Safe and Sound in Santiago

Well, I´m not sure how it all worked out, but I made it. No sleep for a few days, a lot of last-minute packing, and 24 hours of travel; somehow everything seemed to fall together.

Highlights from Sundance 2008:

• Meeting one of the two survivors of the ¨Alive" crash who after 62 days walked for 10 more out of the Andes.
• Meeting Josh Tickell, author of From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank and long-time promoter of biodiesel.
• Seeing LL Cool J in concert (I guess this was a highlight?)
• My hot tub plus -10 degrees F at night.
• Spending some quality time with my friends in SLC.

I realized I´ve been absolutely insane since last October, with going to Costa Rica, quitting my job, visiting family for Christmas, moving out of my apartment, going to the Midwest twice in one week for work, then Sundance, and now. . . Chile. The last three were all one big pack job, and so far, I didn´t forget anything.

Today we had some coffee, met Mr. X (he requested I use this instead of his real name - if you know my dad you´ll know who he is), and did some shopping. I let my dad pack our dinners back in the states, which are just Mountain Home prepackaged dinners from REI. From the looks of it, we´ll be eating a lot of mashed potatoes and Kung Pao chicken.

We also stopped by the¨embassy¨ for lack of a better word, to check on permits. It takes a hell of a lot to get permission to cross into Argentina outside of the 6 security checkpoints along the border. As it turned out, Argentina hadn´t responded to the Chilean request to lets us pass into the country. Chile told us that if we wanted to hike into Argentina, they would have to supply us with an ambassador, which for food and expenses would cost $3,000 U.S.

The meeting would have made great T.V., but we left amicably enough, and decided on another route: one that would take us to 16,000 ft. along the crest of the Andes, but wouldn´t cross the border.

So all that was left was packing, and my 50 L Black Diamond Predator is absolutely maxed out with food for 12-14 days and anything else we might need in the high-altitude wilderness we´re about to ascend into.

Tomorrow we head north, with a potential stop at La Serena, a beach town I´ve had the good fortune of visitng once before. Since it´s in the 80s, a beach stop might be in order, and I might even grab a surfboard if I have the chance.

On the topic of revisiting this area, it turns out that the Hostel we´re staying at in Santiago is the same Hostel I stayed at almost 7 years ago, when I was studying abroad in nearby Valparaiso. I´ve closed the cirlce, somehow, in a strange but meaningful way.

This may be the last post you´ll see from me for two weeks. If that´s the case, have a great February.