We landed at noon, Santiago time after a 10+ hour flight. We paid the visa fee and got through immigration easily but waited 20 minutes or so for the bags to start to arrive. Everything has to be X-rayed and then we were into the meeting area where Maria Ines and Fernando welcomed us warmly. The drive to our hotel was about 30 minutes. There is a big telethon on all weekend and the subway system is on strike for the weekend, so it's not business as usual. Weather is perfect, but air is hazy. Once we were into our hotel, Fernando took us to a bank machine and we started learning how to make sense of bills and coins. 10,000 pesos is a little more than $20. The apartment is great and we are a bit spaced out but so far, so good. Fernando walked us around the immediate area, which is quite old and full of artists and museums and a large park. Now we are settling in and will probably sleep some before Fernando comes at 8 to go to dinner (9 or 10 is the usual time for dinner, as in Spain). Tomorrow he will go with us to climb the nearby hill where the Spanish camped when they first arrived.
Here's where we had dinner. Our hotel is just along that street on the left. Beautiful temperature for outdoor dining, and very good food at a reasonable price--$90 for three with a bottle of wine. The smallest bill is 1000 pesos, worth just over $2. And they still have a 1 peso coin ($0.002). Very friendly people. This afternoon I found the nearest supermarket and stocked up on basics like milk and bread--though I had to do the whole store more than once to locate things. Isn't that the cutest Coke truck you have ever seen? Fortunately I had my Blackberry with me this afternoon as we were returning to our hotel.
