We have arrived

Well, here we are in Chile! and boy, is it cold! No pun - more on that below.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, getting everything put away or packed, and trying to catch up with friends. Mike´s parents came to visit for the last week, and we put them and Lisa´s mother to work entertaining the kids and helping out with packing and preparations. Thanks Pat and Art and Marcia! We don´t know how we could have done it without you.

We finished the final preparations about the time we needed to leave for the airport, and off we went! The flights were uneventful, and we awoke this morning to a view of the snow-covered Andes off to the east. A spectacular view! Santiago itself is surrounded by mountains.

We took a nap, and then our friend Holly arrived! Mike first met her in Colorado over 20 years ago, and she has spent most of the last year going to school and doing missionary work in southern Chile and Argentina. She took the long bus ride up from Pichilemu on the coast to spend a few days helping us get settled. She arrived with her friend Lior, who lives on the eastern side of Santiago. Together they helped us order lunch (hot dogs and sausages from one of the many little storefronts along the streets), buy Metro (subway) tickets and cell phones, and find a grocery store not far from our hostal. We´ll explore the city tomorrow on our own, then hook up with them again Sunday for an adventure.

Santiago shows few signs of the big earthquake back in March, but it is a different world. Streets are narrower, buildings are smaller and packed together, and some parts are a bit run down. More to the point I mentioned earlier, most buildings are unheated except for space heaters. The temps are in the 40s, so it´s almost like camping. Our hostal is not too bad for what it is, but it´s a far cry from what we´re used to. We´ll see how everyone sleeps tonight.

Lisa also got more information on her posting: We will be in Castro, the capital city of the province and island of Chiloe, south of Puerto Montt. We will read up on it over the next few days, and Lisa will learn more once her orientation starts on Monday.

So it´s been a long day, and we´ll have more to describe after we´ve explored the city more. Regards to all. - Mike, Lisa, Beto, and Gabi