Never the way you planned…

Never the way you planned…

But that is part of the fun.  Jim and I met at the Seattle Taproom in SeaTac.  After enjoying a couple beers with lunch we were greeted by a small boy, 3 or 4 years old, walking by our table pulling his bag.  He said “Hi.” So we both replied then he looked at us and said, “You’re old.”   We laughed, tables around laughed and the father was aghast! He wasn’t far off the mark.  After 4.5 hrs to Dallas and 9 hrs to Santiago, we feel old.

We departed on a typical Seattle winter day.

Santiago!  First I need to say that Carlos Grez, USNA ’89, has gone above and beyond the call in supporting us.  Because of the failed attempt to get the bikes to Chile before us we have become ensnared in red-tape.  He has cut through it like a Ninja!

The ship arrived today.  The deconsole, unloading the ship and de-consolidating the load, can take 24-72 hours.  We may have the bikes tomorrow or the next day.  As it is, we are  both so tired we could sleep that long without a problem. 

Once we have the bikes we are going to shoot for the border of Argentina.  The sooner we get out of Chile the less we pay in temporary import duties.  Because we will be riding the bikes when we come back to Chile we’ll dodge that bullet coming  back.

We were able to spend some time in a Chilean Bank with Carlos.  We had to go to the bank to process a warrant for customs funds as part of the temporary import.  The bank was packed with people.    Apparently, even though internet is reliable, available and affordable and many people have it, they don’t trust making transactions electronically, so they go the bank for many simple financial transactions.   Most gas stations even have free internet.  Pull up, get gas, check email!   If you are reading this in the US, try to recall the last time you went to the bank.  Here it can be a 3 hr ordeal if you don’t have an account at that bank and you are just going in to pay a utility bill.

Carlos is a fountain of knowledge and speaks English better than Jim!  Here is one tidbit, in Argentina you probably won’t find free wifi at gas stations, so just go to a mall and you probably will.

After the rain in Seattle and jetting to another continent, this is where we ended up!

Casa Grez

Jim is snoring while I post this picture taken just a few minutes ago.

We're going to a soccer game tonight.