chile has mountains. Lots of mountains.
b.) My birthday is in July.
c.) In addition to having mountains, Chile is also in the Southern hemisphere…so our summer – their winter.

Our flight was leaving LAX at 12:40pm. We transfer in Atlanta at 6pm, then arrive in Santiago the next morning at 6am. A long day of traveling, but thankfully the longest section would be at night. And hopefully occupied by sleep.

Angel was in town for a Television Producer’s Conference and gave Will and I a ride to the airport. Naturally we got pulled over to be searched. I was careful not to point my “pistol-grip” Super 8 camera out the window. No sense asking for trouble…and I still ended up getting a shot of the LAX sign.

While the police checked us over Angel (who has Ohio plates) said we were all from California (Will is from Washington state) and that we were going to Peru (we were going to Chile)…but we made it through none the less.

At the baggage check the woman tried to charge us extra for our “surfboards.” I responded that they weren’t surfboards, they were skis…er, snowboards. She had us open our bags to prove it. And then didn’t charge us anything extra. Will had to pay $50 on United to fly to LA with his board, so we were expecting to pay again. Maybe I threw her off with the whole “not surfboards” line. Maybe Delta lets you take bigger baggage. Either way, in our eyes we just saved $100.

Next the guy at the X-ray machine called them “golf bags.” The trip was off to a good start.

—–

In Atlanta we ate at Chili’s. Will chatted with the Host about music. From some reason the guy asked if we were “in a band.” In fact, Will’s band “Super Happy Story Time Land” is going to be playing there in August, and he invited the kid to the show. While we waited for our food I called my Grandpa and Grandma. I hadn’t gotten a chance to call on Father’s day (on account of being super sick) and I wanted to chat with them a bit before I left the country. I dunno, call me superstitious or what have you, but I always like to say my goodbyes.

The flight to Chile was uneventful. Will and I crashed tough. When we woke they had already completed the breakfast service and were starting to clean up.

They still fed us.

We landed in the pre-dawn grey of a Winter day. The Andes rose up mightily to the East. I text my folks and sister.

This was it. We were in South America.